Sooke potholes national park. Our skin was stinging from the icy cold water, but was worth every minute

Butchart gardens victoria on Vancouver Island Canada, just stunning

The Alaskan hotel, what a grand old pub, the bars r beautiful with the coloured lead lights

Plenty of snow fights at juneau, up mt Roberts, of course Darren won, we had no hope

Hubbard glacier

Yakutat bay, heading up the passage to Alaska, chill factor had set in

Poor precious Darren, with 3 women driving him up the wall, we thought we would help him let off steam in the gym, totally embarrassed him

This is our version of sunbathing, as the cold ice wind would blow in on the top deck

Stanley park Vancouver, the start of a fun trip, we r having way to much laughter

Cocktail night, which meant earning a reputation on the ship for partying hard, lots of dancing & having way to much fun

Celebrity century cruise ship in the martini bar, we caused total chaos by dancing up a storm & getting everyone kicking up their heels & joining us

Celebrity century cruise 17th to 25th May

Hi everyone,
We finally managed to get on ship & have just had the best time. We will do an update soon. Our internet would not work or our phones, so stay tuned.
Lots of love from all of us

Canada (Korean air Seoul airport then Vancouver . Day one 17th May 2014

20 hours from Brisbane to Vancouver and Josie didn't offer her chest mounted pillows so not much sleep was had . Downtown Vancouver the Bronx and where stepping over needles being watched by the homeless and sized up by the muggers . It's quite exciting keeping watch on our stalkers , all the food and drink is super sized so we might all be super sized ourselves after six weeks . We capped the day off with some great live jazz at our hotel and the weather is much the same as Brisbane .
Well Korean Air hospitality was fantastic, such graceful & polite people. Shirley was a constant source of delay(very precious) every check point created bells & whistles of the body search type. (Waiting, waiting, waiting, where the hell is Shirley, still trying to get thru, gave us good laughs). Once arrived & checked into our hotel, off we went for a walk, very fast reality check
of the dark side of Vancouver, meanwhile between 4 of us & 3hrs later, do u think any of us Nuff nuffs could figure out how to get to our cruise terminal for boarding on Sunday. We walked & walked & walked around town, g8 back drop of mountains, rainbow of colors in the trees, flowers, water ways with float planes, shipping ports, cruise liners, plenty of tourists, very welcoming people, decided large coffee was needed & we will deal with it 2moz. Brain gone to mush, bodies feeling old, lots of creeks, aces & pain, time to unwind & call it a day. Once again between 3 of us, technology is driving us up the wall, nothing working in our favor. 2moz is a new day.

Brisbane airport

Our journey begins for Canada Sat 17th May Brisbane till 1st July 2014.

Hello,

Please enjoy all the rollercoaster journey that we hope to bring for your entertainment of light reading. Hopefully you will get entries of our antics from, Josie, Darren, Gail & now joining us at the last minute Shirley.

Please add to our little stories with your comments & antics of what we are missing in OZ with a few laughs & catch ups.

Cheers

Josie

Hello Everyone, Just kick starting the blog for people to follow on our next adventure

Hello dear friends,

For no rhyme or reason i thought i would share this moment with some of you that may or may not be interested & make of it or interpret it as you will. Hopefully have a thought or take a moment of this story.

Sharing a piece of my little adventure with you all while enjoying a day out with myself& of course, always the delightful mother nature to keep me company.

I headed out on the country drive through the winding roads of Yandina, stopping at Wappa Falls. Upon stepping out of my car, taking a short stroll to the lookout area, where the rocks cascade & invite you to a waterhole of fresh running water. For me i see a circle of co-existence between fauna & flora.

So here i sit, observing rocks forming their own pockets of habitat, some having plants growing out of cracks & crevasses, foliage collecting with dirt, forming organic matter, which in turn  exist tiny creatures. I sit quietly& watch, small lizards scurry back & fourth along the rocks catching the little critters amongst that foliage.

As my eyes& mind sink deeper into the tranquillity of mother nature, you start to see& hear the immense activity that is right there before your eyes & ears. The dragon flys with an abundance of colour reflected by the sun rays through the water & back to their vibrant red or blue bodies, as they scat in a blink of an eye, from lily pad to rocks, plants & glide on the surface of the water. Hundreds of tiny little frogs create a visual movement on a rock or a moving bubble of water. The fish leap from the water catching insects mid flight close to the water surface. Their sliver fleshed bodies reflect like mirrors in the beaming sunshine.

Suddenly my silence is broken by a family with 3 young boys & a baby in hand. The youngest running frantically from rock to rock ledge, trying to be first in finding the best vantage point & wanting to jump into the water, but mum calls out no, way too slippery & dangerous for him, off he goes exploring & discovers something, then a call out to his family, "no waterfalls happening here, just trickles flowing here & there", but wait, he discovers a track leading down the creek, another call to the family, "follow me" he finds an abandoned car wreck, wedged in the trees & rocks from a previous flooding of the creek. He meanders back up the track, informing his middle brother of his find. He then tells his brother that there must be crocodiles in the creek too, but his brother informs him that no crocodiles would be here or if there are they would only be fresh water croc's.

The eldest brother meanwhile explored all the peaks of the rocky ledges, beating his chest& echoing the call of the wild, in between running back & fourth to the rest of the clan. The middle child quietly sat at the top of the water ledge, cascading down into the waterhole & clearing debrie that had blocked the flowing of a small waterfall. Suddenly the rest of the clan, while meandering their way back to the top of the falls stopped, the younger child calls out, "there is a plaque here", he reads it out to the family. "A 15yr old boy died here falling from the rocks, having the time of his life, after heavy rain, you are sadly missed". They discussed the scenario of how he may have died, gathered their thoughts & off they left.

Once again i sit in the silence of mother nature, the black cockatoo's fly into the tall canopies of the trees, a single hawk is gliding the thermal winds high in the clouds, the critters re-continue there daily activities & i am left reflecting on how grateful i am, to enjoy & observe these very moments in time, the opportunities that keep crossing my path, the gentle, warm heartfelt smile that comes across my lips in knowing that i have a very special chance in getting out & about exploring these untouched surrounds of where i live. The understanding that your never alone. This continuous jigsaw puzzle will always keep evolving & never be completed, threw my eyes, mind & soul, i seek to travel my journey, crossing paths of natural beauty, delightful character, amazing friendships, always sharing, giving, helping, fun, laughter& the greatest of respect to those who have & continue to help me enjoy these moments.

Cheers

Josie

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Karen