Purple Frangipani

New Possiblities

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sun, 31 May 2015 04:28:00 +0000

I might as well be honest and say Purple Frangipani won't be back anytime soon. However I haven't disappeared!

My friend Janice and I have launched Barefoot Play, a blog where we share unplugged nature full activities for early childhood, lots of ideas and inspiration for early childhood activities that help kids learn the best way possible. We sell some handmade toys and activities on Facebook and you can expect to see some e-resources soon too.

We have a Pintrest account, post on Instagram and share even more on Facebook - if you think this is something that will interest you please have a look!

If you are more interested in following my life - more similar to what I use to do on Purple Frangipani you can follow me on instagram; @ Love, Erin Faith

We got married!

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sun, 15 Feb 2015 10:37:00 +0000

On a hot and humid day in January my love and I promised to honour and cherish for better and worse, for as long as we both shall live.

It was a lot of work leading up to it, with all the DIY I decided to do (including the flower girl dress, bouquets, boys ties, my veil and tones of little details), but it was amazing day and I loved every minute of it. I am so blessed. I am so happy :)

All the photos are from the talented Trish at Tealily Photography

I'm still not sure what I will be doing in regards to this blog, I'm hoping to do lots of posts about all the details of the day, but not sure when it will happen. I'll keep you posted :)

Hiatus

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 00:08:00 +0000

Hi everyone

As we know, I'm planning a wedding at the beginning of next year. That, along with all the normal life responsibilities, is keeping me very busy!
So I'm putting Purple Frangipani on hiatus for the next 6 months, while I concentrate on preparing for my marriage and all the amazing things I want to get made for the wedding.

I have lots of ideas for where I hope to take my blog and can't wait to show all the fun things I've been making for the wedding (but I don't want to show anything until the big day!).

Here's a little pic of some bunting I made for the engagement party to keep you interested.

Looking forward to seeing you in 2015 :)

Ring

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sat, 24 May 2014 22:47:00 +0000

There is a ring on my finger. A beautiful, unique, just-right-for-me ring.

On my left ring finger.

He got down in one knee and asked to put it there.

I'm not use to wearing a ring there, so I play with it often. Twist it around, pull it half off and then push it back on. I get a silly grin on my face when I remember it is there, when I notice it again.

Because it's not really about the ring. It's about all that the ring symbolizes and means.

It means we've made a promise. It means we're crazy in love. It means we know we're better together than apart. It means we know God brought us together for a reason. It means we've promised to walk along side each other for the rest of our lives. It means in 223 days we will become our own family.

That, that is a great thing! That is a beautiful, amazing, crazy, awe inspiring, thing.

Currently 4

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sun, 27 Apr 2014 21:58:00 +0000

Listening
Chelsea Moon CD's I got for my birthday. Hymns reworked in folk/Indie ways are my favourite :)

Eating
Good things. I promise :)
But seriously I have enjoyed going across to the markets every few weekends and then spending A few hours on Saturday cutting up fruit and vegetables to freeze for the week ahead. A little bit of work for a week of easy, no prep healthy eating is so worth it.

Watching
Not much. Haven't gotten into any TV since the latest Block finished. But I have been seeing lots of movies lately (going to the movies is so much more fun with someone!)

Pinning
Random bits and pieces. There doesn't seem to be a theme at the moment. If you are interested in early childhood pins you can head over to my early childhood pinterest account Erin@BareFootPlay which I update every now and then with things I love.

(Source)

Run

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Fri, 25 Apr 2014 23:34:00 +0000

I laced up my joggers again. It's been so long since I put them on and attempted anything other than a walk.
My body is feeling it, I forget what it was like to run and now I have a stitch in my side, the burning at the back of my throat. In my mind I can run for hours, why doesn't my body agree?
Turn down the street. I forgot there were birds that swoop here. Opps.

