Long Bay and Omaha Beach
I slept very well last night. It’s most excellent to be able to sleep for 8-9 hours straight when you are away from your home/comfort zone. I think that means you’re able to relax and let go of any stressors that can keep people awake at night. Plus I feel totally Protected and at Peace. All good things. When I woke up, it was raining a little bit and then stopped, so I decided to go to Long Bay to watch the sunrise. It’s about 10 minutes away but I had to check out the way to get there on Google Earth because all the roads here look the same. The funny thing about the city and the suburbs, is that the houses are scrunched together and people SHARE their driveways. I haven’t seen any houses deeper than 2, however, I can’t necessarily drive down someone’s driveway because that’s just chaos waiting to happen for me. 
The “yards” aren’t any wider than the ability to toss a ball underhand to someone. No overhand throwing or you run the risk of breaking someone’s windows. Car, house or a passer-by. Long Bay is beautiful. I listened to my ipod and prayed and the sunrise on the water was breathtaking. This park is awesome. Even though there are houses going into the park, once you get to the beach, it’s like you’re in the country. Dogs are allowed on every beach and can be off leash. I forgot about that. Rafe would love it…the dogs LOVE racing for sticks and tennis balls in the water and have no qualms about running up to me and jumping up (attempting to), running in a circle with toy in mouth or letting me “attempt” to throw it back out into the sea. The thing I haven’t sorted out in my mind on how this happens is when the tide comes in and out, it leaves big rows/piles of seashells, all spaced perfectly apart. I can’t figure out how that happens but was excited to see it at Long Bay. People walking the beaches are super friendly as well. Everyone I passed by acknowledged and greeted me very kindly. The beauty here is amazing and I know there are places in the States where it’s just as beautiful, however, the air is so clear and it smells 
wonderful. After my morning commune with my Saviour and enjoying Long Bay, it started to rain again (it always “just misses” me) and I came back and wondered if it would rain all day. If it did, what should I do? Should I go to the shops or just hang out and relax? After sitting and staring off into no place in particular and checkin’ in with God, I decided to drive up North to Warkworth and Matakana to see if things changed much since 2003. Plus, I wanted to do a double-check with my Spirit to see if I needed to resolve anything. And wonderfully enough, my Spirit was very content and calm. It’s wonderful to be able to retouch painful points in your life to check in with God to see how far He’s brought you. I believe that’s part of the growing we do on our journey in life. Well, pre-BT I’m not sure I understood that. 
Post-BT I am able to see things much more clearly, even during the painful moments. The drive North is breath-taking. I wanted to stop a number of times and take pictures of the countryside because I know I’m always taking pictures of the beaches and not so much anything else. I didn’t stop though because of traffic, however, I have time before I leave to take some. The smaller communities are wonderful – slow moving and cafes everywhere to stop and take things in. I wanted to go to Omaha Beach and take it all in because that was my favorite beach. I would sit outside and listen to the waves hitting the shore and Sammie loved going there to run and dig, dig, dig! When I arrived, I couldn’t believe how much housing development has transpired. The sizes of the houses are phenomenal, too! I started walking towards the right side of the beach (no, I have no idea if it’s N, E, S or W….it’s right, left and straight ahead) and realized that it’s much bigger than what I remember. It took quite awhile to get to the rocks where I would always find 
the best “sea life” to take pictures of. There’s a little beach past the rocks (not accessible during high tide) called “Pink Beach”, which is in a little cove and very quaint. Here is where I stopped to write a message to 
myself and to advise my lovely friends and family at home what my priorities are on this trip. Nice touch, aye? There are seashells everywhere and it took everything I had in me to not stop and start collecting them to bring back home! I love, love, love the beach. It’s my favourite place to think about when I need to regroup or de-stress. Even though I would take Rafe to the dogpark in OP, I would still think about the beach. It’s so calming. So serene. However, Omaha Beach was not calming with the winds today! Oh my gosh! I felt like I was going to blow off the rocks! It like it just pushes you until you feel like you need to start running or else you’ll trip over your own feet! Hence the reason I look so wind-blown in my picture! I was so absorbed with finding sealife in the rocks that I didn’t realize the storm clouds heading my way and by the time I got to the sand to begin the LONG journey back to the car, the wind picked up, it was raining sideways and the sand was blowing so hard that it stung my legs. I believe my conversation with God was, “Okay, I get it. Even in your beauty there are storms but seriously, can you stop with the sand? It hurts!” (smile) By the time I got the center of the beach, it was sunny again and 
I got a fairly clear picture of Great Barrier (not to be confused with The Great Barrier Reef in Australia). (Oh this is funny…the same company that makes Axe for men in America, makes the same commercials for “Lynx” in NZ. The “Chocolate Boy” commercial is on). Sorry. I side-tracked for a second. I was exhausted by the time I got back to the car. 
