This is it

This my last evening at home before I head off back to America, Park City. I'm sat here with Mum enjoying my last night with her and Sammy. I will miss them both very much. So I fly first thing on Friday morning and it looks like we'll be staying at a hotel at Manchester airport tomorrow evening since its started snowing. All my things are packed up and ready to go and surprisingly I have done a much better job of packing this time round, well I guess it couldn't really get any worse.

I guess this is where the next Adventure begins. It all feels very different this time round, I'm neither excited or unexcited, it feels a little like going back to Uni after the summer, sort of...

Now lets hope they let me back in the Country

Back in the land of rain...

We're back home. I loved lake Powell I really did, but after deciding that we were going to do a winter season we realised that we wanted to have a bit of time out and simply just chill for a few months, so thats kind of what we're doing now! Besides when we arrived at the Lake we had one goal to achieve and that was to save 10K and we saved that and more... so we're happy. I do miss everyone at Lake Powell though and I really miss the sunshine!

Now we're home life is as busy as ever and I feel like I haven't had a moment to myself yet! Its the way I like it mind. Its only going to get busy too we have so many plans. Its going to be an exciting few weeks. Yesterday we returned from Scotland from a week long surf trip...

The rest of our plans...

August 20th - 27th

We're heading to Marmaris in Turkey with Mum and Sammy which should be good, I'm looking forward to just chilling out!

28th - 4th September

Cornwall is calling!!! Rob has never been to Cornwall and Dad loves the place, so he's taking us on a trip there to stay in a cottage.

4th - 18th September

We're going to France with Joe and Emma (my friends from America) to visit Amy in Hossegor, which is on the west coast just by Biarritz, so we'll definitely get some surfing in. Whilst we're there we're also going to take a trip to Spain and go to Bilbao and visit the Guggenheim and probably do a few other things in Northern Spain!

On the way home from France we're going to stop off in London and stay with Joe for a few days.

Thats the plan for now... its likely to change several times, so lets see what happens!

Nitro Fate!

Since it looks like we're doing another winter season I thought it was necessary to invest in a new snowboard as mine is literally falling to pieces! So this beauty is all mine and it was a steel too. I'm looking forward to riding it now!

Avenging Avery and the Retro Abortion Part 1

Jackson's Video for his school project. Jackson has been itching for me to give him my sisters phone number, but i decided that was a big no no. He'd drive her mental with his weirdness, I do rather like it though, its what makes Jackson Jackson. Anyways to shut him up I said I'd put his little creation on here so that Sammy could see it. So, Sammy Enjoy! Make sure you watch part 2 too.

...by the way Jackson is the one with the mullet.

Avenging Avery and the Retro Abortion Part 2

AB RIPPER X

Over the last few months I have made daily visits to the gym and I'm feeling good about it. It makes me want to eat better and I generally feel happy and more content. Going to the gym every day is one thing, but we've thrown in this work DVD that we have been doing every other day too. Ab Ripper X... Its a work out DVD that works on your abs and upper leg muscles. The thing is, is that its an absolute killer, 15 minutes of pure pain. We've been doing it for weeks now and its not getting any easier, but I guess there were certain positions and work outs that I couldn't even do in the first place and now I can at least do a few of them. By the end of it I always feel like I want to be sick. It seems to be working though, my abs are their way to toned perfection, hopefully.

So if your looking for a good work out DVD try and get your hands on this, its only 15 minutes but it goes by super super quick.

Only in America...

Mind Share

Guess who got 6 mentions in one week on the online guest mind share survey... Me!!! What's cool is that means I'm pretty good at my job but what's even better is that I get $5 Lake Powell bucks for every time I get mentioned from my boss and then the resort manager also gives me $5 Lake Powell bucks for each one too. So far I'm in the lead for most mentions... Rock on!

I guess all these Lake Powell bucks will pay for gas to go wakeboarding...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK!!!

HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY MARK!

I HOPE YOU HAVE A FANTASTIC DAY

LOVE YOU LOTS

MISS YOU

XXX

Atoms for Peace - black swan

Love this. Literally would have played this everyday for the last 3 months if Rob would have let me... Amazing live!

This and that

The tarantula that Colton found outside our dorm this week.

Thrift store finds. My new favourate bikini and super cool shades for Rob... both a $1 each. Happy Days.

