New Hampshire and New Zealand, here I come!

So I'm on my way up New Hampshire right now, currently stopped at the 1-84 Diner waiting for my egg salad sandwich. Yesterday I left Georgia and drove through 7 states: Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, ending in Pennsylvania. Today I left Pennsylvania, I'm in New York, and will finish off my drive by passing through Connecticut, Massachusetts, and finally New Hampshire. Long drive, lots of states, but beautiful fall colors everywhere I go. 

Last night I spent at my cousin's outside Harrisburg, PA. They do foster care and have 6 kids living there currently plus 2 dogs and 5 cats. It was crazy, but really fun! 

In other news, I heard back from New Zealand late last night and visa approved! Yay! 

Okay, meal just arrived, time to eat. Later! 

Chest X-Ray

It's been a crazy few days getting my chest X-ray done and the paperwork filled out. Let's just say a few of the more stressful days of my life. I finally got it in the mail yesterday around noon and now it's out of my hands. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that everything was done correctly and New Zealand approves my application. 

In other news, I went zip lining this morning at Northeast Georgia Canopy Tours. It was much more fun that I though it would be. I didn't think it wouldn't be fun, I thought I'd be too scarred to enjoy myself but I did okay. The course included probably 10 zip lines, 2 suspension bridges (see below) and a 40 ft repel. The repel was definitely the most stressful part but I survived. I would've taken more pictures but it's hard to snap photos and not die at the same time. They took a few for us but they were $10/photo so I didn't buy any. 

Right now I'm just laying around watching the Georgia v. Vanderbilt game (obviously in cheering for Georgia ;) ).

A cute photo from before.

I just found this cute photo from my time at Kara Kahl Farm that I never posted. Enjoy! 

Oh, and here's another of my favorite goat, rest in peace little buddy!

Whiteside Mountain in Cashiers, NC

On Sunday we hiked Whiteside Mountain in Cashiers, NC. It was technically closed because of the government shutdown that has closed national parks, but we hiked it anyways. This was all well and good until I had to use the restroom at the end of the hike, which was also closed. I did make it to a local grocery store but everyone I was with made sure to make the car ride to the grocery store as miserable as possible - bumpy, full of water references, etc. 

Here's a couple pictures of the view from the top I took with my phone. I have more on my camera that I can post later. 

Best!

North Carilina

So we got to the cabin in North Carolina a few hours ago. We've been playing Rumicube (spelling?) and Go Fish. They all love to make fun of the way I say "bag". It reminds them of bagels because apparently I say them almost the same. 

Tomorrow we're gonna do a few hikes around the mountains here and just relax.

On our way up here we stopped at a brew pub got dinner. The waitress commented in how she liked my ring, something I bought at Sturgis, see photo below. Floyd, the husband, jumped in to say I was a biker chick as an explaination for the ring, to which the waitress replied "You seem to classy to be a biker chick". True, obviously, but that's the fun of the whole thing - going to Sturgis, wearing a skull ring - people don't expect it and I love the surprise.

A side not, this is my first time in North Carolina. Cool, right? On the way up here we drive through South Carolina and I've never been there before either. Two new states today. 

After I leave GA in two weeks I'll be heading up the coast to New Hampshire for a few days and them back to MN. All in all I think I'm going to drive through about 25 states in this trip. Amazing isn't it? About half the country in a month. It's easy though when the states at smaller like they are in New England. 

Okay, that's all for tonight folks. Best! 

Hurricane Shoals Park

I'm sitting here in Hurricane Shoals park in Maysville, GA, the closest city to the farm I'm on. It's very pretty here. I'm not sure what a "shoal" technically is but it appears to be something along the lines of a cascading waterfall/solid rock riverbed combo. Here's a few pics: 

 

Btw, this is my first post from my phone. If this doesn't work well I'll repost later today when I'm by my computer. 

Best!

Pictures and videos from the last few weeks that I've failed to post yet, sorry!

Goat Show:

From Left to Right: Doug, Anna, Emily showing their Alpine goats. They are standing in order of winning, 3, 2, 1. 

Me showing a Toggenburg Goat. Anna is on my left. 

Here's a video of me pointing out the different breeds during the best of breed judging.

Here's a photo of my with the kitty from the goat show that everyone told me was going to give me ring worm. So far I haven't had any symptoms. I'm not sure how long I have to wait before I know I'm in the clear. You can't tell from the photos but the kitty is missing patches of fur all over his body. I really don't think he gave me ring worm, but I really wouldn't be surprised either.

Here's a video of the ring worm kitty.

Edina, MO:

On my way down I passed the exit for Edina, MO. I took the exit but then saw a sign that it was 40+ miles a way. I took a photo with the sign because this wasn't an opportunity I could pass up but an actual detour to the town was just not going to happen.

