Off to the Coast

After the drama and subsequent fallout from the changes at work, we still took our holiday at the coast. We needed it. We went with two other families and met up with another family that lives there for a week of sun, sand, reading, great food and good company. I don’t really get off on all that sand and salt water but the change of scenery and different perspective is healthy for the body and the mind. Drew spent a lot of time with the other kids, playing games, watching movies and hanging out.

A surfing lesson turned into a wave fest, with the eight who braved the boards all managing to ride a wave or two into the beach. I took 187 photos and Gibbo filmed the fun. Here’s some of the action.

The biggest shopping centre on the coast was the venue for a Treasure Hunt for the kids – they were split into teams, given an envelope with money and directions and let loose. They had to complete a list of activities, challenges and questions and then all meet up at the end and catch a bus back to us at home. It was a great way for them to spend a couple of hours and they had plenty of stories to recount in the debrief.

G and I went for a drive one rainy day and had lunch at a surf club where we talked about finally building a house at the farm. We then went for coffee at my favourite coffee shop, a very trendy little place at the small local shopping centre, and talked some more.

I swam on the last morning, before we headed home. It was the first time I’d felt like going in the surf and I even caught two or three waves, body surfing.

It was a quiet week for me, trying to regroup after the turmoil of the last few weeks. I kept to myself a lot and recharged my own batteries, which always works best for me. I have come to learn, after many years of observation and experience that other people (apart from a small select group) don’t charge my batteries – they drain them.