Thinking Allowed: Safe Harbour

Ulladulla was everything a coastal Australian town should be. Quiet and peaceful but also lively. Jakob especially took to the town and took full advantage of the beaches within walking distance of our house and the headland trail out our door. We liked having a huge surf beach as well as a harbour and numerous other less accessible wilder beacher within striking distance. It suited our family to have a library within walking distance where the girls could escape to when they wanted a quieter space to study. The town was full of children, many who seemed to be homeschooled, and all of whom have wind-swept sun bleached hair. There were equally as many teens roaming about town all of whom seemed to have electric dirt bikes. It looked like lots of fun for the teenagers but overwhelming for everyone else as they whipped back and forth around town showing off their freedom. It might just be the kind of town where the school decided it is the best interested of teens to be issued an electric dirt bike in place of a laptop. Maybe a great idea but I do wish the teens would have to pedal for their freedom. Sophia joined a group of local teenagers twice a week to do crossfit - it suited her and she enjoyed it. Tova went to a couple of crossfit sessions but unless she was doing bar work she found it dull. More interesting for Tova was joining the local volunteer run gymnastics group. And most interesting to Tova and Zadie was letting the waves crash over them over and over. The kids all really enjoyed getting to spend a morning at Bendalong in the water with all the sting rays. We all enjoyed getting to summit Pigeon house again. We used the quiet beach weeks to push hard on potty training but Levana seems to be very hit and miss - sometimes she uses the toilet four times in an hour and then will be allergic to it for the next few hours. We were lucky to get to climb outdoors for a day with friends. This is something I haven't been able to offer to my children and they all loved it. Tova and Zadie got to do another climbing competition in Sydney that involved speed, rope and bouldering. We all got very into watching the Olympics and for the first time in a long while we actually used and enjoyed the television provided for us in our accommodation. And so we had a very wonderful peaceful few weeks. And now the beach is long behind and we've replaced our sunblock with winterwear.