Miss Mandie

I just found this unpublished post from my visit to Washington, DC back in September last year – here ya go!

Anybody that knows me, knows I love flowers. I will spend time making daisy chains to wear in my hair, I hang pictures of them on my walls, I put freshly picked ones in my room, they are even woven into the paisley tops I wear…I just cant get enough of them it seems!

So you can imagine how much fun I had snapping them at the Botanical Gardens, Washington DC. I understand that not everyone will be interested, but for those of you that might share a similar love for nature’s way of exploding colour into our lives, I hope you enjoy the album!

It was surprisingly the first time I had used my camera to take up close and personal photos of anything using the digital macro function on my Canon Powershot SD750 (or Ixus 75 as its sold in some parts of the world). I think they turned out well for an automatic digital camera! Sure I had some troubles with getting it to focus on some flowers, but overall I was impressed with how they turned out. This camera costs less than $300 (I think in both Aussie and US dollars) and I always see a multitude of people with them when out – we are onto something good so if you are in the market for a reliable camera, consider this Canon.

Photos – actual candy sold that reflect some of the political perceptions in the nation.

Given I had the unique vantage point of being in the States during the latest historical election, I thought I should spend a few minutes recounting my experience for those that may be interested (yes, yet again, I am aware of how behind I am on this!). Having missed the last two elections in Australia, I was looking forward to watching this election unfold. As much as we may not like to admit it, America and its political system does have an influence on our lives beyond their country border, so its little surprise that this election had most of the world holding their breath.

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It’s part of the traveller’s life…having to say goodbye to those that you connect with, not sure exactly when you will see them next. Today I had to say goodbye to Charish, my travel companion of the past couple of months, partner in crime in so many episodes this year that span from Thailand to Alaska and soul sister in life.

However, at the end of this full day of travel I have to mark how many wonderful things filled my day, to help me remember just how beautiful life really is:

- A morning coffee stop in Phoenix, Arizona to see Kayla, a volunteer I met at the Romanian orphanage last year and catching up on all the antics of that crazy Romanian village we both love so much. Kayla was also sweet enough to bring along a whole heap of photos from her last trip there over the summer, so I could see how much the kids had all grown up in the past year.

- Being pulled over by THE nicest police man…apparently a rule I was unaware of was the “move over” rule when a police car has its lights on next to the highway (you are supposed to move out of the lane closest to the car), so he pulled us over, was very polite, kindly informed me of the rule, gave me a brochure on it, did not give me a ticket and did not write any tickets for Jackie not having updated insurance or her registration papers in the car.

- Honest and heartfelt conversations with Jackie, my current travelling companion, on the journey about life, the universe, and so much more.

- Making it to the Grand Canyon for a second visit in as many weeks, in time to watch the sunset and enjoying laying on the pavement after dark looking at the sky filled with stars.

- Being able to access wireless internet easily from a hotel in Flagstaff…we were wondering how we were going to check for responses from the CouchSurfing requests that Jackie sent out and to our surprise and delight, the second hotel we parked next to had free internet – too easy!

- A phone call from the Arizona CouchSurfing Ambassador who saw our post in the Flagstaff group (as we had originally thought we would try and stay there the night) and wanted to know if there was anything he could help with, which included hostel/hotel recommendations and the best place to get pie in Williams!

- Getting the last available room in a hotel just after we crossed over to the California border, which means we can get a great night’s sleep before the remaining 9 hours drive tomorrow.

So despite the current ache in my heart of missing one of my dearest friends, I am so grateful for all of the things that appeared in my day to make me smile!

Photo Album – Venturing to Vegas!

I know I am getting slack on keeping this site updated. I know this because I have been back from my trip to Las Vegas for over a week now. But I am feeling energised and enthused about being a better communicator/friend/blogger. Anyway, to the point of this entry – a week filled to the brim of fun, laughter, friendship, excitement, desert, casinos, fulfilling life-long dreams and free drinks at penny slots. So where to begin on trying to encapsulate this week without writing a novel…hmmm, let’s give it a shot (click on the following link)….

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