Leaving The Arts Factory (time to move on)

I'd like to focus on how much of a great time I had at The Arts Factory and how grateful I am of all the 'sweet as' people I met while living there.  While I was in Byron Bay, everything seemed to float along without a worry.  Experiences and meeting new people just seemed to happen organically; which is how life is supposed to work.  Everyone who tried to explain Byron was exactly right; it's unlike any place in the world.  After Dave left I got back into my daily routine of living.  I knew that my time there was becoming scarce, so I made the best of it and spent as much time with the new friends I had made as I could.  I've snapped so many pictures due to having my "dead" iPhone with me.  If I had a regular camera, I'm sure I wouldn't have taken a tenth of the pictures that I did!

Let's get right into my last week at The Factory before heading to Sydney...

 

One of Karlitos' last nights was another feast.  This "Spanish Stallion" creates some of the best meals I've ever had.  As you can see by the first picture, we never made it out of the veggie section!  When you watch him make these meals it actually looks pretty simple.  It's ALLLLL about timing I guess.  I promised him that I'd see him again in this lifetime; and I meant it.  Karlitos is from Valencia, Spain.  He spent time at The Arts Factory a few years ago for about 3 months and said he has seen only 1 person he met since then.  This go around, he spent 6 months here and made loads of mates.  Let's be honest, I now know someone in Spain; why wouldn't I go see him at some point?

Troy, a cool cat from Canada left for Melbourne a week before my departure.  Troy, pictured just to my left was constantly on the run from one place to the next.  He skateboards, snowboards and has done more skydives than I could even think of!  Next to Troy is our buddy Jay.  Jay (real name Jasmine) is from French Canada and also a super down to earth dude.  Always willing to go to the beach or the pool to check out the lady situation, this guy was a real trip!  To Jay's left is Brad.  Brad is the night manager at The Factory.  As you can see, I'm wearing my name tag and effectively "working" at the moment.  Brad was my boss and the enforcer on the property when it came to disorderly guests or just punks being loud after midnight.  He's always sporting the singlet so everyone can see the guns!  That being said, since we live in paradise #sunsoutgunsout.

The poster that resides just inside the restrooms at The Factory.  Gives you a little idea of what's happenin'.  Afterall, laws and rules are only made after some idiot goes too far with something, right?

Well, here's the view from our Terrace in Beverly Hills.  That's right, our day bed hasn't been taken away yet!  I think Craigo, the property manager is giving us a bit of a break.  A great spot to read and be aware of what's going on in the main part of the campgrounds.

Every once in a while, we'll have a doppleganger in our presence.  Can you guess who this one is?  He was at The Factory for a few days I believe, we were telling him he wouldn't regret it to set up shop and stay longer.  You're right!  It's Adrienne Grenier from the hit HBO television series Entourage, produced by and based on Mark Wahlberg.  

So when Dave was here, I was hoping to be able to take him out to "The Swing" at James Kangeroo's house in the hinterlands.  Unfortunately, it just didn't work out that week.  But it did the next week!

I took the above video myself obviously.  The below video is of one of the lovely young lady's taking a turn!

James was able to get us out to his property, and not only did we get to swing but he had an unexpected visitor in his chicken coop!  Like a move from Steve Irwin, James just grabbed this sucker and we took him about a kilometer from his house to release him back into the bush.  But not before we got some sweet pics!

Gather together with Friends and JOE for Skyline time!

I had 2 cans left with a week to go in Byron!  So I took the opportunity to make some for Joe and I.  This is his first bite of CINCINNATI!  Way to go Joe!  I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but Joe is from Tamworth, Australia.  (The country music capital of OZ)

The two above pictures are on Karlitos' last night.  The night sky was pretty cool for his last one in OZ.  He provided us with delectable treats as one last hurrah!

This painting was up in the computer room at The Arts Factory.  I always admired it, so I wanted to share it with you all.  Sure it might be a little racy, and the flash is purely incidental over the bosom.  Trust me, I wouldn't be shy about sharing art.

This is a look at my tent as I begin to pack up.  Usually the fly will be over the top, so anyone walking by would just see a normal puny tent.  After revealing the outer shell, you can see that my organisation is suited only for me.  If a robber wanted to break in, he wouldn't know where to start!








GOODBYE ARTS FACTORY!!!!!!

My #547 block as I turn it in before I leave.  Seems symbolic, I'm sure I'm recounting all of the great memories as I hand my block into reception.  Some other stud or studette will take over now.

Just after Luca dropped me off at the bus stop, he affectionately waves goodbye.  Luca is an Italian with the thirst for travel, I could definitely see him coming to The States someday and getting into the music biz like he always talked about!  See ya buddy!

On to Sydney...

Old Man... I'm a lot like you are

I’ll try to go in order of the events that have transpired over the past 10 days; including Dave’s arrival.  The past 2 weeks has been filled with quite a bit of fun and adventure, aided by the fact that Dave’s trip is “Action Packed.”

Myself and nine others visited White’s Beach for an overnight camping trip.  I had an absolute blast hanging out with the boys, Joe and Hue (AUS).  Thank you so much to Michelle (Seattle) for organizing the great trip.  Although this beach isn’t too far away, it seems to be a hidden gem of beaches.  We brought food, drinks, tents and an open mind looking forward to the morning sunrise.