Sunset 29/06/10 - Wahweap Marina

Offers of Employment

Over the last few weeks i have applied for a few winter jobs mainly in Park City, I probably won't take them up but I want them there as a back up... Because you never know what might happen. I'm still to apply for a few other spots in the US, mainly Colorado but I wouldn't mind working in Tahoe. So who knows.

Anyhow, I was working the other day, I ended up porting for a boat which i had instructed for on the way out... They remembered me and were really pleased to see me, which is always nice. I got chatting to a lady in the party and she was from Park City and owned a big housing development company... to cut a long story short she offered me a Marketing position with her and said she'd even sponsor me for a Visa and throw a lift pass in too. I'm not sure if i'll take it up, but its kind of cool either way... I guess its there if i want it.

We shall see what happens, but for now we're definitely coming home in October... all the tickets are booked and I rather fancy using them!

Make my day

I'd Rather like to own this Nixon Watch...

A Nice Idea

Toms Shoes. This is the nicest idea i have seen in a long time. Its funny because at uni a few years ago we were once debating this statement: 'Companies are more concerned about profits than environmental footprints and welfare', if only I'd known about Toms shoes...

Basically the concept is, is for every pair of Toms shoes you buy they will donate a pair of Toms shoes to a child in need. How nice is that. The shoes are actually pretty cool too. So I will be very shortly investing in a pair of Toms shoes.

My feet are falling to pieces...

Wearing cons day in and day out is literally destroying my feet. I have come to find that cons are actually some of the most uncomfortable shoes on earth. That aside my foot problem cannot solely blame my stupid shoes, I'm not enitely sure what to blame my problems on and I guess it wouldn't actually solve anything anyways. Basically my feet are so dry that they are cracking and bleeding, and when I wear my shoes it turns my dry skin into raw skin so then it rubs and gets really sore and then a couple of hours later its really really dry again. Its making me sad and I cant seem to find anything to solve the problem... please help! I'm actually a little concerned that my feet may get so bad that I can't actually work.

Say no to wrinkles!

People may mock Rob and I for using SPF 85 on our faces but quit frankly I mock those that don't. Is a tanned face worth a wrinkly face before your time and skin cancer? I think not! Besides, super brown faces just look dirty and horrible. So for now SPF 85 has a firm spot in my hand bag and will do for the foreseeable future... Right now I'm rather enjoying my wrinkle free face and I intend to keep it that way for as long as possible.

I've come to notice America has a different policy of tanning anyways... people really aren't that interested. Its near impossible to find anything less than SPF 30, I did manage to find SPF 15 which I have been using to try and fade in my farmer tan lines, but apart from that its always 30+. Apparently (I read an article on it the other day) it is recommended that people should always wear factor 30+ on their faces, no matter what the time of year, and those that do look noticeably younger.

Just a thought for next time your in the sun...

The Wackness

Awesome awesome film! Watch if you get chance....

Chill weekend

Because i am stupid

I was only thinking the other day it has been a long time since i did something really clumsy and stupid... and guess what, a few days latter i had a colossal trip which resulted in really sore knees and hands and a scuffed shin. It was stupid, i was stepping over a cable which i thought was lower than it actually was... i never quite made it over the cable. It was very embarrassing as everyone watched me do it from the office window. Look at my sore knee.

Pics from the weekend

My Humble Home

Dad wanted to know exactly where I lived. So here you go...

Finally in the Lake

The last 2 days have reminded me of why I am here. I've had an awesome weekend after a great week at work. I'm very happy! On Tuesday we took a free boat ride to rainbow bridge and just chilled out on the boat most of the day, it was great and I really needed to relax. Rainbow bridge is pretty cool too, definitely worth the trip up there, I guess I finally understand what all the hype is about and why people come specifically too Lake Powell to visit it.

Today we got up very early and hit the lake for the second time. This time on a power boat. I actually wake boarded finally. I'm also pleased to say I do remember how to Wakeboard, although on the boat here that we hire, its kind of like an entirely different sport. The wake doesn't look that small until your actually on it and then it looks tiny and the boat itself is so weak, it has trouble towing you. So popping yourself over the wake is a major mission. But hey, I shouldn't complain its a freebie... its better than nothing. We also threw a tube into the boat and to be honest that was as equally as fun as the wake boarding! I haven't laughed so hard in such a long time, my bikini bottoms slid straight off... luckily i managed to catch them with my toe. Emma was also pretty much in the same boat. It was hilarious. My stomach muscles are aching so bad right now.

