Beach Scenes

Young lads surveying the surf
Our car and 'our' seat by the beach
Shelley Beach

Many people ask me how I fill my time now that I am retired. I cannot believe how much fun stuff there is to do now that my 38 years of working 'for the man' and raising 3 kids are behind me. Most days involve a walk to the local library to read the day's paper, and then I might think of some book to look up, or a DVD to borrow. Yesterday I read and worked my way through a few modules of a book writing course in the afternoon and again in the evening, and didn't turn the computer off until it was almost midnight. I am also spending some time surfing the internet looking for interesting things to do while our American friends are visiting. Other friends of ours from Florida are hoping our next RV itinerary can fit in with an RV trip they are doing to Charleston, South Carolina, so I have been working out distances and dates to see if that will work - I have a bit of juggling to do for the first 3 weeks after we arrive in the US, but we have now sorted our dates for South Carolina, and even identified the park where we will park side by side for a week. My friend was going to book the park this week.

Each day in retirement is a bit different for us here in Ballina, but the first thing I do when my feet hit the floor is to give thanks for the fact that I have actually woken to another day! Another day to have a crack at those things that always seemed to be put off until I retired and had some time, like writing! Whether I will actually write a book I have no idea, but it sure is fun trying. It is also a bonus to be able to read until you want, which is something I could not do when I was working full time and needed to set the alarm for 6am. We are also keen to do some voluntary work and enquired in a soup kitchen in the CBD, but we are coming and going so much in the coming weeks (up north to Cairns, down to Sydney & Melbourne) that we can't get that organised at this time.

Yesterday Murray & I decided to check out the view from a small country golf course a few miles away. They have a cafe overlooking the first tee and the green stretches out several feet below - a moderate gradient to get down to play the second shot. We had a coffee there and enjoyed the vista. On the way home we drove though a seaside town and as it was Sunday and holiday season, there were huge numbers of board surfers out catching the waves. A beautiful sight. We continued on to Shelley Beach which is a few miles up the road from our place and decided to park the car and do a brisk walk along the sand. I am very keen to improve my general fitness level. When we finished our walk we sat on a seat overlooking the beach and just enjoyed watching the waves and the cloud formations. Things we never had much time to do until now. Just as we were about to leave, two young lads (about 15 years old) turned up and surveyed the waves before choosing the area they were going to body surf. Next minute they were running down to the water and we watched them bobbing in the waves before we hopped in our car and drove home.

This morning I had a CD to post off to my brother in Japan, so I walked about one and a half miles to the post office, then walked along the river to the library to read today's newspaper. I noticed the high water level in the river (close to the sea mouth) which reminded me of reports that tonight the moon would be the closest it has been to earth for 15 years, and so the tides were supposed to peak as well. Although it was 2 hrs past high tide, I walked home, had a health smoothie for lunch with Murray, then I jumped in the car and drove to the same beach where we were yesterday. The waves were really rolling in, and I went into the water to take some photos back towards the headland for you. I then went and sat back on the same chair as yesterday, and wouldn't you know it, the same two lads turned up again to survey the waves; so I took a picture of them for you!

I had arranged to drop in on my sister, so we sat at her place and chatted for awhile before I invited her to join me for a quick foray to the grocery store - we are preparing dinner for friends up on the Gold Coast tomorrow night, and I needed to pick up some supplies. Now I am back home and thought I would add an entry to the blog before doing some more work on my writing modules - or will I read a few chapters on my new book on Digital Camera Photography or shall I design some bead jewellery for a market stall I plan to have in America? Decisions, decisions...After dinner this evening when it cools down a bit, my sister and I are doing a brisk walk on the path along the river.