Day 3: Aussie Sunrise, Turkish Toast, and a Big-Assed Mackrel

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Day #3 of Lisa’s diary of our Australian Adventure.

We made it straight to 4:00am! 8 hours of sleep is nothing to complain about, and Tony and I enjoyed a quiet morning while I worked on this little travel blog, and Tony reviewed some of his slides for today’s seminar. We were starving, but forced ourselves to hold on until about 6:30 before venturing out for brekkie.

The very kind lady cleaning up in the hotel lobby notified us, “ummm, Ballina is not an early morning town… so maybe go for a walk until 7 – and then try for some breakfast??”. Good for Ballinanians! We rolled with it, and took an AMAZING walk from the hotel down the river, all the while snapping some photos of the moon:

And the sunrise:

Ballina is beautiful.

And so was our brekkie! The first patrons-of-the-day at The Bean Bank, a coffee shop that came highly recommended by Shan.

We ate like we were heading off to battle. Again, I enjoyed a delicious flat white.

There was plenty of eggs, Turkish bread (which appears to be the “it” bread over here), museli (instead of oats), bacon, fruit, and happiness all around. When Tony’s museli came over he said, “Man, your dad would be all about this brekkie”:

While at brekkie three fit and fabulous Aussie’s came in for breakfast and said, “Hi Tony, see you in a bit!” The ladies had driven about 8 hours yesterday to be here for Tony’s seminar!

Yeah!

We headed back to the hotel so Tony could get ready, and then Shan and his beautiful wife Mady came to retrieve Tony so he could get to work. I on the other hand, have the day off! Given to me by my lovely fiancé, I couldn’t wait to get started doing whatever-the-heck-I-wanted.

This, of course, started with the gym, followed by laundry (did I mention we have our OWN laundry room???), followed by a walk down the river over to the beach.

I walked for awhile and then came to a bridge… it seemed like the ocean was quite a distance away, so I asked a sweet little family walking along the shore of the river. They explained that there were plenty of “beaches” along the river, and a “surfers beach” on the river just there… When I explained I’d like to swim in the ocean the father looked at me like a father does when he knows he’s about to be the bearer of bad news…

Alas, the ocean itself was far, far away. I’d need a car. I took a moment to be sad that I wouldn’t get to jump in the Pacific, and then kept it moving and found a spot right on the “beach” at the river. I’m pretty sure I was the only person without a surfboard, Stand Up Paddle Board, kayak, canoe, or dog. But I had a lovely day, nevertheless. Here is a pic of the river, and the ocean which is just through the opening there and over to the left… maybe I’ll get a chance next time?

After some reading, and a nap, and lots of dog watching, I walked home along the shore. Here are some mamouth pelicans, kickin’ it with some local fishermen.

Back at the room our maid was just wrapping up cleaning. After a little rest and some TV, I walked into town to check out the shops. I grabbed a “detox” fresh juice from this little juice bar along the way:

Then I stopped in “Wooly’s” again for more water and snacks. I asked for some turkey breast at the deli counter, but had no idea how much to order! The lady at the counter was a love, so we talked it out, and I ended up with 300 grams. On the way home I meandered along the water, which reminded me of the Ell river, bordering Germany and Austria, where Leslie and I biked up and down a few summers ago:

Once home and fed, I went back out to the pool for some afternoon sun.

Tony came home around 5:15, tired but enthused. He had a great day and, as usual, didn’t feel he had enough time to get to everything he would have liked to cover. After a shower and change of clothes, we headed out to a local spot for dinner, just a short walk up the river.

The Wharf was delish!

I ordered the mackerel for dinner, and was expecting that oily, small fish I’ve caught back in FLA with my dear friends Lara and Jason in the Indian River… This mackerel was not that mackerel! A pleasant surprise, this was a nice big white fish, almost like a steak.

My surprise lead to a great conversation, and everyone at the table was ready to talk more about Australian animals, food, and jargon. Did you know about Wallabies?! Apparently, it’s a smaller, cuter version of a kangaroo – one of the seminar attendees, Kirby, told us for sure we’d see one in the Hunter Valley… Stay Tuned!! My hopes are high that we’ll get to see a wallaby or two…

Before heading out for ice cream, we were discussing brekkie plans for tomorrow morning. Shannan recommended we go to a different local spot, since he has his “own menu”… What? Yep, Shannan has his own menu. He told us to ask for “The Raw Brekkie” (the name of his gym is Raw Fitness). I’m sure it will be a meathead menu with plenty of protein.

Until then! Tony and I have made it past 9:00pm. Well, I’ve made it; Tony is unconscious, mouth slightly agape, remote in hand.

Talk to you tomorrow!

Love Lisa (and Tony).

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