[[Sorry this post doesn't have a lot of pictures. Since I can't upload mine without the cord I don't have them, and not many people have put pictures up from yesterday yet.]] A rather uneventful but lovely day today. A lot of them were very hung over, but managed to pull it together just in time to get on the bus. We drove down to a beautiful little beach called Mystery Bay. It got that name because the water is filled with submerged, as well as exposed, rocks that used to sink ships all the time, but I guess it looks safe from the ocean, so no one could figure out how al the ships were going missing. Maybe tide just wasn't high enough, but I have no idea why anyone would think that Bay was a good place to try and anchor a boat. There were huge rock formations all over the water. It was absolutely gorgeous, but definitely did not look like some place I would want to bring my boat into. We walked the beach for a bit, and played with some lady's two dogs who were running around the beach. They were so friendly!
From there we drove to a little town called Central Tilba, which is my favorite place of this whole trip. It was nestled between all these little green hills, and looked absolutely amazing, with little old western looking buildings with lots of cool shops. There was a very cool jewelry shop where the lady hand-makes all of the pieces, and they were absolutely gorgeous. A lot of them were expensive, but I managed to find a little something for Rachel! My favorite shop there, however, was this soap shop we stumbled upon while we were walking around. I've never seen such a cute shop in my life! They were all kinds of really gorgeously designed and displayed soaps that smelled amazing! Sian and I spent forever going around and smelling all of them. They had bath salts on the walls that looked like little cakes. They looked so good, if I didn't know they were soap I would have eaten one. They had these salt scrubs that my hand softer than it's ever been in my entire life. I talked a lot with the store owner, Matt, because he had such an interesting story. He had been in the police for 18 years before he had enough and decided to stop. His mother-in-law owned this little tiny soap shop that sold imported products, but she had been doing more and more research on making your own soap, so they soon began experimenting on making their own soap. After some disastrous outcomes, he said they finally managed to find a formula that they liked, so they began producing their own home made soap. They expanded the shop to what it is now, but still only make their own soap, and buy the rest. They plan to continue to expand, as they've already begun experimenting with making their own bath salts and salt scrubs. He really wants to open up another shop, and also begin selling supplies for other people to make their own soap, holding workshops for them to learn. It sounded really cool, and I really hope everything works out for them.
We went to a really cute cafe for lunch that was really good and also had American lemonade, not just Australian lemonade (sprite). Hooray! We were very content as we sat there on the patio overlooking the hills. It was so atmospheric and beautiful. We went into the leather shop, where Veronica bought herself a really cool Australian leather hat that looked pretty rad. I tried on an Indiana Jones hat which made me look really stupid, but also feel really cool, especially when I found a whip to go with it. The bakery looked really good, and I had to refrain from getting a lamington. Before we left we went into a cheese factory which was delicious! I really liked their smoked gouda and basil, tomato and cheese cubes. So good! They also had a whole bunch of different types of honey, which was cool because a lot of their flavors were things you don't see in America (or at least I haven't) such as red gum and spotted gum. They were okay, but I'm not too big on honey in the first place, so I'm sure someone who appreciated honey would have liked them better. They also sold some ice cream there, and Sian and I got some ginger ice cream which was amazing! Yum!
We went to a really cute cafe for lunch that was really good and also had American lemonade, not just Australian lemonade (sprite). Hooray! We were very content as we sat there on the patio overlooking the hills. It was so atmospheric and beautiful. We went into the leather shop, where Veronica bought herself a really cool Australian leather hat that looked pretty rad. I tried on an Indiana Jones hat which made me look really stupid, but also feel really cool, especially when I found a whip to go with it. The bakery looked really good, and I had to refrain from getting a lamington. Before we left we went into a cheese factory which was delicious! I really liked their smoked gouda and basil, tomato and cheese cubes. So good! They also had a whole bunch of different types of honey, which was cool because a lot of their flavors were things you don't see in America (or at least I haven't) such as red gum and spotted gum. They were okay, but I'm not too big on honey in the first place, so I'm sure someone who appreciated honey would have liked them better. They also sold some ice cream there, and Sian and I got some ginger ice cream which was amazing! Yum!
Once we got back to Bermagui, we all headed down to the beach to sit, read, relax, and do some work in the sun. It was absolutely gorgeous for about forty minutes, but then some clouds came so it got windy and cold, without the sun to warm us up, so we gave up and headed back, stopping in the vintage store here for a look. They had a lot of cool things, including an Australian People Magazine from what looked like the 60s. Pretty cool. They had some old vintage postcards too which were awesome. Back in the room, we actually did some work, before heading to dinner.
For our finale dinner, we went to an Asian restaurant in town. It wasn't as good as Little Kitchen at home, but it wasn't too bad. We did it family style, and ate so much food! I was so full afterwards! We went around and said who the favorite people we met were, as well as our favorite moment and town. It was really fun to hear everyone's different favorites. My favorite person was probably Ralph, the bull rider, or Ally from the bar. My favorite place was definitely Central Tilba, and I'm not sure what my favorite moment was, but probably seeing those seals twirling around below me.
For our finale dinner, we went to an Asian restaurant in town. It wasn't as good as Little Kitchen at home, but it wasn't too bad. We did it family style, and ate so much food! I was so full afterwards! We went around and said who the favorite people we met were, as well as our favorite moment and town. It was really fun to hear everyone's different favorites. My favorite person was probably Ralph, the bull rider, or Ally from the bar. My favorite place was definitely Central Tilba, and I'm not sure what my favorite moment was, but probably seeing those seals twirling around below me.
After dinner, we headed to the pub again. Ally was still at work, so we got a few drinks while we waited for her to get off. Mariah ended up getting way drunk before Ally was off, so she was very clingy to her when she finally did come over. Ally thought it was hilarious though and didn't seem to mind. We tried to do each other's accents for a while but we were both absolutely terrible at it, which was hilarious. We got to meet her boyfriend, Jason, and his friend, Brad. They were really nice, and came and talked with us for a while. Neither of them had been to America but both really wanted to go, especially since they said they were so Americanized their whole lives, because everything they see and listen to is American. Everyone is always interested in how much cheaper everything is in America, so we compared prices of things for a bit, and then when over some of our slang and their slang as well. They taught us one we'd never heard of before, "Pommies" for the British, which is apparently used in a sarcastic way (I guess the British call them "Skippers"). We had a really great time, and since Ally and Jason both work at the bar, they managed to talk their manager into letting us try their best beer, Carlton Draught, as well as close up really slowly so we could talk longer. It was a really great last night of the road trip, and I'm glad we got to hang out with them. We exchanged phone numbers, facebook, and snapchat, and told them to hit us up when they come to Sydney, where they're planning on going for a weekend in a couple weeks. We had slowly dwindled down in numbers as some of the girls left throughout the night, so the four of us remaining walked around the corner back to our motel. After moving Mariah back into her own room, which was a real struggle, we all were able to crawl into bed.