The Pueblo Slopper...Should This Thing Be Illegal?

So Pueblo has come...My sis Natalie told me the transition from Aussie during the summertime to Pueblo during the wintertime would be a rough one, but sadly I did not know it would be this rough! The 'BLO, as the locals call it, is not nearly as magnificent as the land of OZ. In fact, it is very similar to my previous Alamosa rotation in the sense that Wal-Mart is the most exciting place to be in this town :) I have had one exciting (or should I say nasty) experience, however. When thinking back over this experience, I really do not have much to say...except that I am thoroughly disgusted with myself after eating a "Pueblo Slopper". The Slopper should be illegal! This thing has to be killing people all over Pueblo!!! But they say a picture is a thousand words so I will leave ya'll now to your imaginations. I introduce to you The Pueblo Slopper :)

Fearfully And Wonderfully Made

And to Australia I now must bid farewell. The time that God has given me here has been full of just about alittle bit of everything...Fifteen hours in first-class definitely kicked this trip off with a bang and now a fifteen-hour flight will return us back to our homeland (although the return flight will prolly feel more like 20 hours because it will not be first class this time haha). In between, I have experienced sooo many things. I have been able to explore the beautiful city of Melbourne, of which I am still convinced is the most magnificent city in the world. I've made my way down to the stunning city of Sydney and have seen for myself that the beauty of the Opera House overlooking the Sydney Harbor is definitely not over-hyped. I've strolled across the tiles lining the capital building floor and have discovered that although different governing systems stand in place in differernt countries, they all are designed to lead and protect the people of that country. I've sailed the seas, ridden out the waves, and have been able to grace some of the most beautiful waters and beaches I can ever even imagine. I have dove with the most colorful of fishes alongside some of the most dangerous and poisonous creatures. I have thoroughly been amazed by these creatures but have grown to respect them in the abilities that God has given them. Additonally, I have now come to know penguins as my new favorite animals and think that they should be considered the new Kings of the Jungle :) I have played in the whitest sand...relaxed under the biggest trees...and walked through the pouring rain. And through all of this, this country has made its way into my heart as my new home-away-from-home. However, this experience has also shown me how much I love and miss my Momma and Daddio, my brother Jordo and seeeeestirs Kerr, Britt, Natalie, and LMNOP Marie, my cuz Julian, and of course all of my AWESOME friendies. I leave you now with one of my favorite songs that the Lord has used many times in my life to point me back to Himself. It is simply called...Fearfully and Wonderfully Made (by Matt Redman). The lyrics speak as follows:

So fearfully and wonderfully made...How could they say, "There is no God?"

Reminded every breath that I take...its by your hand I have been formed

So what am I gonna do with this life you gave me?

What could I do but live for your praise?

You gave me this breath and you gave me this strength...and everyday I live to obey you

With all of my heart...with all of my soul...let every breath I breath in display you God

Oh, theres elegance in all you create...your grand designs leave us amazed

The wonders of the way we've been made speak of your power...tell of your grace

So what am I gonna do with this life you gave me?

What can I do but live for your praise

So, once again I bid farewell to the country that has housed me for the past month-and-a-half...I bid farewell to the country of OZ. Much love. RB

Refreshed And Ready To Go

Since my last post, we have arrived back to Melbourne. Boy does it feel good being back in my Australian home-sweet-home :) After traveling up the entire eastern coast of Australia, we returned back "home" just in time to catch the Super Bowl (of which we all know the mighty BURGH won). Being back in Melbourne has been extremely nice. Since we had previously "devoured" the entire city before we left on our travels up the coast, we have been able to keep it quite low-key for about 5 days now and this has definitely rejuvinated our traveling spirits. So with a new refreshed vigor, we have packed up the backpacks once again and the travels are to be continued tomorrow. Before we launch onto our next excursion, however, I think I should provide ya'll with some pics of our last expeditions. Check 'em out below.

Airlie Beach - Prosperpine, OZ

Getting ready to sail to the Whitsunday Islands.

Our majestic voyager.


This water was incredible blueish-greenish. You can see Whitehaven beach in the distance. It is called Whitehaven for the sand that is perfectly white.



The color of the water against the brightness and purity of the sand was just incredible.



Whitehaven Beach




Snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef. In addition to snorkeling, we had to wear these "stinger suits" anytime we got in the water because it is stinger seasone here. The Box Jellyfish becomes in abundance this time of year and it is in the top 10 most poisonous creatures on the planet.





