From asia and small towns to Disneyland

Making my way home was an ordeal but I was with my family in time for Christmas and all settled in to never leave Canada again. I spent 6 whole months indulging in small town life (yeah, I'm from a small farming community of 2500 friends and neighbours). I worked at the local museum, house-sat, met a guy, caught up with friends, shoveled snow... And I was ready to go again. I'm starting off small though and sticking to North America for the foreseeable future. California... with its sunshine and warmth and its distance from all my boredom and anxieties made for the perfect summer vacation. Plus, one of my favourite people in the world lives here: Tania. I spent one wonderful week touring, exploring LA and Orange County, being spoiled rotten by my friends and my friends friends. They included me in a camping trip the first weekend in Big Sur - the drive alone was spectacular - and I ended up camping with the most fun group of people, playing horribly inappropriate board games. I saw everything from the Hollywood sign to the giant shopping plazas to the dark little mexican restaurant where No Doubt used to frequent. And then we went to Mexico for a day. Driving seems to be a huge part of the culture there, and what seems like a waste of gas and poor planning back home is the norm. So we spent an afternoon at Rosarito and an evening waiting at the border. Because no trip to LA is complete without this roadtrip, nor would it have been complete without a day at Disneyland thanks to Pedro (the same one who got me into such a mess in Scotland). Tania and Danny even took me to the Orange County fair where we saw Bob Dylan! One week of completing intruding in Tania's life, made the best vacation possible with her generosity and amazing can-do spirit renewed my faith. Now I'm living in Toronto, volunteering and enjoying summer in the big city... I'm working my way back up.