Surf's Up!

Hmm, well it seems that I've got a bit of thinking to do.  3 days of "happenings" need to be explained, and most of you know that my short term memory could use a little boost as it is!  On Friday, I went for my first healthy outing.  Meaning I went for a run up towards the beach; ya know, get the heart pumping and all.  I'm trying to get over this whole "organs bouncing up and down idea."  I'm sure I only came up with that theory as a result of not wanting to go running.  Anyway, I ran to the beach and did some stretches there after which I walked towards Main Beach (north) towards town.  Arriving in town I decided it was just best to start popping in to different shops here and there to check out what they had to offer.  I was actually walking fairly aimlessly around town, still not knowing the layout.  During the course of my stroll I was constantly people watching.  The people here are so friendly, but above all they are all different.  Not in the way that everyone looks and acts different; just different than the "Nati norm."  Many might call it a hippie culture, but that's only part of what Byron Bay has to offer.  (and by offer, I mean asylum to those who don't feel it necessary to live in a "building" or wear "clean" clothes)  To each is own, ya know?  Many others are of course, the backpackers.  In theory, I could be lumped into this crowd.  But I haven't quite pegged down the goings on of the backpackers.  There are aprox. 6 hostels in town, which means there is quite an abundance of young people out on the streets any given day.  Many backpackers seem to be students and/or wanderers of adventure and good times.  I can't really peg down the locals just yet; people who are from other countries but have been here for years have such an Aussie accent as far as I can tell.

After arriving back at Giac and Julie's we decided to go up to Lake Ainsworth just about 15 minutes south I believe.  The lake was great and Lulu the dog was able to dive in and swim around with Giac and I.  JFlinn fun fact about Lake Ainsworth: The lake is quite dark in color because it is surrounded by tea trees; which give it such a dark "dye" when the leaves fall into the lake.  Looking at your skin while swimming around, it almost has a burnt orange look to it.  Apparently, it is also good for your skin.  We arrived back at the house and hung out for a while.  A friend/coworker from Sundive came over for dinner; which was nice to have company and meet another friend of theirs.  Their friend Liz proved to be quite the conversationalist and a completely down to earth chick.  We moved outside onto the back patio for dinner, where we ate one of the best vegetarian meals I've ever had.  That's not to say that I've had very many, but still, a fantastic meal.  What was it? Hmm, spinach and tomatoes and fetta cheese that was seared I think; and some other good stuff in there as well.  I know, I should have paid closer attention for you foodies out there.  A little wine and great conversation went a long way because I was pretty tuckered out when dinner was over; mind you it was only 10pm or so.
Oh yea, at some point in time on Friday we went up to the Cape Byron Lighthouse.  We parked down at Wategos, a small community that has the reputation for being quite wealthy.  Many well-to-do holidayers stay in Wategos, and apparently is quite posh.  The houses are quite large with amazing views of the beaches and ocean.
We walked up to the lighthouse, which proved to be challenging for the ol' quads.  A great lighthouse with a great view.  Unfortunately it began to rain pretty hard while we were up at the top.  It was very nice of one of the Sundive guys to drive up, scoop us up and drop us back at the car!















Saturday I decided to ride the bike a mile or two out to Byron Bay Golf Club.  It was extremely busy and they are also preparing for a Legends Championship.  I spoke to the golf professional very quickly about the possibility of working/volunteering at the club.  It was good anyhow to introduce myself as a PGA Professional in town and give him my CV.  I rode back into town and did a bit more exploring, but to my surprise it was human rights day at railway park/environment centre.  I pulled the bike over and sat in the grass for an hour or so and listened to protesters voice their mind/opinions and got the opportunity to listen to some great tunes ta boot.  One of the guys playing music was pretty good, and had written what I would call some decent protest songs.  After getting back to the house and hanging for a bit, we headed over to The Rails for some drinks with the boys.  A little while there then we moved over to The Beach Hotel for a few more drinks and a different atmosphere.  Fun fact: The Beach Hotel was bought long ago by Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee) for only a few million $; then sold years later for $65 million!!!  We came back to the house and Julie put together a fantastic pasta dish; it's becoming apparent that she's a great cook.  So tired, we stayed up till 11pm! (not sarcasm, I've been wiped out each day)
Black Dog Surfing!  Loved it so much, I'm signed up for lesson 2 tomorrow morning!  Tam, the owner's sister was actually out in the water while we were surfing to take pictures of all the students.  She was great along with the two instructors, Mark and Dom.  I'm confident and hopeful that tomorrow's lesson goes as well as today's 3 hours of pure fun.  FYI- the class was $65 and totally worth it!  I would probably value the lesson at $80 at least.  Tomorrow's is only $45 for even more water time and less talking, so it was a no-brainer.


That seems it for now, check ya later dudes