Straddie Day 1: The Gorge and Cylinder Beach

Andrew and Nathan's holidays have never matched up over the past three and a half years, but since this is one of Andrew's last breaks, we took Nathan out of school for a couple days for a short getaway to Straddie. After Nathan and Andrew returned from watching the World Cup finals, we packed the car and drove to Cleveland to board the Big Red Cat (ferry) heading towards the island. 

It was a quick 45 minute trip, and once we arrived on the island, we drove straight to Point Lookout. We had some time to spare before we could check into our accommodations so we walked along the North and South Gorges. It was windy and cold but the views were spectacular.

By the time we got back to the car, it was time to check in. We rented a cozy little shack for the three nights we were there. It was a small space but it had everything we needed. The boys loved having a TV again, and I loved having hot water and heating through the night. I'm pretty easy to please. 

After our late lunch, we went straight back to the beach again. This time, we went to check out Cylinder Beach. This was one of the more accessible beaches and the boys loved it. They got out of the car and ran straight for the sand.

While the boys kicked the soccer ball around, I went exploring. I just kept walking, climbing over massive rocks and then along the water. Eventually, when the sun started to set, I turned around to go back to the boys.

Before we came on this trip, I had these romantic ideas of us sitting on the beach, watching the sun set and maybe even laying down under the stars, admiring them for a little while. This was before I realized how windy and cold it would get as the sun went down. So I scratched that idea, though we did manage to stick around and stay warm for a little bit as the sun dipped into the ocean. 

Andrew and Nathan managed to take a few updated silhouette pictures. I loved the poses they came up with, and look at how straight Nathan's lines are!

Andrew was going for an Air Jordan pose in this shot. Nathan's silhouette looks more graceful, like a dancer leaping into the air. 

After a few more photos, we decided to head back to the car before it got too dark for us to find our way to the parking lot.