November

November in the northeast US equals cold, but in Perth it equals BEACH! Saturday D and K and I went to Cottesloe Beach for some lounging. I got my new beach towel and bag together, courtesy of my new sister (!), lathered on the SPF 45, we hopped on the bus, and were then in a flash. I am ashamed to say it was the first time I've officially been to the beach since I've arrived. Hot, hot, hot sun. Fine an d nearly white sand. Aquamarine water in the shallows, deep blue at depth. Sunbathers everywhere, families lunching, daring swimmers in the cold water. It was so beautiful and for me the perfect combination of nature and industrialized society. In the distance were three large ships heading to the port city of Fremantle, which is about 10 km from Cottesloe. The swimmers were daring for more reasons than the cold. Last week, a 5 m (15 ft) long great white shark was spotted off the coast of Rockingham about 150 m offshore. Yikes!

The one thing they are not kidding about here in Australia is the sun. It IS hot. Perhaps it's because the ozone layer is purported to be thinner over this part of the world, but I could definitely feel it. Physically feel it, like a tingling sensation. When I got back to the house to shower and wash all the sand off my sticky sunscreened legs, I found my skin to be like the alligators in that Lubriderm commercial! But despite the sweating on my beach towel, I had enough water and enjoyed lazing around for a few hours chatting and reading. And no sunburn ensured! Yes! We followed up the beach trip with a home-cooked meal and then a late night (9 pm) bike ride into Subiaco for coffee at Dome. Nothing else was open around here! I still can't get used to everything closing at the awful hour of 5 pm. Did I mention that every time the guys and I take the bikes out together, I feel like a kid again. Riding around, daylight or night, racing down the empty streets, it just brings back fun memories of me and my bro riding bikes together – "Hey Matt, wanna ride bikes?"

I liked the bike riding so much, I got up Sunday and headed out while the housemates slept in. I went for nearly 30 km (~18 mi.) from UWA along King's Park, to Subiaco, headed west to City Beach, then south to Cottesloe, hung out in the water at the dog beach (I wish I had a furry friend!), then rode back through Claremont to the house. Being near the shore one would expect not too much elevation change, but I encountered some rather strong winds working against my uphill efforts when riding away from the coast. I was having such a good time I could have kept going, but ran out of water so I headed back home. I got back after 2.5 hours and was starving! Better yet was the Red Bull Air Race at the Swan River at Perth. We all headed down to South Perth along the water's edge, cozied up to a huge TV screen to hear the commentary, and watched some crazy pilots navigate an even crazier course, going up to 9 g's! It was fun for about an hour and a half. That's all I have to say about that.