Sunday, March 22, 2015

20: Brandonbeach to Palmer to Irian

Only footpaths connect the houses at Brandonbeach.

From the train, Alan began to notice that everything was connected by footpaths. He saw quite a few people walking, or pushing strange-looking carts, or riding bicycles. He also saw groups of  young kids, walking or on bikes, out on the paths far away from any houses, with no adult supervision! 

The train gathered speed beyond Brandonbeach, and continued into a hilly valley and then back onto the shore, now among gentler slopes. The hills were quite pretty, with no roads or houses to be seen. Alan did notice an overland path off toward the beach, occupied by quite a few travelers on foot or bicycle.

 At Palmer, a few people got off while the mail bags were exchanged. Alan noticed there was now a road alongside the railway again, but it was mostly used by foot and bike traffic. The train rounded another saltwater bay, and a sign said "Broken Bay Walkers' Lodge", pointing to a shingled building down on the beach. Near the lodge, the bay was busy with sailboats and kayaks.

The coast becomes more sandy toward Irian, the climate warmer and drier.
The train then pulled up at Beachwoods, an abandoned-looking subdivision of weed-filled streets but no houses. As a couple of passengers got off and then on, Alan studied the one modernist building with large windows and murals painted on it - very artsy, he thought. He noticed a few people with drawing pads relaxing out front - an art class? He figured it must be an art school or artists' retreat or something - a hopeful sign that the arts are healthy here! The train moved on.

Between Beachwoods and Irian, the waves broke further offshore, crashing in long white lines before reaching the beach. Alan noticed that Jeremy had dropped off to sleep, his mouth open and snoring softly. A good time to read for a bit.

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