There's more walking than jogging, and I know I don't look pretty. My face is bright red and blotchy.
But my body feels alive. The endorphins are kicking in and the delightful ache in my muscles mean I actually did something. I'll do it again tomorrow. Promise.

I'll tell you about my past

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 00:18:00 +0000

I open up the photo album and flip through the pages.There is a boy next to me and he smiles at the photos I place in his lap.
Memories come floating back, I can smell the coconut oil and pandanas leaves, feel the bright sunlight and scratchy nylon material.
I delight in the mini me in the images, who seems so remote but is a hidden part of me I'll never forget.
These photo albums I'm excited to share - I laugh at the girl I was and remember the culture I grew up in.

He insists on other albums too, the ones I don't want to show, the awkward teenage years with pimples and frizzy hair and hating myself. I'm surprised at how happy I look in the images. How normal I look. The girl there doesn't look like the person I remember. The person I felt everyone was telling me I was.
These were pictures I had carefully selected, photos full of people I barely remember, trying to paint a picture in scrapbooks of the life I wanted.

I wish I could go back in time and talk with the girl who made these scrapbooks. I want to tell her about me now, who is happy, really. Tell her she'll make it through the next 10 years and get out the other side. That things aren't as horrible as her mind tells her they are. I want her to see me now, and I hope she's not disappointed.

These photos, are more than just images to you. By showing them I'm letting down my guard. I'm exposing myself and letting you in. This is my past and I need to accept it before a future can begin.

He is risen indeed

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sun, 20 Apr 2014 23:43:00 +0000

"The Lord is Risen."
"He is risen indeed!"

We say these words to each other as we walk into church, a habit, repeating liturgy on Easter day.

I remember the first time I realised that Jesus' resurrection was as important as his death. It was during a uni age Bible study and the leader asked if it mattered if Jesus had risen, or just that he died. I repeated something I had been told many times 'When Jesus died he took the punishment for my sin', and then added so technically it didn't matter that he rose again except to prove that Jesus was God? We debated it back and forth until the leader read out the verse

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 1 Corinthians 15:14-17

I then understood that it was important that Jesus rose again, but I was still a bit unsure as to why. I mean, I believe everything the Bible says, and it says it's important so it must be important. I kind of got that if Jesus didn't rise from he dead then where is the certainty that we will be alive again after death? But I still felt like I wasn't quite understanding something.

At church yesterday, Easter Sunday, our minister preached from this passage and it all clicked. I love when that happens, when God puts all the pieces together in your mind to help you understand.

When you wrong a friend of yours you need to go and say sorry. And your friend can then choose to say 'I forgive you, things are ok with us now' or they can say 'what you did was too big, our friendship is broken beyond repair'. You hope they will forgive you, but the act of saying sorry is not enough, they have to actually forgive you (and follow it up with actions) for the relationship to be restored.
When Jesus died, he was taking our sins on himself and saying 'sorry' for all the things we had done to hurt God. But the relationship wasn't fixed yet, it was only when God raised Jesus from the dead that God showed us he was saying 'You are forgiven, we are ok now.'

And so we can say with great delight 'The Lord is Risen!'; we are forgiven, we have a restored relationship with God now.

He is risen indeed!

Six Months

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 12:03:00 +0000

Six months ago found me walking down a street to a restaurant I had never been to, to meet a man I had never seen face to face before. A last tug at my clothes, a few deep breathes, convincing myself not to throw up or cry I kept going forward. Someone was sitting on the wall outside the restaurant and he stood up as I approached.
"Hi, Erin." He said
"Brett," I replied and we smiled nervously at each other.

A table was reserved for us, and we sat down. Made small talk until the waiter came with menus and drinks. At that point I knew the possibility, but I had no idea how much the next 3 hours would impact the rest of my life.

Let's go back further, a few months before that.

. . . . .

