Friday 15 March 2013

Day 12... Cabarita Beach, Hastings Point and Pottsville






























 Day 12... Cabarita Beach, Hastings Point and Pottsville...

A lovely day spent with my little sick (but getting better) girl... hopping from beach to beach...

The waves were huge and mesmerizing... the sunshine made everything sparkle... Immy was tired and sick (you can't tell from the photos... but she did get ALOT of rest)... we had a great day... and it was fun for me to have her along for the adventure.

Things we saw... (listed by Immy)...
5 dogs
Big waves (like mountains)
A goanna eating a fish...
Sea Foam
Surfers
Seagulls
Ice cream!
Rocks
Playground

We both have pink noses and happy hearts!

20,371kms on the dash... 3,426kms down...

xo

Thursday 14 March 2013

Day 11... Sick Child Day




 Day 11... Sick Child Day...

Today Immy was sick and stayed home from school. I didn't get any extra kilometers done in my car... but it was nice to be at home for a day and look after my girl. She rested and I cooked things for her lunch box... I made bulk quantities of frittatas packed with veges and loads of mini corn, cheese and bacon savoury muffins... My freezer is overflowing!

Instead of the usual photos... I have shared two of Im-Girl in her new Girls Brigade uniform... Very cute!

20,125kms on the dash... 3180kms down...

xo



Wednesday 13 March 2013

Day 10... Ocean Shores






















Day 10... Ocean Shores...

I got into my car today with very little excitement for my journey ahead... I was tired and I had a dull ache in my chest that felt like sadness. Sadness without reason is the worst kind... because it hints at something deeper... and it always makes me feel a little broken. So I put some music on and it served as white noise while I drove and pondered...'Amazing Grace' came on... (a beautiful song... that I love) and I started thinking about freedom... specifically the freedom that I have through Grace... and it really turned my day around... I still felt tired and a little sad... but I remembered that even though sometimes I feel broken... God loves the broken... He loves the lost and the afraid... He just loves... and it is through His love that I can find freedom from my sadness, from my brokenness...

Ocean Shores was NOTHING like I expected! With a name like 'Ocean Shores' I imagined an idyllic, modern coastal town... with clean lines, pretty streets and a boardwalk along the beach. What I found was entirely different... there were two parts to the town... north and south... and I entered first into the south side. I could have been driving into any urban suburb in Brisbane... it didn't have that 'beachy' feeling at all... and although I knew the beach was just on the other side of the edge of town... I couldn't find a way to get to it... I was confused!!! Ha! Ocean Shores is a really hilly town... so every time I drove to the top of a hill I could see the ocean and every time I got to the bottom... I couldn't find it! ....................... Eventually I followed a road that took me across a bridge to the north side of town... it had a different feel, closer to what I had imagined.. only in the sense that I actually found the beach!!

When I was almost at the beach I was driving down a street of houses when I was shocked to see a swastika graffitied on a road sign... maybe I shouldn't have been shocked... I don't know?? Regardless of its origins... that symbol in our modern world represents hatred... and although I am not naive to fact that there are hateful people everywhere in our world... it still upsets me and I didn't expect to see it and it made me want to cover it up with a big spray painted love heart of my own. The only way we can fight hatred is with love...

I finally made it down to the beach and it was beautiful! The water was wild and churning... the sky was grey... I guess I felt like it was a visual representation of how was I feeling today... Chaotic. The ocean is so incredible... I am in awe of its immensity and power... it can't be contained...

On my way back to my car from the beach I had a brief passing chat with a lady in her sixties... we exchanged the usual polite 'hellos' and 'how are yous'... then I asked if she was from around there... she said that she lived closer to Byron Bay (not far away)... and then all of a sudden she was spewing hatred... not at me but at a certain group in society... I was so taken back that she, in the 30 seconds of conversation... with a stranger, had gone from pleasantries to acid... I felt like turning around, walking away... coughing up some acid of my own... but then I realised that if I treated her in that way... I wouldn't be acting out of love and only love can overcome hatred... so I listened to what she had to say... ended the conversation politely and said 'have a good day!'...

I felt bothered and upset by my two run ins with hate today... but from them I was reminded about love and the power of love... that EVERYBODY deserves to be loved and is loved by God. I was also reminded of the insidious qualities of hate and that it can spread rapidly if left to fester. SO... I am committed to loving people (including myself... hardest part unfortunately)... even when it is difficult. I want to love without limits... I want to love the broken, the hate filled, the unlovely and the lost...

Hmm... I think that is it for today...

20,125kms on the dash... 3,180kms down

xo


Tuesday 12 March 2013

Day 9... Esk
























Day 9... Esk...

The drive out to Esk was picture perfect... it was everything that you would expect from country QLD and more! I know people travel to QLD for the beaches and they ARE very beautiful but seriously... the country is where it is at! I had so many moments where my heart started pounding in my chest because of what I was seeing... for example - driving over the Wivenhoe Dam; it is a huge structure... very man-made-looking... nothing at all organic about it... and it is set in most enchanting wonderland of natural goodness... it was quite the spectacle.

The town of Esk was so charming and I think it is my favourite place I have visited so far. It is such small town, very quiet and peaceful... and it is made to look even smaller because it is guarded by a huge precipice... green and rocky and full of drama. The first stop that I made in Esk was at small house just on the edge of the main street... I was drawn to it because the front yard was full of old rusty things... have a mentioned that I love rust? I pulled over and straight away a man appeared from beside the house... a man I would soon know as Phil. Phil was very friendly and talkative and more than happy to chat about his collection of 'antiques'... He told me that he had set up his garden in the hope that it would attract some tourists...  it had been very quiet in town since Christmas. Phil showed me a display shed that he had built out the back and I could tell that he was proud of his efforts... :) and he should have been... Phil has one arm... and he doesn't let that stop him from doing the things that he is passionate about...  I think my favourite thing that I saw in his 'garden' was an old bike that was hanging up in a tree... Phil told me that his Dad used to have the same bike when he was a boy and how he remembered that his Dad used to ride it to work everyday and that one day he (little Phil) decided to take it for a spin, wrecked it and had to give up his pocket money for a time... I enjoyed hearing how Phil was emotionally connected to the things that he has collected... he was passionate and I liked that. I think that Phil is lonely, perhaps a little lost and disillusioned... but he is kind and generous with his time and I feel like I am better off for meeting him. :)

The next stop was 'Nash - Gallery and Cafe'... set in a lovely old Queenslander. Each of the rooms was filled with crafts, pottery, paintings, gifts and essential oils... in the middle was a counter and sweets cabinet... out the back was the kitchen. At the counter I met Sandee... Sandee makes the best vanilla slice I have ever tasted! The filling was smooth and velvety, light and fluffy (not heavy and gluggy like so many vanilla slices)... I sat at a table on the airy deck that was so full of light, drank my coffee and listened to the lovely tinkling of birds singing. I felt so calm and at home... and at that moment... I wished I lived in Esk. There was a soft breeze and butterflies floated and fluttered by... the air was so clean... It was lovely. 

It was time to move on... so I walked around the town... through parks, down the road and I found myself (like I so often do) under the bridge. I don't know why I am so drawn to the underside of bridges... am I searching for the elusive troll? Maybe? Am I at a vagabond at heart.. looking for a sheltered spot to lay my head? Maybe? Am I interested in finding the UNSEEN things in this world...? Yes... and so... down I wander to the hidden part of town... I look at the graffiti and search for whatever it is that I am always looking for... I take some photos and then I emerge into the SEEN parts of the picturesque town. My time in Esk is up and I jump in my car again... and head off home...  

19,830kms on the dash... 2,885kms down

xo