My first real southern meal, a "Meat and 2", at the Country Junction north of Nashville, Tennessee.

Left to Right: Fried Cornbread, Pork Ribs, Turnip Greens, Coleslaw, Sweet Tea.

Chocolate Walnut Pie at Yesterday's Cafe in Rutledge, Ga:

Amicalola Falls, GA: Photos of the falls and the view from the top.

Chick-fil-A:

My first Chick-fil-A sandwich ever. And mighty tasty!

Okay, I hope that fulfills everyone's desires to see in photo form what I've been up to these last few weeks.

Best!

Continued Visa Problems, Government Shutdown Problems

So later in the day yesterday I got an email from New Zealand telling me they need my chest x-ray results in 15 days, meaning by October 25th. So they expect me to be able to make an appointment to see my doctor, see my doctor, and mail my results to them in New Zealand in 15 days. To me that seems like a crazy fast timeline. Because I'm on vacation and won't even be back in MN until October 30th I have requested an extension on this date. I am not however, going to hear back on my extension for at least a few more days so in the mean time I have had my passport mailed to me (something I need for the doctor's appointment) and made an appointment to see a doctor here in Gainesville, GA next Thursday. If I do not get granted the extension, I will have to I will have to go to this appointment next week and then spend $45 sending my paperwork to New Zealand priority mail. I know it's all gonna work out but this has been hours in the making. I better like it in New Zealand after all this work!!

So onto the Government Shutdown Problems... Today I went to Anna Ruby Falls near Unicoi State Park. I drove about 90 minutes to get there only to find out is closed due to the government shutdown:

I decided to go to the state park anyways because I wasn't about to turn around and drive right back. The park was very pretty but no water falls... Here's a few pictures of Unicoi Lake and from my hike around it:

They have barrel shaped cabins you can stay in. They are called "barrel cabins". Cryptic, isn't it?

A small brook (or creek? I'm not sure what the difference is...) coming right out of the hillside. Super cool!

So that's my day today.

Oh, we also continued painting the shed. We are almost done. Probably will finish tomorrow morning or early next week.

Tomorrow is my healing ceremony, depending on what happens I either will or won't share the experience with you guys. I also don't know if I am supposed to talk about what happens during the ceremony. Then tomorrow night we leave for NC! I can't wait!

I'm gonna do another post now with pictures from the last few weeks that I haven't uploaded yet. Outside of that, let's chat soon!

Visa Trouble

So I spent all of yesterday trying to deal with crazy visa trouble from both New Zealand and India, but mostly India. Here's the story:

Yesterday I confirmed again with the place I will be working in New Zealand that we are still good for my start date in mid-December. After that I went to apply for my working holiday visa for New Zealand. All was well with the application until it asked if I had spent 3 months traveling/living in any of the NON low-tuberculosis countries, as deemed by New Zealand, in the last 5 years. Both Spain and Mexico are not low-tuberculosis countries so I had to answer yes due to vacation and my study abroad. At the end of the application it said I had to get  chest x-ray by a pre-approved doctor and mail the results to New Zealand before my visa application can be processed. I spent a few hours yesterday on the phone with my health insurance company, doctor's office in MPLS, as well as multiple clinics in GA trying to find an appointment time soon in which to get this done. After speaking with multiple people at the NE Georgia Medical Center, most of whom were very unhelpful, I finally gave up trying to get an appointment in Georgia and have resigned to waiting until I am back in Mpls on October 31 to take care of this. I will then mail the results right away to New Zealand and hope they process the application quickly so I can buy my plane ticket from Sydney to Auckland before it's too late and they're super expensive.

In the middle of this whole debacle I also decided it might be a good idea to look into what the process is for the visa to India. Word of warning for anyone traveling to India: they make the process so difficult you'd think they didn't want anyone to visit their county, ever. For even a tourist visa to India you have to mail in your application (or go in person) to one of 6 offices in the US. With your application you also have to send you Passport, which neither New Zealand of Australia require, along with proof of residence. This would be easy enough for most people but I haven't changed my drivers license since my most recent move and the only other things that count, a lease of utility bills, I don't have in my name. Being that I'm in Georgia right now I don't have the luxury of going into the DMV and getting my license reissued at my new address in time to drive my application to Chicago and wait for them to mail it back in time for me to get on a plane to Australia on November 17th. After first thinking I'd have to pack up and head home early to get a new license and follow the above scenario along with prayer, I decided, hey, I could just sign a lease to live at my parent's house. Dishonest I know, but I really didn't see any other way around this issue. With this, I will be driving through Chicago on my way home and could stop and drop off my application there in time (fingers crossed) for them to get it back to me before Nov. 17th. Well, this idea worked for a few hours until I couldn't sleep any longer. I woke up at 1:30 and was super stressed out about this whole issue and couldn't sleep. I started googling things visa for india on my phone and finally came up with two other solutions:

1. India just approves visas upon arrival for 40 additional countries, including the US, and this may be in effect before I arrive there.
2. The embassy in New Zealand will process visa applications for citizens of any country that are within the borders of their country. This is perfect since I will be in New Zealand for 2.5 months and will have plenty of time in which I can send away my passport and wait for it's return.

