Boiler Outback: DAY 44: Sharks, Whales and Beers. Oh my!

What a day! It started with breakfast (most days do). A coffee and an orange poppy seed muffin. The muffin (let this be the official start to me trashing my nutritious diet all weekend) was delicious and was an oman for how well the rest of the day was going to go.

The first thing on the schedule (pronounced shej-ule in Australia) was the Australian Ray and Shark Center. There we were able to feed and pet some sharks and rays. Some even put on waders and got in the water with them. I did not want to take the risk of getting soaked and spending the rest of the day wet and smelling like fish so I stayed out of the tank but still got to feed and touch the animals. It was a really great experience.

After the shark and ray center we headed to the sand dunes to do some sand surfing. We were all pretty excited. We got there and had to take some 4-wheel drive trucks out to the dune that we were actually going to ride. The truck ride was just as fun as the surfing. Bouncing over through and around the dunes was enough to get the adrenaline flowing for the main event. We got to the top of our dune and were greeted by an extremely strong wind and cold. It had become overcast and that with the combination of the wind made the sand extremely cold on our bare feet. We were also greeted with the news that we would not be allowed to stand because they had someone break a collarbone and both wrists last week. Gotta love a company that uses its customers as guinea pigs and crash test dummies. We ended up going down the dunes sitting on our board but it was still very fun. However, what goes down, must come up (or something like that). The trek back up to the top of the dune was pretty difficult. Okay, really difficult. After about two or three trips down the dune, being blasted with a cold wind and getting sand in places we didn't even know we had, we were all ready to head back to the port to change and grab some lunch.

I know I have had a lot of "best _________ I have ever had" moments in my trip. Things such as donuts, pancake breakfast, ice cream cone and jumping-out-of-a-plane-experience have filled that blank. You can add fish and chips to that list. We went to a place called "Bub's" for lunch. They claim to have famous fish and chips and were voted best fish and chips in New South Wales. That was enough convincing for me to give it a try. What I was served was a platter of deep fried goodness. Bub's did its best Indiana State Fair impression and fried everything but the plate. I had fried calamari, fried shrimp, fried scallops, fried fish and of course, french fries. It was absolutely delicious. The fish was so tender and the batter was crispy without overtaking the taste of the fish. I'm still drooling just thinking about it. For those of you keeping score at home, that is Deliciously Unhealthy Meals 2, Jonathan 0 - and there's plenty more where that came from. After lunch and checking my pulse (I had to make sure my arteries were still properly functioning), it was time to go watch some whales.

I wasn't sure what to expect from whale watching. I figured I would be tremendously disappointed or tremendously entertained. Fortunate for me, it was the entertained option. The scenery alone was worth the trip as we cruised to and through several islands and inlets. We were also very fortunate from the wildlife aspect. We got to see dolphins and whales - a successful day for the people doing the whale watching and the whales doing the people watching. I am convinced that this is the only reason a whale would ever need to jump out of the perfectly good ocean. Anyway, the whales are enormous, graceful beasts. It is unreal how big those things are. Unfortunately, I don't have the lightning quick photo taking reflexes to catch any whales mid air but you'll just have to trust me.

There was an entertaining side story to the whole trip. It was a windy day and the ocean was pretty choppy. Some people could handle it and some people couldn't. I was just fine but some of the others on the boat weren't. The 1st level lobby was described as a battle field by someone on our program. If it was a battle field, vomit was the weapon of mass destruction and victory was getting to the toilet. It was quite the scene.

After making it back to the port, it was time to head to the brewery. The name of the brewery was Murray's. It is a small specialized brewery that brews 7 beers. 2 of those beers were just released earlier in the day as part of Dark Beer Month. It was an awesome night. We got to see the actual brewing process, learn a lot about beer and taste some delicious beer, wine and chocolate. We even got to mingle with the owners of the brewery.The entire night was one of my favorite things we have done since we've been here. It was awesome because you could tell how passionate about what they were doing and that they did in fact really enjoy it. They also served us some delicious pizza for dinner. Deliciously Unhealthy Meals 3, Jonathan 0 (it gets worse). My favorite beer was the Whale Ale and my favorite wine was the Sweet Red. I had a glass of the Whale Ale with my pizza and then decided to go ahead and get a $12 bottle of the Sweet Red Wine and then things got interesting.

After dinner all of us tipsy college students headed back to the port. Maybe my favorite moment of the night...starting the Purdue fight song on the bus. The majority of the students on the trip were from Purdue but the bus was also carrying students from other various Universities. It even had one student from the inferior college down south and his blood must have been boiling hearing his rival's fight song on the other side of the planet. What'd we do when we got back? What college students do on a Saturday night - went out looking for a place to um, hydrate. We were a little more successful Saturday night than we were Friday night and found a little bar that had live music. It was a great night of dancing, drinking and friends. I'm told I even started the Purdue Fight Song again. That same person also told me I did the Macarena dance early and often on the dance floor. I'm an embarrassment. We all had a great time, didn't get too out of control, didn't cause any physical damage to the bar, and made it home safely. All in all, a great day and great night. Until next time...