I was getting on, you see; 27 and still single in Christian circles is a bit of a rarity. My real fear was not that I wasn't dating currently, but that I had never dated. Ever. There had never been any boy who had decided I was worth getting to know better. I wondered, if no one had thought I was worth getting to know up to this stage, what would change that? I was 27 and had never been on a date, never held hands, never been kissed. As most possibilities found their match, and my friends married I wondered if Gods plan was for me to remain single.

I hated that idea, but I also wanted to follow God's will for my life. I hated the idea of being single and without a family of my own for the rest of my life. But I hated the idea of being with someone who didn't love God and his people as much as I did even more. Better to be lonely in this life, than live in disobedience to God I believed.

I prayed desperately for God to answer my prayers. To grant me my hearts desires. Or if not, then I asked that He take away this longing. Stop my heart from breaking every time I hung out with friends and being the only single there. Stop my arms from longing for a child of my own every time I held my friends babies. Stop this utter desire for love and companionship that I didn't know what to do with.

Yet God did not take away that desire. I still ached most days, wishing I could say that God was enough. Knowing He was enough and would always be enough, yet not able to quench this longing.

For about a year, or possibly longer I had had a few people suggest that I might like to try internet dating. I had dismissed it, thinking it was a selfish step, going behind God's back. But more and more people would mention it to me, some in passing, some in genuine conversations. Then the leader at a course I was doing at church told me that she had started dating someone recently that she had met online, and gave me suggestions on how to do it safely and within God's will. That God can use all situations when we surrender them to him. That something may come of it, or maybe nothing will, but at least I had tried.

I prayed. And thought. Decided to do it and then backed down. Talked about it with close friends. Finally I decided to go ahead and do it. Found a Christian online site, filled out the form and payed the money.

For about two months nothing happened. Then a few emails from guys. One I was not interested in. One I corresponded with for a while before deciding our beliefs were very different. One I agreed to meet up with, but he pulled out at the last minute.

Then I got a message from someone. His name was Brett, I checked out his profile and was impressed by his love of Christ, his genuine commitment to God and God's people, his humility and friendliness. I sent a message back, and we began to email.

I was in Kiama with my parents during the school holidays when we started emailing. At first I was hesitant, but soon I was waiting impatiently for the next email. We had very similar beliefs, enjoyed similar interests and wrote long emails back and forth about everything under the sun.
2 weeks after emailing he suggested meeting up and I was ready. I wanted to see if this connection was real, better to find out sooner rather than later. A phone call that went longer than I thought with giggles and easy conversations and working out connections (Sydney Christian circles!). I did a bit of goggling that night, to make sure he was who he said he was (what I found on line backed up what he said).

Which brings us back to lunch at the restaurant. We ended up chatting for 3 hours - which if you know me is a miracle in itself. I don't normally talk easily with guys, especially ones I only just met. As my friend said when I phoned her that evening all confused "Hun, if you can talk to a guy you just met for 3 hours without running out of things to say, there's something there."

We agreed to meet up 2 days later. A week after our first meeting we had another date and ended up spending 7 hours doing the Bondi to Coogee walk and then sitting on the beach talking. I closed my online dating account that night. We made it official the week after.

And six months after that first face to face meeting we are still going strong.

I'm in love. And Brett loves me back. And I am so full of thankfulness and joy. We look back and say God was our matchmaker. We live on opposite sides of the city, and both so involved in our local churches and in different professions there is not much chance we would have met any other way. But God stepped in and used online dating to bring us together. All in his perfect timing He brought the man who was most perfect for me into my life.

Happy dance :)

This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. Psalm 118:23

Two things

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sun, 16 Mar 2014 10:10:00 +0000

This was a thought I wrote down from a sermon a few weeks ago, that I just reread and was reminded of how true it is.

There are 2 documents that say in black and white what you value and what you invest in. Those two things are your bank statement and your calendar. You can say you value a certain thing, but these two documents will show if you actually do. You can think you don't really care about certain things but these documents will show if you actually do or not. because these two documents will show how you spend two of your most valuable resources; your money and your time. And that shows what you actually value.

