Day 302! With yet another day off, it was time to enjoy more of the beautiful weather and beaches Yamba has to offer. It was a very relaxing day and it ended with a little bit of a work twist.

I was actually able to sleep all the way to my alarm this morning. So at 8:30am, I rolled out of bed to start my day.

I didn’t have anything planned again and I had another day off from the hotel. I definitely would like to be working so I can start saving up some money for more travel adventures… but I’ll never say no to a day relaxing on the beach.

I made myself breakfast and then enjoyed the breeze flowing through my room as I strummed on the guitar.

I played for a long time and eventually I heard one of my roommates calling my name, asking if I was around. A package had arrived for me! I had found a Facebook marketplace listing for a bicycle surfboard rack and purchased it the same day as my bike! It came pretty dang fast.

I won’t put it on my bike till I find a surfboard to pick up, but I’ll be ready for when the time comes!!

I was a bit sunburnt from the beach trip yesterday. So I went to the local store to grab some sunscreen and after sun aloe to correct my mistake (I know mom… I’ll wear sunscreen, I promise). I also bought a loaf of bread since I was running very low post breakfast.

Lunch time rolled around and I made myself my first quesadilla since coming to Yamba!

I filled it with cheese, tomatoes, and a bit of pesto. Not very Mexican, but it was very delicious!

After lunch, I decided it was time to leave the house. So I packed my backpack and headed up the steep hill for Yamba Main Beach. Since I was headed up this way, I thought I’d stop by the hotel and grab a beer to chat with whichever of my coworkers were working.

The hotel was very quiet. But I did have a nice short chat with one of my coworkers. He inevitably had to stay busy while behind the bar, but it was nice to have a little bit of socialization for the day.

I finished up my beer and then headed down the opposite side of the hill to the beach.

I spent the next few hours listening to the audio book I started yesterday and enjoying a bit of shade on this very sunny day. I absolutely love listening to the ocean sounds and getting to spend time next to the beach. It’s one of my happy places!

There were lots of families out and about and plenty of people enjoying the beautiful day.

I decided to head back after sitting by the ocean for a while. But I was hankering for a snack. The local grocery store has fresh samosas (and kebabs), so I went and got a couple samosas to try them out.

These samosas were very delicious. I feel like they were a bit over priced ($2 per) but, I enjoyed them nonetheless. I might need to go looking for an Indian restaurant near me, because this samosa made me crave more Indian food.

But the Indian food wouldn’t be what I had for dinner tonight.

After I got home, I watched some of the anime, Bleach, that I’ve been watching for quite some time now. And then I eventually had my leftover noodles and chicken for dinner.

I finished out my night watching more of Bleach, when I received a text from my manager. He wanted to know if I’d like to work cleaning hotel rooms from 11am-2pm 5 days a week.

Initially, I was a bit bummed. Did this mean I wasn’t going to get any more bar work? But I thought about it for a bit and realized, why not look at it as, there’s not enough work to schedule me for the bar, especially because I’m new… so he’s trying to make sure I have enough work for the week.

In my response I made sure to note that I’d be more than happy to, as long as it doesn’t take away from working with the bar/bistro… so I hope that ends up ringing true. BUT at least I’ll be able to have a bit of work during the week and still have plenty of time for the beach. I guess I’ll be able to save up for a surfboard for the time being.

But as always, we’ll hustle have to wait and see what happens!

– Elie