surf attempt = success (but not standing up)

Well it's official. I've actually attempted surfing while being in Aussie-land. It's much more difficult than I remember it being when I was in California. I stood on the board in a wave for about 3 seconds before falling, and that was my longest "ride" of the afternoon. And I tried sitting on my board like it was no big deal and like I do it all the time. I flipped over a ridiculous amount of times and just laughed at myself, while receiving the pitying eyes of the Experienced. So yeah, a bit difficult. Wonder why? Ohhh yes maybe that's because the board I used in Cali was about twice as long, had a rounded tip, and was made of foam. Hm, okay well I guess that would do it. Regardless, I don't even care if I can surf or not... it's just absolutely lovely to have a reason to just lay out in the middle of the clear ocean water on a beautiful summer-sunny day in Australia.While I was paddling, though, I think that I grabbed some sort of stingy thing... a jellyfish? It just so happened to be where I put my hand in the water, and all I remember feeling was something mushy/slimy, and then within 30 seconds my hand was stinging. However, all was not lost on my failed attempt at surfing. On the contrary, I got a tan on my entire backside, sweet bruises on my ribs and hips (mom says that this is why it's bad to be skinny. I need more padding), witnessed heaps of amazing and legit surfer dudes (some of whom actually drive big ol' hippie vans), and felt fully satisfied by the sun and the waves and the peacefulness of the Saturday afternoon. And on the way home, my friend offered to let me borrow one of his extra surf boards for the rest of the session. Far out! ;)

After coming home from the surfing expedition with salty, wet hair, and a mess of sticky clothes, I decided: "hey, it is barely past one in the afternoon and the sun is yet high! so i'll go to beach!" However, on my way to the beach I happened upon my lovely friend, Allison, who lives upstairs and is from L.A. Well, she was up for something outdoorsy as well, so we walked down the road a bit from our apartments and walked through the Wollongong Botanical Garden, which was sooo so beautiful! They have like 10 different types of landscapes in there (desert, rainforest...). The one thing about it, though, is that you can't look up. If you look up while walking through trees, you are bound to see some freakily huge spiders suspended just meters above your head. Eeeek. So instead we looked out... at the open space (perfect for picnics), the winding trees, the unique, widely-blooming flowers, the wedding parties, the bridges. It was a fantastic afternoon. Then I went home, showered, and enjoyed a night of reading.