Tuesday, March 20
Today was hot, so we went out to the beach to spend the day. It was slightly overcast, which was good, as it allowed us to be out all day long. The swell was pretty rough when we first got there, which makes swimming a challenge. The waves break over the pool edge, and it’s like being in a washing machine during spin cycle. Very fun.

Here’s a picture of Smokey eating a tin of gourmet cat food that I brought her, while a neighbor cat looks on. Smokey wasn’t too enamored of this other cat – a youngster from one of the neighboring homes – but she managed to keep him at bay with a few low growls.

We took a ferry over to Manly for dinner, and on the way over, the sky darkened and we were treated to sheet lightning and a real downpour. When it rains here, it’s like a monsoon. The wind was blowing the rain sideways, and the only option was to go for a drink and wait out the storm. Amazingly, there were people out in the surf during the whole thing. Manly has a harbour beach and an ocean beach, and the ocean side always attracts lots of surfers, body surfers and swimmers.