The Best Birthday Weekend Ever!

Well of course you all read my amazing skydiving experience which began my Birthday weekend in Byron Bay. After the checking one off the Bucket List, we came back to the hostel and changed for the beach. Our plan was to just lie on the beach since we had been traveling on a bus for the night before for about 11 hours. Since the wind was so strong though that we decided we would have been too cold to lie on the beach all day long. Therefore we decided to just take pictures along the beach and make the coastal trek up to the Byron Bay lighthouse and see the most Eastern point of Australia. The trek to the lighthouse took us about 2 hours. It was really pretty, but the walk from Bondii to Coogee was so much better! The lighthouse was pretty, but smaller than I was expecting. It was still well worth the trip up though. After our long walk back to the hostel we showered and went out to Hogsbreath for dinner. We found this amazing ice-cream shop on the way back to the hostel and of course I had to get a double scoop of some rich ice-cream. We had a pretty exhausting day so we just went back to the hostel and hung out on the deck with a bunch of other people that were staying there.

Saturday, August 21, we got up in the morning and prepared for our Grasshopper tour to Nimbon. The rainbow colored bus came to pick us up around 10am. The trip there was rather interesting because Kim had to share a seat with someone since the bus was actually over booked. A guy named Colman Casey sat next to her. He was from Ireland and was traveling Australia with 2 other mates. Colman was a pretty cool bloke. The group of us started talking about Ireland, the US, and even different places in Australia. We had quite a bit of fun asking each other questions. Finally after about an hour and half on the bus ride we arrived in Nimbon.

For those of you that don’t know or haven’t heard from it from me yet, Nimbon is a really, really, really, really, really hippy town! The whole town itself is only a street and about a football field in length! People though looked like they had come straight out of the 60’s and 70’s! Lots of dread locks, hemp made clothes and bags, tide die shirts, headbands, rainbow houses, and of course shops that everything under the sun. We took some funny pictures around town with the hilarious signs, which I will post some pictures of my favorite quotes and signs from around town.

After Nimbon we left to go to a waterfall nearby. The water was freezing cold; I mean after all what can I expect it is winter here! The jump from the top of the waterfall to the water was about 20 feet high. I made sure that I didn’t jump first because I wanted to make sure that other people popped out of the water alive! So when it came time for me to jump though I was so scared. I really couldn’t believe that I was more scared to jump off a waterfall than skydive or even bungee jump! Oh I made the jump though and I screamed bloody loud the entire way down! Trust me I still have my lungs and they are working quite well! I ended up jumping a total of 3 times from the top of the falls. Of course I screamed each time, but it was more of a fun scream the second and third time.

We got back from Nimbon and got ready for some dinner. Amber, Kim, and I finally settled on eating at an Italian restaurant. I ordered some lasagna. It was different than something I would have received at home though. It was served in a bowl with white sauce surrounding it verses red sauce just being in it. The lasagna might have looked different but it still tasted really good. Then of course we had to go to our amazing ice cream shop again, still tasted great! Finally, we went out to a place called Cheeky Monkey’s to go and dance!

Sunday, August 23, we woke up really early in the morning because I wanted to see the sun rise. So by 5am we were at the beach and all prepared to watch the sunrise behind the lighthouse on the beach. It was so pretty and I could not have asked God for a more beautiful birthday present! The colors were amazing a light purple with a dark sky while the lighthouse light kept circling around the bay. One of the prettiest things I have ever seen! After sunrise we walked back to the hostel and had to pack up because we had to be checked out of the hostel by 10am. From the hostel we decided to just go to the beach and lie out and soak up the sun since it was about 84 degrees out! Then we decided to grab a bite to eat at place called Orgasmic. I had read about it in my Lonely Planet Guide Book and it was recommended as one of the best places to eat in Byron Bay. Well I definitely enjoyed the food. It was a Middle Eastern restaurant that served mainly Egyptian food. I had this thing called a mega pocket. It had lots of vegetables, sauces, chicken, and a few other things in it. Hmmm tasty! Then of course for the last time we ate at the ice cream store before we caught the bus home!

My Birthday was fantastic though. I was able to see the beautiful sunrise, get a tan, and eat some amazing food! However, I have to say that I would much rather have been with my family because to be honest it didn’t feel like my birthday without being waken up by my mom in the morning with her glowing smile and of course the Sharp family birthday song that comes along with Grandpa’s homemade ice-cream and angel food cake! It’s okay though I guess I will just have to wait to have this experience again when I turn 21 next August. Thank you though for all the Birthday wishes everyone!

This week has flown by yet again. I am now finished with 5 weeks of classes which means that next week I have mid-terms… and means I need to open my books to start studying and writing the papers that are due. So I guess that means I need to let you all go and get at it!