Well I had a small change of plans from what originally had been planing to do here in Canada. You see unfortunately my friend Nathan found out that one of his friends back in his home town had died and he needed to go back for the funeral. So we left the island on Thursday and I was able to get in contact with some friends I have in Vancouver and we stayed the night there. My plan from there was to just stay on in Vancouver and just spend the rest of my time in Canada there, but my friends told me that if I was here I needed to come out to Revelstoke because if nothing else the drive here is just so Beautiful that I had to see it. So I left some of my stuff in Vancouver and we jumped back in Nathans beloved Land Cruiser and headed of on our drive. Now Revelstoke is about 7-8 hours from Vancouver, but we took the scenic route and it took us about 10 hours or so with a few small stops. I have to say that we had the most amazing weather for the drive just a clear day with blue skies the whole way, just driving through some of the most picturesque mountains you can find. Just so I could say I have been there Nathan took me on a little extra detour to the hottest place in British Columbia, I guess kind of the Canadian desert(which sounds kind of weird because I always picture Canada as really cold).
So we got here Friday night and Nathan's mum was here to greet us and had already prepared a meal for us. Then on Saturday we just went into the town for a bit and just walked around and went to a few shops and in the afternoon Nathan left for the funeral which is a further 4 hours away so he was going to spend the night and be ready for it the next day. So since then I have just been here in his house hanging out with Nathan's mum.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
A Manly Time on the Island
After spending a day and a bit in Seattle Josh and I packed up our stuff and headed out on a road trip. We went north and crossed the boarded into Canada and met up with another friend of ours from the ship Nathan. Then we took a ferry across to Vancouver Island, where we met up with a friend of Nathan's named Chris who we were going to stay with and he was going to act as tour guide for us.
The first evening we were there we just hung out and watched a movie because we had all done alot of driving that day. Then on Sunday which was the next day we went along to Chris' church for both the morning and in the evening and in the afternoon we drove down south a little way on the island to meet up with some more of Nathans friends.
Our Manly adventures really kicked off when we decided to go and do some caving. Now this is a sport normally reserved for more summer type weather so we could be pretty well assured that we were the only crazy people going out to these caves. We drove a few hours to a place called Gold River where we stopped on the side of the road because the road to where we were going had not yet been plowed so we had to walk the rest of the way. We were walking through several feet of snow and it was also pouring with rain so it took a bit longer to get to the caves than it otherwise would have. Once we got to the general area it was hard to find the caves because of all the snow so we spent quiet a while walking around until we finally found a good entrance that was safe enough to go into. We managed to find our way through the cave even though we weren't quiet as fully equiped as we could have been although we did have a 3 headlamps between the 4 of us. We went through some smaller areas and eventually came out at a nice waterfall and then climbed up a little bit higher and found a small cave where we got comfortable as you can see in the picture of Josh below. After that we climbed out and headed off to go see a small little town of 300 people called Tahsis and find some food.
After our time in Tahsis we decided to try and head up the local mountain near where Chris lives in Comox. We got there at about 11pm and then we had to take a snow mobile ride about another 15 mins further up the mountain, but because it was dark and the snow was deep we had too many problems trying to get up so we gave up at about midnight and decided to come back another time. The next day we were pretty tired so we just rested and drove around a little bit and didn't do anything too crazy.
The day after that after doing a few things around town we decided to head up the mountain while it was still day light. So we packed up our stuff and got some great manly food to our night like steak and more steak. We got up there and although it was still hard riding with 2 people at a time plus backpacks on a one person sled we managed to get all our things up to the cabin where we were going to stay. I was the last one up there so by the time I got there Nathan had already got a fire going and it was nice a warm in the cabin. By the time we had everyone and all the stuff up at the cabin it was dark so we couldn't do anything outside so we played some cards then I cooked us dinner of steak and fried eggs. Then the next morning we had steak with scrambled eggs for breakfast so we were having a good balanced diet. After breakfast we decided to go explore up the top of the mountain which was called Forbidden Plato and is an old abandoned ski resort. So we had good fun snow mobiling around and then we met up with another few guys up the top one of which had a snow mobile as well and was snow boarding and he got Nathan to ride his snow mobile down and then tow him back up and then me and Chris took turns on his machine, which was heaps of fun.
For our rest of the time on the island we didn't do anything too crazy or manly we just kind of drove around and did some sight seeing which was good. We did try to drive to a really cool place called the cable cookhouse which is a building made entirely out of cables from thick logging cables to even thicker sea cables, but it was closed.
The first evening we were there we just hung out and watched a movie because we had all done alot of driving that day. Then on Sunday which was the next day we went along to Chris' church for both the morning and in the evening and in the afternoon we drove down south a little way on the island to meet up with some more of Nathans friends.
