As seems to have been the case each Sunday morning for many weeks now, the sun shone brightly through my bedroom windows … beckoning me to get up, to stop whiling away my time, and to enjoy the day ... to make the most of it!

In previous weeks, I’ve refused Sunshine’s invitation and have chosen instead to bask in those magnificent rays of happiness, drink them in and soak up every last drop until they disappeared from my bedroom!

Yes, I know, lazing about in a sun-drenched bedroom is a heck of a lot of fun and ‘tis so good for the soul.  But this morning I decided to accept Sunshine’s invitation and get up and enjoy life to the fullest!

So without even a cup of tea or a piece of toast, I got dressed and headed off.  No particular destination in mind at first but it wasn’t long before I had decided where to go on such a gorgeous day.  (Actually, I have a sneaky suspicion that Sunshine knew where I was headed before I did!)

With cerulean blue skies and an extraordinarily perfect winter’s day, the scene was set for a day beside the seaside and Ballina is just a short twenty minutes away from home.

I was in need of a coffee by the time I got there so I knew exactly where my first stop would be … Shelly’s on the Beach Café.  To perhaps state the obvious, the café sits right on the beach, the view is amazing … and the coffee and food equally so!

The café was full to overflowing but it wasn’t too long before a table became available.  As I sat amongst the throng and hubbub of people coming and going; the delicious smells of endless toast, bacon and eggs done every which way imaginable; and eye-fattening feasts of muffins, scones, jam and cream; I felt content and happy.

There is nothing like sipping the salty smells of the ocean that dance gently in the sway of the sea breeze.

I delighted in secretly watching excited little children playing on the beach, collecting shells and gleefully running to daddy to show him the treasures they had found in the sand.

I wondered where the yachts, with their crisp white sails softly quivering in the gentle wind, were heading and what adventures they would find today.

I smiled while I watched the lovers, with their arms wrapped tightly around one another, stroll along the beach, oblivious to all others.  My smile got bigger when I saw him steal a kiss from her.  I giggled aloud when, at that moment, he teasingly ran away from her … leaving her little option but to chase after him … to seek gentle revenge!    Ah … sweet love.

 

I love this place.  It isn’t hard to forgo conversation here … it is oh so easy to cup the warm, silken coffee in my hands and just get lost in the beauty of the surroundings.

After indulging my senses and my stomach, I took a stroll on the pathway up to the headland where I encountered a young American girl with binoculars and a walkie-talkie in hand.  She is a researcher … a whale watcher.  She pointed out a place in the ocean, between two boats, where there is a pod of whales.  I fix my eyes on the spot … expectantly waiting for that precious glimpse.   I wasn’t disappointed.  Although a fair distance out, I caught sight of a few whales breaching the water, just slightly, one after the other! The size and beauty of these creatures is amazing and today I saw them for the second time in my life!  How wonderful!  How truly beautiful!

From my vantage spot on the headland lookout, I watched as surfers deftly mounted their surfboards and wove their magic on the long, perfect breakers at Lighthouse Beach.  How do they do that? I wonder.  What fun it must be!

I see a family on the beach playing Frisbee, swimmers and people sun-baking.  And this is the middle of winter here in Australia!  How lucky we are!

Beyond Lighthouse Beach, I see the North and South Walls that line the mouth of the Richmond River.  On a day like today, I can’t resist the stroll … to walk along the North Wall … to be where the Richmond River meets the Pacific Ocean.

It’s been some years since I’ve walked along this wall formed by enormous man-made square boulders offensively jutting out from a mix of natural rocks.   There are many people on the wall today.  It is teaming with families, walkers, joggers, surfboard riders, the elderly and young alike. Waves crash and lick the tops of the wall at the most easterly point.  I can see pods of dolphin gracefully cruising through the waves.

I am now out where the surfboard riders wait patiently for the next perfect wave.  I am at the place where the yachts float delicately out of the river to begin their adventure on the high seas.

I smile when I see two young, severely disabled and wheelchair-bound men laying back and relaxing with the sun on their faces and the sea in their eyes.

I leave for home.  Sunshine and Sea provided a truly glorious banquet today and I am so delightfully full.

Words and Images © 2010 K A Little.

For additional images and information on Ballina beaches - http://www.panoramio.com/photo/31962392