Dad's hometown...Toledo, Ohio

To think I have spent 23 years of my life oblivious to the fact that I have a side of my family I've never met... is sad. Its been an emotional, fulfilling part of my trip here in Toledo, Ohio- my Dad's hometown! I feel blessed to have been given this chance to meet family members who I've only ever seen in pictures or spoken to on the phone. I feel I've grown or developed as a person to have seen and now understand where and how my Dad grew up...

Mum, Dad and Grandma!

Four generations of Links...Grandma, Jack, Amy and Dad

Grandma and me

The church where Mum and Dad got married...(its more like a cathedral-massive!)

36 years later... Mum and Dad on the steps of the church!

Mum and Dad's first home....in Butler Street!

The Yahtzee champ showing Mark and I how to play! (Grandma's favourite game!)

Family reunion... My cousin Kenny with his daughter Brittany, Dad with Skyla who is my other cousin Kevin's daughter, and Kevin on the end!

Aunty Donna-Jean, Amy and I

Dad, as Great Uncle Dave to Skyla and Brittany... and Grandson Jack!

Cousins... Amy, Kenny, Kevin and me! (I also have three other cousins who weren't able to make it)

We visited Dad's friend Billy's property... gorgeous country living!

Billy has a pond, fit with jetty and all, in his backyard!

Me after a hard days work ploughing..! haha...just jokes! There are corn fields everywhere!

Well... what a great part of the Link adventure this has been. You never forget where you are here... as most, if not all, houses are decorated with the American flag. Toledo is such a patriotic town!

We now head off to New York City... I'll keep you posted!

The WINDY city...

One thing about travelling that I'm not keen on is when you have to do it in small planes! Nah the trip from San Fran to Chicago wasn't too bad, but we did hit a bit of turbulence! It was great to see Dad waiting for us at our arrival gate.

We stayed at the Sheraton on this part of the "Link adventure" (as I shall now call it!) and had a great room with views of the Chicago River and Lake Michigan!

Our first day in the windy city (its definately windy...see proof in photos below!) was spent at the Navy Pier...

Lake Michigan is beautiful and blue... it felt like we were on an island! (but were really just metres from a block of highrises)

Proof I was in the "WINDY" city!

Mum and I at the Pier. The John Hancock Building is behind us... our next stop! A bit of insight for you... John Hancock is the one signature on the Declaration of Independence that stands out... so its fitting that the building is called the JH Building.

The view from the top of the John Hancock building was amazing... (its the 94th floor)

Mum and I decided to take a risk... and wash the windows!

More of the view....

After our morning at the JH building... we wandered (or walked a few km's) to the Lincoln Park Zoo!

I had my first squirrel experience on the way to the zoo... (they are everywhere! and so cute!)

Dad found some of our long lost relatives...haha!

I was a fan of the sea lions...(they swim upside down- very talented!)

I found my dream home... the architecture throughout the streets of Chicago is astounding!

All in all our adventure in Chicago was great! Mark's experience with a street guy was one of the highlights- he ended up paying 20 dollars to have his shoes cleaned! hehe...

So now we have flown to Detroit (that song "put your hands up for Detroit" was in my head the whole way!) picked up a car... and ended up in Dad's hometown of Toledo, Ohio! (it reminds me of Orange and Bathurst a little) I met my Grandma for the first time EVER today... it was such an amazing moment- one I shall always cherish.

I'll post more about this part of the Link adventure soon! xo

I left my heart in San Francisco...

Not really... I just like the title!

San Fran is a great city... much like Sydney in some respects. We (Mum, Amy, Mark and Jack) have been to fishermans wharf...Golden Gate Park (the Golden Gate Bridge is not as exciting as I thought it would be) and the Conservatorium of flowers...seen Alcatraz and rode in a cable car! (definately a highlight!)

Now we head to Chicago where we are meeting up with Dad... but first here's some photos of the trip so far!

