Back on the Mainland

I was in New Zealand for 10 months on a working/holiday visa with a girlfriend from school, Kara. My dear friend! We had a great time in such a beautiful country! Check out what we did in our blog www.kararachelkiwi.blogspot.com. We got back to the U.S. in July and spent a couple days with friends in L.A. and Seattle. It was awesome to be reunited with familiar faces that we missed for so long! Thanks everyone for a great first week back in the good ol' U.S. of A!

We flew into LAX and stayed with Kara's friend Katie for a couple days. She literally lives a five minutes walk from downtown Hollywood. After adjusting to jet lag and the hugeness that is America (especially So-Cal) we did a lot of walking around the Hollywood "stars" enjoying the L.A. heat, shopping and the sweet taste of American food!

The Hollywood Hills amidst the smog!

Kara and I trying to get the Hollywood sign in the background. We had to prove we were really there!

The famous star walk.

The mall square we hung out in everyday.

Hollywood Blvd.

Honored to get a picture with Jimmy Stewart.

We had a few hours to kill before flying to Seattle. So my Uncle Mike picked us up took us to see some celebrity mansions in Beverly Hills (Nick Cage's house) and then bought us lunch at Venus Beach before taking us to the airport. Thanks Mike!

The strip with some of L.A.'s finest!

Jessica, Kara, Shanon and I on Puget Sound.

We stayed in Seattle with our friend Jessica for a couple days. She was a great host and really gracious for letting us invade her apartment and her busy schedule! Shanon came over from Spokane and we had a mini Whitworth reunion!

Reunited with my roomate from college, Shanon.

On the Pier on Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA.

We saw a guy paddle-bording. I've always wanted to do that!

It must have been our lucky day, because we all found 4 leaf clovers! This was the best shot we could get out of about 10.

A crabby crab.

The Pier from the shore.

I was deprived of my favorite sour apple-o gummy rings for 10 months! They didn't have them in NZ:( So the first night in Seattle Jess and I went to the store and I bought some!

On our last night in Seattle we celebrated Jessica's 23rd birthday. We got dressed up and went out to dinner and dessert. Here we are with a beautiful puget sound sunset in the background.

Mom and Dad picked me up in Seattle and took Shanon and I to a Mariner game. Score! Sadly, the M's lost by 10 and we left by the 7th inning stretch. It was even Dad's idea and he would be the last person on earth to leave a baseball game early, but the cause was justifiable. The cost was free at least!

Safeco all green and pretty.

We dropped Kara off at the airport on our way to the game. This was our last picture together before she left for her hometown Hamilton, MT. It was so sad to say goodbye! We have some great memories of New Zealand and hopefully we can travel again together in the future.