I am likely going to proceed with option 2, as I don't have any time table on option 1, and I was finally able to get back to sleep at about 4:30.

Side note to all this: the 6 month visa is valid for 6 months from the day which it was issued. If I got it while still in the US it wouldn't even be valid long enough for me may March/April/May time frame I plan to be in India.

In other news, I went to Chick-fil-A last night for the first time ever. The food was AMAZING - at least for a fast food restaurant! I had the spicy chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes, no pickles. Darn good. I saw on line that a couple Chick-fil-As opened in MN today. If you haven't tried it, I would! Until today I only knew about the one at the airport but I may have to make my way to another one soon. I'd kinda compare it to Culver's, not in food offerings as I don't remember Culver's being big on Fried Chicken, but the quality is comparable - good fast food.

As far as happenings for today go, this morning we had to build a big bonfire to burn a pile of wood. Amanda and I did a surprisingly good job. We got the fire hot enough and big enough that were we able to burn a few hundred pounds of somewhat damp wood in just 3 hours. And the fire was BLAZING! It was so hot it was hard to even get close enough to throw more wood on the fire. After lunch I started painting the shed we've spent the last three days scraping. I've got a bit of that done, probably will finish tomorrow.

On Saturday morning Kim, the wife, is going to do a healing ceremony on me. She has a degree from Delphi, a spiritual and healing school, and offered to do energy readings and/or healings on us if we'd like. I took her up on the offer because I can't see any harm coming from the process and hopefully some good insights.

Sunday/Monday we are going to be spending at the family's cabin in North Carolina, just about 2 hours from hear near Highland. I'm not sure where this is or what the significance is but they've said it's just beautiful. We'll be going on hikes and relaxing for a few days in the mountains which sounds great to me.

Okay, that's all for right now. I'll try to check back in again tomorrow or Saturday before we head up to the mountains.

Hope all is well back in MN!

Best!

Paint Scraping

Today was a pretty slow day. A nice, slow day. This morning I worked on scraping paint off the shed. This will likely take me a few more days as I'm trying to be somewhat methodical about it. Maybe I'll be done scraping on Wednesday? I am also only working in the morning. This afternoon I went into the local library to check out a few books and they were having a book sale so I picked up a few of those as well. This afternoon I did a bit more scraping and then went on a walk with Floyd, the husband. At dinner we played a really fun dinner game and that was that. Nothing new to report today. Let's see what tomorrow deals me!

Georgia Week 1

I am SO SORRY that I haven't been keeping up on my blog. There is no internet at the cabin I am staying in so it is not as easy post on a regular basis. There is internet at the main house, though, so I'll try to be better for the next 2+ weeks I am here.

So let's go all the way back to my drive to Georgia last week. Here are a few observations about driving habits and gas prices that I noticed on the way down:

Missouri - very cheap gas ($3.09/gallon), pretty fast drivers
Kentucky - cheap gas, slow drivers
Tennessee - not cheap gas($3.20/gallon), crazy drivers (fast and crazy)
Georgia - you can find cheap gas but it's hit and miss($3.10/gallon if you can find it), fast drivers

I also noticed on the way down here just how beautiful it is in this part of the country. Starting in Kentucky and going all the way to Georgia the landscape is hilly and forested and so wonderfully green! Where I'm staying here in Maysville, GA just can't be beat. This part of America is so amazingly beautiful I don't ever want to go home. I may just have to move down here once I get back from Australia.

So now I'll take you through a quick description of each day I've spent here so far, and the new southern foods I've tried.

Sunday & Monday:

Drive to Georgia

Tuesday:

Me and the other WWOOFer, Amanda from Texas, worked in the garden with the wife, Kim. We also accompanied Kim and the husband, Floyd, on the morning animal feeding chores. They have 2 horses, 2 female pigs (1 is pregnant), 1 boar, 6 piglets, about 17 chickens, and 3 dogs. In the afternoon we went into Gainesville and I bought a super cute cowgirl-like dress. I can't wait to wear it!

Wednesday:

In the morning Amanda and I worked in the garden. In the afternoon I went to their oldest daughter, Maddie's, final softball game of her high school career. They didn't win but she did hit a double that got to girls home. It was pretty good!