Drive

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 10:31:00 +0000

While at other times in the car I listen to music, podcasts or the radio for some reason the drive to work is always silent.
My mind is still waking up, moving between sleeping and a new day.
I think about the day ahead. Run over the schedule in my mind. Remind myself of things I want to do, parents I need to talk with, how I will run group times, what activities I want to set out today, messages I need to pass on, what things I need to do when work finishes.
I muse over the day before, conversations I had had, something I had read, grocery lists, cross things off my mental to-do lists.
I pray; for my kids, for the other teachers, for things on my mind, for relationships, thanking God for things, asking for wisdom.
I sing songs in my mind, hum softly to myself.

I use to be afraid of silence.
But it doesn't scare me anymore. I'm not afraid of what I will think.

Sometimes I get to work and I wonder how on earth I got there. The backstreets I take to avoid traffic all merge together and nothing is ever different enough to catch my attention.

All nations

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sun, 02 Feb 2014 10:06:00 +0000

I never finished up the end of my trip diary, but it was only a day in LA before I came home that was so uneventful that I don't think I even took photos. And as soon as I came home I hit the ground running; catching up with everyone I missed while I was away, starting back at work 2 days after flying home, celebrating Australia day.

This last weekend I had the privilege of attending a friends wedding. A beautiful wedding, full of love and Christ. One of my favourite things was the way that the couple included the grooms Chinese culture into the service. Everything in the service book was in both Mandarin and English, and both the readings and prayers alternated between being in English and Mandarin. It was really special and a great reminder that language is no barrier for knowing God.
At the reception several of the speeches were also translated. Our church has a community of Mandarin speakers so it's great to see this culture being celebrated in the marriage of 2 members of our congregation, one from an Anglo Australian culture and one from a Chinese culture.

Then this morning we had a special combined service where all the congregations came together for a service in the morning. I saw that Be Thou My Vision was one of the songs we were going to sing; it is my favourite old hymn and very recently taken a special place in my heart - so I was excited to sing it. Then it was announced that we would be singing the hymn simultaneously in both English and Mandarin. The guy leading the Mandarin out the front did so well to keep concentrating while the other singers and 90% of the congregation were singing in English.
But two hear the two languages melding together in praise, was one of the most moving experiences I've had at church in a long time. I didn't want the song to end.

Disney Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 03:37:00 +0000

Saturday I woke up early to use the Magic Hour on my ticket.

This turned out to be the best decision, even if getting out of bed was super hard. The park is open an hour early for selected people and so crowds are very reduced. It also means you are further into the park when the park officially opens so your lines are shorter in the rides further from the entrance. I was able to go on Mr toads ride, Dumbo flying elephants, Peter Pan, Storybook Land boats as well as Small World and Pirates again all before 10.

There was a Tinkerbelle 10k run in the morning, that went through both parks before they opened. I saw them as I was walking to the park in the morning and then you saw people with medals and crazy costumes during the day in the park. I have to say the last thing I would want to do after a 10k would be walk through the park, but to each their own :).

I watched the Rapunzel show and then did a wander through the Main Street which I hadn't done before. Found Goofy and Pluto to have photos with and then waited to see Princess Merida (Scottish princess from Brave). I was very impressed by the girl who played her, she was the best at staying in character I felt as well as having an awesome Scottish accent.

In the afternoon I looked through Sleeping Beauty's castle.

A few times I went past the princesses castle again, but they always had the same princesses as there was on Thursday 'accepting visitors'. A little sad I didn't get to have photos with Belle or Jasmine (I really didn't hold any hope for Pocahontas)

But I had fun looking through the different lands and soaking up the Disney atmosphere, as well as picking out a few gifts for some people back home.

