Team RAMROD Fights Back!

When Todd and I first found out that we were accepted to James Cook University, we started looking up activities in Townsville, which was going to be our new home. I remember Todd telling me that there was going to be a Relay for Life in May in downtown Townsville and we were both excited to take part! Well that was then, and this is now. It's already May and Relay for Life just happened last night. Time is going by so fast, yet I still remember talking about the idea of participating months ago when I was still in the States. When it got closer to the time for the actual event to take place, Todd gathered up a team and we decided to call ourselves Team Ramrod after the classic movie, Super Troopers. We were all excited to start fund raising for the event and actually get out there and relay for a cure. There were 16 of us on the team and we raised over $800 for cancer research! It was a really good turn out and all of us had an amazing time.

The flags in the above picture stand for all of the people in Queensland, Australia that are diagnosed with cancer each year. It was our job to make a pledge to do ONE thing to prevent cancer (ex: putting on sunscreen, telling family members to eat healthy, raising awareness, etc.). Once you made your pledge, you removed one of the flags and the goal was to have all the flags gone by the end of the event.

A bunch of my friends and I participated in the CCU Relay for Life and that was a large turn out, but nothing compared to here in Townsville. It is a community event where people from all over the city come to participate! There were over 2,000 people at Relay this year and it was really something to see. The track was covered with all sorts of groups including high schools, families, universities, etc. The theme was 70's and it was hilarious to see all the different people dressed up in their 70's garb. Activities included Relay Idol (karaoke), Seventies Trivia, movies, and the classic luminaria service honoring those fighting cancer and remembering those we have lost. I know a lot of people that have been affected by cancer and I was glad to walk in honor of them here in Australia. The ceremony was emotional for most and it was beautiful to see all the bags lit around the track. The night was filled with all different emotions and overall, it was a great opportunity to take time out and participate in such a world wide effort to fight cancer and raise awareness.

Sara decided it would be a clever idea to get her face painted like Harry Potter. I am glad she did it for cancer.

Above is a picture of Lyndsey, Me, and Sam with our faces painted for the 70's theme! It was a gold coin donation to Relay for Life and we were excited to raise money for the cause. I personally walked over 10 miles during Relay! To say the least, I was exhausted by the end of the night. I felt really good about being there even though I was all the way across the world celebrating with mostly strangers. The feeling at Relay is always the same for me, I am happy to be there with people I care about and we are all there for the same reason. You always feel close to the people that are there even if you don't know their names. It's a really great event and I am going to continue to relay for a cure. I personally believe that it was a great way to wrap up my stay here in Australia.

I'll make sure to put up pictures on flickr once I have gathered them from various friends that were part of the team. Hope you enjoyed reading! G'day.

Tourists in Townville

A lot of activity is going on here in Townsville, QLD. Having visitors here is such a great time because I get to see everything I haven't seen since the beginning of the semester. Since I have been here for over 3 months, I feel like I fit into the culture and I don't feel like a tourist anymore. Even though technically I am a temporary visitor, everything just clicks now and I feel like I belong here in a way. The currency here has become the only one I know (I forget what American money looks like) and people driving on the left hand side of the road actually look normal. Casually crossing the road has become a normal occurrence and the accent doesn't sound out of place at all. Having my parents here has made me realize that I am much more familiar with the way things work here than the common American tourist. There are little things that they don't understand in terms of how people speak and how things are done here. They learned fast and it wasn't quite so difficult for them once they were here for about a week.

While they were here, we were able to see everything in just a short 2 1/2 days! Of course, you remember New Zealand. I think I have become a master at cramming more than one activity into a single day. They returned from Cairns on Friday night and they surprised me at my dorm room. They were ready for dinner, and so was I so we headed to the Lagoons, a common hang out for us Aussies. I wanted to show them the real way to do it, so we walked there. Um, I'm not quite sure if that was the right idea because Carol ended up with huge blisters on her feet. I guess since we walk it all the time, it seems like a walk in the park for us, but I guess it's not. There was a carnival going on there, but we decided to head on to a real restaurant because everyone was starving. My friends and I led them to the Willows where there are bars and great places to eat. After dinner, we had Cold Rock (aka Cold Stone in the USA), which is some of the best ice cream around. We decided to take a taxi back since the walk there wasn't so pleasant for the parentals.

Saturday we went to Magnetic Island! It was such a beautiful day outside and we were able to do a lot of things while we were there. Jen, a friend from CCU, was here visiting Todd so they came along and we made it a family event. Alma Bay was where we started so we could catch some rays at this beautiful beach! We took a swim and had some lunch and then continued on to the Forts. This was the same hike Wes, Sara, and I did when I first visited Maggie at the beginning of the semester. Of course, we saw wild koalas! Carol spotted the second one we saw and it was quite impressive because it was back in the scrub a bit. I think it gave my parents and Jen a real feeling of being in Australia. There was a great view from the very top of the Forts and we were able to show them the surroundings of the island. After we were done taking in the scenery we headed down to Horseshoe Bay for some dinner and a great sunset on the beach. The sunset was full of pinks, oranges, reds, and blues and the clouds made it that more spectacular! Seeing things like this makes me wish that Garrett was able to come and visit. He would love taking pictures of all the things there are to see here. After sunset, we headed back to the Ferry terminal and called it a day. We knew that Sunday was going to be even more eventful so a good night's rest was vital.


