Rain Rain go away come back when I'm not trying to surf....

So I ended up staying an extra day in Byron Bay at the Arts Factory because I love it there and have come to the conclusion now that I've been in Surfers Paradise for almost a day that I LOVE BYRON BAY, and not the town. Nope, the Art Factory Hostel... That place worms it's way into your soul, even when it's pissing rain and there are rivers raging underneath the picnic tables I was just so content to chill out with all my new friends. I left yesterday, and every one was telling me that "You'll be back tomorrow... No worries Jess we'll see you later" and let me tell you if it wasn't for the 1200 dollars already invested in Fiji (which I'm still retarded stoked about going to) I probably would be back on the bus heading south back to Byron Bay and the Arts Factory. There are people there who "meant" to leave 6 weeks ago but like I said, parasitical soul sucking, and I haven't laughed so much in my life with so many beautiful people. Maybe I'll go back after Fiji:D but then the hooks will be deeply imbedded. I've also decided from my time at the Arts Factory that I am a fool to think that I can do without my guitar for the next year, I can get a little steel string folk guitar with a gig bag and a tuner for about 150.00 in Byron so maybe I'll be able to find a cheaper one somewhere along my travels. Lol I also have a pretty bad head cold that can be chalked up to too much goon and partying and not enough sleeping, but no worries mom I've got the Vitamin C Flushing in at 2000 mg a day I should be right as rain in no time. Although who decided that rain was right all the time...
On that ponderance I shall sign out I love you all
~Jess

So I wrote a song...

That's right I wrote a song (well the lyrics anyway it was a joint effort), me and a guy named Mo from Germany entered the talent show and wrote a song 2 hours before the show... The best part is I can't get it out of my head and I caught Rainey singing a bit of it like twice so far this morning. Maybe that sounds conceted but I really liked it, Mo is an amazing Guitarist and we had alot of fun up on stage (except my hands were shaking so badly I couldn't read the lyrics off my cheat sheet.. lol everyone clapped though so many nice people here). I need to figure out how to upload that onto You Tube, so you guys can decide for yourselves how amazing I am LMAO!!!!(Just kidding) Rainey and I were gonna go surfing but the waves haven't been cooperative enough to constitute renting a board, so we've been chilling at the hostel and drinking boxed wine at night... Lol oh wait we did do our laundry too. Random suprise during the talent show, I got off the stage and my friend Gwenn from Nimbin had just arrived at the hostel, we've been hanging out and chatting it up. We were gonna go surfing, he was going to let me use his surf board but we both felt that the ocean is too rough today and I'd probably drown and the waves are so choppy that surfing would be fruitless for him as well, he wouldn't be able to catch a good wave. So I think more boxed wine tonight after all I don't want to carry it with me on to the next hostel, I love this hostel and I'm having so much fun with all the musicians it's a jam fest every night it's so fantastic. The only thing that would make it better would be a campfire... Alas it's against the rules. So beyond having a good time partying it up and deciding that lyrical composition is something that I like it's been pretty quiet since the last time I blogged but no worries I'll work up some interesting stories for the next time. Until then I love you all and Peace
~Jessalyn

Truly love this place

It makes me sad to think about how much fun I'm having in a foreign country without all my friends and family that I should be missing horribly... Now don't get me wrong I miss you all tonnes but I am so relaxed here and completely in love with Australia that I think I might just pick some fruit for a couple months so I can extend my Visa just in case no one wants to sponsor me to stay. I got all my tours figured out (and open dated I have 12 months to do them), except for my Scuba Diving cruise but they have "Work aboards" where I can pay for a 2 day cruise and work for a couple days extra in exchange for accomodation and diving, I totally win!!! Yesterday morning Rainey and I went Sea Kayaking and I totally loved that too, we were guarenteed to see Dolphins and only caught a glimpse so we're gonna go again tomorrow for free, it's also the very beginning of Whale migration season here so hopefully we'll get lucky and see a humpback, I'm so excited!!! We also Capsized LMAO funniest thing in the world we were riding a wave into shore and at the last minute we got ROLLED/CHUCKED onto the beach I could see it happening in my head and got water and sand up my nose from laughing as the Kayak rolled over top of me... And wonder this morning how I'm getting so many random bruises duh!!! I love you all and I'll be keeping in touch we get free internet at the travel agents so I'm gonna abuse that while I can and then we'll probably be back to Blogging once or twice a week.
Love and Hugs
~Jessalyn

Since Sydney and oh what a journey!!!!