I caught part of the parade again, and then went across to Adventureland to be able to see the World of Colour display. I never used the fast pass ability on my ticket, if I'd realised how little space there was to see the World of Colour without a fast pass I might have tried to get a spot one day. There really was no good spots to see the world of colour without a fast pass, very different to the fireworks in Disneyland, I guess because it is a lot newer.

When it was done I headed back to Disney, saw the fireworks again.

And then that was the end of my Disneyland experience. It was amazing! I am exhursted, and I don't think I have walked that much in 3 days in my life. Chances are it has been a once-in-a-lifetime trip, so I'm glad I got to do and see so much!

Disney Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 03:24:00 +0000

On Friday I decided to check out California Adventureland as I had a park hopper ticket and can move between the two parks.

I went on the Ariel ride, I love the slow easy rides that retell the movies, sucker for nostalgia.

As I went around Adventureland were too many rides that warned against motion sickness. If I was with someone I might have gone on some of the rides but being by on my own I really had no desire to feel sick by myself.

I joined a group 'workshop' to learn how to draw Minnie Mouse which was fun. I then saw a musical spectacular based on Aladdin that was amazing! There were puppets for the animals and dancing and all the songs from the movie.

By this time I had seen everything I had wanted to in Adventureland so I went back to the hotel for lunch and a sleep.

Disneyland again for the afternoon. The crowd here seemed to have doubled from yesterday and most rides had a wait of at least 30min or more. I did go on the Alice in Wonderland ride, but couldn't be bothered to wait for the other rides.

Most weeks in the slow season Friday - Sunday have the parades and fireworks (not last weekend, thank goodness I wasn't here last week!) I saw the parade, I got a curb side seat and it filled up pretty quickly. So funny to watch all the pedestrians walk through the street and have the waiting crowds cheer and wave at them. Some of the little kids thought it was the best and would grin and wave.

The parade was a bit of fun, after it was done I then found a spot to sit and wait for the fireworks. I was right in front of the Castle, best spot ever!

The castle at night is pretty spectacular. The lights on the castle with the fireworks were amazing.

Disney Day 1

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sat, 18 Jan 2014 22:41:00 +0000

My first day was a Thursday, and as it was off peak season Disneyland is only open 10-8. Which is good I checked because otherwise I might have been up at 6:30 to get there by 8 :).

Awaiting in line to get my tickets we are surrounded by Disney music. The line moved very quickly, thankfully main gates open at 9:30 and you can explore main street before they open the rest of the park. (Or spend money, really).

I walked straight in and saw Minnie Mouse. That was when I almost cried, I don't care if it's completely manufactured, it is so magical, all those years of day dreaming of coming here as a kid and it was finally here! The photo of me and Minnie I look way too excited.

You can see Cinderella's castle, where I wandered first. The attention to detail on the castle is amazing. I wandered past the famous classic rides like flying dumbos, spinning tea cups and went up to Small World.

I walked straight onto this ride. So cute. I wandered a bit further after this, and stopped at the Star Tours Star Wars ride. This was also a quick wait.

This was fun, one of those simulation rides, but I felt a bit sick afterwards.

I realised then, after chatting to a few families in lines that today would be the least busy day I was here, as it was a weekday during the slow period. So I decided to go on as many rides as possible today and avoid lines in the next few days.

So I went on; Pirates of carribian, King Arthur's Carousel, Winnie the Pooh, Snow White ride, Pinocchio ride, Jungle river cruise.

I also went through Mickeys house and had photos with Mickey. In Critter country I also saw Tigger and Pooh. After these 2 I went to the castle to find the princess and had photos with Ariel, Aurora, and Cinderella. My 3 favourites were missing, (Pocahontas, Jasmine and Belle) but hopefully will find some of them in next few days.

I was pretty tired at this point, ready to go back to the hotel and rest, but as there was a special souvenir that would be ready in a few hours and the park shut early I didn't want to go back to the hotel to have to turn around quickly. So when I saw that there was Beauty and the Beast play I sat and watched that. After that I got a second wind and wandered through all the other lands I hadn't gone through yet.

