Foot-Loose Leaf Tea

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NOTE: I am playing a bit of blogging catch up as our data connection the first few nights was patchy at best or non-existent at worst.

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WOW! What didn’t happen on Day Two!!!

It started of with our first, very minor “Is there enough gas?” scare. The road out of Killarney takes about half an hour and we had not filled up late the night before. There is a small, private two-pump station on the way back to the highway so, luckily, didn’t need to find out the answer.

Then WE ALMOST DIED! Now, I am unsure if I am am being over dramatic or not, but we are new to the whole towing a trailer thing so our hearts were in our throats. After hitting a divot in the road our 18ft trailer broke out in this crazy footloose dance. It was a rocking and fish-tailing pretty good. Watching it in the side mirror… I thought this was the end of, at minimum, the road trip. Matt’s super saving skills came into play. But WE’RE FINE! And from now on will “Slow Down and Drive Safely”. The only casualty was the food processer. It took a leap from the cupboard along with some cans.

Speaking of things in the cupboard… before leaving, I packed a few kinds of loose leaf tea in some small adorable Steeped Tea tins. What a lapse in judgement! After reading a list of things you can/can’t bring into across the border to the U.S. I was a bit worried even though none of the ingredients were on the prohibited list. Best to just leave it all in the original bags next time. It ended up not being the biggest issue of the border crossing.

Pulled over on a side street in Sault Ste. Marie, we were checking to be sure we had all the documents ready to go… We did not have all the documents ready to go. Apparently “certain it was brought” Harley’s vaccination certificate was not there. Short-term, passive aggressive panic followed by quick problem solving action! TGIF and not Saturday! I called the Vetrenarian’s office and they were able to email a PDF. Yay! Technology win! We made it across! But agreed that we would find a Wal-Mart and get his papers printed.

So we found “Wal-Mart” in Michigan after missing the road and having to turn around. We finally arrived at our destination!(Photo Included) Needless to say, it was not exactly what we were looking for and had to turn around, AGAIN. (Three point turns are more like 10 point turns with trailer in tow.) Thanks Google maps! Technology fail! Or user error? We would continue our search the following day.

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What is it that they say…? It’s not the destination but journey that counts!

AS

Foot-Loose Leaf Tea

Land of the Silver Birch

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Our plan to get all the way to Sault Ste. Marie on the first day was hindered by our late departure. (The unanimous decicision was to blame Harley and his forest adventure for this one.) After looking into sites to camp at for the night, we found out the KOA we picked did not open until May 1st anyway. In fact, pretty much all of the KOAs do not open until May 1st. Whoops! We ended up heading into Killarney Provincial Park. A bit of out of the way and maybe not the most efficient use of our time but whose in a rush?

We didn’t get much exploring in but I have to say the best part was the abundance of birch trees. A favorite of mine! We would love to take a trip here in the fall. Spend a bit more time on the trails.

After dinner, we decided to celebrate the comencement of The Adventures of HAM with a bottle of red. Insert the first thing on the “forgotten” list, a corkscrew. The second was my fleece onesie. (Comfort level 100 wasted on the bedroom door hook at home for the next couple of months.)

That was it! “Day One” was over. We were exhausted from the last minute rush to pack EVERYTHING, cleaning the entire house to “show quality” and our desperate run through the forest after our Class ‘A’ a**hole of a dog. Lucky we love him! Goodnight!

AS

Land of the Silver Birch

Goodbye for now but not forever.

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For the months leading up to our extended vacation there was definitely a “buzz” in the air. Where are you going? What are you planning to do? How long? When does it start? It was thrilling to have everyone so enthused (perhaps envious?) of our upcoming adventure. One of the most common questions was “Are you getting excited yet?” The answer, however, was no… I was finding it hard to be in the present when I was so worried about all the things that we needed to get done before we left. Two years to plan! And this PROcrastinator leaves it all to the last two weeks… two days.

Along with the impossible “to do list” I was anxious about goodbyes. Yes, we don’t have to go to work. Yes, we get to go on a some amazing trips. (Am I gaining your sympathy yet?) But, it really got me thinking about everything we were leaving behind. Speaking as the Captain the Nostalgia Team, I started to get a little sappy about my departure from everyday life and the people that make it all worth while. (So not proud of it, but totally took a pic of my tidied desk on the last day of work.)

I am not really sure where this is going? I guess what I really want to say is thank you to everyone who went out of their way to send us off in style. Friends, family, coworkers and covolunteers it means a lot. From dessert gatherings, to visits, to gifts and cards, to lent trailer items, to favorite snacks for the road (the homemade ginger cookies just HAD to be eaten before we got to the border) we feel very loved. And to honorably mention the prewritten letters to open at specific points in our trip, we have not had a chance to “roll the dice” for out next meal yet but are looking forward the day.

