Monday 29 November 2010

To go or not to go?

That is the question we have asked ourselves a few times over the last couple of days. The first time, as we were driving down and the heavens opened with a deluge that reduced visibility on the freeway to almost nil. Do we turn around and go home or continue on? We pulled off the freeway into a Macca’s car park and consulted online weather maps. What the heck, we continued on. Later that afternoon I christened my new board in the surf in the rain – lots of fun really.

We asked ourselves the same question the next morning after a wild and woolly night. The wind was still blowing a gale and the surf was crap – was there any point in staying. Colin and I leaned towards heading home, Johanna wisely said ‘it’s still nice to be here anyway’. We decided to stay and went for a walk on the beach, the three of us hand in hand, as the wind whipped our hair, billowed our raincoats and battered our bodies. We drove to Anglesea and had lunch with Colin’s brother and sister in law as they passed through on their way back to Melbourne.

We asked ourselves the same question later that afternoon, do we pack up and go home now or stay until tomorrow afternoon – still windy and still crappy surf, most likely the same tomorrow. Colin and I leaned towards heading home, Johanna reiterated that it was still nice being here. We decided to stay.

Tomorrow we really will head home, no more decisions to make. Tomorrow we leave for the last time, packing up and towing the van home. Hopefully we can muck around in the surf first – even if it is crappy and then we’ll have our traditional Monday cafĂ© lunch in Barwon Heads, returning to our favourite lunch spot one last time.

Oh Sun, sunny weather, Let your rays shine down happy days

Oh sun, sunny weather, light up people’s ways

Oh windy weather, let your breeze flow from the trees

Oh windy weather blow away people’s hard days

Oh rainy weather, let your ways cleanse peoples days

Oh rain, rainy weather come down and wash away our hard ways

(juzzie Smith from East of Everything)