Wednesday, March 14

While Tom went riding with Jason and the club this morning, I set off on my own for the park. One of the guys who was with the fellow who “took me out” 2 weeks ago came up beside me and we chatted for several minutes. He was the one who was the nicest at the time of the accident (he helped the park rangers patch me up) and he again apologized profusely on behalf of his buddy. It was nice of him to slow down and talk – but very typical of Australians – they are so friendly and warm. After the rain yesterday, today is a gorgeous day, and I think we’ll trek out to the beach to see if our favorite cat is still in residence at Wiley’s Baths at Coogee Beach.

Later, same day

Smokey is still at Wiley’s Baths!! We were so thrilled to see her – she looks the same, and although she is an older cat, she has lots of vim and vigor. She also still likes ham – a lot – and when she found out I’d brought her some, she was our constant buddy for the rest of the day. It was a perfect beach day; lots of sun and a nice ocean breeze. We stayed there for about 5 hours before heading home. And yes, we did get a little too much sun. It was just too nice to leave.

I had brought my snorkel gear with me and was surprised by how much there is to see in the rock pool. There were many colorful marine plants, but also lots of sea urchins (black spiny), sea anemones and a beautiful pink flora that grew all over the rocks on the bottom. There were a surprising number of fish – some of them quite colorful. When snorkeling, I forget about the rest of the world. It’s so quiet and peaceful, and beauty everywhere you look. A magical feeling to be submerged in the water and observing so much life below.