"World's Best" Living the Dream Site 2007

And that's a wrap

2007-08-14T05:37:00.001-05:00

The full set of over 2000 photos, including a smaller set of select photos, is available at http://picasaweb.google.com/joshsmith17

Thanks for tuning it....see you again in 2009? Cambodia, Vietnam, and the like.....

Day 63 - Bula Vinaka, Hello & Good bye Fiji

2007-08-06T19:05:00.000-05:00

Today was the day. The final page of the greatest chapter of our lives thus far. We had all day on the island waiting for the 5pm boat transfer and soaked up the last rays of Fiji sun.

If you look closely you can see the sand bar in the middle of the ocean where our swim started from.

It was a bittersweet departure as we were saying good by to our new friends and excited to see our old ones. Beachcomber Island was a great stop and was a perfect ending.

Our shuttle dropped us off at the airport around 7pm for our now delayed 11:30pm flight to Los Angeles. This is were traveling with Josh comes in handy. HE got us into the quantas lounge and we relaxed it up with free beverages and food. They had shower facilities and they brought us blankets and pillows. A 10hr flight to LA found us in a mass of people in customs and no way to catch our connector to Las Vegas. Perfect, it was now 4pm on Monday and we left Fiji at 11:30pm the same day due to the international date line and we still weren't home. Luckily everyone flies to Vegas and we arrived a few hours later around 7pm.

The trip was over and we had arrived at our starting point. Looking back on the trip there were no regrets and if anything we found 6th gear on 4 speed. We hiked mountains in Hawaii, dove and spear fished in Fiji, hiked glaciers, walked redwood forests, bungi jumped, sky dived, snow boarded, skied, kayaked Milford Sound, Dove the Great Barrier Reef, camped on islands, yachted the Whitsunday's, hiked in knee deep snow, used ice picks and cramp ons, sleep in an RV for a week, swam with Olympic swimmers, swam with turtles, harassed sharks, partied like its 1999, slept on beaches, slept in dirty hostels, slept in 4 star resorts, explored major cities, drove on the wrong side of the road all while having the time of our life Living the Dream. Oh yeah and we looked damn good doing it.

People say that extended time away and traveling changes people or makes them a little different. I think traveling has answered many questions that I was unsure of, it has made decisions that I need to make clearer, and it has given me a wealth of knowledge to approach future life with. Smith and I have said numerous times you travel the world to realize that sometimes you have what your looking for right in front of you. The things that are most important, family, friends and relationships.

Day 62 -Death for Hump, Paradise for Smith

2007-08-05T18:26:00.000-05:00

Come to find out that my body can only take 61 days of limited sleep, excessive physical activity, malnutrition, binge drinking, and constant traveling, and living every day like it might be the last before shutting down. Pretty impressive I think. Now I know the next summer should be a 59 day trip, will get one extra just to be safe. I came down with a guesstimated 101deg fever for approximately 26hrs. I had a pressure headache from the fever the entire time and was on the verge of calling it goodnight. Rethink the last time you were sick and think of where you wouldn't want to be and it would somewhere like where I was. I took the last of our antibiotics and there was no more medicine on the island, drinking tap water and trying to put down curry everything I didn't leave the bed all day. Sleeping in a 84 bed dorm was tough and with no a/c my body was all over the charts. I felt like I was in a Mash sick bay and Clinger was taking care of my while Hawkeye was hooking up with the nurses. Helpless. My fever broke late the next night my headache slowly dissipated and the new batch of congestion set in. Somehow everyone I tell this story to has zero sympathy for me.

A midst all this there was paradise. The island party was going and the legend of Smith was growing. It was official he had taken the spot as the "most popular" on beachcomber. A prestigious award that doesn't get you much more than it did your senior year. From Smith's recollection of the day, it was filled with long walks on the beach, playing the guitar at sunset, quiet dinners and all that stuff you would think vacation and Fiji would be about. Sounds like David Hasslehoff and a cheesy scene of Baywatch.

Day 61 - Budgy Smugglers and Open Water Swimming

2007-08-04T18:21:00.000-05:00

Seeing I graduated with a degree in Athletic Training and Sports Medicine I figured I could come up with a proper training regiment for the big swim. Apparently thats a lot harder than you would think. It really wouldn't matter if we ate properly or rested well our times were going to be to be bad. So we burned the candle at both ends and woke up hating life. After checking in we were notified that the 2.6km swim was nonstop, we were horribly in trouble. However, armed with our speedo's and pink swim caps we went for gold. It did really hit us until we were in the boat on the way to the sand bar and overhearing conversations that this race was a really big deal. Come to find out there were Olympic medalists, world champions, nationally ranked swimmers and five backpackers. We are supposed to be on vacation.

The whistle blows for the start and everyone darts into the water, I start running and don't see Josh. I look back and he yells "wait I have to put my goggles on". Right there we are a minute behind. After swimming about 50 meters I realized I am a horrible swimmer, then I looked at the rest of the team and realized they are horrible swimmers as well. I look at my watch and realize I might miss lunch at the rate we are going. I love lunch. Too many negative realizations in a short period of time. We did regroup and I thought of my youth sports coach saying its not weather you win or lose, yady yady yady, we were gonna drown.

They have guys in kayaks all along the race in case of emergency and they seemed to have gravitated towards us. Smith looked at the guy closest to him who would be following him the whole time and asked him his name, the response was priceless. Moses. Chosen to lead Josh to the holy land. Too bad this guy couldn't part the south pacific. With about 1km to go Smith's calves cramped up and he had to hang on to the kayak for a bit. Matt and I looked back and said " see ya at the end, good luck". After turning the last buoy and seeing the shore we mustered some energy and charged the beach. Matt and I finished the same time and ran out of the water(in speedos). The entire beach was cheering and then we almost fell over, 1hr 15min in the water. Emma and Immy finished right behind us at 1hr 18min. Then it gets interesting. The announcer summoned everyone to cheer Mr. Smith, gold finger, golden boy, to the finish. He added some humorous jokes and some timely sarcasm as the fleet of kayaks delivered our rhino like swimmer to the shore. The crowd erupted as he crossed the finish line. Not only because he finished but now they could eat lunch. 1 hr 35min in the water, the winner finished in 39min.

The entire day was jokes and laughs about the event and the legend of Smith was growing. Literally. He got an award for coming in last. We ate at the swimmers lunch and dinner and drank a little as the night time festivities continued. I retired to bed after the fire dancing 12yr old put on an pyromaniacs highlight reel. Smith danced the night away.

Day 60 - Swim lessons for some, Water sports for others

2007-08-03T17:55:00.000-05:00

Wake up on the island is 8am with the sound of the drums beating signaling breakfast is served. After missing breakfast the last few mornings and hearing the praises of it we stumbled and found our selves in the House of Pancakes heaven. It was a fat kids summer camp come true. They had omelet stations, crisp bacon, corned beef hash, fried potatoes, and fruit for the weight watchers. I didn't know all this could go on before 11am when we usually get up. Team DB assembled and reminisced about the growlers, and good times from last night. Then we realized that at 11am was the practice swim from Treasure Island. We all signed up and we all were committed.

After a 2hr power nap at 9am Smith was awake and arose with a vigor and yelled to the team to be at the beach. I arose like the stoned white guy from half baked and yelled see ya in a minute and rolled back over. Luckily being late has its advantages. As I was walking to the beach not wanting to swim I ran into to Sherry the Canadian girl I meet the night before and she asked if I would go jet skiing with her at no cost. Being a gentlemen I said yes and as I went to the beach to tell the team not to wait they had already taken the boat over. I was off the hook and on the jet ski. As we were about to get on the jet ski the para sailing boat was coming back and sherry asked if I would do that as well since she has never done that. So being the gentlemen, I said yes. First we went para sailing and I could see the swimmers taking the water as I was gliding over the islands effortlessly. Next was jet skiing, and the water was a little choppy so it made for some good air and sharp turns. The best part is as our time was finishing and we came up to the shore I could see Smith struggling to get to the shore and I pull and spray water everywhere and ask how the swim was. He said a few nice words to me and then said what the heck are you doing on a damn jet ski. It was an easy response. Sherry paid for the morning water sports and I went along, and it sounded much better than swimming 1km hungover. The story gets better as later that afternoon we went jet skiing twice. It was a whole day of free water sports.