So on Monday the 12th Rainey and I went on a day tour of the Blue mountains... Beautiful!! They are blue from far away because the eucalyptus trees release a gas that acts as a absorption layer absorbing all the other colors' wavelengths except the blue (like the ocean). But not very mountainous I guess Rainey and I are a little spoiled from the Rockies but meh. We saw Kookaburra's and that was cool our guide was full of awesome stories and jokes, we saw a rock formation called the three sisters and he gathered us all up (yep like kids) and had good old fashioned story time it was hilarious. We also met two of the funnest people yet their names are Joost and Savigna but we called them Holland and Germany and they called us Team Canada it was awesome!!! We totally sang silly songs and struck poses and cracked jokes the entire tour, but I feel that we were the favorites of the group as disruptive as we were, the guide even sat with us for lunch. We took a train that pulled us at a 80 degree angle up the rock cliff face backwards it was awesome one of the girls screamed the whole time and I admit my knees were a little shaky when I got off the ride, there wasn't even a strap belt they used to use it to transport coal up the mountain to the road so I guess passenger comfort wasn't considered but made it all the better as a result. We found out that the eucalyptus trees shed their bark (Bare trees that's right they look cool and feel cooler) and that some of the spiders hide under the bark shreds, the guide (simon was his name) was actually LOOKING for them, on purpose can you imagine??? We had a blast even though we didn't see any kangaroos, apparentley they are a pretty common occurance in the blue mountains national park.

Tuesday we left Sydney permanently for Surf Camp, we were at the station bright and early (6am) but the bus was broken down with a dead battery so we never actually even departed until about 8:30am but still in good spirits thanks to the two Bailey's and Coffee that Rainey and I indulged in while waiting:D We stopped in several places along the food for grub and walk breaks, we saw a giant banana in coffs harbour... not very giant but if I was a japanese tourist let me tell you I would have been thrilled I'm sure. Our bus driver's name was Hayley and she was awesome she played games with us and gave away prizes like vouchers for tours and wine lol it was awesome!!! When we got to surf camp they fed us an amazing meal and then we sat around playing drinking games and visiting (Hayley too), I only brought the one bottle of wine but some how through the charity of others I did end up praying to the porcelin god. I still made it to my surf lessons in the morining though because I woulda killed myself if I missed it, I had a bottle of Redbull in my backpack thank god and I was smiling in most of the pictures, so alls well that ends well. So during lessons I found out that I'm goofy footed which means that I surf with my dominant foot in front, which is apparently uncommon although my instructor says some of the best surfers are goofy footers (obviously not the case with me lol). I managed to stand up about 3-4 times for about 5 seconds if that but I think I'm gonna love it and had so much fun, even though it's now been two days later and I'm still finding random war wounds (bruises) and my shoulders are obviously weak and girly, there's a good reason that surfers are built so nicely. After the lesson was over and I was showered and clean I walked back to the bay and there was a pod of dolphins playing out in the waves, they were pretty far away but I was totally mesmerized, they were amazing!!! We got on the bus and started heading north again stopping to see the Giant Prawn in Ballina where we were all told to "Japaneso if we wanted" by Hayley, I love that girl!!! She dropped us off at our hostel once we got to Byron bay and told us to have fun and play safe (and name any concieved children after her, but if we get an STD don't bitch to the driver that told them to play safe). She had arranged to reserve us a table at Cheeky monkey's which is supposed to be a super awesome place to party, we were told there would be free beer on our table which was super exciting but alas no free beer and when we tried to find out about it we got turbo cold shouldered it was like pulling teeth. We were just confused and some of the staff were mildly rude, so we've decided not to go back but the food was ok gotta give them that and I prolly woulda had fun if they had just been like "sorry bout that here's a pitcher of beer and an appetizer for you guys to share". We were traveling with a bunch of British girls (and one guy) and we bought a poutine... Funniest thing in the world was introducing the group to poutine they thought it was gross when I told them what it was but when Rainey brought it to the table OMG one girl thought she had died and gone to heaven, it was so hilarious!

