Sunday morning I went out about 8 AM to run along the beach. I have never seen a beach so active at such an early hour! Folks were out kayaking, sailing, swimming, running, stand up paddleboarding, walking their dogs, reading the paper, etc. There are several cafes along the Esplanade, the road that runs along the beach, and they were quite busy and quite aromatic. My brain still plays a few tricks on me at times. I saw a very cute Westie being walked and looked up thinking "There's Dana." But no. :-( The north end of the beach was buzzing with kids in blue suits and caps. They were participating in Balmoral Nippers, a program that uses activities and friendly competition to teach beach awareness and fitness. The kids were having a great time. We'll see if our kids can participate starting next Spring, but there is a lottery to participate. I love that the Australians really seem to embrace and enjoy the gorgeous landscape around them.
Yesterday after school the kids and I went down to the northernmost part of Balmoral Beach and around the corner to look at the cool sandstone patterns. Along the way we saw this washed up on shore.
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| I've never seen one of these on an NC beach! Sam wanted to take it home. |
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Looking south
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This pretty building is called the Bathers' Pavillion. It contains a kiosk for snacks, a cafe we've yet to try, and a fine dining restaurant that's supposed to be one of Sydney's best.
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The patterns in the rocks at the end of the beach were really cool and contained pools full of little shells, crabs, and some sea urchins.
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Bet they have an amazing view!
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| This typical Sydney waterfront view is Clontarf/Balgowlah, just north of Mosman. |
Mia has an all day swim carnival (meet) tomorrow for school. Years 3- 6 are bused to a 50 meter pool and spend the day doing swim races. It's interesting that the schools do not completely shy away from competition, like we are accustomed to at home. If I can manage to get there, I'll post photos!
1 comment:
It's a good thing that Mia is an experienced swimmer for those school swim races! I'd say any other tranplanted kid thrown into that situation in a new school/new country, would be seriously freaked out!
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