The big swim was tomorrow and we somehow decided to upgrade to the long swim, 2.6km from the sand bar island to treasure island and then to beachcomber. The good part being you can stop half way at treasure and rest (Or so we thought). We then got the best thing $20 Fijian can get, horrible colored speedo's that say "Budgy Smugglers" on the back. Absolutely hideous.

After a trial run with them on and few games of volleyball and some calisthenics we were the most popular people on the beach. I never felt so awkward doing the top gun hand shake, ever. However, Josh found him self a few new friends and the nicknames "goldfinger" and "golden boy".

Night time activities were the same. Whoa going to Beachcomber, whoa going to a party....

Day 59 - Team "DB" and the Island Sun

2007-08-02T17:40:00.000-05:00

Thursday. Looking back and trying to remember everything over the past week is a little tough. Yes, we were only on a Super Wal-Mart sized island and there is only a few activities that could have been done. However, one of those activities does bad things to your memories, bad things. If your reading this kids stay off the hooch.

We timed our stay on the island perfect as this week is the annual Fiji swim. Its a 1km open water swim from treasure island to beachcomber island. We grew up in Florida and our parents owned a pool so we paid the $20. It was also the formation of team "DB" which includes Smith, Emma, Immie, Matt and myself. Now with a team that means if one us were to drown we have the others to drag down to the bottom with us.

The night was filled with native dancing, bula dancing, and tons of socializing. At night beachcomber transforms into Cancun on party pills with festivities going on till the late hours. All in good fun. I've been to spring break many times before so mostly I just sat back and watched things unfold. Yeah right. The island was the first time we have had more than three Americans the whole trip. Naturally we formed an crew (army) with the girls from Colorado, Randy from Arizona and team DB. Another night on Beachcomber that we rowed into victory.

Day 58 - Whoa, Going to an Island, Whoa Beachcomber

2007-08-01T17:29:00.000-05:00

Beachcomber Island. The island is known across the south pacific as the "Club Med, Party Island". Naturally, being the explorers we are, we set out to search for this party. It came to some surprise that with an island the size of your local super Wal-Mart, without the falling prices and shoeless rednecks that is, that we found it with some ease in the middle of the massive Pacific ocean. Maybe it was the flashing neon lights that said "Beachcomber Island", maybe it was the band playing Marley songs with a Fijian accent, my guess is that captain of our hired ship has spent a night or two there.

The weather was reflective of how we felt, overcast and rainy, and it made it much easier to pursue the Wednesday afternoon nap. A nap at home is on your couch by yourself or significant other. A nap on Beachcomber is with 83 people who you have never met but will soon be calling friend. The dorm set up was similar to a Vietnam refugee camp. Not that I have been but from the best source I have, Hollywood, it is accurate. There are two lofts with 10beds a piece and 64 beds in the main area. There are no walls, windows, A/C, a few lights, sand everywhere, straw roof, etc. It sounds bad, however it is very relaxing as most of your time is spent on the beach and sipping drinks.

Night time brings festivities and usually the best out of everyone. The resort hosts nightly native dancing and a delicious buffet. The native dancing was interrupted by a 65ish yr old lady who comes to the island every 3 months for the past 27 yrs. She is constantly drunk and should have been arrested on numerous counts of crude and lascivious behavior, dancing inappropriately for her age, and staying up past her bed time. The night was a success as we meet Emma and Immie both from England and Matt from NY who would be our partners in crime the next week.Vacation.

Day 57 - Bula Bula

2007-07-31T03:17:00.000-05:00

We have a 1pm flight to Fiji. Its about 8hrs and with some time change puts in warm weather, amazing beaches and the friendliest people ever by 10pm. I'm excited.

We may be out of contact until we get to the US on the 6th.....we will see when we get to Fiji.

If so..it has been real and we will be updating everything right after we get back.

So we are back. Its good to know some things don't change. Good luck being the important one. Flying so far is one thing that we have had good luck with. We had another empty flight, with plentiful drinks and endless selection of movies. What would we do with these items at are hand. Well we invited the two English girls next to us to a friendly USA vs England drinking contest. By the way nothing is friendly. It wasn't a real tea party. Smith was the anchor man and nailed down 7 glasses of wine and we shouted " The British are puking, The British are puking" as we exited the plane and headed to the duty free shop.

Being in Fiji before it was like coming home to a loud "BULA" by a woman that looks like fat Albert. The night continued with drinks by the pool at Smugglers Hostel at travelers beach. A toxic night that had many high points with once again the English going down.

Day 56 - Kangaroos and Koalas and Wallabies Oh My

2007-07-30T03:13:00.000-05:00

So this is a late revision, and it won't be that funny. We say everything under the sun. You take a ferry across the water from downtown Sydney and they have a really great zoo set up on the other side....THIS WAS ARE FIRST TIME SEEING A KOALA OR A KANGAROO. We had to....I know it is weak...caged or not....IT COUNTS!!!

Irrelevent, I just thought this made a nice pic

Same deal

Ahhh...a koala...

Sometimes you just get so lonely traveling...

Day 55- Being Tourists

2007-07-29T03:09:00.000-05:00

Since we did come to Sydney see the culture and unique higlights of Australia we grabbed our camera's and tour maps and hit the streets. Smith and I have got the city sights tour down pretty good by now and it showed as we saw every bourough, every piece of architecture, every garden, every other tourist and checked off everything in just under 5hours. Leaving us time to grab an early dinner before seeing the Simpsons movie capping off our Sunday.

Day 54 -

2007-07-28T03:23:00.000-05:00

Today was a mostly a wash. We didn't wake up till 4pm. Yep that's right 4pm, damn those glow sticks and crazy munchkins. I have no idea what that means either but when in Rome. Continue.

Just because today was a wash doesn't mean tonight wont be magical and memorable. Its great there are 24hrs in the day. Smith and I are getting a little tired of parting, living the dream and all that other stuff we do all day, however it is coming to an end soon. So buck up there bronco billy.

We love the comments on the blog. I know you are reading the blog living vicariously through us so let us know whats up. We live for this.

Day 53 - Bondi Beach and Sydney

2007-07-28T03:13:00.000-05:00

We had a mostly relaxing flight outside of Josh's near Meet the Fockers Ben Stiller moment on the plan. The attendant just wanted to put his camera in the overhead bin. "All I want is to hold my bag, just leave me alone....what do you mean you cant say bomb on an airplane..."

We spent the night in Bondi Beach and had some drinks with are awesome Canadian friend Kat who we meet in Fiji.

In the morning we took the train into Sydney and checked into the Sydney Central Backpackers where we will be for the next 4 nights. We are really excited to be in one place for the next few days. Traveling is taking a toll.

We grabbed our big boy pants and painted Sydney and showed them how we do it back in the States. The stories from the night are almost unbelievable and seem Hollywood scripted but that's how we roll. Vince,"E" and the rest of the Entourage gang would be proud.

Hey Keith, Are you serious? Honestly, do we need this many disco balls?

Day 52 - Picking up the pieces

2007-07-26T20:54:00.000-05:00

I will keep this short as this is reflective of how we feel at the current time. Eary check out, Pro dive picures taken, Cheesburgers at 10am, Koalas internet, bumming a room at the Holiday Inn, flying to Sydney at 6pm. Should be a good one.

Day 51 - White Squal

2007-07-25T20:35:00.000-05:00

Wake up was 5:45am and we jumped straight into the water. Its a good thing we sleep with our wet suits on. Always prepared. Smith and I kept our streak alive as the first in the water. We don't want to miss anything. The dives were unreal. Whit tip sharks sleeping, more turtles, huge Napoleon Rass fish and getting lost underwater again. We never follow the dive plan. Never, but who really needs a plan. Guys don't ask for directions.

After completing three dives before noon we headed for shore. The winds picked up, the engine blew and people were puking in seasick bags everywhere. Kevin Costner(skipper) came out of the wheel house and yelled all hands on deck and the young crew was off and running. Was it really a white squall, how can you be sure if one has never been recorded? Either way we stood up for our skipp. ( Movie reference) It wasn't that bad however the swells were about 12ft and the boat was at 3o deg tilt back and forth. We made it back to shore safe and with another story to tell.

