Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Cuppas, beach houses and waves - it all sounds good to me!

Before embarking on this journey, I was unsure of my expectations of this adventure.   I wasn't sure if we'd be engaging in the itinerary of a tourist, or if we'd be hanging out with Gord and Bec at their house much of the time.  And, quite honestly, thoughts of leaving my family quickly overshadowed those of my holiday agenda, so I didn't give it too much consideration.  Now that I'm here, however, I've really been enjoying the mix of things we've been doing.  My initial purpose for coming here was to hang out with my brother and his family and experience their lives in a way that's not possible from across the world.  So the time we've spent sharing meals, making apple pie (ok, so Bec made 99% of the pie - all  I did was hold the wax paper in place while she rolled out the dough), and having  "cuppas" (Aussies love their cuppas!!) have been really meaningful for me.  I've enjoyed the conversations that have occurred spontaneously as we hang out in normal, everyday spaces.

That said, we've also done considerable amount of touristy things, as well.  At the time of this posting, I'm sitting in a holiday beach house near Rye, a town right on the ocean.  We went down to an unsupervised, natural beach where the ocean waves were crashing in with amazing force.  Of course, the locals would perhaps describe the waves as normal - same as any other day - but as someone who doesn't see that power everyday, it's spectacular, breathtaking, and dangerous, all at once.  I simply do not tire of watching the waves come in.  As I stood there, with the salty water swirling around my legs,  I was reminded that I had stood in those same waters 10 years ago, and had made a mental resolution that the next time I would see these waters, it would be with Jeff at my side.  Hmmmm....  perhaps that's why I missed him as I stood in that space.

Tomorrow, we intend to spend some time at the swimming beach, and then head over to the other side of the peninsula on a ferry to check out the touristy town on the other side.  We'll look at some shops, and perhaps spend all the money my husband is making, and no doubt have a cuppa or two!!! I'm keenly aware that my time here is half over, so I'm doing my best to stay in the moment and absorb everything this beautiful country has to offer.

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