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September 21, 2012

Half Marathon #2

The weather was perfect and running over the bridge just after the sun rose was breathtaking, but I still hated almost every minute of this race! My legs felt like lead and I was exhausted before I even crossed the start line. Despite that, somehow when I finished this race I not only felt more accomplishment than the last one, but also I actually now feel even more in love with running. All I can think about is when my next race will be and how much better prepared i will be for it. 

I don't want to bore you too much with my competitive outlet, but this race really was beautiful. Running across the Harbour Bridge was an incredible feeling and following the shoreline along the rest of the harbour really helped me forget how much pain I was in!






 The finish line was right at the opera house, I mean do you need any more assistance in finishing than that?



Yup, I actually want to do this again...


September 17, 2012

Botany Bay

Luke and I finally had a day off together this weekend and we were not about to spend it relaxing on the couch. A few months ago we made a list of places we wanted to go in Sydney. At the top of the list was the Botany Bay National Park. Its where Captain Cook initially landed when he "discovered" Sydney. Now it is a beautiful national park with quiet beaches, incredible views of Sydney's sandstone cliff faces and crashing waves that I could sit and listen to for hours.















Was going walking through a national park the day before a half marathon a good idea?
I'll let you know soon!


September 11, 2012

Have you caught the travel bug?

I love hearing about other people's travel adventures. It makes me excited, jealous, and kind of proud! Especially when it is someone who doesn't necessarily take it to the extreme that Luke and I have and perhaps has just discovered the joy it can bring.


 For instance, my oldest brother Nick, has just jet-setted on his first trip to Great Britain. He will no doubt see more of it than I have (there's the jealousy I was talking about). He emailed me the day before he left listing off all of the places he was headed. He finished the email asking "is this what its like to be you?" After I stopped laughing, I felt so proud! He's off exploring and enjoying what the world has to offer. He's posting photos of castles, bridges and beers!
 


Manchester, UK

Shortly after Nick left, a friend from work arrived back from a whirlwind tour of New Zealand. Obviously I was super jealous as she rattled off all she had done and seen. New Zealand will always hold a special place in my heart and I was beyond excited that someone else shared that sentiment. But what had me getting all giddy was what she said about traveling in general. She's been bitten by the backpacking bug and is already day dreaming about what journey is next. A convert!

Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand

 Dunedin, New Zealand

I know not everyone reads Lonely Planets in their free time or draws on road maps for fun, but I have never met anyone who regretted traveling. Whether it's across the world or a new spot across town I think anyone can gain something from exploration. Plus I would be so excited, jealous and proud of you if you did!



September 01, 2012

Travelversary

Yup, I just made that word up.


 
It has been two years since Luke and I embarked on this open ended trip (although when we left it was not open ended). As we reflect over our last two years on this travelversary it is almost surreal to comprehend how much we have done and seen. We have lived in two different countries, experienced city living, suburban living, country living, and living out of a car! We have "started over" in three cities and seen more wild animals in the wild than I have probably seen in captivity.



Since the start of the trip I have kept a pretty comprehensive notebook on what we get up to so that I can remember one day how cool brave I used to be. Its easy to look back on all the major things we did like experience earthquakes, jump out of planes, walk on glaciers, hike around a volcano (that just erupted a few weeks ago FYI), and explore some of the worlds most famous cities, but when I re-read the notes I have written it reminds of the little things. Things like how cold it was to sleep in our car some nights and how we learned how to tell whether it would be a cold night before even getting the car to sleep or how frustrated we were and how much we struggled when we first arrived in Sydney. When I read it I am also reminded of all of the amazing, hilarious, ridiculous, and sometimes rude people we have met along the way.






I wish I didn't need a travelversary to remind myself to look around and soak all of this in while its happening, but I'm glad it has come around.  In the last few weeks I think I've gotten all too caught up in the stresses of being "settled" somewhere. We haven't explored new lands, besides a cafe around the corner, in a while and I can feel myself getting itchy feet. We have a few things in the pipeline at the moment for the foreseeable future and I am getting very excited to get out and explore, so I will let you know once we have actually set some plans.






 (some of the rude people we met along the way)


















 

Hope you've enjoyed helping me celebrate my travelversary.

What is the longest you've been away from "home"? Where were you travelling?