The night was crazy parties with everyone from the boat and ended with Smith breaking into the hostel, walking in the rain, a really tall Swiss girl, an Australian, a wild kangaroo and a ice cube tray. Magiver would have a hay day with that arsenal.

Day 51 (cont'd) - I love turtles, I mean I freakin love them

2007-07-25T07:19:00.000-05:00

Giant greenback, stuffed, lisa.....I freakin love turtles. This morning we saw (and spent time with) 5 turtles on the dive. I really feel like I have some zen-like soulful connection with turtles, so much so I started nibbling on coral right next to one. We really hit it off. The scuba diving has been mostly unreal...despite a horrible time equalizing my ears, I have decided my fall back career ( in addition to philosophy and king of the world) may be scuba instructor. Apparently they are always in demand and it is a pretty sweet job. We also did some underwater pics the day before, including an impressive accurate video of Justin doing an underwater sumersault (my second favorite pasttime behind reconnecting with my evolutionary brethrin - Mr. Turtle Man). Apologizes about uploading photos, but the connection has been slower than expected...but when we return the to the greatest country on earth we will be editing and updating the blog to be more comprehensive to further illustrate how the dream has been lived.

Day 50 - Advanced Diver

2007-07-24T20:28:00.000-05:00

So, So you see what had happened was... Josh and I got really into the diving thing and decided to take our advanced course on the boat. We passed with flying colors seeing smith is one with coral ( he broke the great barrier reef) and I have gills. I never knew it. All this means is that we are one step closer to being the coolest people you know. We are advanced divers and with a few more logged we are going for our rescue course and then dive master.

Many dives to talk about with a little more Internet dive. The boat is amazing and the dives are breathtaking. It is as though you are swimming in fish tank.

Highlights- Smith knocking off a piece of Coral the size of a Yugo and almost killing me.
A massive turtle(6ft) on crack during a night dive.
Team North America swimming in circles b/c we cant use a compass

Day 49 - 20,000 leagues under the sea

2007-07-23T20:25:00.000-05:00

We departed from Cairns on Pro-Dive to explore the great barrier reef. We have 11 dives along the beautiful bottom of the ocean hanging out with sharks, turtles,whales and all kinds of cool things.

The discoloration of the water is the Great Barrier Reef...only the world's greatest dive spot.

Day 48 - Mean bus drivers and Hello Cairns

2007-07-22T08:12:00.000-05:00

Day 47 - Still Yachting, diving, chilling, etc

2007-07-21T08:06:00.000-05:00

After a being rocked to sleep in the calm harbours of Manta Ray bay we awoke early(6:30am) to one last dive in the Whitsunday islands. We hopped into our wetsuits and I went for the scuba gear and Smith for the snorkeling today. We jumped into the tender and James Bond back rolled off into the deep.

Whitehaven Beach - the finest silica sand in the world..

Charlene (my former co-worker) and our new BFF after spending three days yachting

Justin minutes before his Miami Vice audtion with Owen Wilson...

You prefer sunsets?? Me too....

Day 46 - Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

2007-07-20T08:02:00.000-05:00

Welcome to another edition of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, or as we now call it Lifestyles of Hump and Smith. Today we aboard the 42ft catamaran titled Powerplay. A beautiful vessel that sails the Whitsunday Islands of the sunshine coast of Australia.

Yes, I went Heisman on a sea cucumber...

Day 45 - Airlie Beach, oh so we leave on Thursday?

2007-07-19T18:24:00.000-05:00

Depart on the Powerplay. Yeah, this is what happens when you don't wear a watch for the entire summer. You drift away into a peaceful unaware state and misbook logistics. Well worth the tradeoff....it was like we got a vacation day on vacation.

Day 44 - Overnight Express, Justin gets the suite

2007-07-18T18:23:00.000-05:00

Wednesday in Airlie beach, Koalas, meet Charlene....drunk night.

Day 43- The dingoe ate your baby

2007-07-17T18:23:00.001-05:00

Wait, today is Tuesday- Hervey bay. I screwed up the days and booked our next adventure a day later than needed....so you are just going to see some photos from Frasier Island here......Enjoy!!

Day 41 and 42 - Frasier Island Safari

2007-07-16T18:22:00.000-05:00

Sunday, July 15th departure, overnight stay on Frasier Island and return on Monday night, not Tuesday night.

What is Frasier Island. Only the largest sand island in the world. Yeah the World. The remote and scarcely inhabited island is 120km long and some length wide. The Lonely Planets guide to Australia says we should visit it and we do whatever the book says. We booked a 2 day 1 night guided 4wd camping tour/safari of the island. The trip was in a bus that looked like a reject monster truck that stands no chance against the might grave digger but can handle the soft sands of Frasier island.

Once on our big rig our trusty and half way knowledgeable guide "Ranger John" told us about all the flora and creatures on the island. Who knew there were so many different trees and who really cares.

The highlight was at the lookout where we say close to 12 humpback whales within yards of the shore that were breaching the water and playing as they migrated to colder waters. An amazing part of nature that was priceless to capture. We also saw dolphins, sharks and many Japanese tourists taking pictures. Always with there big cameras and fanny packs. " Oh looky looky, free willy"

You can see whales if you look close enough..

The trip is complete as we finally camped. Well close to camping. They have preset up tents with twin size cots and they prepared steaks and kangaroo meat over a grill. But hey we camped. Its official b/c it was 30deg and I finally fell asleep after shivering to exhaustion. I love camping. Smith was sound asleep as he took enough drowsy medication to cure the sick children in Africa.

All is well. Day 42 upcoming.

Day 40 - Greyhound Australia!

2007-07-14T18:21:00.000-05:00

We took the bus north to Hervey Bay YHA. That's right Bill and Teds excellent adventure meets driving miss daisy. Yep, life has a recovery and travel day. If we had the magic phone booth and Abe Lincoln it would have been much more exciting. From what I remember and its not much, mainly b/c I was club hoping in Brisbane till 4am. We stumbled down to the train station and boarded on our 7hr greyhound trip to Hervey Bay.

The best place I can think of while being hungover is on a crowded bus with a bus driver who is trying out for Days of Thunder 2. The calming part of the ride was the movies. We somehow watched two movies both on mermaids. I didn't know the Aussies had a fascination with them. They were bad enough to put us to sleep and Hervey Bay came in no time.

The YHA hostel arrival was inviting with an angry Austrian chick, but she gave us a free drink. She is cool now in our book. Bed time.

Day 39 - Good Day Mate

2007-07-13T19:41:00.000-05:00

These Aussies are just to damn nice! We spent a good portion of the day acting like we are 25 years deep into a faulty marriage and not making a decision on our upcoming stay in Oz. The vibe lifted and we decided that we would catch a greyhound ticket up to frasier island for a safari tour.

Justin worked on his financials and I picked up a few essentials before we finally enjoyed Brisbane. We headed out to the "valley", the brisbane home of nightlife and stayed at a sweet hostel - Bunk. Of course, like everything, check in came with free drinks, so we immediately did a full survey on the bar. Three hours later we were still playing a massive game of Jengi that we turned into a team sport with the entire bar.

With our superior dexeterity we wooeed(is that a word) the bar company which essentially was a United Nations microcosim. We had a little bit of everything out there. Time for some serious and informative commentary.

The world hates America. More percisely, the world hates the US government. More specifically the world hates George Bush. We have consistently and constantly been met with anti america sentiments while we travel. People are quick to lay down there perceptions once you engage them in a conversation, but we are semi-ambassadors out here. You will be proud to know you picked the team to safe the US. While we have fun, we are not the loud obnoxious American that represent the states in most places. Unfortunately the sad fact of backpacking is that most countries, the US no exception, is represented by the bottom 10% of the population. So we encounter some really terrible US "diplomats" out here. At the same time, backpackers can also be some of the most informed and likable people you are going to meet. It is a little hit of miss, with most American travels being extremely loud and offending.

Folks if i can encourage one thing, let it be this. When you finally grow up and accidentally have your third child, make him or her travel. Every other country has a culture encouraging travel. In fact many countries consider travel experience as one of the most important parts of the resume when their denizens return. Americans are probably the least traveled people in the world (at least the people that you would think could travel if desired). I think this has a direct reflection on our warped perception of the world and our flat out lack of knowledge of any other country. Did you know that 7 out of 10 people from other countries know when US independence day is? Almost everyone know any single state and most know more about America politics than you do.

