USA

As tends to happen, time passes and the time has come for our trip to come to an end. This trip has brought fabulous adventures and new insights to the rest of the world out there.

One thing I learned was that, contrary to my previous belief, a lot of the stereotypes are true;
1. People in Australia really do talk like they do in the movies, 'Goodday Mate', they really say 'Barbie' (I never heard 'Throw another shrimp on the Barbie', but I imagine if you hung around long enough, someone would).

2. While not all people hate Americans, a large percentage do. Best bet, claim Canada and profess to hate Bush.

3. The towns in Australia and New Zealand, minus bars and a few restaurants, completely shut down starting at 5 pm. Also, 5 pm is more of a floating time frame, and depending on how the workers are feeling, they can shut down at any point from 4 - 5. Translation, you had better go to the grocery during the day, or be hungry, because nothing is open once the sun goes down.

4. I do not agree with the Kiwis belief that cars should tow boats, but hey that's just me.

5. Who knew America had such great phone, cell and internet plans. Who wants to pa 30 cents per half minute to land lines and even more to mobile phone and pay per Mb you download on the internet ... not me.

6. When traveling, often the best times can be found in getting there. Stop to smell the roses. How else would we have found this amazing boot statue?

7. As a general rule, people are good. They want to help you if they can, and locals are the best contacts for what to see and do.

Take our Australian grandpa friend who rescued us with our empty car?

8. Finally, I am still happy about the 11:1 sheep to people ratio in New Zealand.

What a beautiful world

All in all this trip was brilliant, filled with beautiful sights and great fun (albeit expensive). The most important thing I learned however was how cool America is. There are so many places in America I haven't seen that are equally breath taking. While I am excited to return home, I am even more excited to continue exploring. Next month Europe, then who knows where my life will take me, one thing I have learned however is that you get from life what you put in. I have been fortunate enough to have a pretty sweet life, and luckily for me, it's just getting started.

For the remainder of my New Zealand photos, and all of the other not yet shown in my blogs (400 pics in total, a lot I know), CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS. Hope you enjoyed the ride 10% as much as I did.