This weekend Maddy, Meadbh, Justin, and I all headed off to Byron Bay which is about a two hour drive south of the Gold Coast. Our day started off at Australia Fair, trying to buy headpieces for race day in one of many thrift stores. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful and had to go to an actual mall but Maddy and I could not have been happier with our bargain ‘Duke’s Longboard’ tees. In the minimal time we had left over at the mall before our bus, Maddy bought a VERY fragile headband (clearly a good idea before a two hour bus trip, a night in a hostel, a day on the beach living out of a backpack, and then a similar bus trip home), I bought a massive black hat (which was worn in public much more often than I would have preferred only to avoid carrying it), and Meadbh bought a huge pink flower (which she showed easily in her backpack). Now it becomes obvious who was thinking things through =/
With no tickets in hand, considering the school printers were broken, and doubts that I was even booked for the bus trip, we anxiously awaited the bus’s arrival. Without even questioning where it was going, we hopped on the first bus that pulled up to the station. After later re-thinking this decision (about 5 minutes into the ride), I was delegated to ask the “friendly-looking” Aussie behind me if the bus was actually going to Byron Bay. Worst decision ever. That one question was enough to fuel the conversation with my new friend Deejay for the remainder of the two-hour ride. And this wasn’t just any pierced, tattooed, skater that I had the joy of speaking with; he had quite the repertoire of stories to tell. I heard about the time his dad’s parachute didn’t deploy while skydiving from 15,000 feet…and he not only lived, but got up, walked away and drove home. Mhm, sure. And how about Deejay’s 2 billion dollar 18th birthday party in the penthouse of the casino? I’m telling you, he was quite the character. Needless to say I was very anxious to get off the bus after two hours and relieved when we finally arrived in Byron Bay.
First, we located and checked into our hostel, Backpacker’s Holiday Village, so that we could finally put our bags down. It was surprisingly very nice, as far as cheap accommodations are concerned. Considering there were four of us, we had our own room with two sets of bunk beds. There was a community bathroom, kitchen, and pool area. It was decently clean and located right on the main road in Byron Bay. Later, we went to dinner at a sketchy shack across the street called ‘Cheeky Monkeys’. It was good for a $5 dinner, but Meadbh, Maddy, and I were out of there as soon as possible afterwards. We didn’t want to risk accidentally witnessing the wet t-shirt contest. Later that night, Justin and I walked down to the water before going back to the hostel. We sat on the jetty for almost an hour and watched the tide come in around us. We even saw two shooting stars!
The next morning, we checked out of the hostel, almost leaving Meadbh behind when she noticed the Red Sox game on the television behind the counter. We went to the grocery store to buy breakfast and settled on muffins and juice. Meadbh and Justin got orange juice which they described as tasting a little “funny”. When neither one of them could stand to drink it anymore, they began to check the bottle for any hints as to what was wrong with it. This is when they discovered they were drinking pure orange juice concentrate. Yuck! Won’t be making that mistake again. After breakfast, Maddy and I did some shopping while we waited to be picked up by the surf school.
At noon, two surfer dudes rolled up in a Mojo Surf School van/bus to bring us to the water. After assessing the beach “for at least 5 minutes prior to entering the water”, we all put on wetsuits and headed down to the beach. One of the surf instructors claimed to see dolphins in the water and said that if we watched closely for a minute they might pop up. Sure enough, about 10 seconds after he said that, two dolphins jumped out of the waves and back into the water! It was the definitely the highlight of my day…and potentially of Australia so far (definitely as far as wildlife is concerned). On the beach we went for a jog, had relay races, practiced our paddling, and learned how to go about standing up on the board. Finally, we were allowed into the water to practice with the boards. The water was really warm, which was a nice surprise but the current was super strong which made surfing much harder than it is at home. The waves were also coming pretty constantly so you didn’t have much time to think about which one you were going to take. We were all able to catch a bunch and got better as the day went on. I wouldn’t say you’ll be seeing any of us in the next edition of Surf Magazine, but we gave it a good run. And boy, will we sleep well tonight! It started raining as soon as we stepped onto the bus, but it was totally worth it because there was a rainbow to follow.
Before leaving Byron, we had (more than enough) time to sit down for dinner and then get dessert. We ate dinner at the Hog’s Breath Café and practically had déjà vu of my Smokey Bones birthday disaster when they charged us for each individual dipping sauce that the waitress brought to the table. Luckily, Justin made up for the added expense by stealing a steak knife from the restaurant. I got dessert at Cold Rock Creamery, basically a rip-off of Cold Stone, but it was still delicious. It was definitely more like ice-cream soup by the time the trainee finally handed it to me, but none the less yummy. After dessert we sat at the bus stop for a few hours, anxiously awaiting the bus home…which ended up being more than an hour late! We were pretty convinced that it wasn’t even coming after the first half hour and had already started planning an alternative route home. Luckily it finally came, and there were no Deejay’s to be seen or heard. And the best news of the weekend: Maddy’s headband made it home in one piece!
Today, we all woke up early and got dressed to go to the races. All of the girls wore dresses and the boys wore slacks and jackets. It was fun to see everyone all dressed up in nice clothes, especially with all of the crazy hair accessories! As expected, Maddy’s headband looked great (the day probably would have been ruined from the start if the headband didn’t pull through!) and my hat was much more appropriate than it had been the night before strolling through Byron after dark. 
We took a cab to the tracks, even though the hour and fifteen minute walk did sound very enticing in heels. When we arrived, there was a whole tent and banquet facility set up for Griffith students. They had an open bar and all-you-can-eat buffet. We spent the day eating, dancing, and watching the races. I only bet on one race, under Cameron’s guidance. After being instructed to pick the “prettiest horse with the nicest tail” out of the line-up, #1 was undeniably the one to choose. I put $2 on Dude Al for the win. Did Dude Al win you wonder?! Of course not. He came in second to last, but he looked darn good doing it. But considering my history with betting on horses, I was just relieved that Dude Al walked off the track alive. (The last horse I ever bet on had to be euthanized on the track. Tragic experience.) Clearly though, Cameron and I had differing opinions about what constitutes a pretty horse because his horse at least placed…and won him $1.40. I think I’ll just have to stick to Kelly’s Fortune at the casino. 
