TravelStream™ news feed for member meshell on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/meshell en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 18 Aug 2008 04:39:33 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meshell/1/1215514800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meshell/1/1215514800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meshell/1/1215514800/tpod.html Mon, 18 Aug 2008 04:39:33 -0400 2008/2009 The year to take in as much adventure as possible!!

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Tawena island, Fiji

we got to the port and spent 4.5hours to get to our first island..Coral View....It was extremely windy there but so beautiful....everything was blue!! pretty much we were feed when they told us...and with a bang of a drum we would have to come running...ok maybe it was more organised and civil then it sounds!!we did a summit walk that evening and i of course walked onto a big metal steak...go going michelle...it bloody well hurt!!and so i went bare foot for the next two weeks. well unless i was hiking...we had games at night just to keep us occupied...like musical chairs, limbo, congo dancing with its own twists and other things...not forgetting the Bula dance...it made you stop caring because everyone looked like twats :) we went to the blue lagoon (where Brook Shields filmed the Blue Lagoon) and snorkled...lots of fish and loads of Coral!! it was just beautiful!! and nicely sheltered!! On our second day we went to the caves (took 45min boat ride...tiny boat on choppy water....so funny but wet!!) we went swimming in the caves and then the second cave was enclosed completely so you had to swim under the rock to get in and then it was pitch black in there and the smallest noise was amplified like crazy!!..poor Emily came up to early on the way out and took a chuck of skin off her forehead off the rocks.We got soaked again on the way back in the little boat but we gradually got used to this...the wet wasnt  We left that day for the Wana taki bost experience.....
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Nadi, Viti Levu, Fiji

Blog life is not going very well as you may have gathered...it will just have to be done by points now just to give the jist of what happened...you can ask if it gets too vague!!we arrived early. got to hotel after interesting cab journey.walked the beach as the sun rose with the company of some stray dogs.stayed by the pool al day once the sun came up and organised our island trip.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meshell/1/1214909100/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meshell/1/1214909100/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/meshell/1/1214909100/tpod.html Sat, 26 Jul 2008 00:42:51 -0400 2008/2009 The year to take in as much adventure as possible!!

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Yosemite National Park, California, United States

