Aussie Land

Hey everyone!!!!!!!! It's been a hell of a journey but I'm finally in Australia. It was such a long trip, but totally worth it. I slept as much as possible on the 14 hour flight to Sydney, drank my first legal beer at the airport at 8 am and then boarded another plane for a 3 hour flight to Cairns, Queensland. This place is amazing, besides the fact that internet is not easily accessable, hence why I have not blogged til now. I'm adjusting to the time difference quite nicely. I leave for Sydney on Saturday and will stay put there and start my internship Monday. Here in Cairns we have group orientation and I have met some amazing people. I'm looking forward to living with a some people I met here in Sydney. I'll save all the details about the orientation adventures when I have time to post pictures and all that jazz. I hope everyone is doing well back home... sending all my love <3
peace babes
~mrlb

Last Day in the California & the USA

Happy Memorial Day beautiful people! Today is the day!!!! I'm leaving for Australia tonight- holla! Mother and I have been quite busy out here in beautiful LA, doing all sorts of touristy things. On Saturday morning we went back to the lovely Polliwog Park for a nice long power walk- my first at that. I've always laughed at the sight of power walkers but now I know they really are workin' it! After our walk we went to the store to make salads for lunch at the hotel, where we ate by the pool. Then we got ourselves together to head out for an evening in down town LA! We drove into the city not having the slightest clue what we would do be doing there, and after aimlessly driving around for almost an hour we parked in a garage and then stopped into a coffee shop for some sight seeing advice. The barista there gave us a great agenda for the afternoon. We walked over the LA Phil which is a beautiful rooftop garden to the MOCA (museum of contemporary art). The exhibit was amazing and I found a new love for contemporary art which I had not been introduced to until this point. I am so used to the traditional exhibits at the Philly museum- seeing something new was refreshing! I did learn that reading the artist's description of their pieces is absolutely pointless. It's basically just a bunch of jibber jabber about how they see the world as lines or, having no lines at all. Anyway, there's two parts of the MOCA about 10 blocks apart so we went looking for this other building and got lost and it wouldn't be the last last. I don't know whats worse, running hills at practice or getting lost in down town LA and not knowing the stream of public transportation- all I can say is those LA hills are killer. Next, we went to an out door food market and ended up in a huge music store with the most guitars I have ever seen in my entire life. I fell in love with a ukulele there, but momma talked me out of it :\  We headed back to the other side of town (where we began) to grab dinner at a sweet outdoor restaurant we spotted before hand. The Blue Cow was a mod, cozy place with  comfy couches and heating lamps to keep warm. Once we were all stuffed up, we headed back to the car to get home for some well needed rest. Of course, we got to burn off all that grub getting lost again on the way back to the car. Back in Manhattan we watched the beautiful west coast sunset to end the day.
Sunday called for a chill day outside, with the best weather we had yet. We went down to Manhattan beach for about an hour and then explored the coast. We drove about 5 miles south to Redondo beach where we rented bikes. We rode back up north to check out a street fair we had passed on our way down that forced us to take a minor detour. The Hermosa Beach Memorial weekend street fair was PACKED with vendors and people. It was crazy. We couldn't stay long because there was just too much going on so we went back to Redondo for lunch. Once we dropped off the bikes we ate at a harbor side restaurant over looking the marina, then we went back to the hotel for a nap. For my last night in LA, I had to go out with a bang and so mom dropped me off in Hollywood where I stayed with my Philly boy, Adam. He came out here for an internship and never looked back. Adam, his roommate Sam and I went out for a night on the town. We went to some bar (I forget the name) where I met some people who were also from the East coast. Then we went to a little cafe and called it a night. This morning Adam and I rode the metro all the way back to Manhattan beach where we met Mom and went out to lunch. The tables were turned when I got to show Adam Manhattan, a place he's never been despite the fact he's been living in LA for over a year now. We enjoyed a beautiful Memorial Day brunch at The Strand House where we sat outside on the second floor deck overlooking the shore. We dropped Adam back at the Metro station and hurried back to the hotel to pack up and move out!!! I still really don't know how all my stuff has fit into the luggage I brought but it did. Now we are just killing time until we get to head back to LAX and mom will see me off to SYDNEY. Is Australia ready for it?......
Peace and Love to the beautiful USA
Australia: HERE I COME
~mrlb

