![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Happy New Year!
We took the ferry to Magnetic Island this morning. We started in a merry mood, but we soon discovered that no stores were open for breakfast due to the holiday. The siblings had had a fast food breakfast (it was the only thing open in Townsville), but I had high hopes for a café on the island. I settled for my stash of peanuts and dried apricots, opened my pack and discovered our industrial strength SPF lotion had exploded in the main compartment. Not good. It infested my food, my change of clothes and coated my water bottles and umbrella in a sticky, icky mess. I patched things up as best I could and decided today was a day to find some kind of zen state and make my home there. G was mad about all the shops being closed, mad about me not being able to eat, etc. All this was too much, so I pulled inward. G decided to rent two kayaks for a couple of hours. He rented a double for himself and Belinda (she can't swim, he's a strong swimmer; she had never kayaked, I have; she is weaker and was not likely to be of as much use paddling -- all this was logically decided and I was very grateful to be on my own) and a single for me. We were limited to the confines of Horseshoe Bay. My personal goal was to paddle the circumference of the bay. I stuck to just off the shore, cut across the mouth of the bay as it hits the Pacific proper, and made it back to the rental place in 1 hour 40 minutes. I didn't stop rowing the whole time except to brush sweat out of my eyes. G and Belinda were all over the place, resting, burst of speed, trying to ram me... I just had to avoid them and stay my course. When I was about halfway across the mouth, the sky became darker and the wind and waves a bit intense. I channeled my fear into faster and more determined rowing. Regardless of the rain and swells, I found such a great meditation in my activity. Despite the fact that I don't do this daily, I didn't tire or slow the whole time. It was great fun. I truly am a turtle.
G and I also hiked a trail that led up to an old colonial cannon defense point. We chose this hike because of the reputed likelihood of seeing koalas. The trek up took longer than a normal hike because I would stop and scan the trees for gray fuzzy lumps every few metres. We had reached the summit and not seen any when we decided to race down to try to catch the next bus to the ferry station to meet Belinda. Just after we made this choice, I stopped for a moment to look back at G behind me. When I turned to face forward, I was eye to eye with a koala. *squee!* I motioned G over and he began taking pictures (I had given the camera to him earlier). Then he spotted a younger, smaller koala a little further up the tree. Wheee! A mama and a baby! Yipeee! The Great Vegetarian Hunter strikes again! Once the pictures were taken and thanks made, we literally ran down the hill to catch the bus. But we felt the hike was well worth it, after that.
Later, back in the hotel room...
We hypothesized that this new tube of SPF lotion is possessed. While I tried to clean my bag, the siblings attempted to determine how the bottle leaked... and couldn't. There were no holes, but it clearly had leaked out of the bottom. Scary. Scarier still, I applied some of that very same lotion right before I kayaked. It was still on the palm of my hands when I began paddling. After almost 2 hours of paddling, my hands were covered in black. The cream had eaten through the pain on the oar. *boggles* It also drained much of the colour from my backpack fabric as I was cleaning it. It is faded in the spots that were covered by lotion. *shudder* Lastly, some more leaked onto the hotel carpet while I was transferring stuff out of the pack to be cleaned. Belinda squatted down to scrub it off the rug (with her short hair nowhere near the floor) and stood to realize she had lotion all in her hair. Possessed, I tell you! We discussed whether we should lock it in a drawer lest it try to kill us in the night.
We took the ferry to Magnetic Island this morning. We started in a merry mood, but we soon discovered that no stores were open for breakfast due to the holiday. The siblings had had a fast food breakfast (it was the only thing open in Townsville), but I had high hopes for a café on the island. I settled for my stash of peanuts and dried apricots, opened my pack and discovered our industrial strength SPF lotion had exploded in the main compartment. Not good. It infested my food, my change of clothes and coated my water bottles and umbrella in a sticky, icky mess. I patched things up as best I could and decided today was a day to find some kind of zen state and make my home there. G was mad about all the shops being closed, mad about me not being able to eat, etc. All this was too much, so I pulled inward. G decided to rent two kayaks for a couple of hours. He rented a double for himself and Belinda (she can't swim, he's a strong swimmer; she had never kayaked, I have; she is weaker and was not likely to be of as much use paddling -- all this was logically decided and I was very grateful to be on my own) and a single for me. We were limited to the confines of Horseshoe Bay. My personal goal was to paddle the circumference of the bay. I stuck to just off the shore, cut across the mouth of the bay as it hits the Pacific proper, and made it back to the rental place in 1 hour 40 minutes. I didn't stop rowing the whole time except to brush sweat out of my eyes. G and Belinda were all over the place, resting, burst of speed, trying to ram me... I just had to avoid them and stay my course. When I was about halfway across the mouth, the sky became darker and the wind and waves a bit intense. I channeled my fear into faster and more determined rowing. Regardless of the rain and swells, I found such a great meditation in my activity. Despite the fact that I don't do this daily, I didn't tire or slow the whole time. It was great fun. I truly am a turtle.
G and I also hiked a trail that led up to an old colonial cannon defense point. We chose this hike because of the reputed likelihood of seeing koalas. The trek up took longer than a normal hike because I would stop and scan the trees for gray fuzzy lumps every few metres. We had reached the summit and not seen any when we decided to race down to try to catch the next bus to the ferry station to meet Belinda. Just after we made this choice, I stopped for a moment to look back at G behind me. When I turned to face forward, I was eye to eye with a koala. *squee!* I motioned G over and he began taking pictures (I had given the camera to him earlier). Then he spotted a younger, smaller koala a little further up the tree. Wheee! A mama and a baby! Yipeee! The Great Vegetarian Hunter strikes again! Once the pictures were taken and thanks made, we literally ran down the hill to catch the bus. But we felt the hike was well worth it, after that.
Later, back in the hotel room...
We hypothesized that this new tube of SPF lotion is possessed. While I tried to clean my bag, the siblings attempted to determine how the bottle leaked... and couldn't. There were no holes, but it clearly had leaked out of the bottom. Scary. Scarier still, I applied some of that very same lotion right before I kayaked. It was still on the palm of my hands when I began paddling. After almost 2 hours of paddling, my hands were covered in black. The cream had eaten through the pain on the oar. *boggles* It also drained much of the colour from my backpack fabric as I was cleaning it. It is faded in the spots that were covered by lotion. *shudder* Lastly, some more leaked onto the hotel carpet while I was transferring stuff out of the pack to be cleaned. Belinda squatted down to scrub it off the rug (with her short hair nowhere near the floor) and stood to realize she had lotion all in her hair. Possessed, I tell you! We discussed whether we should lock it in a drawer lest it try to kill us in the night.
Tags: