Friday: Port Stephens/Salamander Bay

This morning we were awake by 3:30 and starving. Brian told me I ought to go back to sleep. I replied that I could not stay in that bed one moment longer—and he agreed. After a shower and a quick check on e-mail, our tummies were complaining. We called the front desk to find out when the grocery store opened: 8:00. But Australia is not the land of “Open 24 Hours.” The restaurant was open by 7, so we decided against making our own breakfast this morning. 3 ½ hours to go before we could eat—and, of course, no snacks because we were not traveling with the kids.

After a leisurely breakfast at the restaurant, Brian met the Klamath Falls team and made his way to RAAF Williamtown. I settled in for a long morning of work—answering e-mail mostly. But then the Unexpected: I could receive my e-mail but I could not send. It’s a helpless feeling to have directors with questions and to have the answers so close to me but so far from them. We’re still working the “send” issue and hope to have it resolved by Monday.

I spent the rest of the morning going to the grocery store and watching Andrew Pudewa of Institute for Excellence in Writing. It seems I have to travel 6000 miles to find enough time for Andrew.

The grocery store was an insight into quotidian Australian culture. It was a Woolworth’s grocery store! Much about Australian material culture is a throwback to the 1980s in America. The “Target” was much along the lines of the first Target I visited with Mom in 1984. The store signage is very red, white, blue, and plastic with large sans serif type abounding. The grocery store had many American and European products—and vegetables larger than any I’ve ever seen in the U.S. By the time I arrived at the store, I was already hungry for a burrito; but requests for pinto beans produced a strange look and the suggestion that I try the health food aisle. Candy is referred to as “confectionery.” Bacon comes in a “rasher.” Gas is “petrol.” Dog food is not dry but fresh and comes in huge chubs. Lamb hearts are also available in plenty for canine consumption, a fact that was lost on me until I’d contemplated for at least 3 minutes how one might cook a lamb heart.

At noon I was able to Skype with the kids—which was gratifying for all of us. I gave them a 360 degree tour of our bedroom (the internet access is plug-in, not Wi-Fi) and we chatted about Australia and their newly acquired golf gloves for 25 minutes.

Brian returned to our apartment around 2:00 and we set off for the famous beaches of Port Stephens. We walked along Shoal Bay for about an hour. The water was actually warm enough to swim and beautifully clear, though I didn’t have the faith to bring my swimsuit. I collected some shells for the kids and enjoyed the feel of squeaky white sand under my feet—after a two year hiatus. We returned on the footpath streetside and were startled to see an abundance of jazzy rainbow lorikeets flying from tree to tree. That same day, I also spotted a yellow cockatoo flying around as plainly as you might observe a seagull in the U.S.

After our “bushwalk on the beach” (is that a contradiction?), we had dinner with two of Brian’s teammates at Soldier Point. It was one of “those meals”—an incredible 270 degree view of the sunset over the water, an exceptional waitress, dazzlingly fresh fish, good conversation and a perfectly relaxed pace.

Again, Friday night we were asleep by 8:00.