The sun was going down as I left, making pretty lights on all the buildings.

My legs were so sore by the time I got to the hotel. I sat and dangled my legs in the pool for about 30 min to be able to feel a bit better.

Let me tell you a story …

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Fri, 17 Jan 2014 04:45:00 +0000

Once upon a time there was a little girl with long red hair, who grew up on an island far far away. She didn't have a lot of contact with western media, but she did watch Disney movies. She knew most of the songs off by heart and would act out the stories she loved the most; Pocahontas, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid.

This little girl day dreamed about one day going to the 'happiest place on earth' where there were castles and princesses, rides and people in costumes, mouse ears and fireworks. But she dreamed about it as someone would dream about going to the moon, a nice idea but not something that was ever going to happen.

That little girl grew up, her hair got darker and shorter. She left behind girly day dreams and princess stories. She studied hard, got a job and lived her life. Disneyland was left back in her childhood.

Then she had friends who now lived in Vancourver who she really wanted to visit them. And she was tired of always waiting, so she decided to just go. And if she was going to go all the way to Vancouver it really was not that far to then catch a plane down the coast to a certain magical theme park.

About 6 months ago she bought the tickets. And today she walked through the gates and was so excited she almost cried (not that I'm proud of that, but hey it was an accumulation of a lot of expectation).

And it was a beautiful day; filled with rides, Mouse ears, character photos, rides and princesses.

Cable Cars

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 05:27:00 +0000

I left the cable car for my last day, partly because I was a little scared (this is the girl who utterly detests roller coasters) but also to have something special to do on my last day. I went early in the morning so that I could beat the crowds. It was a little nerve wracking, all those hills and nothing to stop you from sliding off. And the constant smell of burning wood which means the breaks are working is a little disconcerting.

But it's actually fun, and everyone on board is happy and friendly, 90% are tourists so lots of photos are being taken.

I caught the bus from union square to the painted ladies, took a bunch of photos. Met an Aussie couple and we traded taking photos.

Caught the bus back to union square - I have been very impressed with the public transport in San Francisco. It goes along straight line normally and there is a stop every block. The buses have electronic boards out the front that display the next street coming up so that you always know where you are. You can pay $2 on the bus and get 90 minutes of as many rides as you want, or you can get a day pass and have unlimited rides each day on any type of public transport (including the cable cars).

At union square I wandered around all the cool stores we don't have in Australia.

Cable car back to wharf area with a stop at Lombard st, the crookedest street. Once again everyone driving down the street was clearly a tourist :). I don't think I would like to drive down it.

I have absolutely adored my time in San Francisco. (Reminds me of the feeling I got in Barcelona on my after school trip). It is a gorgeous city and full of fun places to look around. Everyone kept commenting how amazing the weather was, warm and no fog at all, I think I really lucked out in that regard. I was however predisposed to love this city anyway (all those hours of watching Full House) but I was glad i enjoyed it as much as I anticipated.

One thing that really surprised me all the homeless people, I was expecting that in LA but not here. It's very sad.

Today I travelled down to Anaheim, and tomorrow I'm going to Disneyland!!! I'm so excited I'm pretty sure that you could hear my squeal from Australia :)

Golden Gate Bridge

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 04:51:00 +0000

I had purchased hop-on-hop-off bus tickets back in Australia so used them today. First was the downtown tour that goes to all the tourist spots in the city part of sanfrancisco. Got a brief view of Lombard st but am planning to go back there later. Most other things were interesting but nothing particularly noteworthy. I do love seeing all the hilly streets, and being glad I'm not walking on them!

I had booked my hotel so that it was a few minutes walk from the office of the bus company so after a quick stop to change shoes (which I was very thankful for later) I caught the next bus across the Golden Gate Bridge.