I walked through the water the entire way out (I didn’t even make it to the left side of the beach!) so my feet were cold, I was wind blown and exploring for 2 hours took some energy out of me. So I headed to the grocery store to get some protein and noticed while in the checkout that Kiwi’s have an obsession with Mentos. Mentos mints. Mentos gum. Mentos filled something-or-other. It’s a sad state of affairs, really. Then I noticed something that made even me want to gag. A “chok-lit bar filled with licorice”. Gross! Who eats that stuff? It’s about as bad as the “kiwi burger” at McDonalds…lovely photo, isn’t it? It is made with hamburger (or something similar to beef, I guess), red onions, fried egg, pineapple, cheese, lettuce, relish and ‘beetroot’. Gag. What we call a “Chicken sandwich” from a fast food place, they call a “Chicken McBurger”. Huh? A wha-? Is there beef with the chicken to call it a ‘McBurger’? Nope. Then it’s a chicken sandwich. No, it’s not, Dawnie. It’s a “Chicken McBurger.” Oy. Talk about confusion!! 
No, I didn't buy one...I was fortunate enough to find one online so I wouldn't have to gag. Maybe that looks good to some people back home..? So that was my day today. I came back and napped, even though it was sunny outside and I wanted to walk down to the beach to watch the sunset, I realized I needed rest. As always, thank you for your prayers, your thoughts, comments and joining me on the journey. Much Love.
I slept very well last night. It’s most excellent to be able to sleep for 8-9 hours straight when you are away from your home/comfort zone. I think that means you’re able to relax and let go of any stressors that can keep people awake at night. Plus I feel totally Protected and at Peace. All good things. When I woke up, it was raining a little bit and then stopped, so I decided to go to Long Bay to watch the sunrise. It’s about 10 minutes away but I had to check out the way to get there on Google Earth because all the roads here look the same. The funny thing about the city and the suburbs, is that the houses are scrunched together and people SHARE their driveways. I haven’t seen any houses deeper than 2, however, I can’t necessarily drive down someone’s driveway because that’s just chaos waiting to happen for me. 
The “yards” aren’t any wider than the ability to toss a ball underhand to someone. No overhand throwing or you run the risk of breaking someone’s windows. Car, house or a passer-by. Long Bay is beautiful. I listened to my ipod and prayed and the sunrise on the water was breathtaking. This park is awesome. Even though there are houses going into the park, once you get to the beach, it’s like you’re in the country. Dogs are allowed on every beach and can be off leash. I forgot about that. Rafe would love it…the dogs LOVE racing for sticks and tennis balls in the water and have no qualms about running up to me and jumping up (attempting to), running in a circle with toy in mouth or letting me “attempt” to throw it back out into the sea. The thing I haven’t sorted out in my mind on how this happens is when the tide comes in and out, it leaves big rows/piles of seashells, all spaced perfectly apart. I can’t figure out how that happens but was excited to see it at Long Bay. People walking the beaches are super friendly as well. Everyone I passed by acknowledged and greeted me very kindly. The beauty here is amazing and I know there are places in the States where it’s just as beautiful, however, the air is so clear and it smells 
wonderful. After my morning commune with my Saviour and enjoying Long Bay, it started to rain again (it always “just misses” me) and I came back and wondered if it would rain all day. If it did, what should I do? Should I go to the shops or just hang out and relax? After sitting and staring off into no place in particular and checkin’ in with God, I decided to drive up North to Warkworth and Matakana to see if things changed much since 2003. Plus, I wanted to do a double-check with my Spirit to see if I needed to resolve anything. And wonderfully enough, my Spirit was very content and calm. It’s wonderful to be able to retouch painful points in your life to check in with God to see how far He’s brought you. I believe that’s part of the growing we do on our journey in life. Well, pre-BT I’m not sure I understood that. 
