Toowoomba

Upon leaving Brisbane, we headed to Toowoomba to stay with my friend Laura who I met last year in Canada while she was on NET. We visited a couple really cool places, like Sugar Maples, a Canadian cafe with aaaamaaazing peanut butter and chocolate frappes! We also went for a picnic in the park and the city's Christmas light extravaganza. It reminded me of attending the Wildlights growing up, except here it was plus 25 with no snow!
Another night we put on some Christmas carols and decorated the tree and the rest of the house, which really put us in the Christmas spirit.
Was a pretty chill couple of days, but Laura and her parents were so good to us - they even spoiled us with little Christmas gifts! We left so loved! I got an ornament, a red star that says 'JOY' on it in big, white letters. It now hangs on my backpack!

We really loved Toowoomba, but mostly cause Laura was there.

Fraser Island!

After our unreal experience on our sailboating tour, we needed a few days of R&R. Hence, we called up our buddy Mick, from Brissy, and were able to stay with his sister in Rock Hampton for a couple days to recoup. We spent a whole day watching season 5 of Gilmore Girls - not quiteeee the whole season, but close! Hahaa. We also had some solid beach time. Was exactly what we needed before taking a night bus to Rainbow Beach, the coastal town across from Fraser Island.
We had heard Fraser Island, largest sand island in the world, was beautiful and we'd seen the pictures to prove it, but our experience even better than I imagined. Our tour consisted of 30 of us, plus Karl, our 'Captain' (or guide, as some might say). We were lucky enough to stay at a resort while we were on the island, most tours camp on the beach (and hope the Dingo's don't eat them!). Day 1 we went to the Champagne Pools for a quick dip, then Indian Head lookout, 360 degree lookout where we could see Turtles and Manta Rays! Sometimes you can see sharks from above too!
Day 2, November 29th, was my quarter birthday! We were hanging out with some people we met from another tour (some fellow Canadians!) around midnight, so Jennine told them it was my 1/4 birthday, and they all started singing to me. Was a great start to the day! We headed to Lake McKenzie early on, a freshwater lake with ridiculously soft sand. Karl's tours always have this competition to see how many times they can keep a volleyball up in the air. The record was 158, the lowest scor
e was 19. Thankfully, after a while of trying, we finally hit 93! Pretty decent. After lunch we headed to see the Maheno Shipwreck, which washed up on Fraser Island in 1935. After some photos, we headed to Eli Creek, and floated down a couple times - I felt like a crocodile. We played some legit volleyball on the beach!SO FUN! Met a couple Danish guys, whom we ran into at our hostel later on, one of which we noticed had a super swollen ankle. We thought maybe it was a sports injury of sorts, but soon discovered he got bit by a SNAKE. Yeah. Intense (just to freak you all out a little ;)  I also got to drive the SUV, on the right side! First time everrrr. Was definitely the best quarter birthday I've ever had!
Day 3 we headed to this sahara-sized sand dune (maybe that was an exaggeration) with a lake (Lake Wabby) on one side, which is slowly evaporating. It likely will be entirely gone in about 5 years.
Headed on back to the mainland after lunch.

It's been super cool running into multiple people over and over again from destination to destination. I feel like I know people everywhere we go! It's great!

Each time we go to a new town, experience new things, we leave thinking things can't get any better... and then they DO! hjfdfguguifhaefheuiaelhfhdaugudfhdhfr
JUST LOVING LIFE. I feel so blessed to have had the experiences I've had so far. Day after day, I fall for 'Straya a little more. Weirdest thing ever... it's December. Christmas is in 20 days. It is SUMMER. The shops are all decked out with Christmas decor, but since the ground isn't covered in a blanket of white, my brain is so CONFUSED. Although, we listened to Michael Buble's Christmas album this morning, so that helped.

Just watched Finding Nemo, we spent the entire movie going "OMIGAWSHHHHH! THEY LOOK EXACTLY LIKE THAT IN REAL LIFE!", "Hey! I touched Crush!", or "I SAW GIL UP CLOSE!" was really funny. I'll never be able to watch that movie in the same way again.