This Afternoon we went to the staff welcome party, that was good. Its always good when free food is involved and they even had vegi burgers on the BBQ, I was very content indeed. So after a fun packed weekend I'm all tanned and tired and ready for bed. I also have a poorly toe.

$$$$$$$$$$$

Its our Wednesday and we have already made $400+ , We're very happy bunnies! Keep the pennies rolling...

At this rate we might have reached our saving targets early and come home. We shall see.

Today was insane, there was only 8 of us and we had a crazy amount of house boats that went out, 25 to be precise and we have 27 that arrived back, plus the 30+ powerboats. I'm burned out to say the least. A 12 hour day in 100F heat is pretty tough, so I've given the gym a miss today.

A good week

This week has been pretty uneventful. I’ve done over 50 hours this week, 10 of which have been over time but apart from that I have really nothing much to report. The days have been long and really really hot, so by the time I’m home I’m ready for a bite to eat and my single bed. Happy days. I’m really enjoying work. I love the variation and the fact I’ve met such a variety of people already. I’ve met so many French, its insane. Its also kind of weird, as they always seem to photograph everything, including a million pictures of you doing random things from waving to untying ropes and tripping up. We’ll all be all over the Internet before you know it. This week has been memorial week (memorial day was yesterday) so it been the busy its been yet, I’m glad, its gone by so quickly… at this rate its going to be October before we know it.

On the money front this has been an epic week for Rob and I, we have made just short of $400 in tips and we have both racked up 10 hours of over time, which is paid at time and a half. We’re pretty pleased with ourselves. This saving business has just got a whole lot easier. Another good thing is that I have been signed off on another 2 types of boat (more luxurious ones), so it means I have a better opportunity to make tips.

Today it’s my Saturday, so I’m enjoying the weekend and hopefully I’ll finally get myself on a wakeboard. It’s been a long time coming, but I guess I should be patient as I do have all summer. Rob says he’s going to give it a miss because of his back but I doubt he’s going to able to cope with everyone else being out on the board whilst he simply watches. Lets see what happens.

Celeb Spotting

Yesterday we had a few celebrities on the dock. So far this trip has been a good one for celebrity spotting. Anyways I’ll cut to the chase, we had Katie Perry and Russell Brand on the marina today, it was a little bit weird, but cool all the same. I didn’t do their instruction on the boat they had rented but a good friend of mine (Joe) did. I’m kind of glad it wasn’t me; I would have been a huge mess, stumbling over my words and all sorts. But then again who knows, I guess it would have been more embarrassing if I had been weird and its not like I’m a massive fan of either of them to be honest. They’re just people like the rest of us, Right!?

Anyhow, Russell was exactly how I expected him to be; huge hair, very flamboyant, he had and open shirt to a bear chest and the tightest trousers I have ever seen that raised only a few cm higher than his crotch. Apparently (according to my boss) he was wearing lacy underwear, which revealed everything, my boss was blushing a little. Bless. He’s actually pretty tall, taller than I expected. Although he probably appeared way taller because he was stood next to Katie Perry and she is tiny! I was actually really shocked about how small she was and how very ordinary too, she was definitely no taller than 5 foot, I probably would not have noticed her if I hadn’t have already been told.

So all in all it really wasn’t that spectacular. Celebs are definitely overrated. For sure.

I wonder

These guys, Sophie, Jenny and Andrea I love! I spent the last 4 weeks of my time in Park City and beyond pretty much living in the pockets of these guys and now its kind of a little weird we’re all apart and scattered across the world. I miss you all. By the end of my time with you all, all we did was bicker like siblings and seemingly purposely wind each other up all the time and get in stupid situations that we usually later regretted. Either way, I love you all and miss you all lots. This started because I stumbled across this picture and I wondered what you all were doing right this second? It made me realise that for almost 4 weeks I pretty much knew exactly what all of you where doing. Strange. Its also funny because I know that when Jenny reads this she’ll be like… “Liz you’re a spaz.” and now she’s probably giggling and then I bet her next move will be to write me an abusive message on face book.

Jenny. I know you all too well.

Love to you all. xxxx

No place like home.

Why do I like travelling so much and still love home so much all at the same time? So many of my friends that I have met in the US are total travelling addicts, something which we all have in common. But most of them also have one other thing in common, and that’s that there not a huge fan of their homeland. I guess it makes me wonder if they’re travelling to find something better than the place they call home?