Our hostel's pretty nice, the dorms are mixed so there's a boy in our room but he's a nice guy I won't hold his gender against him ;) There's a pool but I haven't swam in it yet we've been so busy, although yesterday we just laid on the beach.... It was fantastic there was even this dirty old man (harmless) who came over and chatted us up telling us jokes and such he was pretty funny even though he was a perv. We've been cooking alot and saving money like mad, which is good cause I'm a cheap bastard, as we all know. Today though we went on a hike up to the lighthouse here at Cape Byron it was a nice walk and my bum is gonna be sore tomorrow, but I got to see more dolphins and a little wallaby (I think he was a rock wallaby he was tiny and so cute), then we shared a box of cornetto's with the two girls we were walking with because I'm too cheap to pay 3.50 a cone for ice cream on the beach. We found a park where they were setting up live music and found a space to eat our ice cream and then a guy came over and told us that it was a free barbeque. So there we go free music and free food, so what do we do we eat and listen it was fabulous, apparently the youth/community group do it every friday I love Australia!!! So my frugal side is sated what do I do but go into a local travel place and buy every single package that I may want to do.... yep spent a small fortune but I feel that I'm investing in my vacation, they are giving me pretty wicked deals (did my research and best deals yet, also the closer I get the more expensive it will be for me I fear) and here's the cincher--> Open Dates good for 12 months!!! So pre paid it wont matter later if i can't afford it I've already paid for it, I win!!! Having said that I've emailed the Australia Zoo my resume to see if they need a Vet Nurse so everyone keep your fingers crossed for me I'm gonna start working on my "Crikey" LMAO
Love you all and Toodles
~Jessalyn

Jess's intro to the ocean... and we aren't talking polite handshake here people

So I've come to the conclusion that although I love my country and my family and everything else about Canada but I got screwed out of an australian childhood. Rainy and I went to the beach the other day (Friday the 8th) equipped with boogie boards and determination... and got our asses served to us via pounding surf. Lol Rainey even took her boogie board to the face, I on the other hand came to the conclusion (and I'm sure that half of southern Sydney would agree based on my performance..) That a two piece of any kind isn't appropriate for actually playing in the water, although I think my pasty bum is a little tanner as a result of all my crack-revealing wipeouts. We lasted about an hour and a half and were totally exhausted and this was just boogie boarding I'm a little concerned about our surf lesson... So we are sitting on the beach laughing at how ridiculous we are (and spitting out salt water) and there's this kid probably about 10 years old or so and he's a pro boogie boarder, we are completley jealous, he's zipping in and out of the chute and we really just want to keep our butt cheeks in our swim suits is that really too much to ask?!?!?! Alas that's why all these australians are buff but look out because there will be a time when I'm able to ride in on a styrofoam board on my stomach without ingesting half of the ocean.

That night we went out to the pub with a whole slew of irish people OMG fun like no bodies business met lots of people, the comedian thought Rainy and I were heckling him... Crazy bastard just had no act so he thought he'd pick on the tourists we bought him a drink and then decided to leave that area of the bar, and spent the rest of the night drinking and dancing. Even the hostel owner was there for quite a while. Rainey went drunk dialing and I stuck around and carried on in a truly fantastic effort to hold my own. However holding my own is expensive and I think that it would have been a little more financially prudent to have just given in although my Canadian pride would have suffered.... Needless to say Saturday was a quiet day of rest and puttsing around we went to one of the markets in Sydney and met this nice girl who lives in london but she's originally from LA, we hung out with her for the afternoon and then parted ways after exchanging emails. Today is Sunday here and we've moved hostels to downtown Sydney, and I feel like a dinosaur!! All the other hostel guests are about 18... maybe a few 20 year olds but we're only gonna be here for a little while, I think when I'm, travelling on my own I'm gonna have to stick with the smaller hostels, they seem to cater more to the older crowd. Tomorrow we go to the blue mountains for a bunch of hiking and sightseeing then on Tuesday it's off on the OZ tour and surf camp is first on the list gonna learn how to surf (or at least the fundamentals so I can work hard not to drown). They give you big squishy boards so Rainey's face should be fine :) And I promise that I'm gonna break out the one piece suit for this venture... the land down under could definatley do with less viewing of my down under...
until next time love you all and toodles
~Jess