Nearly the worst experience of them all....the place was great but the people on the other hand were dire and just couldnt wait to get out of there....Just kiddin!!!! I told you i would write something like that Daphne so i stayed true to my word :)Now for the real story....On the way to the MUNI to get to Powell ststion I realised that the new runners could cause more problems then i had thought and by the time i got to where we were meeting the bus both heels were bleeding :(So the group gather for the tour to Yosemite and Tim the tour leader arrived..then the usual chit chat began and people were clicking, but wait a second there was someone missing...Kirsty?? So we circled and Jerry (wannabe the assistant  :) ) started asking random strangers on the street if they were Kirsty...so no Kirsty.Later on she caught up with us by getting the BART to Dublin,California while we went and bought the all important supplies of snacks and beer (Pacifico..yum..and thats from a not often beer drinker)So we continued and after a few hours we got out and found ourselves amongst the magnificant Giant Sequoias. Plenty of photo ops...Beautiful trees of all different shapes, sizes, names and stories.Like the clothespin from what i remember the name is self explainitory (check out the pic) and was caused from a number of fires burning through it. The Bachelor and three graces - 3sequioas standing gracefully beside a great older sequoia. The tunnel sequoia, manmade tunnel thou or perhaps squirrel made..who really knows the true story!!Anyone hear of the squirrel olympics?? Anyway that forest was just out of this world and the Grisley bear tree....well we were told that one of its branches was as wide as the van we were travelling in...amazing!!! So we left there feeling rather young and slightly inadequate after those ancient huge trees and went to a veiw point over looking Yosemite valley i never seen a view like it before!Beautiful!!We then went and set up camp in a camp grounds on El Portal and once that was done we as a huge group effort by 14 of us managed to prepare,cook and clean after dinner. The rest of the night before bed was beers and with plenty of shooting stars.The next day we were looking forward to some hiking although my heels were still quite sore but with plenty of plasters and padding it was fine.So we set off entering Yosemite park and when we reached our destination realised that it would have been inteligent have taken some bug spray...the mosquito armys were out in full force!!we were all getting bitten from the start but you just had to keep moving.After a mile at a nice pace we came to the edge of Emerald lake where we took a short breakand had lunch before the ascent into the real wilderness....we went a hiking up past snow patches crossing over lush green meadows of marshy highland and then on up onto the stone switch backs with only the little kerns (manmade pile of stones) now and again.Earlier Tim had given us advice apart from HAGE (high alltitude gas emmission) advice to keep certain mountain top to our right so we would stay on the proper track while he went to helpthe others out behind us. So our little sub group hiking team had been created..Daphne,Jon,Brendan,Brian, Jerry and I.We continued up taking water and photo breaks...the views at every stop were phanominal!! To confirm we were still heading in the right direction Jerry asked a lady who sent us continuing on our path after she had made a mistake about Irish people being British and it wasnt long until she knew she was wrong :)We continued up to where it was just loose pebbles and horrible to walk on and once passing that we reached the last point we would have a rest before continuing onwards and upwards. I took a few snaps and had a water break and when Daphne decided to stay I left my bag with her but taking my camera. Brendan and I followed the other three up the big bolders pulling myself along getting close to the top we met Jerry and continued on together. It was the last few steps that Jon and Brian took that were a little scary so Brendan found a more less death threating way for the three of us. with a smile and racing lungs we got to the top...all that was on my mind was...WOW! It was worth every second and was just astonishing to be seeing such a panaramic view of Yosemite from 10850ft. There was a guy up there after hanging out with the locals (Marmots) who were trying to nibble at his bag that had previously held his lunch..there was a whole neighbourhood of them up there. We signed the register that was up there to say we had been there. Gradually people were making it up and was only delighted to see Daphne had changed her mind once she had had a short rest. Once all the snaps were taken we ventured downhill and went the easy way  that we didnt know existed until it was too late. There was a few slip and slides on the way down (yes that included me...not surprisingly!!) and we gave a friendly standing novation for the guy who had been above on Mt Hoffman and had ran to another peak before coming down running passed us. When we got back tp Emerald lake we  all went for a well deserved swim granted the water was blooy freezing but a nice dip all the same..this is where my poor watch (sorry ails) died a very slow death! and the mosquitos had their final feast of the day!! (on final count following night 26bites on one arm and 23 on other...not including face and legs....poor me eh!!)We made the final trek back to the van and headed back to camp where everyone was so tired and yet again a lovely dinner was prepared. and for dessert (very posh) we had smores over the campfire and so the remaining beer needed to be drank and so Kirsty, Brendan, Brian, Lisa, Jerry and I sat around drinking after all the others had gone one by one to bed.Little did we know that our camping neighbours would be complaining about our noise level..we were like mice :) it was the car alarmand the snoring walrus next door that was making all the noise.The next morning we broke camp, packed up everything and bundled ourselves into the van once again.We had a free day in Yosemite Valley to do what we wished. After the previous day and rather sore heels i decided to take it a little easier. Kirsty and i went to check out if we could go horseriding but it was booked out. Instead we rented a raft and did a lazy day rafting down the Merced river enjoying the water and sunshine and just generally lazing about getting nearly smacked in the head a few times with tree branches.We got back a little late to the van but not too late that they were gone :) We then drove along the valley floor and after a while we stopped and walked into a wide open meadow where stood in front of us was the great "El Capitan" standing 7569ft of shear cliff face.Tim had brought a telescope and binoculars and so we went searching for rock climbers. It was just unreal to be able to barely see these people making their way up tp the summit. The record for climbing it had been broken the previous day by 10minutes...climb took 2hr 43minutes.but i beleive the average climber takes a few days to climb it.After taking photos and group photos and group photos we left Yosemite behind..We started our long journey back to SF.Lucy was resident IPOD DJ and belted out the numerous great choises and even had a van group YMCA dance..including tim who was driving. We got back to cold SF and parted ways with most but for those who could  Lucy, Daphne, Kirsty, Jeanette, Jon and I we went a few drinks. it took a while to get into Foleys Irish pub because they wouldnt accept my Irish driving licence...i couldnt beleive he was telling me this so there on O'Farrell st in SF i had to rummage through my rucksack in persuit of my passport...success and so continued the night of Drag Queen entertainer...in need of a bra as some may have said followed by some air guitating and plenty of tasty vodka!
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San Francisco, California, United States

