Laid Back Life

We're adjusting well to the slow pace of indolent life next to a beautiful beach, with great surf and warm weather (80's). Our routines include a daily walk on the beach (Phil sometimes does his with our friend Charles; I do mine either alone, with Phil or with Valerie) and lots of reading. Our friends Charles and Valerie are with us in their apartment, so we're a bit like college roommates, doing a lot of talking and spelling each other on cooking duties. It's a tough life, but we're managing it.

I've gone with Valerie two times to play in the surf, not something that comes naturally to me. She grew up in Bondi Junction (suburb of Sydney) and daily playing in the surf, so she loves to get into the waves and swim. As a northwesterner who grew up in inland Yakima, playing in the surf was something I did rarely, on camping trips to the Washington or Oregon coast, where the water was cold enough that you didn't spend much time there. Here the water is a warm 25 degrees C (roughly 75)--heavenly to splash about it. I worry a little about sharks, though none have been around here and they do have a shark net on this beach. I don't go out very far. There's also been a pretty strong undertow the last few days, so I'm overcoming my nervousness about holding my own as the tide sucks itself back out. But I've quite enjoyed myself the two times I've been in. A splash about every 2-3 days is great for me.

The other fun thing about travel is enjoying different foods. Even shopping for them and trying to discover things you like is fun. Best thing so far is the cappucinos, which are just like Italian cappucinos, because the Italians came early to this country and brought their cappucino habit with them. A nearly daily cappucino has also become part of our routine. Fresh tropical fruit is another. We're at the end of mango season, but the pineapples are wonderful (and huge--think I mentioned that in my last post). The shrimp and fish are also pretty tasty. Haven't had many shots at lamb yet, but will do that too before long. As on our boat, when you are moving at a slow pace, food becomes one of the more important parts of your day.

I am thinking that a 14 hour plane ride is worth it for what I'm getting back. This is pretty nice!

Next Monday we plan to hitch a ride with Charles and Valerie traveling about two hours north to Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast part of Queensland (about 1 1/2 hours north of Brisbane). They're going to babysit a house (with a cat) while their friends Neil and Lyn Ball take a vacation. Apparently Neil & Lyn stayed in our Seattle house for a few days while Charles & Valerie were staying in it, so we are returning the favor, meeting them and then staying a couple days in their house while they're gone. Then our former Seattleite friends Betty and Steve Ostrycharz will pick us up and take us another half hour north to their farm outside of Gympie. After staying with them for about a week, we'll take the train back down to Surfers (where we are now) and reoccupy the apartment while Charles & Valerie take their turn visiting the Ostrycharzes. Complicated? It's taken us a few days to work all this out, but then what else do we have to do?

That's it from the Gold Coast of Oz. Will post again when something exciting turns up.