Californication

Hey everyone! Hope you all had a fabulous Friday, I can tell you we sure did here on the west side! This morning mother and I went to Polliwog Park at Manhattan Beach where we worked out at an outside gym which was sweeeet. The best part about this park is that it has a great disk golf course. Holla at my ultimate fam- bet you guys are jealous. As we began at hole one, a group of Cali guys rolled up to start a round as well so we joined them. Unfortunately, they were a lot better than me but we all know I could have schooled (or should I say skyed) them in ultimate, obviously. After 2 rounds of golf we rolled back to the hotel for some pool time. It was pretty cloudy this morning but cleared up nice by noon. Once we showered and got ready for the day, we drove out to Venice beach. This place was awesome! I'd say it was like a cross between South Street and Wildwood. Here we ate lunch and walked all around. There were a ton of long boarders, one guy was riding a board that had to be at least 4-5 feet long. Along the beach was a couple of "medical marijuana evaluation centers"- typical. Lots of vendors and 'entertainers' lined the beach as well, most of whom were young homeless people trying to make a couple bucks with whatever they had. We shopped til we dropped- so we got $5 foot massages. On the way out we went on a secret adventure that I don't think my mother would want me to share with the world... All I can say is, it was pretty bad ass. For dinner we ended up at some fast-Chinese-food joint that sold us on the sushi selection... unfortunately  it was what I like to call 'shitty shushi' so I compensated with some Lay's southern spicy BBQ chips- you can't find this flavor in the WC area- BANGIN. By the end of the night it was freakin chilly outside, but the forecast for tomorrow calls for sun and 70s, which means one thing- BEACH. 

I hope Everyone has a beautiful weekend and I miss you all already. If you get the chance please shoot me a text or give me a call, as my phone service will be shut off Monday night on my way out of the US. I would love to hear from all my loves before I go0o0o0o!!!

Peace, love & hugs 

~mrlb

Workin it

Disc Golf

Venice

Buddha

Graffiti 

Skaters

 

message ahhh

Cali Baby!

We made it to the West Coast! Even though we were traveling all day, with the time difference, we got here around 2 pm leaving plenty of time to get settled in and explore. Our hotel is about a mile from Manhattan beach, so we went there to hang out for the evening. The weather is gorgeous- sun with a few clouds but not too hot. Mom and I visited Manhattan beach where we walked the pier, checked out an aquarium, looked around some stores, ate at Wahoo's Fish Taco (amazing) and walked around the residential area. The houses were pretty neat- all square with beautiful gardens and patios. On our way back to the car we saw a guy standing on the corner holding a "Free Hugs" sign... awkward. 

Tomorrow we are planning to take a day trip to Venice beach! We are both fighting to stay awake at this point, especially me because I have a lot of time adjusting to do within the next week- wish me luck! 

Peace & love ya'll! 

~mrlb

Little Shark

Pink Star Fish & Sea Barnacles

Looking back from pier

Momma & Me!

Cawabunga dudes

Manhattan Beach

Dinner at Wahoo's- YUM

My Mommy is Punk Rock and Eats at Wahoo's

Last Day Home

It's my last day one the East Coast!!!! There are so many emotions running through me it's unbelievable. I'm so incredibly excited to get out of here but also very nervous to be in a whole new environment on my own. I just finished packing and cannot believe how much STUFF I fit into 2 suitcases and a backpack... hope I didn't forget anything! Tonight I'll be spending some time with the family and heading back to my favorite town (West Chester), one last time to say goodbye to my beloved friends. I AM GOING TO MISS EVERYONE SO MUCH. Mama Baker and I will be heading to the Philly Airport at the crack of dawn to hit up LA for a long weekend.... can't wait to have a special little vacay with my best friend :)
Until tomorrow,
Peace, love & LAST DAY!!!
~mrlb