So, after completely underestimating how long it would take to get things done, as per usual, we said goodbye to our cat, Kierra at 6:00 PM on Thursday. The goal was Wednesday… and then Thursday at noon, in case anyone was wondering. I am sure Harley’s hour long pre-adventure adventure chasing a deer through the forest didn’t help…

Less sap next post, I promise.

Goodbye for now but not forever.

Our Last Adventure In Lego – NZ

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Facebook Memories is a truly wonderful thing. For the last couple of weeks I have been reminded of that time we took a trip to New Zealand two years ago. Generally I take photos (almost exclusively) of landscapes but on this particular trip our Lego avatars were the stars of the journey. (This took the place of having to actually be in the photos!)

We started in Queenstown and worked our way up to the North Island via camper van. The first thing we did while in the South Island, before picking up our smelly camper, was one of New Zealand’s Great Walks, Routeburn Track. In this case, we most certainly did not save the best for last. When people ask me what our favourite part was, this is it. Wow, just wow! It was three and a half days of hiking and the trifecta of terrible sleeps, but I will forever remember it as the most amazing experience (until the next one if course). Fantastic scenery galore! Never again will I complain of walking in the rain as it always brings back memories of our breathtaking trek through the Mount Aspiring and Fiordland National Parks. To top it off we hit up Milford Sound on the loop to Q-Town.

Of course while were back in the “Adventure Capital of the World” we had to do something extraordinarily adventurous. (Sorry, no skydiving for this gal.) Our wonderful hosts at Pounamu Apartments suggested we try the Skipper’s Canyon Jet boat. It was a little out of the way (there is one closer to town) but when they say “GETTING TO THE BOAT IS HALF THE ADVENTURE” they mean it! Tons of fun! A truly terrifying bus ride and so worth it.

From there we went gold digging in Arrowtown, saw what I am pretty sure will be the most amazing sunset of my life from the Otago Peninsula in Dunedin, checked out NZ’s only castle, drove through Arthur’s Pass, hit up the West Coast and the pancake rocks (Punakaiki)!, caught the sunrise in Abel Tasman National Park and missed the ferry in Picton.

After being put on the waiting list for the following day we just squeaked on the boat to Wellington. If we did get a do over for the whole trip, we would have book this ahead of time. We would have also looked into dropping the van off and getting a new one on the other side. It is a lot cheaper to just take the ferry without a vehicle.

Though we did not have quite as much time for the North Island, we did make some great stops. We stayed in Taupo (Lake Taupo) on the first night, and hit up a small hot spring in a local park early in the morning. From there we stopped at Wai-O-Tapu. Arriving just before they set of the geyser, we decided to skip out and head straight into the park. (We had already seen a natural one in Iceland.) What a great idea! We literally had the place to ourselves. So cool! And the colours were amazing! The mud pools are a must! Thoroughly entatained.

We ended our stay in Auckland after stopping by Redoubt – Bar and Eatery in Te Awamutu. (A favourite spot of a friend of ours.) New Zealand’s largest city brought walks on the waterfront, fresh oysters, souvenirs and, of course, our very first rugby game! It also brought the end of our trip that we were so very sad to say goodbye to.

However, our Lego characters live on in Facebook Memories and a Canadian Living blog post by Jamie Anderson.

Cheers to enjoying life in the moment and creating memories that will last a lifetime!

Everything is Awesome!

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A MOO-ving experience

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As a graphic designer by day, the creative in me obviously needed to have super cool branded business cards for our adventure. After a recommendation from a friend I decided to use MOO for our travel contact cards. The site was simple to use and offered template guides set up with bleeds and safe areas in a variety of file formats. I designed them in Adobe Illustrator and ordered them online, easy peasy.

Before I knew it, it was delivery day!!! (one day late) I was super excited that my cards had arrived! After opening the mail bag, I found the most awesome packaging! Absolutely loved the seals! How cool is that! I almost didn’t even want to break into them. Unfortunately I did… and was quite sad with what I found inside. About 80% of the cards had a white printer defect on them. Now… I am pretty easy going and would have even been okay if the ratio was the other way around. After all, I did pay a bit more money for the Luxe option. I stepped up. I did something that is still so foreign to me. I contacted customer service…

It was a positively uplifting experience. It was Friday night, after hours and I had no trouble contacting them. I was able to reorder the cards at no cost, almost no questions asked, within minutes. They definitely made a fine recoverey. I will give a 4/5 star rating… Pending the on time delivery of my new cards and their quality. 5/5 on customer service. 5/5 on packaging. 5/5 website ease of use. 4/5 on delivery. 1/5 on quality of product (I will let them have a mulligan to correct it.)

Other than the one defect, the cards are pretty wicked awesome! They are super thick and can double as tiny coasters.

UPDATE: I received my new shipment of cards on time, free of charge and they look great!