The driver suggested getting off at one side of the bridge and walking across and as it was such lovely weather I decided to do that and then catch the next bus that came through on the other side.

It was great to walk across, crazy windy but amazing views. I love on holidays just taking your time and not having to worry about schedules. I spent almost an hour walking across and took heaps of photos. I was incredibly thankful I had changed my shoes to joggers, after all the walking I ended up doing. I did however get a little sunburnt :( something I haven't had to worry about yet on my trip!

After a rest in the afternoon I joined the night tour for views of the city at night. Very pretty, it included going down one of the steep hills, which is pretty hair raising when you are on the top of an open double decker bus!

There are Australians everywhere. I am hearing way more Australian accents here than anywhere else I have been on the trip.

What ever happened to predictability?

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 06:26:00 +0000

I was up early as I wanted to try and navigate the public transport system to get to a church I had been told about. I was very impressed that I managed to get 2 buses without much drama to get me to church by 9am. Whoo, go me.

Church was nice, I even recognised a few of the songs which was lovely and enjoyed checking out an American church. Being a new person on my own makes me think about how I welcome new people into my church each week.

The church just happened to be a block away from a certain terrace house I was planning to visit. Here it is!

The house used in the opening credits of Full House! I had looked up the address on the internet but it was pretty easy to work out which was the house from all the 'No Trespasssing!' signs. Apparently people can be a bit too enthusiastic. I respectfully stayed on the other side of the street while going all fan girl :).

I then walked part of the way back to the hotel loving the architecture and the warm weather. So many awesome buildings!

In the afternoon I had planned to wander in the opposite direction of my hotel, but I only got as far as Pier 39. I spent ages looking in the different shops, a few of the are different to the ones in the rest of the wharf area (and some identical).

While looking over at Alcatraz, I kept hearing this honking noise and followed it (and the crowds) to find masses and masses of sea lions. They were all piled up on top of each other on barges, occasionally having pushing each other off the barge and honking at each other.

Yummy Mexican dinner rounded off an awesome first day in San Fran.

Seattle

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Mon, 13 Jan 2014 05:56:00 +0000

My flight to San Francisco was out of Seattle, a bit over 2 hour drive from Vancouver. We got up early to have a little bit of time there before my flight.

Crossing the border was less of an ordeal going in the car, as I had previously crossed the border in LA during transit I was only slightly interrogated. Apparently I rub my chin a lot when I'm nervous :).

It was a bit drizzly when we arrived in Vancourver, and as we were driving around we discovered that Seattle was hosting a big football game that afternoon. There were people in jerseys everywhere and every store had supporters flags in the window.

We parked near the Pike Place market and had a little look around. Amazing produces and cut flowers, but a lot of the stall had mass produced souvenirs rather than the individual artisan products I was hoping for. While looking around we spied an awesome looking umbrella store that sold nothing but umbrellas. So awesome!

Apparently umbrellas are nessicary in Seattle as it started to rain harder and got incredibly windy. We went up the Columbia centre to the observatory deck and got some good views of the city before the rain set in. Hard.

Back outside we were almost swept off our feet getting to the car. It was time to head to the airport and after a false start (we went to the wrong airport - long story. But luckily the right airport was only 10 minutes away) I said goodbye and headed off on my own for the rest of my adventure; 10 days in USA.

The last thing Colin said to me was 'Don't forget to look left when you cross the road' which is good advice, I am still getting shocked when cars are on the 'wrong' side of the road.

I am now happily situated in a hotel in San Francisco. I am literarily 30 second walk from Fisherman's Wharf, so am in walking distance to most of the attractions. After arriving I headed out of a quick walk before it got dark. I got a glimpse of the Golden Gate Bridge, wandered along the wharfs, had a bread bowl of clam chowder (apparently San Francisco is famous for this, was quite nice and pretty cheap), been astonished by all the homeless people and witnessed the line to get on to a cable car.