We do have one chance are salvation. Bush is definitely a scapegoat. The whole world seems to think that he got into office as a fluke and that 50% of the US population didn't vote for him. That said, many people are willing to pin everything on him and we can try to fix the damage done to our image. This is purely perception and has nothing to do with whether or not Justin or I support or disagree with what the government does or has done, but it appears the only way we can win people back on our side of things. We had one guy tell us he wished Sept 11th happened on the 12th, and 13th , and 14th. Granted it was hard not to become very angry, but we remained composed. I told him we should either start talking about sports, or perhaps we should stop talking. Granted the same guy was massively ill-informed, but the point is that sort of notion (of hate America) is being ingrained all over the place. All of this really difficult to encounter, because Justin and i are incredible patriotic and always willing to voice the other side of the story, but overall it is disheartening because people do not want to travel the states or meet americans because of what they heard second hand.

Thought you might find this interesting...hope it resonates of what actually needs to be done. Get informed, travel, and rep the US well. Sorry to bring down the laugh count, but that Hump's department with his whismical recollections of our days on the road.

Oh, and Aussie women find the American accent really hot.

God bless America.

Day 39+ - Cheers Mate, Aussie Bound

2007-07-13T18:20:00.000-05:00

We did it, we really did it. A lot of people said it wasn't possible, but they were wrong. We arrived in Oz. Riding the coattails of the theatrical splendor that we found in Christchurch, we expected the lollypop kids and a horse of a different color eagerly awaiting our arrival. Close....instead we found customs, duty free alcohol, and border patrol.

We found the Airtrain into Roma station. Somehow we spent the majority of the day taking care of logistics...we planned out or trip to Hervey Bay / Frasier Island and onward up the coast to our present location in Airlie beach after returning from our three day Whitsundays sailing / scuba adventure.

Just finally finalized his finances and decided next time we as going to pay Amex the extra $3 and upgrade from the carrier pigeon to ground transportation. Smart move. He isn't a logistic professional but he did stay in a holiday inn express....clearly providing the wherewithall (sp?) to knock this one out of the park.

Next...Bunk and a little bit of a party!!

Pictures

2007-07-12T21:20:00.001-05:00

Follow the link below to look at some updated pictures. There are much more to come but it takes a while to upload.

http://picasaweb.google.com/joshsmith17

Day 37, Monday Morning

2007-07-12T20:58:00.000-05:00

So we think of Mondays as a dreaded day. The weekend is over and the fun must stop, unless you are living the dream. Lets compare charts:

We will be back in reality shortly.

Day 36, Winter X-Games Run 1

2007-07-12T20:46:00.000-05:00

As if sky diving and bungi jumping weren't enough we decided to try our hand at snowboarding. Winter X-games have officially begun. Smith is like Shawn White(pro) as he lived in Aspen for a season and I am like the little brother who didn't get all the skills but still thinks he is cool. It took a few runs to get it down again as we were going for the blue and black runs (who does green). Smith hit the terrain park for the big air competition and I was carving the slopes picking up bunnies. J/K. After lunch we were feeling good and smith said "hey follow me", famous last words. We went off trail searching for some killer powder (boarder language) and found myself buried in powder between some rocks but it was good fun. We made it the first day with some sweet runs and looked like we were supposed to be their.

HOTEL Mecure. We checked into our hotel(nice touch after the hostels) and the fun began. We had to switch rooms as the heater didn't work. All we wanted was the hot tub and it was out of order. So what do we do, complain, and what do we get, free drinks. Who do they think we are. That was there solution to everything. Could be worse. Our room has an amazing video of the mountain range. Just rubbing it in.

We spent the night talking (

) to a nice Scottish couple who felt bad for us and our budget and let us eat their left over fish n chips and bought a round of beers. It great being cheap. It was the most stimulating conversation we have had in about a week as all other conversations were with 18 and 19yr olds at the hostels.

Day 35, Please step away from the ledge

2007-07-12T20:29:00.001-05:00

So how do you out do jumping out of a plane and sky diving? You jump on the third largest bungi jump in the world. NEVIS. Its 440ft nestled in a canyon over a small creek. You have to take a cable car to the middle of the canyon and then watch your life flash before your eyes. Its def the worlds best hangover cure. I don't care what remedies you have. Josh went first so I was sitting back trying to act cool while the nerves were starting to rise in Smith's face. 3 2 1 and off he went swan diving into the creek. I thought to myself how could I let my good friend jump 440ft into a canyon with a bungi cord attached to his legs. And it was attached by a guy who I had not trust built up with. Oh well he didn't stop me.

Jumping Nevis was like flying and the most adrenaline rush activity that I have done. After the jump we were in the bungi store looking at our photos and the lady said " wow you guys must have made a nice impression on Vicky". She was the American girl who booked our package and partied with us for two nights. She totally hooked us up with free DVD's and photos.

Night time activities were the same as the previous month. Meeting people, drinking, bar hopping, etc, etc.

We want to reach and touch you (completely plutonically)

2007-07-12T20:24:00.000-05:00

Hello world,

I think Justin is doing a real post right now, but I just wanted to let you know that we are alive and well in the wonderful world of oz (hump will tell you about the eirie black comedy that precursed our arrival) in Brisbane.

What have you missed? Well alot, you should really start paying closer attention. We jumped out of a plane, then tied some rubber bands to our feet and jumped into a canyon. Then we headed up the moutain and boarded the terrain park, followed by skiing for the first time in 10 years at Coronet Peaks and the Remarkables. We have met some great people, many of which we are crashing with in Oz (Australia).

So what is one key learning from our 6 days in Queenstown, New Zealand? We are not 18 anymore, infact we aren't even 23 anymore. So polls even show us at 26, which is way to old to be held in a conversation with many of the hostel residences we cohabit with. And we definitely can't drink every night. Does anyone know when medicare kicks in?

We will elaborate, but thought you should know that we are all grown up.

Day 34, Jump, Dont Jump, Jump

2007-07-12T20:19:00.000-05:00

People say sky diving is a rush and is so hard to do. Maybe b/c I have watched so many Steven Segal or Chuck Norris videos I say it was child's play. Or maybe because your securely attached to a master jumper and he makes all the shots either way. Sky diving was a rush, it was snowing and freezing the whole time but completely worth it. It wasn't as scary as we thought but very surreal feeling. I was only nervous when in the plane the guide asked where my helmet and goggles were and I didn't have them. They forgot to give them to me. Nice.

All in all it was a nice little Friday.

Day 38 - Romantic Day in the City

2007-07-12T18:20:00.000-05:00

Wow, I mean wow. This was one of those days where you wish you with someone you wanted to hug. Justin and I don't hug.

Instead we spent the day parading around town. First, we picked up jeans, turns out we aren't camping at all. Next we hit up the local art museums on the way to the botanical gardens where the afternoon stroll was breathtaking, I mean raining still....

While learning all about each other, like favorite colors, favorite foods, scorned ex-relationships and just talking about feeling like most 26 year old American males we picked up tickets to a local play. In preparation we stopped by the local coffee shop and enjoyed a cup while people watching out the window.

I know what you are thinking, but wait it gets worse. We cooked dinner back at the hostel (Justin is a fabulous cook), and put on our Sundays best (shocking resemblance to what we had been wearing for a week straight) for the play. The play was something else.....described as a black comedy it is the story behind the scenes of the filming of Wizard of Oz. You may be well aware of the munchkin that hung himself in the back of one of the scenes during the movie. Well you may have been dieing to know the sick twisted story of the events leading up to his self-perpetuated misfortune. Glued to your seats??

The whole play took place in the 4 bed shared room for four of the munchkins during the shooting of the film and involved wrongful violations of personal space driving one of those little guys to take his 15 minutes swinging in the background.

The perfect ending to the perfect day - world's happiest (think of a synonym) day.

Josh and Justin.

Day 38- Bus trip to Christchurch

2007-07-12T18:19:00.000-05:00

This day seems like years ago even though the trip is nearing an end and we return to the greatest place on earth, Barnaby Bailey America.

Overall the day was pretty bland. We spent the night prior enjoying our last moments of Queenstown. While the activities were a blast, the nightlife was a bit under the bottom at times and we decided just to stay in for the evening. We enjoyed more of the only media available in the world, American films and sitcoms in the YHA movie room. This is where we really turned the corner with Josh and Sabrina (English bloke and ). Sabrina is now desprately in love with the US and probably on a plane as we speak (imagine we are speaking).