A MOO-ving experience

We Put The ‘HA’ In HAM

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Today we visited The Tree Museum with some very good friends. It was a bit wet and snowy (which is probably why it is “closed” from November to April), but we had a wonderful hike anyway! We will definitely try again in the fall.

Earlier this week we invested in a new iPad Mini to control all of our social accounts and blog while we are on the move. The first thing on the list was to set up our Instagram account! You can access it at the top of our page using the Instagram button (the little camera circle). A quick view of our most recent photos can be found in our menu on the top right hand side. I love photos, so Instagram is so my thing. Our username is instaham.adventures if you are interested in following us. I am excited to share the best of our travels with you. Hope you enjoy!

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London Calling

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Our flight to Europe is booked! No, Harley does not get to come.

We will be starting our Eurotrip in London and it has me reminiscing about the last time we were there in 2013. Being a very small town girl, the country is more my thing… so I never expected to love this city so much! We stayed in a small suite (smaller bathroom) at Studios2Let near Kings Cross Station and using the overwhelming yet efficient underground, got around fairly easily. One time we passed on taking the claustrophobic, cattle car elevator and used the stairs (disregarding the “This staircase has 175 steps, equivalent to 15 floors. Do not use except in an emergency” signs). It was quite the workout!

We only had three days to spend but obviously wanted to see everything. Given our love for biking, we decided to try out a recommended Fat Tire Bike Tour. On the first day we chose to do the Royal London one. It took us by all the hot spots: The Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, The Royal Parks, Big Ben, Kensington Palace and Trafalgar Square. We even got to see the changing of the guard. The weather was beautiful, spring was in the air and the flowers were just beginning to bloom. We loved it so much we decided to do one on our second day as well. (Had to work of all the meat pies and ale somehow.)

Although the weather was a bit gloomier and a little cold, the River Thames Bike Tour was also totally worth it. I thought we had seen it all the day before but this tour took us by The London Eye, Tower Bridge, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Shakespeare’s Globe, London Bridge, The Tower of London, Borough Market, The Monument and Leadenhall Market (AKA… DIAGON ALLEY HP Fans!!!) The best part of this one was, however, St. Dunstan in the East. Is was not officially part of the tour, just a place our tour guide happened to love. From the outside you could see the steeple and entrance of a medieval church but when you when through the door it opened up into a beautiful garden with a not so beautiful, yet interesting, story. It was originally built in the 1100s, was damaged in the Great Fire of London, rebuilt and then bombed in the Blitz of the Second World War. An amazing oasis in the middle of a busy city. My only wish is that I could have curled up on a bench with a book for the afternoon. Instead, we spent some time at the stunning V&A Museum. The line to get into the Natural History Museum was a little bit too long but this was definitely an acceptable alternative.

Our evenings were as busy as our days. We did a bit of grocery shopping and cooked a lot of our meals in our studio but did head out to the theatre for two of the three nights. We had the chance to see The Lion King at the grand Lyceum Theatre and Matilda at the smaller, Cambridge Theatre. Both shows were great.

We had an absolutely spectacular time in London. Though we didn’t get into too many places during out short visit, we really did SEE everything. I would definitefly recommend it all, right up until our Eurostar departure to Paris. Dubbed the $600 mistake, it is a story in itself. I am not sure how long we be in London this time around, if at all, but am glad that I have some very great memories.

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The HAM Ram!

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Harley, Matt and I are proud to welcome the newest addition to our family! We have decided to name him the HAM Ram! Well… I decided… Matt says no… Harley is indifferent… I guess it’s pretty cheesy. What do you think? Got anything better?

The HAM Ram!

Fate of My Fortune

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So… while trying to be productive this morning (cleaning out the fridge), I totally found a fortune cookie! (and some carrots for Harley) I just love what it says! Although I feel like it is already relevant to our year to come, I do hope it is indeed true. “Refreshing.” That sounds good to me.

Not to be superstitious, okay… totally superstitious… I am a little worried about the fate of my fortune. Apparently there are a few rules you need to follow in order for it to come true. I decided to do a bit of research to find out if there is any chance.

  • You have to eat it.
    Yes, I ate it. No, I have no idea how old it was. Those things last forever right?
  • You have to read it AFTER you are done eating the entire cookie.
    Ate half – read it – took picture – ate other half. Counts right? I was hungry!
  • You cannot tell anyone what it says.
    Blew it!
  • If you text the fortune to one person who is very close, it can come true for the both of you.
    Okay, this I can work with.

Although I am questioning the historical validity of that last one, let’s pretend that everyone reading this is one person (since I have only “text” it once), and you’re all very close to me… right? I would like to share my fortune with you…

“A refreshing change is in your future.”

Fate of My Fortune

Then and Now

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Today we went to Whitby to get our passport photos done and renewals submitted. This will help with our plans to take the US route to the west coast and our trip to Europe!

These are our photos for the next 10 years!!! Apparently we have been growing our hair out for the last five. I will miss my old picture. Matt might too!

Then and Now