I also spent several minutes trying to work out how the tap in the bathroom and the light in my room turned on. Seriously motels need to work on making things easier to understand.

The last few days in Canada

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sun, 12 Jan 2014 08:15:00 +0000

The last few days in Vancourver it rained a lot. Not the misty rain we had at the beginning of my trip, but heavy, steady rain.

It meant that several plans we had to explore outside were put off, instead we did a bit of cooking and hanging out with friends.

We were going to ride bikes around Stanley park, in the middle of Vancouver City. Instead we drove around and jumped out between showers to see the sights and take photos.

We also took Molly (their dog) for a walk along mudflats where herrons flew past. All around Colin and Evelyn's place I kept seeing fields of red. They are fields of blueberry bushes in the winter, where the red is the tops of their branches.

I have loved my time in Canada. I did a whole heap of site seeing, but I also got to spend some more time with my friends, catching up after almost 2 years. It was great to see their lives here, and see what Canada is really like.

Victoria

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Sat, 11 Jan 2014 00:04:00 +0000

Colin, Evelyn and I broke from the rest of the group and headed to Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia.

It was cold and wet. Rained the whole time, was pretty miserable. But Victoria is very pretty, lovely old buildings.

The best bit was we went down to a marina and there were seals hanging around waiting for the fisherman to clean their catch. They got so close and had learnt how to do tricks to get the tourists attention. I also managed to get attacked by massive seagulls - twice the size of the ones in Australia.

Parksville

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 23:43:00 +0000

After the day in Nanaimo we headed to friends in Parksville, a little costal town.

We didn't do heaps here, relaxed and hung out. We walked along a rock filled beach, where instead of sand there were huge rocks pounded smooth. I climbed up on a bunch of huge rocks at the end of the beach with some of the girls.

The family we stayed with were the most hospitable people I have met. They graciously welcomed 8 adults (including an Aussie they had never met), 2 babies and one toddler into their house without any qualms, and fed us all amazing food. Everything about their house was peaceful and relaxing, and you never felt like an intruder. I hope can be a host like that.

Funny story; there were a few mix ups about 'the Aussie' that was coming along. I knew North Americans pronounce Erin and Aaron the same way (in Australia we emphasise the 'Ah' sound at the beginning on Aaron), as well as Eyrn being a male name, so the family we stayed with were expecting a guy and did a double take when I was introduced :)

Nanaimo

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 00:52:00 +0000

Our first stop was at relatives house, in the outskirts of a place called Nanaimo.

Their property has a river that runs through the edge of it. It's a big full river that is rushing past huge rocks.

We went for a walk up stream and discovered all these rock pools full of ice. Everything was frozen, covered with a thin glitter.

I can't explain the frozen beauty of the rocks and moss and leaves. I tried with the camera but I just couldn't quite capture the ice in the air, the crunch when we stepped, the puffs of white air when you breathed and the slickness underfoot. All the while you can hear the thunder of the water rushing past.

There is moss everywhere! On rocks, trees. It's soft to touch not slimy like moss in Australia.

I have no concept of time here. At midday the sun is only about as far into the sky that the sun would be at 8 or 9 in the morning at home. It never gets overhead and it's messing with the way I instinctually measure the time of day.

Ferry

noreply@blogger.com (Erin) — Thu, 09 Jan 2014 00:12:00 +0000

Near Vancourver is Vancouver Island. When it was mentioned we were going to 'The Island' I thought it would be like a small island we'd be camping on. Rather it's more like Tasmania would be to Australia. It's huge, with a whole lot of towns and city's on it.

We caught the ferry across. It was really pretty going past the islands and as it was such a clear day we could see all the mountains on the mainland, full with snow. The big one was Mt Baker, which is in USA.

We did go out onto the deck at one point but it was sooo cold, the wind was blowing like crazy and my fingers were freezing! It took about 2 hours to get to the island, so by the time we got to the island it was dark and the sun was going down.