Thursday:

In the morning we hauled fire wood on the ATVs. In the afternoon we ran a few errands with Floyd, including getting feed at the store and going tot he market. At the market I had my first Peach Fried Pie (like a turnover but then deep fried and covered with glaze) and Boiled Peanuts. I really likes the Fried Pie. The boiled peanuts were good, but very salty.

Friday:

In the morning we worked on scraping paint off a shed I'm sure we will soon be responsible for painting. In the afternoon I went into the town of Maysville to their town fair. There were lots of booths selling foods and crafts. For those of you in MN, I'm sure you'll be stunned to hear that they don't have cheese curds down here. The family I'm saying with has never had them and they didn't have them at the town fair. It's amazing since I don't think there is a single event in the midwest then happens without cheese curds. I did try a rum cake and pralines at the fair, both good. I was also called a Yankee at the fair, not in a mean way but this was a first for me so far in my life. I also got a skillet at the fair. I bargained my way down from $12 to $5. I'm quite proud of my bargaining abilities and my new skillet. You're all welcome over for skillet corn bread when I get home!

In the evening Amanda and I went back into the town fair for the street dance. It was very interesting. There weren't many people there our age but the ones that were there all had kids, as did many people younger than us. This was somewhat a bummer since none of them were looking for a dance partner. I did dance with one local guy, George, but that was it. Maybe next year.

Saturday:

The family was out of town this weekend so Saturday we had a nice slow morning. I worked a bit on paint scraping but not for too long. At lunch time I went into Athens, GA and had lunch at Mama's Boy, a super cute and very tasty cafe. The staff there was also very nice and helped me pick out a great southern breakfast accompanied by a homemade and delicious Strawberry Lemonade.

After lunch I went to Rutledge, GA to a cafe I read about in my Georgia travel guide to get a slide of the chocolate walnut pie at Yesterday's Cafe. It is essentially a pean pie, but made with walnuts, with chocolate chips. The town was super cute, movie like.

In the evening I went back into Athens to a nice coffee/bar/music cafe to see a few bands. The place was called Hendershot's Coffee. It was pretty dead when I was there but it was a cute little place and a nice calm atmosphere.

Sunday, Today:

I got up early and got on the road early up to Amicalola Falls. This water falls is 729 feet tall ans stunning. It's a cascading water fall so you get to enjoy it on the whole hike up. Then, at the top, you can look out over Northeast Georgia and the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. From where the stair start to the top of the falls it's over 600 stairs, but there a pretty big hike up to the bottom of the stairs. The falls is the unofficial start of the Appalachian Trail. You have to hike 8 miles in from the falls to the start of the official start of the trail. You cannot drive to the actual start, so I like to think I was on the Appalachian Trail.

After the hike, I went into Dahlonega and had award winning BBQ at Smokin' Gold BBQ. I had a beef brisket sandwhich. I would definitely eat there again but I'm not sure I'd drive out of my way to eat there. But maybe I'm just not well-versed enough in BBQ to know what I'm talking about.

After lunch I drove to Helen, GA, a cute little German town. All the building look like they're straight out of Germany and the women in the visitor center were wearing cute German outfits. They are celebrating Oktoberfest right now so it was super packed there. I walked around and looked in the little shops and it was fun.

Okay, I've gotta run now. I may get back and elaborate on this post tomorrow.

Best!

Georgia :)

Okay so yesterday I arrived in Georgia. I have so much to tell but only a few minutes now to write. I will post more later.

The drive down here was great. It took me all in all about 22 hours on the road including gas stops, rest stops, and eating time. It wasn't too bad, it only took 2 days. I spent the night in Mt. Vernon, Il. Nice town but I have no intention of ever moving there.

The highlights of the drive:

-Mt. Pleasant, IA: This city was just gorgeous! They have lots of old homes, looks very southern, and a very cute downtown. I don't think the city is doing too well economically right now but it has lots of great curb appeal.

- Hannibal, MO: They have one of the most beautiful high schools in the country. In my opinion, at least, but I can't imagine I'm wrong. I tried to find a picture on line that did it justice but I couldn't. Looks like you'll just have to travel to Hannibal, MO to see for yourself.

- Country Junction Diner, near Nashville, TN: This diner was recommended to me by Willie, a nice older gentleman I met in a gas station, who was full of Southern Hospitality and a great lunch recommendation. I had a "Meat and 2". For those of you who don't know what that is, much like I didn't know yesterday, a meat and 2 is a meat portion with two vegetable sides. It also comes with bread. My meat and 2 consisted of pork ribs, collard greens, coleslaw, and fried cornbread. I also had a sweet tea (recommended by Willie). This was the perfect southern meal!

I'll post more later today. We're about to leave for Gainesville now.

Best!