Byron Bay and Surfing in the Rain

It’s a sunny day on the east coast of Australia. I met some friends in Byron Bay and somehow made my way back up the coast about an hour over the last day or so.. checking out the different surf towns and beaches. I’m on a shuttle from the Gold Coast back to Byron. I love Byron Bay… so much.

I enjoyed my short time in Brisbane.. seeing Steve Irwin’s Zoo and seeing some live music in Brisbane. The zoo is by far the best I’ve ever been to… parts of it really feel like you are in the Savannah in Africa.. or deep in the woods… you don’t get the “animal in cages” feel whatsoever.. the wildlife get to live a pretty nice life it seems. I got to watch bindi Irwin’s husband, Chandler, run the croc show in the stadium. The crocoseum.. lol the crocodiles are so much bigger in person than I expected. It was neat being there… Steve’s name and face are everywhere.. a shame he died so young.. but his wife and children have really carried on the legacy in such an amazing way. Loved it.

I caught a greyhound from Brisbane to Byron Bay. Greyhounds are a pretty common mode of transportation here on the coast. Fairly nice coach buses as well. I missed my first bus by one minute.. the walking path my maps took me on… there was construction being done and I couldn’t get passed it.. so had to walk way around.. with my heavy as crap bags.. running..  still missed it by one minute.. just watched it roll away as I was walking up. Great.

That’s okay.. I’m sure there is another bus. I get on the next one in 2 hours. It’s pretty packed. I sit next to a sweet older woman. I was looking forward to maybe a nap and a good listen to my music.. but she wanted to talk. I put up my phone and headphones and said why not. So glad I did. Frieda was her name. She loved music. She travelled the US with her husband visiting all of the classic music cities… muscle shoals, Memphis, Nashville, and even Macon! She had been all over. Loved blues.. rock and roll. There is a massive blues fest this weekend that I’m going to tonight actually. Portugal, the man… Ziggy Alberts, Elvis Costello, Drive by Truckers, Allman Betts Family Revival, and others perform today. So we talked all about it. I talked about my travels. She reminisced on a time when she and her husband drove from Melbourne all the way around Australia. They fell in love with Byron Bay.

Her husband had just passed the week of Christmas this year. She was grieving. This trip was her first trip out and about solo since his passing a few months ago. She went to visit a friend in Brisbane. It felt liberating to get out on her own. She wanted to talk about her husband.. I wanted to listen. She described each other as Romeo and Juliette. They had been together since she was 17. He was a couple years older. They met a rock n roll gig. He was her biggest fan. When she would come home from golf or from a trip to the grocery store… he would clap and get the dog riled up saying “mums home, mum’s home” every time.

He died Christmas week of heart failure. It was about a 2 month process. In the final days.. he told her he had a horse betting account with some money in it. He gave her the pin. Said to take herself and their daughter on a holiday with whatever is left in there. They have rented a villa on a nice beach in Bali.. just the two of them.

When he passed it was Christmas.. the mom and daughter both got Covid from the hospital… so they were stuck in their house over the holidays.. people bringing flowers to the front door. It was not ideal. But they had each other.. they laughed some.. cried a lot.. and helped each other when one was having a harder time than the other. Frieda said their dog coco has probably been the most upset out of all 3 of them. Coco won’t go to sleep.. waiting up at the foot of the bed waiting for her dad to come home.. waiting by the living room window for her dad to pull in the driveway. Whining.. sad. I don’t remember his name.. but Frieda talked about how great of a father he was.. one of her daughters favorite things was when she would arrive back in Australia at the airport.. and he would always be right there at the gate waiting on her… without fail. Every single time.

Frieda is a surfer.. a badass woman. She hasn’t been able to surf since he passed.. and having a hard time getting out of the house. We talked her into walking on the beach with me this week while I’m here… she met me yesterday on the beach with coco. Coco loves the beach. Frieda is battling. Trying to figure out how to move on. I’m glad she was able to get out yesterday to walk with me. She has her daughter Kimmie.. who was waiting at the bus pickup whenever we arrived. 60 years of marriage and then poof.. gone. I can’t imagine. Frieda is going to let me know when she gets back to surfing again. We will be rooting for her.

I went surfing the past couple of days as well. I love it. I love surfing in the rain. It’s refreshing for my brain and body. I think my brain and body are exhausted from the past year… it takes a toll. I’ve lost 7 lbs since I started this trip. Being active and not eating as much. When I’m on a travel high sometimes I skip through meals.. I don’t get as hungry when I’m stimulated like this. Figuring it out. Byron bay is just so cool. I will talk more about it later. I’ve made friends. One guy in my hostel and I have hung out a good bit. He’s a physician from Minnesota.. visiting here and Japan. Very intelligent. He’s excited for A.I in medicine. Live music is everywhere here. Everyone is barefooted.. laid back.. good looking. Happy. And I’m happy as well. I’m about to go shave my face and get ready for this festival. My hair is long. Idk if I’m going to cut it or not.

I have more revelations I’d like to share.. but I need to get in the zone. I fall asleep every night with my “maps” app open. Doing my due diligence on where I want to live. It’s an incredibly hard decision. Once I start to narrow down.. I back out. Where will I be happy? What makes me happy? Home is where you make it? Is international the move? Probably not.. but I do love it over here. We will see. We will see very soon. And I will keep you in the loop on this pivotal life decision.

I feel like I’m playing a game with my life. I am picking a spot on the map and going for it.. creating new. Im playing a game on this trip.. just living day to day. The past week I have listened to a song called “So Soldier” on repeat…not even for the lyrics…but it has the modern almost…Fleetwood Mac type vibe to it…I just wander around and get lost in this Australian world…thinking about their world..my world..and my future world. I can do anything I put my mind to. I can find that job. I can make money.. that can help provide a life I desire. Moneys just a tool. I’m blessed with the skills I have… I am going to be okay and maybe some days I won’t be okay.. but overall.. I’ll be okay. Much love to all.