Sunday we toured the Townsville markets and bought some souvenirs and then headed to the Strand for another day at the beach! We needed the rest before our big hike up Castle Hill. After a couple hours at the beach, we decided to head on up the hill for a great view of the city. Everyone made it up, with a few struggles along the way. The day was absolutely perfect for it with a nice breeze to keep us cool. The hike was once again, worth it for the views. My parents said they felt like they were on top of the world. I was happy that they enjoyed another day in Townsville. We ended the day with a perfect Aussie BBQ on the Strand. Friends and family we able to enjoy sausages, kangaroo steaks, and veggie burgers (for our lovely Vego, Sara) together before my parents had to depart the next day. We had quite the spread and everyone stuffed their faces. Clark and Carol were able to meet some of the friends I hang out with and I think they enjoyed talking to them about their experiences here. I was tired, once again, from the action packed day, but I knew I had to get home to a paper that was due the next day, OH JOY!

Overall, the weekend went very smooth and it was filled with great times and good food! Now they are off to the Whitsunday Islands for a relaxing vacation on the beach. I hope you all enjoyed reading about our adventures! Until next time, miss you and love you.

Brizzy With The Fam Damily!

Hello All!

I realize that the main people that actually read this blog are here with me currently, but those of you who are not, I am sure you will find it pretty entertaining. This post is all about Clark and Carol's visit down under. Even though I have only seen them for approximately 3 days of their trip, they seem to like it all the way over here on the other side of the Earth.

The weather has cooled down quite a bit since the last time I blogged. New Zealand is obviously colder than here still, but winter has approached us. The days are still scorching if the sun is out in full force, but the nights are nice and cool with low humidity. Carol and Dad claim it's even colder than Kentucky currently...it's still prettier though. Anyway, I was able to go and visit them when they first arrived in Brisbane! I thought it would be a great opportunity to see a new city while I was at it. Brizzy, as the locals call it, was actually a lot different than I thought it was going to be. It is very built up and there are cranes everywhere, but the city has its perks. It's what you would call a city that revolved around the river. The Brisbane River runs right through downtown and all the action occurs on the bordering streets. Ferries run about every 10 minutes to all different stops along the water way. Since it was Mother's Day weekend, there were all kinds of activities going on.

I arrived Friday night, of course, along with the arrival of my first cold. I felt miserable on Saturday, but that did NOT stop me from adventuring around. Dad, Carol, and I decided it would be best if we did a little bit of a road trip on Saturday, so we went and saw Byron Bay and Gold Coast (approx. 1.5 hrs. South). Byron Bay is what you would call a surfer town. Winter is here so that brings the surfin' waves. It's a quaint little place where we grabbed a bite to eat and shopped a little in the hippy/craft shops. I loved the atmosphere there, very laid back and everyone was outside enjoying the beautiful sunny weather. There is a lighthouse that overlooks the entire bay and that was by far the best part. The water is a beautiful turquoise and it was crashing against the rocks, which made for awesome pictures. After we had our fill of the scenery, we jumped in the car and headed to Gold Coast!

Gold Coast consists of a lot of shopping and a lot of beaches. It is actually the entire area up the coast on the way to Brisbane. We decided to stop at Surfer's Paradise so we could stop at the Hard Rock Cafe and get me a shirt since I collect them from everywhere I go! It wouldn't be right if I didn't get one from Australia. We walked around for a bit until the parking meter was out of minutes aka we had 30 minutes to make it back to the car. We were pooped from traveling so we headed back to the city for a relaxing night. The Cowboys footy game was on so I decided to curl up on the coach and watch that. WE WON!! Cowboys beat the odds and won a game that they were projected to lose. What do those people know anyway.


Sunday, Mother's Day :). The fam decided to tour the city since I hadn't really seen that much of it yet. We walked across the bridge to the other side of the river and happened upon the Queen St. Beach. Sounds weird, eh? Yeah, it is a beach in the middle of the city and you can see the river from it. It is actually a really cool set up and a lot of people were out sunning themselves. There were lots of markets since it was Sunday so I found a sterling silver ring I liked, and we shared a peice of "tutty fruitty" licorice. After a nice lunch, we hopped on the ferry and toured the entire river side. We stopped off in a few places and decided to keep going until we had seen everything. The ferries go about a hundred miles an hour, and one time when the three of us weren't prepared, we went tumbling to the ground in a domino effect. Of course, laughter was inevitable and I couldn't help but laughing at us. I guess my dad isn't as sturdy as I thought. Oh well, the day was pleasant and we ended it with some Asian cuisine and a good night's rest. We all headed to Townsville the next morning and I was welcomed back to uni with an assignment that was due at 5 pm that night...bummer. Life goes on, I guess.


My parents headed off to Cairns and I was left here to finish off the week. Now it's Friday and they are back again for more fun! We plan to head to Maggie Island, and off to the Strand for a BBQ on Sunday after a rought hike up Castle Hill. We shall see how they do. Until next time, G'Day.