Our Manly adventures really kicked off when we decided to go and do some caving. Now this is a sport normally reserved for more summer type weather so we could be pretty well assured that we were the only crazy people going out to these caves. We drove a few hours to a place called Gold River where we stopped on the side of the road because the road to where we were going had not yet been plowed so we had to walk the rest of the way. We were walking through several feet of snow and it was also pouring with rain so it took a bit longer to get to the caves than it otherwise would have. Once we got to the general area it was hard to find the caves because of all the snow so we spent quiet a while walking around until we finally found a good entrance that was safe enough to go into. We managed to find our way through the cave even though we weren't quiet as fully equiped as we could have been although we did have a 3 headlamps between the 4 of us. We went through some smaller areas and eventually came out at a nice waterfall and then climbed up a little bit higher and found a small cave where we got comfortable as you can see in the picture of Josh below. After that we climbed out and headed off to go see a small little town of 300 people called Tahsis and find some food.
After our time in Tahsis we decided to try and head up the local mountain near where Chris lives in Comox. We got there at about 11pm and then we had to take a snow mobile ride about another 15 mins further up the mountain, but because it was dark and the snow was deep we had too many problems trying to get up so we gave up at about midnight and decided to come back another time. The next day we were pretty tired so we just rested and drove around a little bit and didn't do anything too crazy.
The day after that after doing a few things around town we decided to head up the mountain while it was still day light. So we packed up our stuff and got some great manly food to our night like steak and more steak. We got up there and although it was still hard riding with 2 people at a time plus backpacks on a one person sled we managed to get all our things up to the cabin where we were going to stay. I was the last one up there so by the time I got there Nathan had already got a fire going and it was nice a warm in the cabin. By the time we had everyone and all the stuff up at the cabin it was dark so we couldn't do anything outside so we played some cards then I cooked us dinner of steak and fried eggs. Then the next morning we had steak with scrambled eggs for breakfast so we were having a good balanced diet. After breakfast we decided to go explore up the top of the mountain which was called Forbidden Plato and is an old abandoned ski resort. So we had good fun snow mobiling around and then we met up with another few guys up the top one of which had a snow mobile as well and was snow boarding and he got Nathan to ride his snow mobile down and then tow him back up and then me and Chris took turns on his machine, which was heaps of fun.
For our rest of the time on the island we didn't do anything too crazy or manly we just kind of drove around and did some sight seeing which was good. We did try to drive to a really cool place called the cable cookhouse which is a building made entirely out of cables from thick logging cables to even thicker sea cables, but it was closed.
Meeting Friends I have never met
Well for those of you that don't know I am a little bit of a nerd at times and like to play some computer games. There was one computer game that I used to play a little bit too much, but from playing that game online I made a few friends and it was good because I was able to visit these friends. Two of the guys I know from the game own a pub in Everett in Washington, which is about an hour or so from where my friend Josh lives. So he was kind enough to drive me up to met these guys I was friends with but had never actually met. We had a bit of trouble but finally we found the elusive O'Finnigan's Pub, where it was good to finally put some faces to the names I knew. We had a good time just hanging out and chatting and playing a bit of pool and it was all in all a good evening.
Snowboarding in Seattle
Well this happened just over a week ago now, but I have been traveling and just have time to try and catch up on my writing.
Well I arrived on time in Seattle where I was greeted by my friend from Mercy Ships Josh. It was good to see him again, he took me back to his place which is a nice little house right on the water front with a great view that he rents for cheap off someone. I had arrived late so pretty well as soon as we got back and settled in we went to bed.
We awoke the next day with the goal of teaching me how to snowboard. Well I was looking forward to it I had only ever been skiing once and only seen snow about 5 times in my life so I was up for the challenge. Lucky for me Josh had decided he needed a new snowboard so this meant he now had a spare which I could use and he had boots that fit me as well. So we headed out and stopped to pick up Josh's friend Sarah and she had some snow gear for me to borrow which was good and then we all headed up the local mountain. Once we got there Josh gave me a quick lesson on how to strap into the board then we went up the ski lift and at the top he gave me a few more instructions on how to lean on the board and then off we went. I spent pretty much the whole first half of the course we were doing falling my way down the hill, but after a few more words of wisdom from Josh I found myself on my feet actually snow boarding most of the rest of the way down without falling too much. After that Josh took me to try and teach me to turn and be able to go down backwards which u need to do in snowboarding, but that didn't go so well I could turn one way but not the other so for the rest of the day I just went down the different slopes facing the one way but it was heaps of fun.
After all was said and done I thought my first attempt at snow boarding went ok and after now having tried both snowboarding and skiing once each I would have to say that I liked skiing a little bit more because I picked it up a bit easier. Although that been said ski boots are incredibly uncomfortable and snowboard boots are the oposite and are really comfortable.
