We were all happy to be back here. I was amazed to see how attached the kids are already to this house. I'm sure it was in comparison to all the hotels we were in--this house was the first familiar thing they'd seen in 3 weeks and the most amount of space we'd had to play in. It's all relative, isn't it?
Mark and I spent the first few days getting all the practicalities of our life in order including cell phones, internet, car registration, batteries, moving furniture and stuff around to make things work better for us, finding grocery stores and stocking up, etc. The kids spent that time playing mostly happily together in the living room.
The rain and clouds have been with us since we got home but not constant so we have been to the beach several times since we've been back. The beaches here are quite remarkable. They are the jewel of Newcastle and may likely end up being the best part of our year here. We'll see as the summer turns to fall if we still spend most of our time there. The sand is white, the beaches expansive, there are rocks sticking out at low tide and the 4-8 foot waves are turquoise blue at the crest. The other day we went to Bar Beach (10 min drive) which had flat rocks to walk on at low tide and little tide pools in between the rocks to explore. Today we went to Caves Beach (20 min drive) because we were told there were caves there. And there were, indeed. At low tide, you could hunch over and walk through the dark and mysterious rock caverns that were clearly carved out by the pounding waves right outside. There were also tide pools left behind for exploring--we could see little fish, crabs, and all kinds of shells with creatures inside.
At the beaches here, the currents can be so strong and the waves so big that each beach has a life guard and red and yellow flags planted in the sand that you are supposed to swim between because that is the area that is being patrolled by the life guards. If you swim outside that area, you are at your own risk and it is not recommended. I didn't tell Mark this but I heard on the radio the other day that there were 2 shark sightings at Newcastle beaches in the last few days. With one, they alerted the swimmers to evacuate the ocean. With the other, they didn't alert the swimmers because the shark was only 2 feet long.
The kids don't have any sand toys yet (though they aren't complaining) but they do each have a boogie board. Gabe has spent much of his beach time here with his boogie in the most shallow part of the ocean that still has water, on his belly, letting the waves wash him up on shore. He's getting slowly more and more brave and starting out a little deeper each time.
He has always been the type of kid to know his own limits, so we feel comfortable with him out there in the big blue but it is a little weird to see our tiny little son way out there playing around at the foot of 6 foot waves, knowing there may be 2 foot long sharks that they aren't telling us about. Jordan has also gotten attached to her boogie board but she is more likely to be found sitting on it watching Gabe or standing on it on the sand or, like yesterday, standing on it in the little river that feeds into the ocean. She's not ready for prime time yet.
Mark and I get to read and talk and go for walks on the beach but when it is only partly fine and not even 70 degrees out there, like today, we aren't all that keen on swimming. We do get in though when it is hot and we've had a blast playing in the waves as well. Surfing lessons are on the list for me and Mark is thinking he might stick to boogie boarding to protect his back from getting slammed around by the waves.
Our life isn't all about the beach, you understand, but that is the theme for tonight's blog. I look forward to telling you about the bats and koalas, cockatoos and kookaburras, our house, the people we've met, our plans, kids' school, and some other things that have come up this week. More to come...
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