The bus arrive crisp and early at around 6AM. We felt as everyone does waking up at 5AM - delightful. The highlight of the trip was the stop over in Mt. Cook in central New Zealand (south island). Luckily there was no visibility, but we are pretty damn sure it was behind one of those clouds and looked great.

Fortunately it continued to rain upon our evening arrival in Christchurch, the city of our pending flight to Australia. Rain or shine, team america doesn't put down the rains and wait for the rainbow. We hit the Kebab shop (I may, just may be in love with Kebabs). We surveyed the local nightlife and "played it cool" all night.

We then ran a muck on a pool table at a local's pub of choice. Not much more to report....another quiet night.

Day 37 - Ski time

2007-07-11T19:08:00.000-05:00

After a rocking two days with the snowboards and no real injuries( well there is Smith's rail incident) we took to the ski's. After being off the ski's for about 10yrs we didn't hold back and went right for big stuff. There is only one way to jump in the pool, deep end. The runs were a bit skied over but manageable and we were having a blast. At one point Smith pointed to an trail titled "Arnold Pass", its was labels so I followed him. Immediately I found myself off trail and carving our new path to the bottom. The snow was good and terrain was manageable. However at one point we were at a cross road and there was nobody else to be seen. I said " Smith is this a good sign that no one else is here", he replied " but your big boy pants on and lets rock". So we did. After a successfully run to the bottom we were stoked and decided to do it again. Why not. So on the second run we found ourselves on the double black moguls. Nice. I hadn't done moguls in a while and by a while I mean never. But I put the big pants on and away we went. Smith made it through and I had a ski blooper moment about half way and was in tough shape. Like a good friend Josh waited about 1min and kept on going. I struggled to find my ski's and then tumbled down the run. At one point I was completely buried in powder and couldn't move. I used my superpowers and made it to the bottom about 10min later.

After dropping our gear off we went to look for the camera that I lost 3days prior. Surprisingly it was still wedged in the back of the couch at the bungi place. Unbelievable.

We stumbled back to the resorts with high hopes of a working hot tub, only to be deflated as it was cold as ice. I wont tell the whole story but the next hour was a sauna with a few chicks from Australia, a guy from Israel, and some bloakes from Sydney with the wrong clothes on. All we needed was the damn rally monkey and some duck tape. I leave it at that.

We chilled with our new English friends, Josh and Sabrina, that night convincing Sabrina that Americans are not that bad. Its a success and the two powerhouse countries can live in peace. We should be in Congress. This diplomat thing is getting easy.

Day 33 - Change O'plans

2007-07-05T18:46:00.000-05:00

Beware of the vicous libel from day 32. Turns out I was way off. After a little research Hump and I went with an economical luxury ski package include two nights in a sweet hotel and full lift pass and equipment for three days on the slopes. They just got dumped on so hopefully it will hold until Sunday - Tuesday when our "package"begins....but what to do in the meantime.

Well, well., well....we just decide 30 mins ago that we will be jumping out of a plane from 12,000 in about 45 mins (pending weather). They threw in free drinks

and internet time, so we know the company is legit.

That means tomorrow we will be doing the Nevis Bungy jump, third highest in the world (damn you china, always one uping). Life is tough being us.

I think that is all we got for now. Keep a look out for us, who knows where we will land

Day 32 - TBD

2007-07-04T18:59:00.000-05:00

So turns out we aren't made of money.....yikes! Queenstown had a ridiculous portfolio of fun and Justin /I are trying to determine what exactly we will be doing. Given that we are already tremendously overbudget. Here is the road schedule....

Tomorrow - Snowboarding Corenet to include excessive carving and outlandish trickery
Saturday - World's third highest bungy jump ( an american is working the desk and hooking us up with DVDs of the jump) It looks fantastic.you shimmy out to a cable car and jump over 500 feet.

Sunday - SKY DIVING.....pretty excited about this one....don't worry that I mispacked the chute because I saved a ton of money on my car insurance with Geico.

Monday - This may be canyon swinging which is where they hang you upside down and drop you 60 meters. Then the rope catches some tension and you swing away from the cliff across to the other side of the canyon. I will be wearing Depends just in case.

Tuesday - Maybe another day of snowboarding...depends is the quad duple black diamonds are open.....

you may be wondering how we can afford all of this?? So are we. We have made some interesting trade offs....including a food budget around $10 per day.

(Note - all plans subject to alcohol and change)

Oh and the brits are resurfacing....they arrive in town on Monday. We will keep you posted on our accented friends....

Till you read again.

Day 19 through Day 31 Pics...

2007-07-03T23:05:00.000-05:00

Seated next to me in the "Internet Depot" is Justin J. Humphrey using his creative wit to crank a little entertainment for all you folks at home...he is paying $2.33 an hour for all of you...so you should thank him when you get a chance (not to put a price on you, but we have opted out of the $4 internet cafes along the way until we found this gem in Queenstown New Zealand...the adventure capital of the world)......Please note again the Australiasia additiction to being the worlds' greatest / best.....

Anyways...this post is all about the pics..they take forever to upload so I pics the choice frozen moments...do enjoy....seriously enjoy...

Oh, bloody hell...this computer can't read the USB drive...i will have to post from another computer....

Days 19-???? July 4th..Viva America

2007-07-03T23:00:00.000-05:00

Harry!! Loyd!!! Clark!!! Rusty!!!! Tommy!!! Insert all characters and there ridiculous happenings and that has been our whirlwind of a trip this far. If your keeping score and on this team its all about stats, the books have New Zealand slightly ahead against Smith and I. I know Vegas is just as shocked as you are but the darn spread was good. We have had the last two player of the week winners and we should be dominating the all star ballot but for now its about the team. There are no Terrel Owens on this squad. Just a bunch of Iversons and Kobe Byrants.

Auckland- We partied around town with this English guy Matt who had an obnoxious way of indulging in beverages. He called himself a "slinger". Every time you got a drink you had to sling it back it one gulp. Fun Huh. It made for a great night and a few Irish pubs, which New Zealand has a obsession with. We walked the town the next day and were decently impressed and then it was off to pick up the RV.

See "Slinger" Matt Stage Left..or is it right?

National lampoons Vacation begins. We were a little hesitant about driving but Coach stepped up and honked the horn twice and we were out of the parking lot. The rental lady came out before we could leave and said " I almost forgot here are the snow chains and a brief guide on how to use them.." UH OH. I navigated the first leg, yelling LEFT, LEFT, wrong side of the road. We drove around a few round a bouts more than once. "Look kids its the Parliament.." We were no more than 1mi away and a bottle of sprite flew of the counter and spilled all over floor. Love lemon lime air freshener. It was the the first of Smiths spilling's that day and a half(chocolate milk in the fridge, sprite on the floor, beer on himself). But he got us their safe and that's what matters. In New Zealand you can just pull over and park anywhere so the first night we parked off the main highway in the middle of nowhere for a good nights rest. We woke up to realize we were in front of someones house. We didn't see it at night. real adventurous.

We stopped in Rotorua and hike the red wood forest(big trees) and saw a bunch of hot springs. Come to find out, NZ is a bunch of volcanoes and lots of thermal activity.

Does this really even need a caption?

We hopped back in the RV for our next stop Tongariro National Park. We entered the town in search of Stuart our guide for the next days adventure around 5-6pm and it was cold and snow was on the ground. The Tongariro Crossing is labeled New Zealand's best one day hike and we were not about to miss it. The weather was crap and he didn't want to go. So we convinced him to meet us at 7am and get a fresh weather report. The winds reported 80-90km/hr and his cut off was 70km/hr. Of course we went with two Germans and two dutch guys. Its on. We got outfitted with layers of clothes, ice picks and ice cramp on' for our shoes. Since we know how to use those. The hike was about 17km(11mi) and 8-9hours. We trekked through knee deep snow, climbed ice and walked across a volcano crater. We were the only people out there and at times felt like the show Everest.There two points where I felt a little uneasy, 1. Stu stopped half way in and said "if anything happens to me this is the emergency gear I have", 2. Lunchtime and Smith was staring at me waiting for his PBJ and I didn't have it. His lunch was on the counter. He said its my fault and I say its his. So we fought like the bundy's on Married with children. Who climbs a mountain with a bagel and half a PBJ. We did it!!!!

