The Continuation of Our Adventure

Hello all!!!! Since our last post so much has happened, and we haven't even left the United States!!!! Before we left Portland, our friend Calvin came and visited us. We had Voodoo donuts, visited Trina's sister at Bijou Cafe, went to Powell's Bookstore and bought some good reads for our trip. Trina got a dread-lock as a Portland souvenir and we saw the beautiful statue of Portlandia. We also did community yoga in Pioneer Square with a random stranger who's name was Lo. To finish off our Portland experience, we met up with some of Trina's coworkers for some good laughs. Portland was a great experience and it was a bittersweet ending to a new beginning...

We arrived in LA on Saturday and have been staying with Courtney's lovely family. They greeted  us with a warm welcome and an even warmer hot tub, which we soaked in the first night as we rested from our 2 hour flight. Courtney's Aunt Marsha also provided hot dogs and marshmallows for us to roast over their patio fire pit. What a relaxing time!! Just as we were getting drowsy from the wonderful hot tub, Aunt Marsha, who had joined us, dared us to jump into the frigid pool. A dare we could not refuse! Let us tell ya it was cold!!!!!!!!

Sunday we were heathens and skipped church to go to Six Flags instead. (It was the only day we were able to go.) It was about 60 degrees and mostly sunny, with a bit of rain later in the day. We thought the weather was splendid for shorts, however, everyone else was dressed for snow. We stood out like polar bears at the equator, seriously we only saw like 3 other people wearing shorts. The coasters were thrilling! We were able to ride half of them before the rain became too much, even for the Oregonian! On our way back to Aunt Marsha's we took a detour to Santa Monica, stopping at the Pier just in time for the gorgeous sunset. It was an amazing ending to a spectacular day.

Monday, the 28th of January, Aunt Marsha took us to The Grove, where we were able to be in the audience of Extra, hosted by Mario Lopez!!! He even talked to us! And if you look really closely in this picture you can see him behind us in the white shirt!!! (Yes, we are creepers!!) There was a new singer on the show, Olly Murs, from the UK. He's really good, you should check him out! We then stopped for lunch at the Farmer's Market, picked up some souvenirs, and basked in the glorious sunshine!! To end our day, we took a hike in Deer Canyon where we stumbled upon a geocache while climbing a tree!!! What a great surprise!! So far this visit to LA has been very relaxing and we have been able to use this transition to prepare ourselves for the New Zealand adventure. We look forward to more days full of sunshine, new people, places, and eventually life on the farm. Can't wait!!!      


   

a travelers tale

Hello to all our dear friends and family who might stumble upon this post!!
Our journey begins! If you haven't yet heard we, Courtney and Trina, are going an adventure!! We will be tramping all over the north and south islands of the beautiful country of New Zealand for the next three months! The idea of this excursion has been growing in our hearts and minds for the past year. We have been planning, praying, scheming, researching for what seems like ages!! We are so excited and thrilled and over the top enthusiastic and cannot wait for what lies ahead!! :D

 The adventures of our escapade, include mainly farm work through Farmer Friends of New Zealand, where we will be staying on family owned farms working alongside them in exchange for free accommodation. Also, exploring God's creation in the southern hemisphere, peeking our heads into hobbit holes in Matamata, observing traditional Maori festivities, hoping to witness rugby matches and roller derby bouts, discovering new foods, and simply investing ourselves in the culture of New Zealand. We look forward to learning about ourselves, our Creator, and the world as we know it!

Courtney began her journey in mid December traveling form Michigan to Montana, where she had a lovely Christmas with her family. This last week, she said farewell to the Beautiful Montana countryside and chooed-chooed her way over the Rocky Mountains safely arriving in Portland, OR where she met up Trina. This coming Saturday will see us on a plane headed to L.A. for a relaxing time on the sunny beach of the California coast. From there we shall spread our wings and soar across the ocean blue, leaving the comforts of home for the next three months.

Stay tuned for the continuation of this fellowships adventure!!! Maybe we'll even destroy a ring...or two. ;)