Home is Where the Heart is: Finding True Home by the Sea

A Note From Angela Woolcott (2025)

This post is shared for historical reference to help document my journey as a writer and author. It was originally published in 2016 on my first blog and reflects my personal and creative Journey at that time.

Finding My Home

I am a mother of two, married to a beach lover. I grew up half an hour inland from the beach but rarely made it to the shore. I would dream about lying on the sand as I sweated it out on a beach towel on the grass in my backyard.

So when the stars brought me my soulmate and he whisked me off to live with him near the coast of Byron Bay, I dug my heels into the sand as I watched the dolphins gliding through the waves, and I knew I was home.

I feel so blessed living on the east coast of Australia! It is such a beautiful, blessed land. My favourite place to hang out with my husband and two kids is the beach. Nothing beats relaxing and having fun on the beach.

We always come prepared with a surfboard, body board, kayak, bucket and spade, or just a towel over the shoulder.

When you’re going down a sandy track, do you ever feel like you’re discovering a secret place? You know there’s going to be something beautiful at the end of it, with the promise of a golden carpet laid beneath your feet, enticing you to the hidden paradise to come.

But you never know what it’s going to look like until you reach the end of the path. The scene is always changing yet forever constant.

Will there be soft, dry sand today, or will it all be eaten away with high banks of wet sand enticing you to jump off it? Will there be a dolphin or two, or huge waves crashing down? A soft, gentle breeze or a wild and windy, close your eyes from the spraying sand kinda day?

I tell my kids, no matter what it offers each time, you feel that sense of connection with spirit, and you know anyone who is there with you can feel it too. The beach can be a place for contemplation, inspiration, fun, exercise or healing. This adventure is totally up to the visitor of this magical place.

I know when I make my way back up the path I’ve chosen for the day, I always turn back, take in one big deep breath of salty air, sigh and walk away already longing for my next visit.

I have a poet’s heart and a philosophical soul, so I will be sharing more about our local adventures, hidden tracks, bushwalks, picnic spots, waterfalls and lookouts. We love healthy eating and finding fun ways to get the kids outside and exercise.

The ocean has always been my anchor, proving that home is less about a postcode and more about a feeling, a deep connection to your soul, nature, and the people you love. What is the one place that makes you feel truly at home?