My mate, Joe playing some 6-sting Cliffside… I was even nervous for him with the wind blowing 60 feet above the water!

Joe and I probably playing a little Gotye “Somebody I used to know.”  One of his best songs he does from start to finish.

Climbing down from the rocks, Michelle gives me a big “Cheeeeese.”

I was the first to wake up in the morning just before 6am; the magic started from there.

So White’s Beach was a big success being good times with good people.  It rained a bit that night, but we found a small cove (not quite a cave) to sleep inside instead of the tents we had brought. 

A few days later, Hue left to go back to Melbourne for University.  Hue is 21, and an amazing guitarist.  Always looking to have a good time, I had a blast getting to know Hugh in Tent City.  Hugh worked as a Sea Kayak tour guide while he was here in Byron.  He studies urban planning at University, but I’d hope Hugh uses his music talents for years to come.

Enter Dave

We had gone to the beach and sea kayaking in the first few days of Dave’s visit.  I’ll save him the embarrassment in posting the first beach picture, apparently people have been spending a bit of time indoors back in the Nati!  We went and took out Julie’s sea kayak out to the beach on a rather windy, rough water day.  Needless to say it took us about 5 tries and 20 minutes to paddle out to calmer waters off the beach.  We paddled out maybe a half mile and floated in the water a bit getting a chance to jump out for a swim.  It’s always a weird feeling treading water when you know there is many many feet before you reach the sea floor! 

Dave mentioned that he really wanted to make sure to take a lot of pictures while he was here… This is his first picture of the trip as we began the hike around Minyon Falls.  Day 4 of his trip.

Here are a few pictures of the hike around Minyon Falls with Dave and Julie.  The hike was really enjoyable and a really “natural” trail where you really had to watch where you stepped.

Dave and Julie make there way across a stream running through to the falls.  One of the few spots where they’ve created spots for people to walk.

Dave and I at the base of a huge tree, which I believe is a “strangler tree.”  A tree that grows off of and around a totally different tree.  We’re probably a ¼ the way through the total 7.5km hike.

Dave and Julie make there way down to the water at the bottom of Minyon Falls.  Just checking the temp for now, but Dave and I will get into what felt like 40 degree water in just a few minutes.  I didn't get any pics on my phone, but Julie snapped a few shots of us getting pelted by the water falling from the top!








From a viewing spot on the way home from Minyon Falls.  This shows all of the bay and the lighthouse on the far right.

We stopped off at an old abandoned golf course
where Julie says many Kangaroos/Wallabies hang out in the evening.  This among a few others we saw is the first of them I’ve seen since being here in OZ!

In the mean time, since Hugh has left and gone back to Melbourne, I’ve taken the opportunity to move from my current tent spot I acquired soon after my arrival.  I took on the task of moving all of my stuff from my old spot to Hugh’s old spot, now my spot.  Trying to make this move as easy as possible, I took down the fly and collapsed the tent.  I thought for a minute how I could do this quickly by possibly taking the whole tent full of stuff in one trip. 

There are moments in your life when you realize you are becoming your parents or just recognizing your shared traits for that matter.  I got a huge smile on my face when I realized what I needed to do to transport my tent.  I had the tent somewhat rolled up and thinking of my options when many memories came to me from my childhood.  When doing yard work with my Dad, collecting sticks debree and the like, he always had a great way of rolling up all of the sticks and branches into a tight bundle and easily carried out to the trash.  I snapped into action and created this “stick bundle” with my rolled up tent.  It was pretty heavy, but I got it up to the new spot and set up with the quickness.  Following are shots of one of those awesome moments in time where you love and appreciate being your Father’s Son!

Feeling artsy, Joe snapped a picture of me on my first day in “Beverly Hills.”  The Hills is a small camping area located at the top of the campground.  Generally the water runs off pretty well and it’s close to the restrooms.

Wait, maybe joe didn’t snap that picture.  He’s taking a siesta on Hugh’s old bed… We’ve got this bed to lounge for the time being, but we’ll probably be forced to get rid of it soon.  Great place to take a nap other than a hot tent in the afternoon!

Flash to MOUNT WARNING!!!

This was one of the adventures I’ve been most looking forward to.  Julie, Dave, Cheri and Myself went up to Mt. Warning last night to camp out before climbing the mountain for sunset.  After we get the tents set up Dave snaps into action creating a fire.  This fire building was more or less completed 3 hours later…

Julie prepares some of the vego meal for herself and Cheri.  Dave and I will take down some chicken sold for a family of four.

We woke up at 3am and were on the trail to the top of Mt. Warning by 3:45am.  Dave is ready to go with his head lamp!

After a long trek to the top... The first glimpse of light!

Flinn got all bundled while we were at the top; and smart she was cause it was so cold!  Of course, I didn’t bring anything other than the shirt on my back; and of course it was drenched with sweat by the time we got to the top. (It took us 100 minutes to reach the top after 4.4km climb)

We were in the clouds and they would come and go for the hour that we were at the top.  This is the first view of the bottom.

Sunrise begins to show as I stand on the north side of the peak

Dave and I just before we make our way back down the mountain.  I think it took about 80 min to get down.  You’d think it’d be easier, but the trail is so rough you’ve got to take your time with foot placement in some areas. 

As you make your way the last 50 yds up to the peak, this is what you contend with!  They needed to put a chain link in just so you could pull yourself up on some of those rocks!

And that's the story as of now...