Well I arrived on time in Seattle where I was greeted by my friend from Mercy Ships Josh. It was good to see him again, he took me back to his place which is a nice little house right on the water front with a great view that he rents for cheap off someone. I had arrived late so pretty well as soon as we got back and settled in we went to bed.
We awoke the next day with the goal of teaching me how to snowboard. Well I was looking forward to it I had only ever been skiing once and only seen snow about 5 times in my life so I was up for the challenge. Lucky for me Josh had decided he needed a new snowboard so this meant he now had a spare which I could use and he had boots that fit me as well. So we headed out and stopped to pick up Josh's friend Sarah and she had some snow gear for me to borrow which was good and then we all headed up the local mountain. Once we got there Josh gave me a quick lesson on how to strap into the board then we went up the ski lift and at the top he gave me a few more instructions on how to lean on the board and then off we went. I spent pretty much the whole first half of the course we were doing falling my way down the hill, but after a few more words of wisdom from Josh I found myself on my feet actually snow boarding most of the rest of the way down without falling too much. After that Josh took me to try and teach me to turn and be able to go down backwards which u need to do in snowboarding, but that didn't go so well I could turn one way but not the other so for the rest of the day I just went down the different slopes facing the one way but it was heaps of fun.
After all was said and done I thought my first attempt at snow boarding went ok and after now having tried both snowboarding and skiing once each I would have to say that I liked skiing a little bit more because I picked it up a bit easier. Although that been said ski boots are incredibly uncomfortable and snowboard boots are the oposite and are really comfortable.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Here is a couple of videos of the recent screening day that was held by the ship in Benin. So if you want to get a taste of what it is like to screen thousands of patients in one day to fill surgery spots for the next 10 months. Enjoy.
Screening Day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prJxp346a6U
February update
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmcKmdHenq0
Screening Day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prJxp346a6U
February update
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmcKmdHenq0
My time in Iowa
Well my time has come to an end here in Iowa. Sorry that I haven't really written anything but I guess I just haven't done anything all that blog worthy. Not that I haven't had a great time here I have enjoyed every day, but for the most I have just been hanging out with my friend Vandi not doing too much special just having fun.
One thing I am really grateful for is the way Vandi's family really just welcomed me in for the few days I was here. They took me along the second day to a Birthday party for her uncle out at a restaurant and I got to meet both her grandparents while here and even hang out and play some soccer with her brothers and sister.
One special thing we did get to do is because Vandi is a student in culinary school at the moment is her Chef was holding a special wine tasting evening and 3 course dinner and he let Vandi and I come along for free. The wine tasting was first and all the wines came from a local Vineyard that was still fairly new. There were a few wines that I liked but I am not a big wine drinker. They let us try 9 different wines before dinner then another 2 desert wines after dinner. The dinner was a seafood and pancakes theme because it was international pancake day. Each course had 3 options to choose from and for the starter I had a seafood pancake, which was a crepe filled with 3 different sorts of fish and shellfish. For the main course I had a nice piece of salmon on a bed of open lasagna with asparagus and green beans. Then for desert there was a choice of 3 different filled crepes and I chose the one with raspberry and lemon and whipped cream. All in all it was a great evening and excellent food and I got to meet some of Vandi's class mates as well as her Chef.
Now I am just sitting here in the Des Moines airport waiting to be able to board my plane. The weather today is not that good its very over cast and has been raining a lot, but is much better than the predicted ice rain and possible snow, which if it had come I possible would not have been able to fly out. I am heading to Seattle next so when I post this I will be there.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Traveling part Two
Well I had an amazing time in Colorado with Ben and Rose, but unfortunately all good things must come to an end as they say. I left Montrose, Colorado on Friday at 10.30am and embarked on my second(and hopefully last for a little while) long bus ride in the US. This time though was a fair bit different from the last. To start off with it was only 26 hours long not 30 like the last and the bus was alot more crowded than the first ride. Coming from Texas to Colorado the bus was never more than 50-75% full and I always had 2 seats to myself. Whereas the first bus of my second trip was about 99% full and the second one was over booked by about 6 people, so thank God I was one of the last people to get on. To say the lest it was a far bit harder to get comfortable and get to sleep so I was only able to 1 to 2 hours sleep in total. So apart from the lack of sleep the bus ride went well and I got to Iowa where I got off at a truck stop and was picked up by a small local bus for my last little bit of the trip and I was the only passenger on board(there are some pictures of the bus inside below). It was about a 40min ride to my final destination so I just sat up the front and chatted with the driver. We arrived in Fort Dodge my final destination on time and my Friend Vandi was there to meet me at the bus station which is a good thing because the bus station was closed so I would have been waiting outside in the cold had she not been there.
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