home again

Going away has so many possibilities it makes it so exciting. My week away lived up to some of those possibilities. The main thing it lived up to was giving me the opportunity to relax. Well really I had no choice - there was NOTHING else to do there.

Maybe I should put this into some sort of perspective.

The town (for want of a better word) is basically a group of houses near a beach with a general store of sorts and a few take away stores. Actually for every takeaway store there is a real estate agent. I think I counted 5 (FIVE!) real estate agents! The place is about to take off! We were there probably 3 - 5 years too early.......

The beach (my reason for going) was a good 10-15 minute walk from the house. Most of that was up the most interesting hills. The incline was good for the thighs and bottom (another bonus) which meant that by the time you got to the beach you were exhausted and didn't feel like swimming. This is probably a good thing as the beach had an amazing undertow. According to the local paper there had been 30 rescues from the strip near the house during the week between Christmas and New Year.

The flies were so friendly. A little too friendly. Some of the flies wanted to share their inner most secrets and tried to get into my ear to tell those secrets. Some wanted to share the experience of breathing - up my nose; others thought that seeing the world from my perspective was the most important thing - behind my glasses in the eye...... They were the most lethargic things I have ever met - and I teach teenagers! You could catch them mid air. They liked to be held - they didn't protest.

Locals - really good, a little boganish, but quite harmless really. The night at the local pub (in the next township) was unique. I went away with two other girls and we seemed to cause a stir and all we did was put on jeans and a little makeup! Heavens above. One girl I went to the place with got up and left the table and the males on the next table could not keep their tongues in their mouths. It was disgusting - feral even.....

I have this thing when I go away that I like to stay where I am and then have the option to walk most places - something about not having to concentrate on country roads too much and being able to relax. Unfortunately this was not the venue. There are lots of things to do - but you have to drive about 30 minutes to get to them. This is ok for a day or two but everyday is too much. I realised that when I went for a 500metre run along the beach on the last night and loved it, that I hadn't done enough in the way of exercise.

Company was good. One girl very funny - very off beat and dry humour was appreciated. The other girl was very nice and looked after us all well. Thanks to them for keeping me entertained for the week in their unique ways.

I've come home now and discovered that I have no food in the house - which was something that I had planned on happening but I have to go shopping which means writing a list and planning my menu. I haven't done that since the beginning of November last year - I am out of practice. I realised that it is quite desperate in my house food wise as I was able to wipe out the fridge and freezer and didn't have to move any food out to do so.........