A Day Trip to the Central Coast // Explore

(Get ready for a very picture heavy post)

 

Last Saturday was the happiest I have been in a long time. I had to take my car in for a service at 6:30am in the morning (don’t ask me why on earth I did that to myself), and figured that if I was going to get up that early I would definitely make the most of my day, especially seeing as though I was dragging Bryce with me. As well as that, petrol is currently at an all-time low of 98c a litre so I figured that it would be the perfect opportunity to go on an adventure! 

 

 

After we took my car to the mechanic, we decided to continue on for a mini road trip to the Central Coast (about an hour and a half drive). We didn’t really have anything planned but my grandparents used to own a holiday house right on the beach so I have lots of good memories from the area and thought it might be nice to revisit them.

 

We started off with a little drive around to spark some memories for me, and then headed to Wamberal beach (just in front of Wamberal Surf Life Saving Club) for a walk. The waves were HUGE and some people were even crazy enough to jump in for a swim! No flags, no board, NOTHING! We walked through the water and just enjoyed the calm of watching the waves for a bit. The weather was incredible. Sunny, no clouds, only a slight breeze, and about 28 degrees all day, absolutely perfect! 

 

After the beach, it was about 9am and we were starting to get quite hungry so we drove around to Terrigal beach and walked up and down the main strip about 3 complete times before finally settling on a little cafe called ‘Bar de La Coco’, which won our vote with some delicious looking (and smelling!) crepes. 

 

We sat down and ordered, and couldn’t believe how cheap it was! Bryce ordered a $12 ‘Big Breakfast’ which consisted of roasted zucchini, tomato, mushrooms, bacon, eggs, thick cut toast, AND a coffee, what a BARGAIN! I opted for the slightly sweeter (and in my opinion, better) option of Nutella and Strawberry Crepes ($10) with a Hot Chocolate on the side ($3.60) and have got to say, that as delicious as it was, I really enjoyed having a few bites of Bryce’s savoury dish to give my taste buds a small break between mouthfuls of pretty much pure sugar (remind me to make a dentist appointment sometime soon…).

 

The vibes of the Central Coast are incredible in general, and on a Saturday morning, the whole place really comes to life. People biking, breakfasting, busking, beaching, and there was even some sort of race/lifesaving competition going on so we had something to watch from the shore. We agreed that if we ever get rich, a beach house in Terrigal is a must.

 

At some point during brekky, a busker had set himself up right next to the café and after listening to him while we ate, I knew I wanted to hear more. His name is Nathan Hawes, and he was incredible, very James Bay-esque (my favourite kind), and only 17! I actually ended up buying his EP and am so happy I did. The album ‘Left with the Wolves’ features four songs, all of which are great. Check out his YouTube channel here (excluding the EP tracks, I especially love his cover of 'Kids' by MGMT).

 

 

After that, we headed further around the beach and found an area full of gorgeous rock pools. They were stunning and we couldn't help but stop and take a thousand photos, while pointing out every crab, piece of coral, and cool shell we came across. I felt almost child-like, feeling so curious and excited at the smallest things, running around and shouting to Bryce every time I found something interesting.

Prepare yourself for quite a few photos of rocks & water, and trust me, this selection has been narrowed down...a lot. 

After the rock pools we found a big hill that lead to a lookout over the ocean. We walked up to the top and the view was spectacular. The breeze was cool and I was content. I felt so happy and we just stood there admiring the beauty of it for a while. 

 

After a few polaroids and a lot of “Look at that!”, and “WOW, did you see that wave!?”, we jumped back in the car and headed to Erina Fair Shopping Centre. My camera battery had annoyingly died by that point so I don’t have any photos from the last part of our day but it was a great shopping centre and I bought some gorgeous black sandals while we were there as well!

 

All in all, an absolutely fabulous day, it reminded me that I need to plan (or not plan!) days like this more often, it is so good.

 

-Caitie xx

Introduction: 20 Facts About Me

Queensland, September 2014

What better way to start this blog off than to introduce myself?
My name is Caitie and, after reading blogpost upon blogpost for the last 4 years, wishing that I could join in the fun, here I am! I hope you enjoy my little corner of the internet!

Let’s get better acquainted by starting off with a little game of 20 questions...or...seeing as though there is nobody to ASK me the questions, I just tell you 20 facts about me. Good? Good.
 
1. Ok, Basics. I am 19 years old, a Uni Student (well, as of February this year, anyway), and live in the Blue Mountains, Sydney, Australia.

2. I live with my Mum, Dad, and two little sisters (12 +16).

3. I have never set foot on a plane before; however, I hope to change that more than once this year!

4. I am a memory hoarder. I keep absolutely anything that has sentimental value. *glances across to my shelf which holds boxes of notes from primary school…

5. I LOVE activities that get the adrenaline pumping.

6. I have never met anyone who dreams as vividly as me. I can almost always remember my dreams, even years later (I will randomly remember dreams I had when I was a kid). I can mostly control them too.

7. I am an incredibly deep thinker and I love people who are not scared to talk about controversial topics (whilst being respectful of others opinions and beliefs). I always seem to broach really personal subjects with new people very quickly.

8. I love food. I am quite picky with what I eat but when I decide that I enjoy something, I LOVE it.

9. I am an incredibly emotional person. I will cry at the drop of the hat and find it really difficult to control what I'm feeling.

10. My boyfriend and I have been together since we were 13. He is my absolute best friend.

11. I love the nature around where I live. We constantly have all sorts of wildlife in our little backyard and just a short bushwalk away, there are all sort of cliffs, waterfalls, lookouts and things to see.

12. I have always been either told that I am exactly like a kid, or I am incredibly mature, it depends who you ask. And If you ask the people closest to me, I think they would say I am both.

13. I was quite badly bullied in high school and as hard as it was, it has changed me for the better in a hundred different ways.

14. I get very shy when I first meet new people, mainly because I am so concerned that people won’t like me.

15. I am a Christian, and love the impact that God has made on my life. I have experienced the power of God many times and am in awe to think that no matter what happens, I am indescribably loved.

16. I am a HUGE procrastinator.

17. I love interesting facts. I got a little 'pocket pals-interesting facts' book for my 10th birthday and I’ve been hooked ever since. Now I can't remember what it was like to go through life without the quintessential knowledge that cockroaches can live up to several weeks with its head cut off (I know...those things are even more terrifying than we thought!).

18. I have an absolutely huge imagination, I constantly make up games to make daily life a little more interesting.

19. I LOVE games. Any game. Board, card, word, you name it. I am super competitive and I may or may not have sustained substantial injuries over a game of 'spoons' (victory injuries I might add...) 

20. I am very nosy, and love to know about people’s lives. I love to surprise my friends by remembering little things about them (views on life, childhood memories they have told me over the years etc.).

Caitie x

Year 12 Formal, 2013