Its different for me. I really really love where I am from, I kind of feel lucky. I realise that a lot of people from East Yorkshire probably don’t agree with that, but I think home is what you make it and I try and make the best of everything. Home is the place you look forward going back to, home is that place you long for when your sad, home is where your loved ones are, home is where hundreds of memories were built, I guess home is that place that makes you happier than anywhere else. So really home is different for everyone, but home for me is in sleepy East Yorkshire and I love telling everyone my stories and memories from growing up and living there.

All this talking of home, made me wonder why I do love travelling so much? The thing is, is that there really is no place like home. But there is a huge massive world out there that is just waiting to be explored. For me travelling is one massive adventure; it makes me feel alive, I love meeting new people and making a friend forever, its experiencing crazy things, the excitement of making new plans, it’s the anticipation, it’s the memories, its those moments that you hate every second of but look back on with such joy…

I reckon by the time I have finished this little adventure, I’ll have been so far, met so many people, created so many fantastic memories, done too many crazy things to remember with people I have grown to love so much that it’ll be hard for me to call somewhere specific home at all.

It Figures.

Kayaking!

Had a nice day today kayaking. Whats best is that it cost us nothing, so i was even happier. It was actually quite a work out and Rob and I have realised that we are completely incapable of paddling in sync together. So Rob spent most of the time telling me not to paddle, I just chilled and enjoyed the ride. We actually made more progress that way. On our way back to the marina the calmness was interrupted by some dick heads on jet ski's. Two of them circled us and then tried to flip us off our kayaks. They totally failed in their attempt to knock us out, but they manage to spray the jet of water straight in Emma's face who was in the second kayak, it knock the shades straight off her face and into the water. She was so pissed. The thing is, is for the jet of water to spray someone in the face, they're way too close and it is actually incredibly dangerous. Whats worse, is that they weren't satisfied the 1st time round, so they came back for seconds. By which point Rob was knelled up on the back of the kayak with the paddle, ready to knock them straight in the teeth. He was so angry, he's like a little terrier. Emma and Joe were also shouting at them, I think they got the message in the end. Although i just think it fueled the situation even more. Emma and Joe ended up reporting them to park service, so hopefully she'll get some cash back for her shades. The little shits.

бабушка

бабушка - means grandmother in Russian (pronounced Babushka). Its word I've used a little too much this week for no apparent reason. Now at work, it's what we all call each other. Random I guess. But when the Jamaicans say it mixed in with Jamaican slang, it just sounds hilarious! My aim is to be fluent in Jamaican by the end of the summer. I quite fancy learning another language (a proper language) though, I miss learning stuff now I'm not at uni anymore. I'm surprised at how much stuff I have remembered off Elena though, I know a variety of Animals (dog, cat, donkey) and a few phrases. I'm easily reminded though, my Polish friend here is fluent in English and Russian, so he helps me along the way.

This week has been a pretty slow week at work. It’s been nice and warm (expect today) but it has been incredibly windy, 50 – 60 mph. It’s not exactly the type of weather people want to go boating in and we’re discouraged from recommending that people do so. We’ve only had around 6 power boats go out on average, which is nothing, and most of those have been back by noon to avoid the increasing afternoon winds. It has been steady to say the least. Although on the other hand it has been a really busy week for houseboats. It’s good. It makes the day go faster doing them, its nice being able to practice and see you get better and the best part is, is that your way more likely to get tips. This week hasn’t been a good week for tips for me though. I guess you win some, you loose some, I lost many. Rob on the other hand did pretty well.

This work week has gone so quickly, I’m not exactly sure why as work has been slow, but either way it only feels like 2 days ago it was my day off, so I’m happy. Today our boss told us that we could take some of the power boats out for free and he’d throw in a full tank of gas too (he needs the engines breaking in slowly), so that’s the plan for Wednesday, we’re going to go all the way up to rainbow bridge. I’m looking forward to it. Tomorrow I want to stay in bed at least until 10 and in the afternoon I quite fancy taking some kayaks out and having a little adventure, that does depend if its windy though.

Spoke to Mum today and she sounds really optimistic about coming to visit either at the end of June or mid August. That would be super cool. She’d come with Sammy too. Fingers crossed she’s able to get a good deal on a flight! I miss Mum and Sammy so much!!!

The Office...

A day on the lake

Take Two:

Today we took our driving tests, written and practical. We passed them both! Yay! To be honest i've never seen anything like it, in our driving tests we were literally driving for less than 5 minutes and it was honestly a straight drive down to the visitors centre and back again. We also had to parallel park in this coned space that would have honestly fitted a tank in. Basically if we had failed it would have been pretty embarrassing!

