Flip Flop Slaughter

Disaster struck near the Opera House yesterday. Kai and I were strolling along and he gave me the flat tire of all flat tires. I took another step and almost fell on my face. I looked down and the straps had been pulled out of my flip flop. There was no resuscitating it. My poor flip flop had been killed on impact.

I hobbled across the way to the nearest convenience store. Mind you, at this time, all of these beautiful, well-dressed people are walking by, making their way to the opera house for a very refined evening, as I'm hobbling past them, dragging my foot made useless by lack of footwear. Add to that, my family is trying very hard not to laugh at my gait and failing.

I must not be the first person to have this experience as there are plenty of choices in the store.

At least I won't look like a tourist, right?

 

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A Lens on Sydney

We are in the heart of Sydney. Or, at least the tourist version of Sydney. We can see the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge from our hotel room and in between the two is the wharf for cruise ships and other ferries.

It's warm and balmy and we take our white, pasty tourist legs and american tennis shoes and go join the Saturday morning throng of people. Our plane landed at 8am in the morning and we are anxious for "real food" as Mia calls it. No matter how nice the airplane is, the food is never good. We find a farmer's market close by and dive into gyozas, sushi, meatball sandwiches and roasted pumpkins and feta cheese. It is heavenly.

Now it's time for serious tourist action. The camera comes out. The very one I bought the day before the trip. It's our first camera that's not a point-and-click. Actually, it is, but you can also zoom and it looks like you know what you are doing. As with everything in our family, the camera is now a major point of negotiation. The kids take control and there's a camera rotation between Kai and Mia, with Rob and I getting a chance to take pictures one in eight turns. There is a very skewed sense of equality. The kids instinctively know how to use the camera and are soon explaining the settings to me. Which is so much better than reading the manual.

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International Fruit Smugglers

We barely escaped heavy fines and custom agents entering Australia. It was only Mia's quick wits and love of dogs that saved us.

Going through customs, a working beagle came through sniffing bags. He got very excited at my backpack and wouldn't leave it. I laughed with the customs agent, saying he must want the peanut butter sandwich. Before we left San Diego, my mom was in town and packed us sandwiches for the plane. We had barely touched the food and it was still in my bag. The customs agent brought my backpack over and examined the contents. Her smile faded as she pulled out a bag that contained not only sandwiches but a bag of carrots, grapes and, oh horror, bananas. Uh, oh.

"Ma'am, do you know there is a steep fine for bringing fruit into Australia illegally?"

Me, "Uh, my mom packed it." Nervous smile. God I sound like an idiot. I'm blaming my mother???

Mia, "Look it how cute the dogs are. Can I see them?"

The agent's face softens and takes Mia to check out the other fruit-sniffing Beagles. She comes back in a minute, chatting with Mia and says she won't fine me this time. We left before she could change her mind.

Thank you, Mia.

 

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Ghetto Parking at LAX

 

"But LAX is the other way off the freeway."

"I know, but this is the direction for the long-term parking."

A half a mile later, deep in the heart of Inglewood.

"Are you sure?"

Irritated. "Yes."

"So how much was this parking?"

After circling it twice, we realize that the TradeWinds Hostel for Backpackers is the home for our long term parking.

Clever online marketing and low pricing drew us in. As we passed more buildings with bars over the windows on the way to the hostel, I began to wonder if this wasn't the most dangerous part of our journey. And to think, I didn't realize our adventures could begin before leaving US soil.

As we pull in and speak with the lovely woman behind the counter, there are young international twenty year olds playing pool in the background patio with the heavy scent of marijuana wafting through the air. I suddenly feel like I'm twenty years old again, carefree with nothing but $5 and a backpack. The sense that anything can happen.

That feeling is still with when when I turn as my kids ask me where the bathroom is. While I fill out forms releasing the hostel of responsibility of damages to our car, Rob asks where the car will be parked in our absence.

"Oh, we have some off-site garages around town." She says with a gold-grill grin, before continuing her conversation with the fellow attendant in spanish.

Rob looks at me and asks "Do you think we'll ever see our car again?"

It's debatable but the decision is made.

We then pile into a 1970's party bus with the happiest driver in the world blasting his favorite hits from the 80's and singing along wildly. We are the only passengers and we all join in, dancing and humming as we make the multiple mile drive to the airport.

It's going to be a goooood trip.

 

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Preparation like a Boy Scout

T - 36 hours til departure. I am at the computer, seeking out best travel cameras to purchase 24 hours before leaving the country for Australia with the family. And yes, we've had plane tickets for six months. Why do I do this?

We like to live on the edge.

I guess I could have researched cameras for weeks and agonized over the features and trade-offs. Instead, I got lucky. I texted those two friends we all have- you know, the ones who are smart and do their research and likely would have purchased their camera well in advance of their trip.

The answer? Any version of the Canon Rebel series. The annals of Best Buy await.

 

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Post Mortum

Time flies, eternity awaits.

- quoted from trailhead sign on the mountain that the Maori deemed "Intensely Sacred"

Raglan

Finally!  It has taken over two weeks to get here but finally we have arrived at the one of the most famous left hand point breaks in the world with great anticipation.  As the camper slowly climbs the final peak before dropping into the bay, anticipation is high , at least for Dad.   And.......wow!

Raglan, from a distance

Pealing shoulder high point break

The view is incredible, a huge bay with a right hand sand bar peals off in the distant North west, and to the left of the bay are 3 point breaks, unfortunately it was only shoulder high but pealing w/ perfection.

Happy Rob

It was already 6 pm so I paddled out quickly before sunset, the only one without a wet suit, mind you.  
Water temp was about 70, super friendly locals, something we aren't used to coming from California, and some clean lefts.  It was basically a left hand Rincon, really fun with a cobblestone bottom.  With sunset looming we left for the camp ground, another great site with a trampoline and playground.

Kai on the trampoline, in a downpour

What a difference a day makes.  Raglan, a day later.

Rob checking wave conditions while it rains outside

The forecast was sunshine for the rest of the week, however I was awakened in the middle of the night by rain pelting the camper.  The following morning it was heavy rain showers and lots of wind.  Surf was junk so we cruised downtown, had lunch, and rented the final Lord of the Rings, which we later found out was a mistake.  After watching the movie the weather calmed down, so we went to watch sunset and guess what , surf was going off.  Apparently around 1pm the wind switched and while we were watching Aragon fight orcs, the waves were great.

Both Jen and I paddled out to a  crowded line up.  The crowd was much different then the day before, more people and primarily younger short boarders absolutely tearing the place up!  Later we found out that there was a big surf contest being held here the next day so the contestants were out practicing.  Still, the vibe was good and even I snuck in a wave or two.  The highlight was Jen catching a great wave for 100 yds, one of the highlights of the trip.

Approaching the beach break, day 3

The swell was dying quickly.  The next day we checked out the contest, then opted for the beach break for ourselves.  The sun was out and the waves were good, if you liked closeout thumpers.  The inside was great for the kids though, and both kids caught some waves.  It was a great way to end the trip, and we had our last meal at a great cafe dining on some famous green lip mussels.  Depression has set in, we don't want to come back to reality!

Mia

Kai on a wave