Wellington. We dropped off the RV and we arrived at Wally world. Wellington is the Capital of NZ and a really nice town. You can walk around everywhere and it was a good feel. We stayed at the Cambridge Hotel in a dorm for NZ$19/night and were booked with the English folks we meet in Tongariro.

It was good to chill in one place for two nights. We brought our partied shoes and hit the town. Shooters and their $3 drinks were good to us and the night ended with a late night kebab(another obsession of NZ as they have 40million sheep). We learned it is legal to steal one sheep per farm per 3yrs to feed your family and that the only thing you can still get hung for is stealing cattle. Just in case. Wellington came and went with a 3hr ferry ride to the South Island and the land where dreams come true.

On with the journey and I was driving now in our new Toyo Corolla. We definitely bargained this German lady to $29/day with no additional fees. The driving, all I hear is Smith saying "your getting a little close over here, turn right.." I have an liking to the left hand side of the road. I'll admit it. A couple lazy nights and a beautiful drive down the west coast brought us to Franz Josef and our next real world challenge. Hike a Glacier. We stayed at the cozy Chateau Franz backpackers and got ready for our venture. Seeing we had tons of experience climbing glaciers we put ourselves into group one and dominated the international circuit. The whole day was raining and they start you off with a 2km hike through creeks and rocks. So you are soaking wet by the time you get to the Glacier. First off, they gave us Cotton mittens(who does that) and second off how does a glacier get in the middle of NZ rain forest. Interesting. It was pretty sweet for the first 3hours or so then it got pretty old. Ever wonder what it was like to be in the ice maker in the freezer of walk on ice for 7hrs. We do. I could have done with out the full day hike and did the 20min glance over and pose for a few photos. But we didn't come all this way for to half ass it. I didn't use my mittens b/c they were soaked and at one point I couldn't move my thumb to my pinky. I asked the guide about frost bite and he said it was cold enough. I asked who he was talking to since I was FREEZING. Again I felt a little uneasy once when he started telling us about the bodies he has found up here in the ice where people have slipped and died. Nice thoughts when we have 3hrs left. All in all it was memorable and another check off the list. Hike Glacier, DONE.

Keeping our streak of adventure activities going we drove towards Te Aneu and the Milford Sound. We stopped in Wanaka to double check our bookings for the next week in Queenstown since they were all filled up. It turns out the guy at the last town booked us in a double room(one double bed). He thought we were a couple. Not cool. This brought out a scene similar to Abbott and Costello's "who's on first" skit. Apparently a double is one room with a double bed, a twin is one room with two single beds and a single is one room with a twin bed. Say that five times fast and you have the conversation from the Wanaka youth hostel. After 4 transactions and a few bathroom breaks from laughing so hard we were off. Oh yeah and our car was running the whole time outside since I left the lights on we didn't want the car to stall again. Very Nice. I like.

We chilled at the Te Anea YHA and woke up early the next morning for our Kayak tour of the Milford Sound. So, apparently the road to Milford sound is treacherous and you need snow chains. They will shuttle you from Te Anea however the cost is about $30 more. So we looked at our toyo and shook off the idea of snow chains and drove the grand tourismo track to Milford Sound. Possibly the most beautiful single place ever. Towering mountains and luscious vegetation and tons of unique wildlife. We got in fitted in our kayak, full gear and were strapped in our double. There were four of us total and we kayaked from 10:30-3pm all around the sound. There were cruise boats taking pics of us the whole time. We saw a bunch of seals and birds, and our guide saw a penguin. Who knew they had penguins in NZ. It was raining the whole time and we got soaked. Mainly b/c we went under a raging waterfall, brilliant. The ride felt as though you were in a scene from National Geographic. We finished up and dried our clothes with the Boeing 747 engine they have to singe your clothes. On the drive home we found a sheep(1 of the 40million) outside the fence and I attempted to catch him. Go figure the one I go after is the Carl Lewis of sheep. fast little sucker. He hoped the fence and called his buddies. At that point I look up and some 300 sheep are staring right at me. Like a man that I am I yelled to Smith to start the Corolla and ran to the car. I could have taken them.

We wanted to hike a couple two day tracts but the weather is 30deg and rain/snow with poor visibility. We then opted for Queenstown. This is the adventure capital of NZ and looks like a ski town with a college party atmosphere. All the things are parents love for us. The next 6nights and 7 days should include, bungi jumping from the highest point in the world, sky diving over the mountain ranges, snowboarding and lots of parties. It is the 4th of July and we are off to create an American Independence Pub Crawl. There should be about 5 of us since nobody likes Americans. We don't like them either.

The computer wouldn't allow pictures to update. So you will have to wait. To draw a pic for you I have a full beard and the hair is a bit of a fro. The people thing I look middle eastern at times so they are all afraid of me. One chick thought I was a rock star. I liked that better. Josh is staying somewhat clean cut with a hair cut do soon. I would have to say we can be best described as the cover of GQ with a resemblance to Brad Pitt and Tom Brady.

Day 9 through Day 18 - Bula, Bula, Bula

2007-06-22T23:55:00.000-05:00

The following events take place between June 15th and June 23rd. Bup, Beep. Bup, Beep. Cue Jack Bauer....

Wow folks - wow. We unfortunately haven't been documenting our travels due to relocating to a small island off the coast of Fiji for fun in the sun and keep isolate from civilization including no phones, internet, cars, houses, etc. Our all inclusive resort costed $55 Fijian dollars ($35 USD) and including a personal hut on the beach and three delicious square meals a day....but before we get to that, lets address the world's greatest and world's worst airline - Air Pacific. Peter if you are out there this blog is for you buddy in retribution for the 30 hours delay that included assembling a new jet engine and attaching it to our plane for the maiden voyage.......let's tarrentino this and take everyone back to our last day in Hawaii.

Day 9 found Justin and I alone in a romantic corporate condo on the shore's of Waikiki with travel insurance covering our meals due to Air Pacific's technical difficulties. Coco Mancini had already shipped back to the mainland as many underprivileged citizens had gone un-screwed by his missed time at the private equity shop and business needed to continue as usual.

Our first and last Hawaiian Shrimp Shack.

Let the upgrades begin...given that travel insurance tentatively was covering our meal expenses we decided to eat level of dining as our prior meals and stopped into Red Lobster for the most expensive dishes to be had. J-Hump (Buttercup) had the surf and turf while I had an entire fish - at noon.

Later, we took the Keith (of Jason's Deli) Express busline to the airport which included stopping no more than ever 20 feet. Three hours later we arrived to more delays and Peter our friendly Air Pacific representative. While the team was slightly weary and in need of shelter our coach went on a upgrade venture resulting more food vouchers and a 5 star resort stay in Fiji (meals included for about $100 USD a shot), and upgrade to the top level of the 747 flight to Auckland, New Zealand (our current location), and all you can drink specials on both flights in and out of Fiji. Keep your players happy and the rest comes naturally.

Our 4am arrival in Nadi, Fiji led to a 3 hour delay in search for an Air Pacific rep (holder of said hotel voucher) and our first introduction to "Fiji" time (don't worry we got another free breakfast out of it). This leads us to our first rule of backpacking - You are entitled to request a shocking ly cheap standard of living and asking for anything (and I mean anything) for free. With a player like Humphreys you can only imagine the discounts, people are just giving $h!t away. Anyways.....

Out travel agent at Nadi airport hooked us up with an all inclusive trip to Mana Island of the coast of Fiji (West Side). Accommodation included our own "Villa", boat transfer, three meals, and SCUBA certification for around $920 Fijian dollars....bula bula (*hello in Fijian). There, nestled away within eye shot of "Castaway" island, we kicked out feet up with the locals and boatloads (literally) of fellow backpackers and sipped our nights away (from 7pm to midnight) on $5 Fijian bitter 32 ounce drinks... let us take a moment to bring our audience down to reality to understand what this was really like. Beyond the frills, bells and whistles, and paradise you may be imagining from this vivid description - there is the backpackers reality.....this includes swatting flys of your meals, no a/c, no telephone, internet etc. electricity that only comes on after dark, and no access to anything outside the rice and noodle meals provided.