Tickets $150, Program $15, Toilet line 10 min, Nutcracker at the Sydney Opera House; PRICELESS!!!

We left Nimbin on Monday to Byron Bay and caught the overnight Greyhournd back south to Sydney, 13.5hours later and we're there. We booked a hostel right by the beach for 5 days and another right in the downtown for 2 days, our tour starts at 6:30 in the morning on next Tuesday, and like hell I'm fighting with luggage and public transport at 5:30 in the morning Blech!!! I went to the luggage place and the lady there was very helpful about my damaged bag, she phoned the airline and requested that they extend my voucher so that I can have it fixed in Canada since the bag is Canadian they would have to order the replacement parts from there and it would take them about a week and a half to get those ordered in and repaired... the problem is that I can have this done in Sydney or Brisbane. As I'm backpacking and really have no time at the present to stay in Sydney now, and no desire to stay again for an extended period in Brisbane this is an awesome solution for me. I have to phone the airline to confirm that this request has been processed but yay me!!! Progress at last.

Our hostel is really nice and clean, and there are so many Irish people here trying to work, we share a room with three of the sweetest girls ever and they've got those soft irish accents going on I just love listening to them talk. Rainey and I went out yesterday (Wednesday here) to go to the Aquarium but ended up hiking down to the Opera House.... We went to see George Murphy's rendition of Nutcracker!!! That's rigth Ballet at the Sydney Opera House, my first Ballet experience and again like the muffins I think I've ruined myself, Lol. But I had so much fun I laughed, cried and by the end of it all my face hurt from clenching my teeth in excitement and smiling so much. I'm so glad we did it, the dancers were so beautiful and the story was amazing (Completely different from the original-- About the arrival of Ballet into Australia and story of one of the Russian Prima Ballerinas who helped with the process). It was that or Air Supply accompanied by orchestra and although I thought that would be hilarious good times (Rainey was pouty that there may have not been tickets to the ballet; the internet said that it was sold out), we got last minute released seats 3rd row dead center on the balcony... Could not have been a better experience.

So this morning we got up and tried to go for a run, I learned at a young age that I cannot jog well. I'm fat and it makes my knees hurt, but Rainey was having some adjustment issues too (she's used to a tread mill) so we went on an extended walk along the bayside, which worked out awesome for me because the 10 minutes that we did attempt to jog was torturous... Lol I think I just need to start swimming again I'm right beside the damn ocean, really I shouldn't be ridiculously attempting to jog in my hiking boots when i suck at it in the first place. We're gonna hit up the Aquarium today and maybe try to find some Karaoke tonight (yep I know I'm addicted but it was Rainey's idea and she's gonna sing too), and some shopping in between. So far Sydney residents are not as nice as those in Melbourne (or anywhere else for that matter), we saw these awesome aboriginals playing didgeridoo (I'm getting one i don't even care a little bit how much it's gonna cost me to ship), and they said we could get a picture with them, but when Rainey tried to ask one of the people walking by to take a picture of us he brushed her off like she was asking for money... The next 4 people were equally retarded, finally a nice younger lady took it for us. Thank god Rainey wasn't choking or needed some help or anything... bastards. It's possible that it's because it's the downtown core and we were right at the ferry warf so these people might have all had agendas but I still feel that's a mark against them. The people in Coogee (the suburb our hostel's in) are much nicer and patient with our tourist ignorance, we ask for directions/info all the time and none of them act like we want to take their money... sheesh.

