It's just a marsupial Dude

Sam didn't know it was Easter weekend, until it was Easter weekend, so he had performances four days straight in Sydney. Things that one usually takes for granted can be a challenge out here on the barge. For example, one night after a few shows the water had run out, so he had to take the boat to the marina to fill up a few huge containers, and another day the portable toilets needed to be emptied which none of us knew how, and the fridge was having some issues here and there, so I perceive that's why he politely told us to leave the next day. He seemed a lil stressed out, which is totally understandable.

Me and Emily had no idea where we'd be going, but I used her phone to message a few hosts last minute and didn't expect any responses by the next morning, but once again kindness is around every corner. I got a response back from a family in Ourimbah on the central coast a little under an hour north. No matter what happens, the Universe always has my back. I thought back to all the times I welcomed strangers into my home last minute via couchsurfing.com, giving up my own master bedroom, and always cooking some amazing food, and I see it as the Universe paying me back from all the good karma trailing behind me. I think to live this kind of lifestyle there has to be a lot of trust. Trust in the unknown. And quite honestly if I were to plan everything out in my life, it's almost like I'd be saying to the Universe, "I don't trust you." "I'm gonna have it my own way."

The catch was they couldn't host me until the following day. No biggie. I'll figure something out like I always do. Emily had a host lined up for next Friday, but they told her she could come the following day as well. I called a nearby hostel and they were all booked up, but then I started thinking about it, and wasting money on a hostel didn't seem appealing to me. I seek adventure, not comfort.

We got off at the furthest part of the marina and took showers, and posted up on a few benches to chill for a bit. That's when I saw a blue mattress and a tent behind it leaning against the wall behind us. It was Keith the cave dwellers! I knew he wouldn't care, so I put it down and this was the start of a chill day reading, relaxing, and talking to the locals. The pace of this area is so laid back. I love it. I will never live a super busy life, because I don't want to. That's imbalancing to me. I love time to just appreciate the moment, think, meditate, relax, breath, meet people, walk, cook, eat, sleep, hike, skate, build relationships, plunge headfirst into the unknown, eat, relax, breath, meditate, and enjoy. Ahhhh yeah.

This is the natural pool I was taking about that has a net around the outside.

For lunch I ordered some fish and chips. The fish was delectable. I borrowed Emily's book A Thousand Suns and was blown away at how masterfully it was written.

It's a much rarer occasion these days that I drink liquor, but this particular day I was feeling bold, sooooo 125 mL of whiskey with some ginger soda to wash it down. As the sun was setting with the sugar and alcohol seeping into my veins, I take a few hits of the joint from the other night and I hopped on my skateboard with some tunes in. I made my way to where the shops were, feeling like I'm hovering. So, I'm standing at the edge of the marina where all the boats are docked, and my mind zooms back so all I see is the earth below, then it turns to where Straya' is, zooms in further again and again, to where I'm standing on the Hawkesbury River, and I have the goofiest squinty eyed grin come over me. Electric energy pulsing through me. I can't help but just laugh and grin. Straya' baby! On my skateboarding adventure back I see a dude around my age walking three dogs. We instantly vibe as we are watching his dogs take a swim. It's the chillest. I soon come to realize he is on the same level as I am and when that happens it's just the best. Something you couldn't understand unless you've experienced it. Connecting with someone in a different state of consciousness. I take a look behind me and Emily is back from whatever she was doing, and she laughs when she sees the state I'm in.

We hangout for a bit longer, swap numbers, then me and Emily take the tent and mattress up the stairs through the bush to the park above us. She is laughing and laughing some more at the goofiness that is me. I'm totally amped. When we get up I journey back down the stairs of Mordor, dancing and flossin' hyped up, to retrieve the last bits of food and tent material. We tried to put together the tent, and by that I mean Emily put it together, but the way it was setup we had to hang it from a tree or somethin. I'm like, "there's no way that's right, looks like we're sleeping under the stars." She reluctantly agrees and we lay down on the ever so slightly damp mattress and she lays down a few towels on her side, but I have none. I'm looking at my legs all out in the open, saying "ummm I'm gonna have critters munching on my feet all night." So we pull the slightly damp & sandy tarp over us, lay there for a few moments, and without even looking at each other, burst into hysterical laughter at the exact same moment.

Not more than twenty minutes later, I see a shadow on the bench beside us. "What is that?!" Emily shines her light and it's a possum! It's like a monkey, cat, and racoon all in one. First one I've seen, and it's getting into my chips. I shoo it away, and it walks slowly and awkwardly away. I eat some more chips and throw a few out in the distance. The possum slowly walks back, grabs the chip, and in a most human way, stands up on two legs and fearlessly munches away. Then I throw one a lil closer, about five feet away, and it does the same thing. What a curious creature. I throw the rest far into the bush (and by far I mean about fifteen feet) so the possum can eat as it pleases, but not right by us. Well, I didn't think that by doing that I'd be sending out a call for all the possums in the vicinity to come on over. Soon enough, we heard branches crackling and sounds of creatures in the trees all around us. Then there's two, three, four, five possums. I look behind us and I see several pairs of glowing eyes at varying distances against the moonlight. We're getting surrounded! Thankfully they are harmless so it's just heaps of fun. Every now and again, sounds come whistling over to us like a child screaming, or noises straight out of a cartoon. Cockatoo's & kookaburras & whatever else is out there. Crazy birds. We are in a Jurassic world. We hear a thud on the bench, and it's a possum playing with my bag. Emily says,

"It's just a marsupial Dude"

"Well that marsupial is getting into my bag!" I grab it, take out my video camera and start filming everything. A little later, luckily far from us, a wild thunderstorm was taking place, and we could see the bright flashes of light pulsing through the sky in the distance. Emily had a train to catch at four in the morning, so I woke up when she left, said my goodbyes, then woke up again when the sun was rising to five or six wild turkeys all around me. They weren't turkeys though, they just looked like turkeys.