Approaching Long Island where Brian and I stayed for 2 nights. You can barely see the lodges we stayed in, but as you can see they are literally right on the water.

Just relaxing on Long Island

Brian and I layed in these hammocks that lined the beach one night for a couple of hours and just watched the sunset while we listened to music. It was one of the most peaceful times of my life where I was just able to contemplate life and "chat" with God for a couple of hours.

The next day we took a hike through the rainforest.

Determined to touch this shark in a lake on the island. This is the weirdest-looking shark I have ever seen.

Let me tell you...The bugs on this island were MONSTERS!

These are Wallabies. They are relatives of the kangaroo but are much smaller. They ran around everywhere on Long Island.

This Wallaby has a little baby in its pouch.

Preparing to make the trek from Prosperine to Cairns (or Cans as the locals say). The buse ride was suppose to be 9 hours and 50 minutes but due to severe flooding it took us 13 hours. At one point all the roads heading into Cairns closed down!

This was a funny moment. I was listening to my iPod and it started to downpour rain. Then I looked down and the song that came on was "Let it Rain" by Yanni (yes...I did just confess I was listening to Yanni :)

This is in Cape Tribulation (where the Daintree rainforest and Great Barrier Reef meet). We were on a skipper boat looking for Crocs, which are commonly swimming up and down this river.

I don't think I even have to say anything about this picture. But as you can see, the spiders in Cairns are ridiculously big. This spider was just hanging in the middle of a boardwalk in the rainforest. We almost walked right into his/her web. Did I mention that I am not a fan of spiders in the least!?

A bannana tree.

Another man-eating spider.

This moth is literally called the Goliath Moth. Up close it looked like a bird.

The rainforest overlooking the ocean.

This is the Mossman Gorge. It was AWESOME. It was in the middle of the rainforest and the water (although it does look green) was perfectly clear. Although a bit cold, it was an awesome place to swim.

The sunset from Port Douglass.

So there ya have it. Just wanted to let ya'll see what's been going on in my life and travels. Tomorrow Brian, John (who we met up with us two days ago) and I are renting a car and driving down the Great Ocean Road. It should be interesting because the steering wheel is on the opposite site! It will take us about 3 days to drive it so should be pretty fun. We decided that it would cost to much to find housing along the way so we are gonna be sleeping in the car every night...so it should be quite a cozzie fit! But it will be memorable and fun. When we return we will be backing up all our belongings (and gifts! Oh my goodness, Natalie, you are gonna love your gift :) and will be making the trip back to the US. Hate to see this trip come to an end, but we'll just have to go out with a bang. Much love to you all.

RB

Undercover cops checking passes on the tram...Are you kidding me?

Getting arrested and publicly humiliated by an undercover cop on the tram for not having a pass? Check.


After over 2 weeks of riding the trams in Melbourne for free, we have come to realize that they actually do check passes to ride...We just didn't realize that they used undercover agents to do the checking! I thought that those undercover guys were only used for big jobs, like stopping a drug ring or possibly to protect the president. But now from personal experience, if you don't have any money and you ride the trams in Melbourne, keep an eye out for the Undercovies (as Natalie and i like to call them). After flying back into Melbourne from Cairns, B and I decided to venture into the city to find a place that sold the Star Wars Trilogy...and I won't go into much detail about why we were doing this, but let's just say Brian has never seen Star Wars! The poor boy! Once finding this out I took it upon myself to introduce him to some of the greatest movies ever. But while riding the tram into the city, 2 large men approached us and whipped out badges...just like they do in the movies! But it wasn't a movie and the men definitely felt the need to show their manliness. They asked us where we were headed and thankfully I decided to leave the Star Wars part out of my answer. But we told them we were from the states and were sorry for the misunderstanding. They were not happy with our answer at all and told us it was a "serious offense" to ride the trams without a pass and they were going to "discuss what to do with us". I'm not gonna lie, it was kinda exciting. Meanwhile, however, there was about 30 other people on the tram that were staring at us...the 10 minute ride with the manly cops and the 30 pedestrians staring was a bit uncomfortable. Good news is I am not in an Aussie jail - I told the officers I was Barack Obama's brother and they decided to drop all charges :)


Much love,
Ryan


PS - We did immediately go to the nearest 7-11 and purchase a week tram pass. It set us back 29 dollars but it is good to know we won't be brushing shoulders with the Undercovies anymore :)