Is Minnesota in Boston, or LA? Stradbroke Easter Camping Trip

I am officially nearly three weeks late with this posting. The Australian school system likes to plan their courses with absolutely nothing to do the first 7 weeks, and then have everything due between week 8 and week 11. I have been doing nothing but studying since I arrived home from Easter vacation, so I apologize this is so late! I will probably do the majority of my next few updates in photos, because I have a few more assignments to get completed before a weekend FULL of birthday fun.

A group of 11 of us headed to Stradbroke Island for a camping trip over Easter break. There were 5 girls (Aliey, Alana, Mary, Elise and I) and 6 guys (Mikey, Vince, Hunter, Steffan, Alex and Nathan) all from Southbank Campus Apartments. We left SBCA pretty early in the morning, and struggled to make our way to the train station. It was incredibly obvious that we all had over packed.
On the train ride to Cleveland, we met a man who was a bit geographically challenged. He was all about chatting up us Americans and learning where about we were all from. I think he was a bit confused, as he thought both New Jersey and Minnesota were located in Boston. Or was it Quebec. Or maybe Manitoba? :-P We took a bus from the Cleveland train station to the Stradbroke ferry station, and then a 30 minute ride to the island. We had two tents, the girls tent, which struggled a bit as it was missing some parts (and had to be taped together to stand) and the boys tent, which was like a 5 star hotel compared to ours.

Mary. Elise. Me. Aliey is taking this photo, and not helping.


Elise. Aliey. Mary. Me. Alana.

We spent the next two days laying on the beach, making trips up to the fish n chips shop, watching the sunset, and having bonfires. We found a cockroach in our tent, and a gigantic spider in the boys. We took lots of photos, including some fabulous action shots of Aliey Alana and I :) I officially think it was the worst 2 nights of sleep I have ever had in my life, but all in all, it was an amazing trip with a bunch of amazing people :) I certainly cannot complain about spending my Easter holiday on an island off of Australia!

Alana giving Mikey a haircut.

The water was SO blue.

Cylinder Beach.

Vincent and Aliey.

The grouping watching the sunset.


A beautiful sunset.

Alex was in charge of manning the fire.

Relaxing around the bonfire.

The crew.

Long exposure shot that says DANI. =] Done by yours truly.

The vomit Aliey ate out of a can. Australian's seem to think COLD 'cheese flavored' baked beans taste good. I ate fruit and granola bars all weekend, Aliey ate poo out of cans.

The spider Elise found in the guys' tent.

Cylinder Beach.


Lounging on the beach.

We. Are. So. Cool.

Trying to make a heart, but looking ridiculous instead.

Vince is wearing a turban. Hunter is reading a gossip magazine article called 'Real Life Bad Girls'

xoxo

Michael Rouse Turns 20

Today was a really special day.
It was MIKEY'S BIRTHDAY!
He just turned 20.
SUCH a young guy.
He woke up to Aliey, Geoff and I handing him birthday cards and gifts.
My momma gave me $20 towards buying Mikey new boxers. She likes being practical.
Aliey and I bought Mikey some really fancy Bonds boxers. Which he LOVES.
Sidenote: Men's underwear are MUCH more expensive in AUS than in the States. Like, a MINIMUM of $10 a pair. And those are the cheap ones...So they definitely make good gifts!
Then we all had Uni all day (Zzz...)
Chelsea decorated 603 with streamers and a 'Happy Birthday' banner.
We ordered Domino's for dinner. 16 pizzas to be exact. for 15 people.
WE ARE FAT.
Vince and Geoff both supplied a cake each. One was Passionfruit Cheesecake. the other was Cole's Chocolate Cake with sprinkles and m&ms! DELISH.
Here are a few fabulous pictures of the birthday boy... He is a big fan of popping into photos that he wasn't initially invited into...





Happy 20th Birthday Michael Rouse. =]
I am so so happy to have been here to celebrate it with you!