The locals while un-traveled were aware of the tourist benefits and incredible friendly. We spent most of our days relaxing on our front porch and enjoying the ocean views with our new friends. Okay, now I am turning this over to Justin....I guess this needs to be funny if you are going to keep reading....

(Justin)
What Smitty really means is that while we soaking up the upgrades from the Worlds best and worst airline we experienced a diff side of Fiji. While no sleep from a 6hr, free drink flight one would think to sleep but coach said to lace up and hit the court. The best part of this section of the trip is that we had no idea of what time it ever was. We woke up when the rooster crowed, ate lunch when they Josefa put the plates down, drank beer when our scuba instructor told us to and went to bed when the bonfire burned out.

While on the island we never wore shoes, rarely a shirt and mostly just board shorts all day. The cast of our new Fijian family is Suka- receptions, LeRoy- Scuba and entertainment, Junior- spear fisher and all round good guy, Joesfa- food prep and always ready to take your plate, Vuni- the oldest who would try and pass wisdom "follow me Justin...", Dee- toddler who ran around in the sand and cried earlier mornings, the bloody english kids- 4 guys from Leeds who can make a party, some other English ladies, a guitar playing Somaian, and someone German. You combine this crew on a small island acting like we were shipped wreck and you have a great story.

Spear Fishing. Smith really got into the spear fishing idea and tried is hand many a time. We went out every day and managed to catch a 5in pin fish. Hit him right through the heart. Fortunatley Junior took the spear and caught 13 fish that day and we had dinner. The spear looks real cool and sounds masculine but we need some training.

Diving Certification- Our main goal was to get certified and by golly we did. Most courses take approx 4 days and class work with confined dives. In Fiji however, they throw you right in the water with the tanks. We studied for about 1-2hrs took our quizzes and exam after our 4th dive and ran through a series of interesting events. Don't you guys worry though we are good divers. The course would rank somewhere between Tom Emanski's instructional baseball skills video and vegi-tales. On our first skill session, Smith was laying on the sea floor performing a task while a poisonous rock fish was right underneath him. Leroy didn't catch that one. On our first boat dive we got ONE explanation on setting gear and jumping into the water, we turned around and he was already diving. With an peculiar look on our faces we gave the OK and the old college try and dove right in. Of course we are amazing athletes and the coolest guys in the world so it wasn't a big deal at all. The fish were actually asking us for lessons. I gave a parrot fish a lesson on public speaking and Smith talked a reef shark about managing his IRA. The night before our final dive to the "Supermarket" shark central we decided it would be grand to party all night, and we thought this was a good idea b/c LeRoy was right next to us. Great teacher. The boat capt took us and two of the English guys out to the open and we ripped it. Charlie was a bit hung over and feed the fish by puking in the ocean a few times. James was just chipper to be alive and Josh and I were diving unsupervised in illegal depths(22meters) doing back flips next to bull sharks, playing with manta rays and chasing our hungover guide to the depths. Shockingly Josh was never worried even though his depth gauge never worked. Thats safe. The dive was freaking awesome with tons of huge sharks (6-12ft) swimming around. We got back at 11:55 and the boat to leave the island and catch our flight left at 12.

Fire Dancing- While on the island do as the others do. When in Rome...Agree to disagree. We made a massive bon fire and played some obnoxious balloon games with our new crew the last night. The English guys, a few maple leaves, some natives and a some random stranglers watched to milkly way while singing songs all night long. Sounds beautiful doesn't it. Then the record started turning and the LeRoy started fire dancing and performing the native dance. After his run we asked if we could give it a shot. He said not while you guys are drinking, so we put our glasses down and grabbed the flaming stick. Once again we are amazing dancers and have surprisingly hidden talents. We didn't get burned but damn that stick is hot. Pics will be coming.

Justin really tan..

(Author - Josh)
Last night we used our hotel voucher (from our previous delay) and stayed 5 star in private rooms with A/C and huge free meals - life is rough backpacking it, but someone has to do it.

Our flight into Auckland, New Zealand include free drinks - I think we had a bottle of wine between us and we struck up another great deal at the airport. We rented an RV. Apparently you can park and camp anywhere you want and the lady had an RV that needed to get down to Wellington for $5 NZD a day ( that is $4USD). So Justin and I will be rolling out Chevy Chase National Lampoon tomorrow. Mock - Yeah. Pick'em up. Tonight we are rolling out on the streets of downtown Auckland. We will be in touch. Don't call us, we will call you.

FYI.....Josh can be reached at joshsmith17@gmail.com and Justin at justinj.humphrey@gmail.com at any time.

Day 8 - Coco's Release into the Wild

2007-06-14T23:35:00.000-05:00

Go Coco be free....find your family. Who really knows what day it is on this fantastic voyage. We got a little mixed up with the Mai Tai marathon and late night adventures. It might be the endless summer at this rate. Coach always says it doesnt matter "where or when", you should always give it your all. His pep talks are so motivational, except he always finishes everything with "...in a van down by the river."

Every morning Smith proclaims that he will hunt dinner with his mighty spear fishing skills. Every night I go to the grocery store and buy something to cook up. The problem is he cant get to the big fish since he can only hold is breath for 10 secs and he swims like a Rhino. As the picture shows its one deadly spear hunting team, or one hungry spear fishing team. The battle will continue.

A long relaxing drive up the Leeward Coast in the worlds greatest wrangler brought a relaxing day with amazing views. We stoped at Keana Beach and cruised the cliffs edge watching the massive waves crash through the caves. There was a local man there who had been fishing the area for 30yrs and told great stories of whale watching, seal encounters, crazy surfers, dumb tourists trying to be cool( its a good thing we got to him before we were a statistic) and others. We cruised back grabbing the local Hawaiian plate lunch with a surprising Boston College fan, go War eagles. Somewhat uneventful from the others but enjoyable at all times.

Day 7 - World's Drunkest Day

2007-06-13T00:18:00.000-05:00

I said Mai Tai, NO SALT - actually make that a double, triple, quadruple...you get the idea how the day went. After trying to "hang" with the miltary AARP members, the afternoon turned into nap time for Michael, the man child.

I do believe that the Man Child did fair a little better than the Coach. I have heard of desparte before but I have never heard of anyone covering themeselves in bread crumbs in order to feel that "flutter" in their stomach.

Hump, the 5'7" pillar, proved that he would he was able to rally late night with the chef in 517 and would still be well equipped to reach peak 3 again tomorrow.

Day 6 - Uh, has anyone seen day six? - Survivor Island

2007-06-12T00:17:00.000-05:00

Okay, seriously people we would like to make a formal apology for we forgot about day 6. Here is what we recall about "Survivor Island Oahu."

Our morning incorporated omelets prepared by the team for coaching staff in a make shift appreciation day. This was a key turning point where I realized that while genetically programmed to be a provider, I could no longer hunt lions (we are on an island) to feed the team and turned to spear fishing. That is right folks I am not in possession of a collapsible spear and will be hunting fish on a regular basis.

Day 6 included my first aquatic adventure in attempt to prove my worth to my tribe. Much like many of you out there, my full expectation of bringing a barrel of fish home in a sign of nomadic and prehistoric appreciation of the team and said omelets. Shockingly - I didn't see one freakin fish. We are on an island in the North Pacific and there wasn't a single fish. Needless to say, we are starving at this point. Note to self, Kailua beach is no longer on the World's Best Fishing Spots. To be far, we told John if we had to K2 anyone it would be him first, he is the meatiest.

But the team pulled together and did beat the "We are at work and jeolously reading your blog" Tribe from the main island and basked in our reward. Our evening was sponsored by Mike "Coco" Mancini at a Japanese Steak House. You may be wondering why he is called Coco. You ask some great questions. Mancini emphatically insisted that we call him "Man Child". For you Seinfeld subscribers we all know you can't make your own damn nickname T-Bone. Anyways, dinner was delightful and kept us on our toes by placing a scolding hot grill in the middle of the table from which we were required to cook our own food.

More than anything Tuesday was a really important day because John Leu was voted off the island and we extinguished his torch immediately. He had no idea it was coming even after each one of us asking him to spell "Leu" throughout the day. I am pretty sure he still hasn't figured it out and is at home waiting for a postcard. Keep checking that mailbox buddy.

Subsequently, we talked smack about him and vowed that any previous alliances were merely shadows and dust. Totally unrelated to seeing him again at the final tribal council I just want to say John Leu is the man and definitely made his presence felt. He will be missed.