Kay. I'm done blabbing now,

Continue on enjoying your lives.

Much love and prayers!

-Silks (the name I often go by now, cause 'Silken' is too complex! ...yeah. I know.)

Samurai Sailboat Tour - Whitsunday Islands

Sailing on the Whitsunday Islands was definitely at the top of my list of 'must sees' while in Australia. We booked a 3 day, 2 night tour on Samurai. There were 23 passengers, plus 3 crew members. The boat definitely wasn't huge, so it's a good thing we all got along. We slept on the boat both nights - me, Jennine and Sarah were especially lucky cause we got the spacious three person bed (basically a queen size). We felt so bad cause these two French guys had to share a "2 person" bed, comparable to a single bed (they ended up taking turns sleeping on the deck).
We got to go scuba diving again! (my first time was on the Great Barrier Reef). We saw so many cool fish and choral! My feet seem to consistently take a beating, this time I rubbed up on some choral (which, little did I know, is often made up of a thousand little knives), I thought I might have to amputate my toe, but thankfully one of the crew members, Shawn, graciously took time to carefully pull out all the little prickles. Praise God. Relief.

Day 2 we went to Whitehaven Beach, which has the worlds whitest sand! Seriously, the sand feels like flour between your toes. It's unreal. We spent the morning there - saw some Sting Rays and little sharks in the shallow water swimming right beside us. Honestly though, it felt like I was in a postcard. We climbed up on some rocks to gaze out upon the breathtaking view. We exfoliated our skin with the sand, and Sarah scrubbed her teeth with it (me and Jennine thought they were joking about that, but apparently it's a real thing).
Day 3 we got to snorkel with TURTLES! Another thing to cross off my list! It was such an epic experience, I even got to touch it! We had brunch then headed back to Airlie Beach *sniff*. I looooooved our time on Samurai, we had amazing weather (though not much wind for sailing), met some beautiful people, and the crew was hilarious. Couldn't have been better! You need to go to the Whitsundays.

Genuine Aussie Hospitality

After many long days and late nights over the past few weeks, we've been taking it easy as the next week or two will also be  pretty fully packed! 

Jennine and I took a stroll along the ocean on a boardwalk that lead us to the harbour. We looked out upon the ocean from this huge wall of rocks. Location #189 for the perfect date (lemme know if you're interested, I can give you insider information). Had a beautiful arvo (afternoon) basking in one another's presence.

We headed back to get ready for Mass, which was a 30 minute drive away - there were no buses so we ended up taking a cab (yes, it was as pricey as you think, but worth it). Talked with  the priest and a few of the parishioners before Mass, as they were intrigued by our "accents", so we told them what brought us to 'Straya ect. After Mass we went to call a taxi to pick us up, but out waltzed Father, at first offering a ride, then asking if we wanted to stay for the teachers end of the year potluck! Needless to say, God provides. We met a plethora of beautiful people, ate delish food, and played a solid game of (primarily Australian) trivia! We were only any good at the Religion category ;) We did get a ride home after it all too - sang Uptown Funk without music  with a seven year old too! (That was probably my favourite part!) What a fun, unexpected evening!  Better than partying with Schoolies!

Bed time!  Going on our sailboat tour tomorrow to the Whitsundays!!! Pray we don't get seasick!

The Coastal Adventures Begin

Over the past 2 weeks we've done some intense sightseeing, as well as a whole lot of relaxing and beach time. We spent 5 days in the Gold Coast at Surfers Paradise. We got super lucky worth the hostel we booked, as it was only a 5 minute walk from the beach, was fully equipped with hammocks, as well as lots and lotsa cool people whom we easily befriended during our stay. It was our first real experience being a backpacker in a hostel. We ended up staying an extra night cause we liked it there so much! Best decision ever, as we ended up going on a private tour to the rainforest and got to swim in what was advertised as 'Silky Smooth Rock Pools'. Obviously I was instantly interested.  Suuuper fun day, got to slide down a waterfall, see wild kangaroos up close, eat Mexican food, visit a surf club while sipping on a cold one while watching people surf, AND be in two States at once. Would do it all again in a heartbeat!

