Woonona - Day 1

It was Australia Day weekend this past weekend, which meant that we got Monday as a holiday. So I decided we should escape to the tiny little burb of Woonona just an hour south of Sydney.

Although that meant we'd be missing some of the Sydney events, like the ferry race, the cannon salute, and the Royal Australian Air Force flyovers, I was OK with that since we got the full-on experience last year. Also, I've been spending so much time at work, I decided it was time to relax a little bit. So I booked us an airbnb apartment away from the beach and with no TV - this was my best effort at forcing myself to slow down and recharge over the weekend. 

The drive down south was quick and easy. At the very end, the route parallels the Royal National Park and quickly descends down to the coastline, so we had a good view of the area that was to be home for the next couple days.

Day 1 was spent hanging out in the apartment: I read and worked on a coloring book, and Toby wrote.  I also started going crazy after a few hours of that so I went for a long ramble to explore the town and find my way to Woonona Beach. 

The beach was basically deserted compared to beaches closer to Sydney! It was a lovely day and a lovely beach. The surf was pretty heavy and so there were lots of surfers out in the water. 

Woonona Beach is also historically significant because it's the place where Captain Cook first tried to come ashore in Australia.  Looking at the rocks that jutted out in various places from the beach, it's not surprising that they weren't able to make land. 

My afternoon walk led to an afternoon nap. I was pretty proud of myself and all the relaxing I was forcing myself to do!

We drove into Wollongong for dinner that night. The restaurant we found was at the edge of a park on the coast with wonderful views.

My favorite part of dinner? Watching the skydivers come in to land in the park next to the restaurant. Three waves of them came in while we were eating, and it never got less than fascinating. 

It was a pretty wonderful Day 1 of the holiday weekend!