Squid Rings

I am currently sitting under a fan trying to cool off.  The days here seem to be getting hotter and hotter and apparently it only gets worse.  Not sure if I want to experience the heat they get, although we will experience Darwin heat, which is worse than here.  Blah.  Since I have updated you last we have had a few interesting experiences. 

The "freak" weather keeps following us around Australia.  First we have the freezing temperatures in Perth and then we have cold and rain in Exmouth. We have been told by all of the locals here, especially the older ones, that it has not been this cold and rainy in Exmouth in all the years they have been here.  So after a few days of rain and being tired of it the only indoor place to go was Grace's Tavern (secret planning on my part as I was meeting some ladies for dinner there later on.).  Sam's brother and sister-in-law, the Irish couple, Pete and I all headed there. (David and Sam showed up later after work)  After a few games of pool a man, whom we have seen around the town a fair bit carrying his backpack and is not the cleanest looking person ever (if you catch my drift), asked us if we wanted to play a game of pool with him.  After playing a few games with him we really started to enjoy his company.  He broke the ice by telling us a poem that he wrote about the game of 8 ball.  We later found out that he is a Travelling Poet and has been travelling around Australia for 27 years, hitchhiking. He was carrying his life on his back.  Stories after stories, jokes after jokes... He had us wrapped around his finger.  In the end we all ended up buying his little book of poems from him.  After the night there we took him to a beach by where we were staying where he ended up staying the night and hitchhiking back into town.  His plan was to stay in the town until Sunday, go to church, and then head off. 

We decided that we didn't want to stay in the caravan parks and that we were going to try and do some free camping (as the ranger is away for a few days).  Sam, David and I headed to a beach just out of town one evening and made it our home for the night.  We also did a little 4x4ing in the sand dunes before watching some Mighty Boosh in our little outdoor cinema.  We had a pretty cool set up.  After a wonderful sleep on the beach we woke up to a local man on his horse yelling at us that the ranger was going to catch us and we would have to pay a 500 dollar fine.  Little did he know we have talked to many locals in the town about where to go, what the ranger considers "free camping", etc.....  After our rude awakening we decided it was time to get some breakfast and have showers.  The boys were pretty keen on getting showers at the caravan park that we have had so much hassle with.  I felt a little uncomfortable, especially in the place we parked but I followed.  As soon as I got out of the shower a man came up to me asking if I was staying at the caravan park.  I told him that I wasn't at the moment, that I had been and that I was planning on checking in that afternoon.  He didn't take any of that well.  So, apparently he had a spy that saw David and I go in (but not Sam) and we got fined 10 dollars each.  I guess our WHITE van was a bit more noticeable than the boys thought.  I paid the fine while he waited for David to get out of the shower.  A tad embarassing and a bit on the wild side for me.  I'm such a rebel...lol. 

After the stressful morning (for me anyways) I decided that I would rather just play in safe.  A couple nights before one of the guys we met offered to let us stay on his driveway for 10 dollars a night.  So we thought we better take him up on the offer.  But that night I went to a "Cook Off"  where a bunch of ladies and I cooked up a bunch of meals to freeze and hand out to people in the community when they are needed.  At the end of the night Cathryn, a lady I have gotten to know over the past few days, asked us where we were staying and offered to let us stay at her house for the evening.  So, we took up her offer and the next morning she told us that she would like us to be a part of her family for the rest of the week.  She has been amazing and so helpful.  Her children are wonderful. We have been trying to help out as much as we can. 

When David is working and Sam is not, I am usually hanging out with Sam and when they are both off we are all together, and of course when Sam is working I am with David.  So, to the people we have met that do not know us too well, it has caused a bit of confusion, so we have had a few laughs over the past few days.  David was working the other night and we went for a bbq on the beach with some friends.  When we pulled up some of the people were referring to me as Sam's girlfriend and what not.  Then at church the next day a girl who I spent the afternoon with last week thought Sam was my boyfriend.  We realized we have probably confused them all because I am either with both of them or one of the other. 

Yesterday, I went to church and sure enough our friend from the Tavern was already there so I sat with him.  When it was communion, as we were told to drink he cheers'ed my glass.  I uncomfortably giggled and kept on with what I was doing and then he started to hiccup and pretend to be drunk.  Obviously, communion is supposed to be serious and he was not being.  It is definitely not something you really ever experience.  He sounds like he is disrespectful but he actually has a strong faith in Jesus.  I liked that he came just as he was a dirty travelling poet, smelly, not perfect by any means, you could imagine the judging that could have gone on.  But he did not care.  He came to worship God with everyone else and that was all that mattered.

David and I went out to the beach with Wayne (Cathryn's husband) and the kids.  He took out his boat so we got to go for a ride.  The original plan was to go out and see whales but they were not wanting to play so we went squidding instead.  All this consists of is casting out and reeling in, hoping to catch something on the way in.  Wayne caught one within minutes.  They actually look really cool.  We decided to do a bit of trolling (slowly driving with the fishing line out) and I managed to catch one! As I was bringing it in he was telling me to bring it in but keep it down, I didn't know if he meant my rod or the squid so I kept looking at both.  All of a sudden he yelled as the Squid INKED! I now knew what he meant.  Luckily, he didn't get inked.  We headed back in and cleaned our catch with a couple other couples and then headed over to Deb and Pete's house to have a big squid feast.  I have never tasted squid so good.  I do not think I will be able to eat squid when I get back home.  I ate soooo much!

Today I had an interview with IGA (as I have not been hearing from the school as much as I want)  and it was about two minutes long and I was hired.  So this town is a town of 1,000 people or so.. and it has two IGAs kittie corner from each other.  David works at one and I will be working at the other.  I also am getting paid way less (as I found out when I got home from the interview).  Oh well.  So I start tomorrow at 630 as a checkout chick.  I am excited to spend some days working rather than reading and walking around all the time. 

No photos today.  We do have some though.  I will hopefully get around to putting some up on facebook in the next few days again. 

Holly