back to san fran once again so we unpacked and did the usual deed of washing. Took it easy and went for walks around the city. We hit the town pretty hard one night when Emily's friens Matt and his mate KC came into town. It all started with evil Tequilla shots in the house...when i felt the cheeks (on my face) tingling i knew i was in for it. After a few false cab starts ...car parking issuses with the jeep we got going. We ended up in the Ambassador where a guy in the toilets insisted on makeuping me up.Needless to say i was looking even more glamorous the next morning with my gorgeous blush and a sick head!Ger arrived back in SF and Sharon and Luke (Austrailian couple) arrived the next day and then the house packing began. Poor Ger and Emily, they got there in the end thou. I went to the Gay pride parade on the Sunday and as ever was just crazy....just full of strange characters but none the less it was bloody entertaining!!and next on the agenda was Yosemite!
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Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Once wew were finished in Vancouver we left and headed south west to the Tsawwassen port 45minutes from Vancouver and ferry took us across to Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island. the crossing was lovely. You could see magnificant houses as we got closer to the shore, some looked like they were engulfed by the forest and were pretty impresive!When we arrived we drove down to Victoria where we were to stay for our tiem on Vancouver Island. I have to say place was my davourite of all the places that we visited. If I had to shoose to live in one of them then this is where i would be calling home.Every person i talked to was so nice, friendly and helpful.  After scouting out the town as usual we went wandering about looking at the stalls on the water frount selling jewerley and so on and we returned to the witness the Legislative building being lit up, supposedly by 3300 light bulbs.its reflestions alone were beautiful.We went and rented bikes again and saw what we hadnt seen by walking. we took the route around the water front and out by Beacon head.It was overcast but rather humid but we survived it none the less. We then paid a visit to the most magnificant gardens i have ever seen...Butchart Gardens, supposedly is one of the top visited attraction in Canada, in saying that i can truely see why!! It celebrated its hundrth anniversary a few years ago and has approximately 55acres of gardens....words cant describ it and pictures wont do it any justice..what a heavenly place. Victoria really made an impression on both Emily and I and so when it came time for us to leave we were sad to go but it had to be done. We caught the ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles in Washington and so began our trip back down south to California. 
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Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Leaving a cloudy Seattle we began our journeys once more, first stop Canadian customs..it was fine we were just questioned how we knew each other and so on. so after that little tail back we were moving once more.like all the other places i didn't know what to expect of Vancouver but had head some great things about the place. We as usual wondered around downtown for the day taking in the sights...before we knew it we had just walked onto Hastings street which was completely populated by homeless/street people..it was weird like as if we had just literally stepped from one scene in a film to another.....i was told later that the amount of homeless people doubled there between 2002 and 2005 and is now estimated to have approximately 2,600 people on the streets...very strange and sad seeing such a thing...needless to say we high tailed it outta there in no time. after a while we found ourselves at the Coal Harbour (deliberately) where all the boathouses were and rather nice yachts were docked also...i think i might put one of those on my list to go with "sleepless in Seattle" boathouse :)While in beautiful Vancouver we rented bicycles downtown and cycled around Stanley park. we saw the traditiional totem poles and other wonderful sites on the bike ride even a sprinkling of rain which was the first time in 3weeks for me, thats long. Oh and living the traditiion of being me i went and did myself an injury on that bike ride by slipping off the bike and ripping my foot to pieces..i should have known to wear runners..it is me afterall..Miss accident prone herself!! :) but sure it could have been alot worse, i could have ran a duck over...oh wait maybe i did that too!
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Seattle, Washington, United States

We arrived in Seattle and set out to explore a little. We checked out Pike market where we were staying right beside and nearly got caught out by the flying fish trick the fish mongers play.The market was full of all sorts and some fantastic bouquets of flowers for nearly nothing!While in Seattle we checked out Voulenteer park that over looks alot of Seattle and has a beautiful Conservatory full of cool plants!We then paid a visit to the Space Needleand had lunch with Dr.Crane on the dining deck..he took the photo. We then had enough of the strolling so we got the duck....well the World War II amphibious landing vehicle type of duck...we went all around downtown Seattle, even got to see the boat house from "Sleepless in Seattle", as luck has it its for sale...only 2.5 million.im thinking my first pay check when i get home might cover it..ok may not, probably will need two..in the mean time is there any chance of a little loan for the deposit mam?oh the yellow new style boat house was rather cool..its a three story house..its got a floor under the water...now that is pretty cool if you ask me!!We had a lovely meal with Emily's cousin mate Jon and his wife Myrium in Fremont, Seattle and then ventured back to our beds after a very full day!
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Portland, Oregon, United States