After spending the weekend back in Brisbane - attended a NET Australia Alumni Event, and a super charismatic Sunday Mass, we headed up to Cairns (pronounced 'Cans', yeah, don't ask - them Aussies shorten everything).
Spent 9 days there, we did an epic tour to the Tablelands, got to swim in more waterfalls, and a freshwater volcanic crater lake!  But my favourite day of all was visiting the Great Barrier Reef!! The boat ride out there was utterly gorgeous, but seeing the reef up close was probably the coolest, most surreal and exciting thing I've ever done in my life!  We didn't find Nemo, but I saw Dori and Gil! Plus a plethora of other exuberant and vibrantly coloured fish! I went snorkelling as well as scuba diving - which was an experience in itself! One of my most favourite days of my life. God's creation blows my mind.

Besides all the epic stuff we saw, again - we made lotsa new friends, especially from Sweden and Germany, but even a couple of Canadians. On our last night in Cairns, a bunch of us went to the lagoon/park across the road from our hostel for a BBQ! Was a great time, I also learned how to throw a footy (rugby) ball.

Our time in Cairns was definitely memorable, I'll never forget the humidity! We're in Townsville now, a couple hours south of Cairns. We'll be making our way down the east coast, doing lotsa sightseeing along the way! 

Keep us in your prayers, you'll be in ours! :)

Crosswords

Life is like a Crossword Puzzle. Sometimes you you can't do it alone and need to 'phone a friend' for help, maybe you are Hannah and can complete one by yourself in 5 minutes. Some people prefer the commitment of using pen, cause they are so confident they have the correct answer (or you're like me and use pen purely for the satisfaction of dark, bold ink on recycled, beige paper). Perhaps pencil is more your type cause you can simply reconsider if you have the incorrect answer and use that nifty hunk of rubber at the end of your instrument. I personally enjoy doing crossword puzzles with friends, being reaffirmed in my sometimes questionable guesses is often real confirmation - plus! It's social, it's fun and it's educational!  (I've learned lotsa new words over the past couple weeks!) Although, if a single word is wrong, it affects the many words connected to it, and the words connected to those words - then it can just be a downward spiral.

You are a word in a crossword.

Your life affects those around you: your friends, family, co-workers, cashier's, waitresses, bus drivers,  neighbors! If you are aren't quite 'right', your negative vibes, attitude,  emotion, tone, lifestyle affect the other people (words) in your life (crossword puzzle).

I had no idea what i was going to write about when I started this post,  but this is what I came up with... and it kinda drastically stopped there.  Ha. Enjoy the concept at the very least!  More to come soon :)

-Silks

The Art of Refreakedouttedness

You're probably wondering what the heck that word is. Refreakedouttedness: also known as 'wonder and awe', taking delight in things seemingly normal,  things we take for granted everyday. For example: the internet.  We use it effortlessly day after day.  If you're stumped with a question,  'Google' it.   Having trouble remembering what day your best friends birthday is? Facebook stalk them. Time to pay your bills? Online banking is there for you 24/7. The internet is INSANE. I can talk with my famjam on the other side of the world and see their faces (for free!). Technology is miraculous,  but we check our e-mails multiple times a day without giving a thought to how bizarre the internet is. Yeah,  you can take a second to be refreakedout!
I was first introduced to the term 'refreakedouttedness' by Chris Stefanick. God's creation is so beautiful, articulate and mind-blowing, and we should take more time to revel in it.

I often look at the Canadian Rocky Mountains and gawk a how incredibly majestic they are. Same goes for the waves of the ocean that so simply toss me about, like I'm weightless. This term is a reoccurring thought in my mind, but since being in Australia, it's more like 'Freakedouttedness', since I'm seeing everything here for the first time.  God is incomprehensible. It's not humanly possible to understand Him entirely. More and more His creation hits me, whether its a vibrant, purple Jackaranda or a black and white, long-beaked Ibis (sorry, I'll need to get pictures.... -> Google it!), God likes color and definitely has a sense of humour!

Take some time to 'stop and smell the roses!'

Currently on a train, headed to the Gold Coast! Soooo excited!

God bless ! Love and prayers!

-Silks