Tuesday Feb 21, 2012
We are awoken in the middle of the night by a tremendous
rain storm that lasts for hours. It was
actually welcome relief from the oppressive heat in the bedrooms. We have an awesome AC that cools the
downstairs very quickly; however, our relief upstairs in the bedrooms is
limited to ceiling fans and open windows.
The morning comes with a leftover overcast sky. The crew arises and after some quick eats
settle in for a couple of hours of study.
After school we take a chance and skype Grandy who happens to be sitting
at his computer just when the call comes in.
We all enjoy seeing another familiar face and sharing briefly a little
about our adventure. After about a 10
minute visit we decide to head out.
The sky has cleared late morning and we decide to head into
town to poke around. The town is an
awesome little place with a central hub at a roundabout and streets extending
several blocks in each direction with intersecting side streets and neat little
shops lining the streets on each side.
Sharon, Paulie, Annie and Hudson decide to check in with the local
tattoo parlor and surfing shops while Sam and I head off in search of
skateboards. Sam has his mind on a
certain type of skateboard (a birthday present from Grandy and Bonne) that is
offered in many colors with different colored wheel options. We are in search for the perfect combination. Sam is initially drawn to a yellow board with
red wheels, but as we continue to shop he is inundated with various color
combinations. We decide that with such
an important purchase it is best to sleep on it to ensure the perfect
choice. Sam doesn’t realize that the
whole time I am scoping various t-shirt options for potential purchase. We hook back up with the other members of the
group and we are all eager to get back to “our” beach. Paulie, Annie, Sam and I venture out to the
beach first with Sharon and Hudson lagging behind. The walk is a pleasant walk along a trail
that is partially grass, dirt, hard sand, soft sand and shady covered areas
with branches overhead. Sharon will
later share with us at dinner later this evening that on their walk to the
beach she and Hudson share one of those mother/son moments that only happens a
handful of times, if that many, in a lifetime.
Sharon will later convey, that as they approach the brilliant bright
white soft sands towards the end of the walk Hudson makes the comment that this
is how he has envisioned heaven. It is a
touching moment for a loving mother that will be cherished forever.
It is extremely difficult to put into words just how amazing
this jewel of a beach is we have found.
The beach itself extends probably 150 yards to the water and as
described yesterday is probably 2-3 miles wide with rocky coves extending into
the ocean on each side creating a wonderfully secluded and private
setting. There seem to be less than
50-60 people scattered along the entire beach and it is as if we have the whole
beach to ourselves. Paulie, the most
world traveled among the bunch, comments that he has for many years considered
Topsail to be the best beach in the world according to several criteria, BUT
that this setting may be the only one that would qualify as better in his
mind. No one can disagree with this
assessment. It is if we have discovered
the best beach the world has to offer. The
storm has brought in fresh water that is slightly cooler, but just as
refreshing as the day before. We all
start out heading in the direction of the cliff with the wonderful lighthouse
atop in the distance. Along the way we
frolic in the surf, enjoy the perfect mid-size waves, some body surfing, and
Sharon writes some loving words to Paulie in the sand. At some point in our walk we discover a great
little area that has a sand bar about 25 yards into the water, but along one
side there is a pool about 3-4 feet deep.
Hudson and Sam discover it is really cool to get a running start and
jump into the pool from the sandbar. I
decide to join in the fun with swan dives and then seeing how big a splash I
can produce. Before long we have ole
Shar-Bear showing us the finer points of the perfectly executed cannon ball. After several hours of the most relaxing,
peaceful and invigorating fun we have had in Australia we head back to the
condo as the sun is falling in the sky.
Sharon and I head to our now favorite store, Woolworth’s, for the
evening dinner. We enjoy a wonderful
dinner of steak, smashed new potatoes, and green beans. At dinner we all agree that today has been as
close to the perfect day any of us could have imagined. We all share something about the day or the
setting that we are thankful for and there are some tender moments and some
misty eyes. After dinner, we settle in
for a little TV, e-mailing & internet’ing, a couple of nice glasses of wine
and a somewhat early evening.
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