This morning I awoke a little bit groggy, but there was a huge improvement over the previous two days. I had a cough, and my throat was still burning but there was no desire to blow my nose every 5 minutes. My energy was coming back, my head was clearing, and I was on holidays. Things were definitely on the up.
After checking out of the hotel, the first car containing Amy, Pauline, Aunty Sue and Fiona made their way to Pismo Beach while our group (Madonna, Mum, Mat and I) attempted to find a post office. We had bought stamps back in Big Sur but hadn’t yet found anywhere to actually mail the post cards we had written to family and friends back home. We entered America Post into the GPS and within minutes we arrived at our destination. Mat dropped the post cards in the mailbox and we made our way to Pismo Beach to join the others.
When we arrived, Mat got a kick out of looking at the massive trucks in the car park while I got a kick out of looking at the lifeguard stations along the beach. It was exactly like Baywatch! If there are any americans reading this blog they’re probably shaking their heads, but it was still pretty cool for me. As we walked along the pier, I also enjoyed seeing a little shack with “rod rental” on it. Maybe I haven’t visited enough places in Australia, but as far as I know we don’t have shacks on piers, with big cool signs on it. I gazed at the people on the beach and the children playing beach, then turned back. I’ve seen the other side of the Pacific Ocean, so the water didn’t impress me.
Once I reached the carpark I was stoked to see a woody! I’ve only ever seen these cars in photos and movies (or on a t-shirt I had purchased for my dad back in Carmel – coincidentally my sister had bought Dad a nearly identical shirt from the same store the first time she had been to Carmel, I didn’t know that when I bought it). Seeing it in real life, I was in awe of the amount of love and care that had gone into keeping that car in such pristine condition. It definitely exceeded the amount of attention my Suzuki Swift received! I made sure Mat video taped it, then we were back in the car and on our way.
I awoke in the morning to the sound of a running creek, in the most comfortable bed I’ve ever experienced. I’d managed to wake up naturally before the alarm went off, which was especially pleasing. Being on a tight schedule with our holiday had meant most morning’s I’d set an alarm to ensure we weren’t late. I showered and packed up our gear, and made another hot lemsip drink I’d picked up at the chemist the day before. I was still feeling pretty fatigued from the flu, but I was determined to have a better day.
