A Ticket to Ride
As I was doing some reading today I came across a quote from a resident of Ballina, the larger town just to the south of Lennox Head.
“Living in Ballina is like a ride in the best seat in a first class train traveling in the best parts of the world.”
There was no name attached to the quote (I can understand why, their friends would never let them live it down) but I am beginning to understand why the people in this part of the world love it so much. Today it did not rain. That is an occasion in itself. Yesterday it only rained once for a short time during lunchtime. I was finally able, after being here for a week, to walk up to the headland and watch some of the world’s best surfers take on the surf break. The view was amazing, everything seemed to sparkle and was lush from all the rain. I stopped for some ice cream on my way back down the beach and relished in the fact that I can go anywhere I want in this town without any shoes on. Everyone is really friendly and will give you a wave and a g’day whenever they see you. Today I went for a morning swim in Lake Ainsworth and then some sunbathing/people watching on the beach to dry off. It was the perfect temperature.
It seems this area even attracts happy friendly tourists. The people who move in an out of the hostel are characters. I will start with George…..oh George. He is from Germany and has been here even longer than I have. I would put him in his mid 60s but that does not stop him from sporting a ponytail and an earring. He sits around the hostel soaking up the sun (when he can find it) and reading a whole library of German books that I assume he brought with him. Everyday we have more and more of a conversation but neither of us is proficient enough in the other’s language to really get anywhere. He surprises me every once in a while by doing things like whipping out a tool kit and performing surgery on the TV and sunbathing in his man thong in the courtyard. I must say, I look forward to his cheerful hello in the morning and whatever eccentricities he may be up to during the day. There is currently the cutest Dutch couple in the entire world (no joke) staying 2 rooms down from me. They are in their early 30s and decided to quit their jobs and travel the world. They have seen a lot of Australia and are soon heading in Indonesia. It seems that just like all the other Europeans I have met they are well traveled, intelligent, fun loving, and don’t quite understand why anyone would want to live in the US. Haha…after getting to know what it is like to live in the other English speaking parts of the world I tend to agree with them. Today during my beach walk I saw the guy trying (and failing) to surf on the baby waves. I laughed, not because I could do any better, but because I hope I will have the guts to do what they are doing later in my life. Just do what I want and live life to the fullest.
There have been Canadian, South African, Australian, Swiss, British, Japanese, Scottish, and Spanish people staying for varying lengths just in the time I have been here. I have yet to meet another American. I feel really lucky to get to spend some time in this place….now I just have to try to get some work done 
