Spring Break and Bluebottles

The kids have been on Spring Break for nearly three weeks, but to say they're "on vacation" might be stretching it a bit. During most of their school holiday, the kids have been cooped up at home, trying to keep themselves entertained while I cleaned, unpacked, and cleaned some more.

Being reunited with all of their toys and books has certainly helped to occupy them. The plethora of large cardboard boxes alone provided four solid days of imaginative play. But they were starting to get antsy and get on each others' nerves, so last Sunday we packed up our towels, books, sunscreen, and snacks and headed to the beach.

It's hard to believe that we have lived in Brisbane for over 3 months and we only just went to the beach. (Although to be fair, it was winter when we moved here.) As soon as we arrived, the kids immediately jumped into their standard beach routines: 1) squirm and whine when sunscreen is applied; 2) run around, getting a lot of sand on the blanket that we just spread out; and then 3) Tru digs a big hole while Oo heads for the water.

There are SO MANY amazing beaches to choose from around here. We have the Sunshine Coast one hour to the north of us, and the Gold Coast just one hour south. Ask a dozen people around here for the name of their favorite beach, and you're sure to get a dozen different answers. Rather than spending several hours online researching our best options (as I am apt to do), we decided to head to a beach Adrian visited before our move here: Surfers Paradise.

As you can guess from the name (and see in the pictures above), Surfers Paradise is rough and not easy to swim in. But that didn't matter, we didn't really go there to swim. Oo wanted to ride some waves, and Tru mostly just wanted to dig, cool off when he got hot, then dig some more. This works out well for Adrian and I — he enjoys spending time in the waves, while I prefer to lie on the blanket, reading a magazine. When Adrian wants to take a break, Oo enjoys playing in the sand... for a little while... until she gets bored and wants to go back in the water.

The weather was perfect! We stayed until the tide went out, and then we combed the beach for interesting seashells. Oo and a new friend (she makes friends wherever she goes!) found a live mussel on the beach, which Oo named Doris.

Doris wasn't the only sea critter to be found that day. I happened upon this:

An Aussie gentleman informed me that this is a bluebottle and that it has a nasty sting. And then he laughed heartily as he said that everything in Australia is out to kill us humans. (A bluebottle, by the way, is probably better known to Americans by its other name: Portuguese man o' war.) Truth be told, a sting from this little guy would not have killed us. Deaths from bluebottles are extremely rare and usually the result of an allergic reaction. Also interesting to note: a bluebottle is not a jellyfish. And where jellyfish stings are eased by applying vinegar, vinegar makes a bluebottle's venom more toxic and a little sting can turn into a big problem.

Does swimming with bluebottles nearby worry me? A little. However, the Aussie I spoke to on the beach changed his tune and said that the pain from a bluebottle sting is really not much different than that from a bee. Do I enjoy bee stings? No, but that doesn't keep me from gardening. I figure that as long as we always swim within sight of a lifeguard, we'll be fine. Australian lifeguards are the best in the world!

As for Doris the Mussel...not a lifeguard in the world could've saved her.

Unbeknownst to us, Miss Oo smuggled the poor creature home in the bag of seashells. Spending the day in the sun tends to make a person sleepy, so by the time we were back home, Oo was too wiped out to remember her new pet. In that bag is where Doris remained... for four days. It wasn't until Thursday, during a Skype call with my mom, that Doris was discovered. Oo was happily showing off her seashells, when she let the cat (and Doris) out of the bag.

I was miffed about Oo's covert attempt to have a new pet, but thankful that the house hadn't begun to stink from Doris's demise. Oo insisted that Doris was still alive, and so she dropped her into a clear plastic cup filled with tap water and a sprinkle of table salt. I watched Doris for a while, but I never saw her budge. Still, Oo was adamant that was Doris was alive, and so she proudly placed her new pet on the desk of her bedroom.

Oo was right. Doris was still alive. This wasn't confirmed, however, until the next morning... when Doris was dead. Officially dead. Her body was pale, and it was poking straight out of her shell like the tongue of a bratty kid. Poor Doris. She's fertilizer in the garden now.