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Published: February 13th 2010
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Byron Bay
People sunbathe and play in the warm water. More than three quarters of the beach is covered by water during high tide. I arrived in Byron Bay this morning after an overnight bus trip from Sydney. I spent most of my time trying to get some sleep, which was difficult but no more challenging than on a plane. When I wasn’t sleeping I read and listened to my iPod while lost in thought. I hadn’t yet written my entry from Wednesday on the Sydney opera experience. As I reflected on my thoughts at the opera’s intermission, I couldn’t help but believe my questioning my good fortune was missing something.
Sure, I owe a lot of gratitude to many people, especially my parents for the opportunities they’ve given me. But also to myself for taking advantage of the opportunities that have come my way. And for the sacrifice that was my life for many years: toiling away in the library at college; foregoing any form of a social life for most of Baltimore and, to some extent, New York, too; forfeiting many a night’s sleep; and abandoning my general health for quite some time. I’m now fortunate that I’ve been able to cash in a few of the chips I set aside unlike some who worked considerably and have nothing to show for
Rocks
A large grouping of rocks separated the beach in two. By night, the tide reached halfway up this set of rocks. it.
I got to my hostel and wasn’t able to check in right away. So until I could check in I caught myself up on my journal and took care of a few other things on the Internet.
After a couple hours, my bed was ready. When I got to my room I met two Norwegian girls that had been there a few days. Names escape me, though I know I couldn’t spell them properly even if I knew what they were. One bed was free, a double bed underneath one of the bunks.
Sweet. Extra space tonight. I spent the rest of the day at the beach. Byron Bay is renowned as a surfer’s beach. Deb, my former boss who grew up about 30 minutes from here, had told me this was once a small coastal town with a couple of thousand locals. Today it’s much more than that.
On the beach, countless people bathed in the sun and played in the water. Surprisingly, there wasn’t much surf activity, though that could have been because the tide was out. It appeared that the tide’s change made a big difference, at least from where to sit on the beach. Most of the beach’s sand was heavily packed from the water that had retreated just hours before.
As I soaked in the sun, I mostly read
Fatherland, a novel that was recommended to me by one of the tour guides in Berlin. I also made the 40 yard trip from my spot down to the warm water a couple times.
After going back to the hostel and getting cleaned up, I went out for a late dinner. Many of the eating establishments had already transitioned to nightlife. I did find a sushi place that was open and took a seat at the bar, where I had a variety of sushi and a glass of wine.
Following dinner, I took a walk out on the beach. I was amazed how clear the sky was as what seemed like thousands of stars were visible. I don’t remember ever seeing that many stars at once before.
The Norwegian girls were back at the hostel when I returned. None of us were up for going out so we all hit the rack. I have an early bus up to Brisbane tomorrow.
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