Day 3

April 28, 2011- Day 3

Where: Venus Bay to Cape Liptrap

Lunch: Cinnamon Raisin French toast, delicious!

Dinner: Fried egg sandwich with pesto

We finally made it to the free campground! Time to chill.

        After getting up early this morning to leave the parking lot we slept in we headed just a bit further down to Venus Bay Beach. There was another camper van that had obviously stayed the night in that parking lot. The sun was just rising so the sky looked very pretty. We made coffee in our sweet aeropress maker and then we made oatmeal for breaky. After waking up so early I was tempted to just go into town and buy coffee, but I felt so much better when we just decided to make it. And it was the best view I've ever had for making breakfast! Right down near the beach at sunrise. This morning was the type of moment that I will always remember from this trip. While there are certain aspects of traveling in a van that are a pain in the butt (like rearranging the bedding and backpacks at least twice a day and not always sleeping well) it really does give you some unique experiences. I'm glad I'm doing this now because I doubt I'll want to do it any time later in life. I think it's going really going to be worth it. I've found that Pat and I are irritable in the mornings when we're making breakfast because we're obviously hungry, and we can get irritable when we're driving sometimes. I was super frustrated with directions today and then he'll tell me to calm down and I'll get annoyed at him for being annoyed at me. It's all stupid irritations and so far we've both been good at just letting things go and not arguing much.

        After talking to two different national park info people on the phone we finally made it to Cape Liptrap campground. It was at the end of a dirt road that was not well marked. It's a great place though and we're in a nice secluded little lot right across from the bathroom so we don't have to walk in the dark too far. We were super lazy today. We're a 2 minute walk to the beach so we looked around there and then Pat and I laid down for an hour. I was so tired today after not sleeping well. It's been beautiful weather so far and while we were laying down we had all the doors open with the sun coming in and a bit of a breeze. Really perfect fall weather so far. There are no showers here but there are bathrooms! Feels like such a luxury after last night. I'm in the same outfit as yesterday and Pat hasn't changed clothes since we left. I would rather just keep on what I'm wearing than have to dig around in my bag and put more clothes into the dirty clothes bag. Keeping it simple! We aren't disturbingly dirty yet but I do hope we find a shower at the next campsite. We made awesome french toast for lunch today with leftover cinnamon raisin bread I made a couple of weeks ago. Pat makes great french toast :D After lunch I took another nap while Pat played his gameboy thing. I know, how lazy was I today?! I love naps though and the van felt so cozy today with the two of us lounging around in it. I took a chair down to the beach and caught up on yesterday's journal entry. A little cold, but sitting on the beach is always wonderful. This evening Pat and I walked along the beach with his camera and he taught me some things about shooting manually. I'm lazy about learning but I always love shooting a manual camera. I like that he encourages me to pursue photography because he knows that I like it. He went and bought a fancy camera because he knew we would both enjoy having it and I wouldn't buy myself one. What a sweet guy. On the beach this evening at sunset (yes, how wonderfully cliché is that?) we found the most beautiful shells I've ever seen. That's not even an exaggerated statement, it's a fact. Pinks, purples, checkerboard print, swirls, even bright green shells! Shell heaven. I had so much fun just looking at all of them. I hope to find more beaches like that.

Pat and I have been getting on really well today. It did us both a lot of good just to have a chill day in order to enjoy each other in a stress-less situation. We really do have fun together.