Good Intentions and No intentions!

So our wake boards, its a no go. The story, our landlord from Park City sent as email today declaring that we would not be getting our deposit back. He effectively said we'd trashed the place and made no effort to try and clean the place what so ever. The only true thing he did state was that we hadn't replaced 4 light bulbs and that we hadn't vacuumed the floor. Apart from that, the place was in exactly the same shape as what we got it in. Its kind of annoying because we're no longer in Park City to dispute all this. Rob is going to send him a polite email to set him straight but we both know that we should cut our losses and forget it. He obviously had no intention of returning our deposit. I knew we should not have paid our last months rent.

So thats why we can no longer get wake boards, because we're $500 down. Its quite a big chunk of cash, actually $25 a week over 20 weeks. So it actually effects our budget quite dramatically. I guess we're going to have to throw on the charm and start making even better tips.

Anyways, over and out. I'm off to do some driving test revision.

Fridge

We're going to buy a fridge! I/we have realised we really cant exsist on noodles and salad. So we're going to invest in a fridge, a small price to pay for a balanced diet is what I say. Its so hot here too that you need to eat well as the sun just drains you of every last piece of energy you have. Not good on long days.

Works going really great, I'm really enjoying it! I've now been signed off on M boats and J boats, that will mean nothing to most of you but its basically the most basic house boats we have, they're 49' and 53'. The cool thing is, is that since we've been instructing on the bigger boats (for 2 days) we've been making some good money. I made $65 and Rob made $40, I think having blonde hair and long legs goes along way on the tip front, especially when you top it off with an English accent and the customer is American. Either way I'm not complaining. Hopefully tomorrow will be a good day, and I'm also looking forward to getting trained up on more boats.

Tonight we're going for a curry with Indian guy called George, he's cooking for 7 of us. I'm actually quite excited! On Tuesday we're doing our theory and driven test, so wish us luck!!!

DAY 10

So we've been here 10 days and I feel like we've done a lot in that time. We're settled into our new jobs and our boxy little rooms, in fact works going great. We've got a big portion of the training done and when we return back to work on Thursday we will hopefully be signed off to instruct on the first set of house boats, which means we can start making some good money in tips! I've also come to terms with the fact that there really isn't much to do here. So I'm just going to have to embrace it and make the most of it, but I guess things are what you make them. Thats kind of been my philosophy for a long time now and it seems to be working out just fine. What ever I do I have fun and I intend to keep it that way.

Today has been our first day off work and typically the weather is horrible. It was a glorious 85F+ day yesterday with a light breeze. Today is a totally different story, its ridiculously windy, freezing cold, it even snowed at one point! We were planning on going on a boat tour today and seeing some of the sights on the lake, but the marinas have all closed... so that didn't really go to plan. Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day and we can finally take a boat out and have some fun. We shall see. Fingers crossed!

We're also ordering our wake boards today... so I'm pretty excited about those arriving!

Iron Man 2

I don't usually like super hero films at all. But the Iron Man films are slowly becoming my favorite. Iron Man 2 was absolutely awesome, so good, I want to go see it again. Its rare that I think the sequel is as good as the first film, Iron Man 2 is definitely as good as the first. I'd recommend to anyone!

If you haven't seen the first, go rent it!

I think you might enjoy this.

I thought a few of you may enjoy this a little. My pic is pretty standard, I do look a little simple, but I think Rob looks hilarious! It did make me giggle! For some reason the lady wouldn't even put his whole name there. Apparently he only deserved 'Munby'. Funny! So now every time he clocks in, he gets to see this.

Our Pad

Its fair to say that our accommodation has been getting gradually worse over the course of this trip. Our room here is smaller than my room at Uni and there is to of in it. So for those of you who wanted a nosy at our new place, here are a few pics:

Today we actually got our hands on some boats. Easy! Its definitely not rocket science. I'm pretty confident everything will go well, and we've pretty much nailed our instruction speech apparently. They think we're ready to tackle the general public. I'm quite excited. This is officially the coolest job ever, its so chill on the marina. There are no bosses breathing down our neck all day and everyone knows there role and does it. Although our uniforms are horrible and its all mens attire, so the crotch on the shorts in really low... its basically rubbing the skin on the inside of my legs raw. I think I'm gonna have to invest in some new shorts.