Monday, June 22, 2009
Weekend vs. Dandenong - June 20th
Men's and Women's teams vs. Dandenong
7 in row - The girls team is on a tear and are doing very well. They won their game again this past weekend. This weekend they also had a couple of girls missing. Two people were gone this weekend-two sisters and so it was probably a little confidence booster for the girls since they won with only 8. Again I only got to see the first half of Katy's game but like usual she played very hard. She didn't get as much time as I thought she should have, especially with how hard she works-but then again I might be a little biased, who knows :)
One of the girls on Katy's team, the American "import" on their team-Amy, earned SEABL player of the month honors for the month of May. Since Crazy Johns, a mobile phone company out here, is the sponsor of the league she got anew phone from them and I think either a plan or some minutes if it was pre-paid. Katy said it was kind of funny that she got the phone when she did. I guess the week before she had lost her phone and on Friday decided to go get a replacement. So, Friday she went and bought a new one (if you are not on a plan out here, which she probably wouldn't be as she is only here for a couple more months and most plans are for a year or more, the phones I think are pretty expensive). When she was honored before the game and given her new phone after the national anthem all the girls had a pretty good laugh.
For us this weekend it was a good game and a good win. Like I mentioned in my last post about passing the ball around and getting everyone involved, we did that very well this weekend. A lot of times we had a tendency to make one pass and then get shot up. Well when you do that it is not all that hard for the other team to play defence against you. We would sometimes get into that rut and then have problems because of it. Well this weekend it was a different story, we worked the ball around well, got it through everyone's hands and because of it played well on the defensive end as well. We ended up winning by about 40. Hopefully this will be a confidence booster for us and we will be able to use it do well next weekend. We just have to make sure that we don't have the mind set that since we won by 40 this past weekend that it is just going to come to us this weekend. This coming weekend we play 2 games. Saturday we play against Canberra and although we beat them the first time they have a guy or two more than they had last time. Then on Sunday we play Frankston who was undefeated until this past weekend. so it will be a big weekend for us.
The win on the weekend was big for us as we had played the team who was just below us in the standings. They were two games behind us. It was a very big win because we are now 3 games ahead of them instead of only one. If we can tie a few win together and beat some of the teams that are ahead of us we could set ourselves up for to have a home game or to at least ensure ourselves a spot.
The way the finals works here is:
The top 4 teams from each conference make it. Since of one the teams in our conference, AIS (Australia Institute of Sport), has commitments where there guys (younger guys-under 18s or 21s or something like that) have to head off to Europe or some other country to play at the end of August, they are not counted in the 4. They are in our conference and in the top four, but since they don't count we will actually get to take the top 5 from our conference. Then the 4th place team plays at the 3rd place team's gym. Then the winner of that game plays at the 2nd place team's gym. The the winner of that game plays at the 4th place team stadium.
Its a little different than back home where the 4th place team would play the 1st place team. And the 3rd place team would play against the 2nd place team. Then the two teams would play off.
A little different but it works pretty well, especially if you are the 1st place team and get two byes.
Link to Women's story:http://www.kilsythbasketball.com.au/index.php?id=21&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=390&tx_ttnews[backPid]=210&cHash=e3ca302790
Link to Men's story:http://www.kilsythbasketball.com.au/index.php?id=21&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=389&tx_ttnews[backPid]=210&cHash=c6439f30a1
Well that's all for now-check back soon for updates.
7 in row - The girls team is on a tear and are doing very well. They won their game again this past weekend. This weekend they also had a couple of girls missing. Two people were gone this weekend-two sisters and so it was probably a little confidence booster for the girls since they won with only 8. Again I only got to see the first half of Katy's game but like usual she played very hard. She didn't get as much time as I thought she should have, especially with how hard she works-but then again I might be a little biased, who knows :)
One of the girls on Katy's team, the American "import" on their team-Amy, earned SEABL player of the month honors for the month of May. Since Crazy Johns, a mobile phone company out here, is the sponsor of the league she got anew phone from them and I think either a plan or some minutes if it was pre-paid. Katy said it was kind of funny that she got the phone when she did. I guess the week before she had lost her phone and on Friday decided to go get a replacement. So, Friday she went and bought a new one (if you are not on a plan out here, which she probably wouldn't be as she is only here for a couple more months and most plans are for a year or more, the phones I think are pretty expensive). When she was honored before the game and given her new phone after the national anthem all the girls had a pretty good laugh.