The one and only...Golden Gate Bridge! (Fact- the colour is actually "International Orange")

Jack and Aunty Beth on our last night in San Fran... he's so big now! Growing up too fast... but he remembers me- yay!

Amy, Mum, Jack and Mark outside the conservatorium of flowers!

SO artistic I know... hehe! Some of the flowers...

The city skyline...

The cable car...

Everything about Alcatraz had an eery feeling... I wouldnt have wanted to be on that island!

SUPRISE... and farewell Whistler!

Guess what I got?

So my time here in Whistler is wrapping up fast... and I wanted something to remember the great experience I've had living and working here for the season! See below...

I've always wanted a tatoo... and YES its real! And just so you all know I had Mon and Rach tell me EVERY day for a week that its permanent- so yes its something I wanted to do for myself. hehe... And thanks to the girls for coming with me on our family outing (I think Mon was more scared than me!hehe...)

So I am leaving Whistler in a week... and head to the States! I'm excited to see my family and travel with them for three weeks, meet my Grandma for the first time... and then travel and see a bit of the US on my own. It's been an awesome four months here in Canada... I've met great people, had fun living with Mon, Rach and Cath... and also had some good trashbag adventures!

More photos below...

This is me at one of my jobs... The Old Spaghetti Factory... on my last day!

Getting ready to take on the mountain... yay to me! hehe...

What a view...

Mon's found her perfect man... he even dresses like a trashbag! hehe...

Some of my Keg workmates...Naomi and Ali!

The Keg hostesses... the best in Whistler! This was at our work party... Casino night!

More of the Keg gang...

Oh and now that I am leaving Whistler I won't have a phone so be sure to email! Miss you all lots... xo

Vancouver Island getaway...

Cath, Ali and I decided to take a break from Whistler for a week and headed out to explore Vancouver Island! We hopped into a rental car after catching the ferry to Nanaimo and then our adventure began...

We started in Victoria... a harbour town with plenty of historic buildings. The one behind me in this photo is of parliament house... its huge and the detail is amazing!

Everywhere you go around Vancouver Island there are totem poles of all sizes... this one caught my eye. They symbolise different aspects of the native land.

We then left Victoria and headed to a small sea side surfer hippy town called Tofino... definately a must see in summer. We had a great time... stayed in a fabulous hostel... but it rained ALOT! This is me on the pier just down from where we stayed.

hehe.... I had to throw this photo in. My family will understand why... and maybe a few others familiar with my nickname!

We were told you can't go to Tofino without heading out on a boat to the hot springs... now what an experience that was! The seas were a little rough... but Cath and I made everyone feel a little better when we put Bob Marley on! (I think the other people on board thought we'd had some green stuff on offer from the locals! haha...)

It was a 2 hour boat and hike to the hot springs... but it was a different experience. Being in the cold in your swimmers and getting into warm natural springs is crazy! (especially with ten pairs of construction workers eyes glaring at us... a whole nother story!) Oh and my tiffanys ring turned gold when I was in the water... I freaked out- but thankfully its back to normal! something to do with the sulfate...

The boardwalk through the rainforest to our boat was gorgeous... lots of amazing views. (a little hard to do with a sprained ankle- thanks to those construction men- but I managed!)

One of the many views...

The boardwalk was lined with carvings of all the boats/people that have stopped at the hot springs...

We made it safely back to the boat... what a fun day!

You also can't go to Tofino without sampling something from the local bakery...I had the best cookie I have EVER had in my life here.

On our way out from Tofino we headed to the Point restaurant... Its unique in that they have microphones outside so you can sit there and hear the waves crashing! Its awesome... especially on a raining day! We couldn't afford to eat here but we had a drink!

the view of long beach from the restaurant...

AND so we hoped in our car and headed back from our adventure! Definately worth it...

Oh and just finally...

CONGRATULATIONS to my sister Amy and her hubby Mark... and of course little Jack! I am going to be an Aunty again!!! yay... Wish I could have been there to celebrate the good news! We'll have a drink when I see you in six weeks... yep so soon!