we left Bend after a trip around the town and paying a visit to the Saturday morning market. on our way to Portland decided to go check out Tumalo falls. this falls is a part of Tumalo Creek and was just so lovely. people were out for cross country mountain biking and hiking . we took a short hike up the trail to the superb overlook at the top of the waterfall a total of 131ft. Snow was still on the ground and i was rather tempted to partake in some snow angling but i desisted due to all the pine needles...wouldn't imagine it would have been too comfortable :)so we took to the road once again and headed northwest to Portland...on route to Portland we had a pit stop for some coffee where Emily feel head over heels for some devilishly handsome guy...sadly her attempts to woe him failed. So on we went again leaving her love behind. happily Emily's friends parents (Leta and Rick) had accepted to take us in for 2nights and we were blessed with Sharon's first attempt of cooking in the kitchen...we were taken care of and was nearly just like being at home with mammy Geary.The next day we took a wander around the Pearl district and had a look at a few shops. we were walking around for a while when we started noticing people dressed rather strange and then it clicked...they weren't woman dressed up but men as women.....anything goes apparently but all was not lost for the city of Portland ...it was gay pride parade day so this was not an every day occurrence.we couldn't help ourselves so we stopped and did some people watching down in the park by the water front. We then took a trip to Portland's beautiful Rose garden of which i believe is the oldest rose testing garden in the US. it was just lovely, family's were out and about enjoying the weather and some were picnicing in nearby green areas. anyway we decided to go to check out the Japanese gardens and while we were walking away from the rose gardens up a path some guy asked us to take a picture of him streaking, he supposedly had a bet on with some mates that he couldn't get someone to take his picture while streaking. Before we knew it Emily had his camera in hand when we realised what was actually going on. so away he went striped off. (we were in such a public place that we knew we were safe) we waited for him to run but he never did and so she just took some pics.we assumed he was going to put some clothes back on before returning to get his camera but oh no that would have been too difficult for this guy. we went away trying to mask the held in burst of laughter..which once we were around the corner came flooding out...we were in complete shock...it was like one of those things that you cant believed happened but genuinely did and only for having the camera at hand no one would ever believe us :)That night we spent most of the night just hanging out and chatting over some wine after making dinner for Leta and Rick as promised .explaining our travel plans, talked about Ireland and many other things...in doing so i was asked what i was missing from home if anything..Emily mentioned how Ger misses the food sometimes and so that conversation started...little did i know that poor sweet Leta wanted to recreate a bit of Ireland for me the next morning. i arrived downstairs to a feed of American sausage, baked beans and mashed potatoes. That has to have been the sweetest thing ever! After our feed we took to the road once more...heading North for Seattle!  
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Bend, Oregon, United States

we arrived in the evening the night before and had gone for fab dinner in an old monastery so when we awoke we were ready to explore...we had heard about a town near by called Sisters so called because of it being located at the base of the Three Sisters peaks in the Cascade Mountains. it is known as a charming western village and boy does it live up to what they say. it was the most friendliest place ever but everyone were real cowboys....denim and Stetsons everywhere! on our way there we came across a sign announcing the 68th Annual Sisters Rodeo "the biggest little show in the world" a 3 day Rodeo..it happened to be starting that day..we looked at each other and made a quick pull over to inquire about tickets....they went on sale at 5.30 and it started at 7.30 so we hung out for the rest of the day in the sleepy cowboy town of Sisters, Oregon!So 5.30 hit, we bullied our way through the crowds and we got our tickets after a bit of kick and fighting ..OK maybe not..went in bought some food and drinks and then the fun began...the real cowboys showed up...there were couples young and old dressed completely in denim some even matching . Stetsons galore and even cowgirls with tassles, boots and buckles. talk about red neck country...i loved it!! i don't know if that tells you anything thou! after the entertainment of the crowd the real show began. with a competition where young colts were left run and the cowboys in teams had to catch, saddle, mount and ride them to a red barrel..its on video..you can check i out.other events involved bucking horses and lassoing young calves too and more adventurous feats like the one armed bandit aka Payne who lost an arm in an electrical accident in his younger days. He performed with his canine team of "Bovine Dominator's," showing his horsemanship skills and his group of trained bison.check out the video!...now that was seriously impressive!!!we were staying in a B&B where this eccentric New Yorker lived...she had the funniest place ever but rather cool...little obsessed with attaching copper objects to building inside and out and a touch of home for her as she has erected a 9ft statue of liberty outside..to add something special for the passer bys. 
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San Francisco, California, United States

And it all begins in San Fran and may end here too but not for me, well not just yet. Back to enjoy a few more things before heading on a roadtrip north. just hung in San Fran while family members started departing for home after their well deserved holiday and a great wedding. Paid a visit to the 34th annual Haight and Ashbury street Fair.....imagine a street approx half a mile full of people and stalls, cops and hippies and add a clown and a magican or two and a stage of musicans...one of whom were guys dressed up as Grannys in nightdresses and a bass and drum crew. the place was hopping and was just packed with rather interesting and diverse individuals!!!What a street party!!!
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