Day 13 | ROCKINGHAM FORE SHORE- After a very long week of work, Isaac and I decided to have a very affordable but luxurious dessert night out at the Rockingham Fore Shore! We called ahead and made reservations at Steel Tree. Honestly, we were on the fence about them (their reviews on Urban Spoon in the last few months are all sorts of awful), but the hostess was sweet on the phone, had a great dessert selection, and the patio ocean view that we wanted. Funny, as they were the third place I called (another story about the my surprise challenge of people understanding the “American Accent” here). I first called Betty Blue (great reviews and terrific view), but their dessert selection was really lacking. Second was Sunsets, but the hostess was rude, and informed us after I inquired about how late we could get dessert & drinks (we were hoping 8:30/9pm– most places close their kitchen before then but their website said vaguely they were open “late”), that they “were very busy on the weekends, and you cannot give you table for just dessert, sorry”. Honestly, I think our serendipitous choice was the best in the long run, and were happy we didn’t have to deal with the people at Sunsets anyways. I actually wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt (may she had misheard/misunderstood me), but we have heard from others that they are indeed quite caught up in their view of the ocean.

So Steel Tree was perfect for us. We were sat outside by request at a lovely corner table closest to their view of the ocean. As a person who gets quite wrapped up in details, I loved everything down to the subtle blue tint of of our water carafe when it held water against the dark fleck of our granite table. We ordered flat whites (I’ve been informed that Australian Coffee takes after Italian coffee versus the French in the US, so theirs is more milk based instead of water based), with a shot of Angelico (a hazelnut, vanilla spirit), and shared a very delicious Chocolate Creme Brulee, with a Raspberry Puree, and a side of Chocolate Ice Cream. The entire thing was heavenly, The weather was perfect, pleasantly warm with just the slightest breeze, and the street lights (as Isaac pointed out) were not daylight balance but the warm white light fluorescents that have replaced the incandescent tungsten bulbs. After our coffees & dessert, we headed towards the beach (less than 75 feet from our table).

As we were walking along, taking in the general splendor, I noticed the Sunset Restaurant as we turned the corner. You could hear their dinner rush was over, and was overthrown by the disruptive noise of dishes clanking in the back. It was much more brightly lit, and waitstaff were hurrying to put back the pieces before leaving. I couldn’t help but notice the severely different pace from the dessert we had just shared at Steel Tree. Our ambiance was different; slow, dimly lit, romantic, quiet. Walking along the beach between those two worlds was incredibly surreal. Playing in our right ear was the comforting repetition of just the waves, even the seagulls were quiet and grounded. In our left ear we could hear the noise from the dirty ceramic dishes and the amount of light flooding your pupils seemed to even make it’s own inaudible buzzing noise. Still comparing the two very different worlds, I glanced back at the ocean and though the amber lights from across the bay cast their own warm reflection across the calm water, staring more intently I noticed the moon. Now stereo-typically I have seen every shot of the moon casting a similar streak of light across the ocean in coveted tourist pictures, but this night the trail of light couldn’t be found. Instead, to my surprise, was a very faint twinkling across the waves. It was like thousands of tiny fireflies jumping in and out of the water. It was the strangest phenomena I have ever seen. It was beautiful and the effect continued in a new composition with every new vantage point our steps took us.

It was while walking that I had the desire to even break the eerie, yet enjoyable phenomena that enveloped Isaac & I. This feeling we had walking along was like being between at a precipice, or inhabiting two places/two worlds at once. I always thought it would be novel to go and stand on the “boarder line” between two states (I quoted that because its not a real boundary; just one we made up), but instead Isaac & I had found ourselves on a real, metaphysical divide. It was magical and majestic and illuminating and all the illusive things girls read about in stories, that now I had found as an adult. It was a magical thing to share with someone, and something I don’t imagine I could ever duplicate again. I separated this post so I might actually remember how the entire revelation unfolded (like a spectacular play), that if I happen to re-experience, that I might collect it as a nostalgic favorite…

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