Day 5 - Worlds Greatest Day

2007-06-11T23:05:00.000-05:00

Its great being the best. Getting to number one is a tough trek but we made it, in record time mind you. Since the Hawaii team we have assembled is the best we do the greatest things. We just got a phone call from Keith, (I don't know where he finds the time) and the non-validated, erroneous poll has Monday a the Worlds Greatest Day. I know everyone has had good ones but since we claimed it must be so.

We discovered that if you don't try and help the bartenders close the bar or get rid of all their alcohol you get up much earlier and more energized. Coach and Mancini sweet talked the rental car lady and got a VIP upgrade to the four door, soft top Wrangler. The worlds greatest car. It was worth it, Mancini only had to make out for 2min with the lady and Smith did a hula dance. Teamwork. After some site seeing we got amphibious, visiting the worlds greatest beaches (sunset beach, Lanikai, kailua, North Shore, Waikiki) and doing the worlds greatest snorkeling. We do great things.

John Lue is the greatest snorkler and found a sea turtle in the ocean. Good work John. Bobo made sure her towel didnt blow away and laid down the whole day. Mancini got sun burned b/c thats what Irish Italian guys from Boston do. We got a message from out liver and it was not happy that we brought him all the way to Hawaii and didnt take him out last night. So the worlds greatest shot glass was abused again that night. The double bubble was blessed by Smith. The Yard house bar and grill has the worlds largest selection of beers, the bar tender doesn't have any validation but he said it with confidence. The night conclude with the worlds WORST karaoke performed by everyone. Livin on a prayer, Green Day, Journey and other. What a play list.

High Points - greatest, beaches, cabs, American Idol. Run with those. And try the world's greatest pickup lines or just pretend to be part of the waiting staff.

Day 4 - World Heroes

2007-06-10T13:31:00.000-05:00

Here it is fans almost one week into the season and were are currently undefeated. I know the bad news bears aren't that good but you cant take the wins away from us. We have a few players leading the all star ballot right now. Starting off Manchild Mancini tops the division with 35 shots and zero phone calls, John "Big Asia" Lue has the most consecutive sweet tank tops wears, Coach Smith has officially gone Bobby Knight on his pants(figure it out), Mom and Dad Bobo have finally purchased a mini van and the team can all ride together, who doesn't love road trips.

We started off the morning with the ritual of chugging three glasses of water and two Advil, and of course coach threw his eggs out the front door. After pulling it together we decided to adventure on the day and J-Lue lead us some of the most epic hikes for the day. We put on our gear and went 3miles to the first peak over intermediate terrain to find ourselves on top of the world with a view of the entire island. With the MVP race heating up Smith, John and myself went for gold and battled the second and third peaks which the guide books labeled as advanced and expert level and for the acrobatic climber. After realizing we were all of these and were minimally equipped (no food low, ropes) we decided we perfect for the climb. Mom, Dad and loved ones you would have been slightly nervous as we were dangling of the side of mountains with loosely secured aged twine. We got back after about 5-6hrs of hiking and climbing.

We reloaded the team bus and departed for a 3-4mi hike to a waterfall and 40ft cliffs jumps. Completely exhausted we decided it was best to climb the muddy rocks and dive into a swimming hole that a few 16yr old Beavis and Buthead look alike said was safe. They were trust worthy. The day ended around 8pm with a little hot tub and cheap chinese food and all of us crashed on the floor. The final results came for the current MVP voting came in late and looks like I have won by close margin. It had to be the gun show on top of the mountain. Chicks dig that kinda stuff. VICTORY!!!!!

Day 3 - We did it!

2007-06-09T14:23:00.000-05:00

Day 3 and 4 were slightly indicative. The team found ourselves at Waikiki beach for most of the day throwing done Sinjin Smith and Karch Karri - esque spikes with Honolulu's finest.

Shortly following we hit up the BBQ and onto the main event - Fat guys huggin.
We arrived fashionable late to watch the world finest morbidly obese sumo wrestlers talk it over in the ring.

Oh did I mention more drinks? We took the opportunity to reunite John Leu with his kin last night as much as possible, but unfortunately the racial draft had closed and even while playing to his audience John lived it La Vita Boston.

Day 2 - Honolulu you?

2007-06-08T19:10:00.000-05:00

This morning we hit up the old grocery to be delighted by $4 bottles of pasta sauce and various other outragouesly priced canned goods. Fortunately, while tryin to scrap the bottom of the barrel, both finacially and morally, we were able to find liqours and other forms or character enhancers for standard prices. Tomorrow we will be hitting up the Cosco for a weeks worth of supplies to subsidize other endevours.....including going to a Sumo wrestling tournament and rent a car to see the sights beyond the touristy waikiki mile.

Pinch Hitter....Mike "Man Child" Mancini has joined us for the following 10 days and our new closer John Leu is in route. In combination with our Amanda "Cleat Chaser BoBo" Boaz pitching in for relief efforts as required....This season should leave everyone will something to remember.

Day 1 - Las Vegas to Honolulu

2007-06-08T14:26:00.000-05:00

For you slow readers, here are the cliff notes....

Uh...Josh hasn't packed yet and the cab is five minutes out.

Hump won't relinquish a record breaking game of Minesweeper

Josh sends out departure email at 1:15PM Nevada time.

Cabbie departs 1:16PM and immediate evaluates his drives capabilities in relation to his Ethiopian cohorts. The ride includes racial slurs and the cabbie sending about 15 text messages, free of charge.

3:30PM Josh and Justin chip in some gas money and give ATA a push start. We are nicely crunched between a oversized gorilla, behind 4 untamed children.

7pm - We did it....we water landed into Honolulu airport. For all those people out there, yeah you, that said we couldn't do it....ha..we did it.

9pm dinner with Kevin Bobo and Bobo Boaz is sighted for the first time.

11Pm Smith and Hump walk the Waikiki mile. Unbelievably, Thursday night in Waikiki in summer is an 18 year old paradise.

Justin stays out all night, Josh heads home.

Day 0

2007-06-08T14:22:00.001-05:00

If you don't know, just ask Keith.....he is the manager at Jason's Deli and he dreams big...real big.

If you can't find him, you will want to ask for Joe Bravo, friend of Chaska, he runs the Vegas Strip. If he doesn't get you in for free to Pure, he might just hit you in the face.

Last but not least after you finish off your huge Tuesday night on the town and there is nothing left of your 6AM omelet at O'Sheas "Classiest casino on the Strip" morning spectacular, you want to quickly ring up Johnny "Focker" - Best cab drive this side of Reno.

Hope you liked the talking points...details to come. The 8 oclock is completely different from the 6 oclock.

Summer 2007 Road Schedule

2007-06-07T13:49:00.000-05:00

Hump vs Smith 1-0

Hump and Smith vs Las Vegas 6/4-6/7 Vegas kicked our...
Hump and Smith vs Hawaii 10 days
Hump and Smith vs Fiji 6days
Hump and Smith vs New Zealand 21 days
Hump and Smith vs Australia 18 days
Hump and Smith vs. Fiji Round 2 6 days

In greater detail....

The Coaching Staff

2007-06-07T13:33:00.001-05:00

Every team has a great coach. So we should be on target to compete with the 2000 Prairie View Cougars ( 2- 15). But they had a great time. Every Morning I start off with two raw eggs, just throw them out the front door, the 6am sports center, its usually when I am getting home and a little Boston, More Than A feeling. Getting ready for this season as been tough from Boston to NY to eventually Chicago, and from Deloitte to a backpack to Kellogg Business school in the fall. I will cherish the good times we had and look froward the memories we will create. Like the wise man Dale once said, " What ever you do, Be the best at it."

Meet the Team

2007-06-07T13:02:00.001-05:00

LADIES and gentlemen...How is this possible???

Starting off at guard running the point its J-HUMP. 5'7'' 150lbs from Jacksonville, Fl. My first time in the octagon was summer of 2002 when Smith and I completed the Journey of Hope cross country cycling event. Since then summers are for the backpacking adventure series that we call life. In the very near future I will have to grow up and attend graduate school, get a better job, married, etc, etc but for now lets ride the wave and make it happen. Much love and thanks to everyone in my life that has made this Journey possible. Make it happen.