Tomorrow is hiking and snorkelling day Rainey brought her set but I only have my snorkel. Daniel the hostel owner said that I could borrow a set of fins from him (Jackpot!!) and they let us use boogie boards for free from the hostel as well, so I feel that a day at the beach/picnic is definitley in order. But the minutes are ticking and I'm still paying for internet, I think I need to start finding free internet that will be my main mission...

Lots of love to you all
~Jess

So much to say.... Do I still have the brain cells?

First off let's get you people back on track... So remember those awesome pics that I said I had? Well my camera got swiped that very night and I was devestated had to call everywhere I had been throughout that day (on the day after which was Anzac day- Australia rememberence day), which means that I had to check out and find my camera before 10 am. So there I am freaking... phoning and leaving messages all over the place to see if I had dropped it somewhere (although I clearly remember having it at the hostel after the day), I talked to the hostel owner because he was the one who told me that the hostel dorm rooms never get locked because it's such an awesome place and no I don't need a locker i can leave any valuables with him if needed. He took all my info and said I could for sure use the hostel for a contact number for all the public transit places I had had to call, I could tell that he felt totally shocked that this had happened. We check out and head on our way into Brisbane to spend the night before we head to Nimbin for the 26th. I called David that night (the hostel owner guy) to see if he had anything turn up, and the girl who answered the phone said that they were just finishing searching everyone's bags (OMG!!! Didn't see that coming), and nothing yet. Filed a police report cause I have insurance intending to fax it to my mom at some point... and I get this Email on the 27th saying that the hostel has found my camera, and yes they will hold onto it until I can get back to the Brisbane area... So horse shoe suppository or WTF? I totally deserved to have it swiped for being such a trusting fool but it appears to have worked out for the better... I mean when does that really happen... really come on.

So that brings me into the most chilling town I have every been in, some of the locals are a little eccentric/ecclectic, but I love every single one of them I met. Our hostel was about 20 minute walk out of town (large evil hill of a driveway... very evil after pub, serves me right though), so I feel that I may have partially worked off some of the very large delicious and also evil muffins that the cute little Japanese cook lady makes all day every day. As soon as you discover the hostel muffins every other muffin that you could ever dream of is so redundtley insignificant. I'm not kidding I think that I will never eat another muffin... at least not without comparing it to how not as good it is as the nimbin muffins (still love yours though mom). More chocolate than muffin so not good for anyone let alone me who ate one everyday I was there, and there would be a crowd waiting for them to come out of the oven, word would circulate and there would be loitering backpackers waiting for the daily chocolate fix. There were't drugs in the muffin mom...
This Retreat is so beautiful, my second night there I was walking back to Rainy and mine's shack and I encountered my first aussie wildlife a wallaby and he/she hopped away immediatley, it was delightfully photographic but alas one cannot always have the muffin and eat it too (i realize we're boardering on fettish but I'm dead serious). Rainy was so jealous, it was awesome:P

We volunteered for the hippy festival and it was hilarious good times we got to walk around answering people's questions and just checking things out (warning people when the police were in sight... or people would just yell "Taxi" when they were coming). I learned more about cannabis than I think anyone should know, but i feel that the entire atmosphere of the festival was appropriate, there weren't very many people who were out to start anything, and mostly everyone just wanted to have a good time supporting the cause. They gave each team a radio, so the whole time Rainey kept calling me Radio, it was mildly funny until the 6 trillionth time, although hilarious times I kept getting in shit for not saying "over/Copy/Out". We also met up with this German girl from the hostel OMG funny girl spent every second with her laughing, I may go to Bali with her in Novermber, we shall see that's obviously very tentative. Long story short had a hilarious and safe time in Nimbin met some totally kickass friends (so many people to add to Face book), gained all the weight I had lost during our hiking in Melbourne plus an additional inch or two for padding, am rested, relaxed, and completley convinced that i want to go back there... if they had a vet clinic let me tell you
Oh yeah I think I want some dreads, just throwing that out there P.S. Mom and Dad will you still love me if my hair's all knotty and cool;)

Signing out for now Love you all
~Jess