Post-BT I am able to see things much more clearly, even during the painful moments. The drive North is breath-taking. I wanted to stop a number of times and take pictures of the countryside because I know I’m always taking pictures of the beaches and not so much anything else. I didn’t stop though because of traffic, however, I have time before I leave to take some. The smaller communities are wonderful – slow moving and cafes everywhere to stop and take things in. I wanted to go to Omaha Beach and take it all in because that was my favorite beach. I would sit outside and listen to the waves hitting the shore and Sammie loved going there to run and dig, dig, dig! When I arrived, I couldn’t believe how much housing development has transpired. The sizes of the houses are phenomenal, too! I started walking towards the right side of the beach (no, I have no idea if it’s N, E, S or W….it’s right, left and straight ahead) and realized that it’s much bigger than what I remember. It took quite awhile to get to the rocks where I would always find 
myself and to advise my lovely friends and family at home what my priorities are on this trip. Nice touch, aye? There are seashells everywhere and it took everything I had in me to not stop and start collecting them to bring back home! I love, love, love the beach. It’s my favourite place to think about when I need to regroup or de-stress. Even though I would take Rafe to the dogpark in OP, I would still think about the beach. It’s so calming. So serene. However, Omaha Beach was not calming with the winds today! Oh my gosh! I felt like I was going to blow off the rocks! It like it just pushes you until you feel like you need to start running or else you’ll trip over your own feet! Hence the reason I look so wind-blown in my picture! I was so absorbed with finding sealife in the rocks that I didn’t realize the storm clouds heading my way and by the time I got to the sand to begin the LONG journey back to the car, the wind picked up, it was raining sideways and the sand was blowing so hard that it stung my legs. I believe my conversation with God was, “Okay, I get it. Even in your beauty there are storms but seriously, can you stop with the sand? It hurts!” (smile) By the time I got the center of the beach, it was sunny again and 
I got a fairly clear picture of Great Barrier (not to be confused with The Great Barrier Reef in Australia). (Oh this is funny…the same company that makes Axe for men in America, makes the same commercials for “Lynx” in NZ. The “Chocolate Boy” commercial is on). Sorry. I side-tracked for a second. I was exhausted by the time I got back to the car. 
I walked through the water the entire way out (I didn’t even make it to the left side of the beach!) so my feet were cold, I was wind blown and exploring for 2 hours took some energy out of me. So I headed to the grocery store to get some protein and noticed while in the checkout that Kiwi’s have an obsession with Mentos. Mentos mints. Mentos gum. Mentos filled something-or-other. It’s a sad state of affairs, really. Then I noticed something that made even me want to gag. A “chok-lit bar filled with licorice”. Gross! Who eats that stuff? It’s about as bad as the “kiwi burger” at McDonalds…lovely photo, isn’t it? It is made with hamburger (or something similar to beef, I guess), red onions, fried egg, pineapple, cheese, lettuce, relish and ‘beetroot’. Gag. What we call a “Chicken sandwich” from a fast food place, they call a “Chicken McBurger”. Huh? A wha-? Is there beef with the chicken to call it a ‘McBurger’? Nope. Then it’s a chicken sandwich. No, it’s not, Dawnie. It’s a “Chicken McBurger.” Oy. Talk about confusion!! 
No, I didn't buy one...I was fortunate enough to find one online so I wouldn't have to gag. Maybe that looks good to some people back home..? So that was my day today. I came back and napped, even though it was sunny outside and I wanted to walk down to the beach to watch the sunset, I realized I needed rest. As always, thank you for your prayers, your thoughts, comments and joining me on the journey. Much Love.
2 comments:
Hi Dawn!
It's good to see your smiling face! I miss you! Sounds like you are having an amazing time - please come back, okay?! Enjoy every moment and keep sharing your experiences. I love hearing about your adventure. Miss you my friend.
Love to you! Melissa
That Burger looks awesome. I bet it would be even better with bacon. because bacon makes everything taste better!
Hope you are well. Miss you!
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