Children experience the natural environment in a deep and direct manner, not as a background for events, but rather, as a factor and stimulator. There is a connection between the quality of the child's experience and the way it is engraved in memory...(Rachel Sebba, The Landscape of Childhood)
My blogging buddy, Jessica from House of Habit wrote a lovely post about teenage summer vacations spent at The Lake House and the experience of taking her young family there for the first time. Made me think of Rainbow Bay, the spot our family returned to each year until I finished highschool. No matter how tough things were on the farm, my parents always made sure that the two week break happened. I remember:
- the 14-hour car trip from Condobolin to the Bay (with an overnight stop at Goondiwindi)
- the excitement of being the first passenger to glimpse the ocean (or so I believed)
- the smell of coconut oil
- getting a new swimming costume each year
- cold salty ocean water
- warm sand
- the gritty sensation of wet feet on a dry boardwalk
- Mum and Dad at their most relaxed
- shopping at Pacific Fair
- fish and chips
- ice-cream cones
- loud seagulls
- topless sunbathers
- sandcastles
- Mums floral sundresses
- the local butchers shop
- seafood buffet dinners at the Twin Towns Club
I also have fond memories of Doug and Coral; owners of the walk-up block of flats where we stayed. They both had tanned, leathery skin and pack-a-day smoking habit. Coral always wore layers of faux gold jewellry and namesake lipstick. Doug always wore obscenely short shorts to mow the lawn. Such easy-going folks and always so genuinely happy to see us.
Sadly, this stretch of coastline has suffered erosion problems in recent years so the longevity of beaches like Rainbow Bay is unknown. Sign of the times. Still, I look forward to the day we can take our little family here, or to a place just like it. There's something to be said for revisiting the same, simple holiday destination each year and the long-lasting memories created by such a tradition. Don't you think?