For us this weekend it was a good game and a good win. Like I mentioned in my last post about passing the ball around and getting everyone involved, we did that very well this weekend. A lot of times we had a tendency to make one pass and then get shot up. Well when you do that it is not all that hard for the other team to play defence against you. We would sometimes get into that rut and then have problems because of it. Well this weekend it was a different story, we worked the ball around well, got it through everyone's hands and because of it played well on the defensive end as well. We ended up winning by about 40. Hopefully this will be a confidence booster for us and we will be able to use it do well next weekend. We just have to make sure that we don't have the mind set that since we won by 40 this past weekend that it is just going to come to us this weekend. This coming weekend we play 2 games. Saturday we play against Canberra and although we beat them the first time they have a guy or two more than they had last time. Then on Sunday we play Frankston who was undefeated until this past weekend. so it will be a big weekend for us.
The win on the weekend was big for us as we had played the team who was just below us in the standings. They were two games behind us. It was a very big win because we are now 3 games ahead of them instead of only one. If we can tie a few win together and beat some of the teams that are ahead of us we could set ourselves up for to have a home game or to at least ensure ourselves a spot.
The way the finals works here is:
The top 4 teams from each conference make it. Since of one the teams in our conference, AIS (Australia Institute of Sport), has commitments where there guys (younger guys-under 18s or 21s or something like that) have to head off to Europe or some other country to play at the end of August, they are not counted in the 4. They are in our conference and in the top four, but since they don't count we will actually get to take the top 5 from our conference. Then the 4th place team plays at the 3rd place team's gym. Then the winner of that game plays at the 2nd place team's gym. The the winner of that game plays at the 4th place team stadium.
Its a little different than back home where the 4th place team would play the 1st place team. And the 3rd place team would play against the 2nd place team. Then the two teams would play off.
A little different but it works pretty well, especially if you are the 1st place team and get two byes.
Link to Women's story:http://www.kilsythbasketball.com.au/index.php?id=21&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=390&tx_ttnews[backPid]=210&cHash=e3ca302790
Link to Men's story:http://www.kilsythbasketball.com.au/index.php?id=21&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=389&tx_ttnews[backPid]=210&cHash=c6439f30a1
Well that's all for now-check back soon for updates.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Weekends games vs. Albury
Another weekend brought another two big games for the Cobras. The girls played first on Saturday night and then the men's team played after.
Link to Women's story:http://www.kilsythbasketball.com.au/index.php?id=21&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=383&tx_ttnews[backPid]=210&cHash=07ed4e454f
Link to Men's story:http://www.kilsythbasketball.com.au/index.php?id=21&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=384&tx_ttnews[backPid]=210&cHash=4a474e309a
The girls played well and continues their win streak. It now sits at 6 games. It wasn't a very high scoring game from either team as both teams played pretty good defence. Again I was only able to see the first quarter of Katy's game but I have to say I am pretty impressed with how hard she works. She is always the first one sprinting down the floor and is getting better at sealing/posting the girl up that she is front of/that is guarding here. Sometimes it looks like it might be a tough pass to here but I think if the ball were to get throw to her a little bit more in that situation they might end up with a couple more points.
For our game, it was a night where we really didn't show up or take Albury as seriously as we should. The first time we played them we ended up beating them by 30 or 40. I think we just thought they were going to give it to us or that it would come easy. It wasn't the case. They took it to us a little bit harder than they did the first time. We were even with them at the end of the 3rd quarter but then in the 4th they got out to a little lead and we just didn't stay with them.
During the week we watched game film and saw that we tend to go one pass and shot, and do that quite a bit. When we do that it is hard to get into the rhythm of the game. When we work the ball around and everyone gets to touch it we seem to do a lot better. If it is something we can work on and do the rest of the year I think it will really help us out. Because when everybody has the ball go through their hands and gets a touch, it seems that everyone is in the game and we do better on defence as well.
Link to Women's story:http://www.kilsythbasketball.com.au/index.php?id=21&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=383&tx_ttnews[backPid]=210&cHash=07ed4e454f
Link to Men's story:http://www.kilsythbasketball.com.au/index.php?id=21&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=384&tx_ttnews[backPid]=210&cHash=4a474e309a
Alice Springs 2 of 2
Aside from the beginning and very end of our trip, where we had a couple hiccups, we had a great time in Alice Springs.
(Rock Wallaby at Simpson's Gap)
& (Glen Helen Gorge)
(Katy by our Wicked Van) & (Inside our Wicked van - at bedtime)
We made it to the sunset viewing park about 25 minutes before the sun went down. We picked our spot and watched as the rock changed colors as the sun went down. Orange to pink to blue to a dark shade of purple, and asit was geIt was so cool to and we were able to get some great pictures as we just got our new canon camera the day before we left.
(Katy and I playing like pros - or trying to)
(Katy and I with Greyhound - he's even smiling for the picture)
After we got our Wicked van we headed to the West of Alice Springs, out to the West McDonell Ranges. We stayed at a place called Ormiston Gorge. Since it is in the West McDonell Ranges National Park it was pretty cheap to camp there. It only costed us $6.60 per person for the night. Pretty good for a place that had gas barbecues and showers that we could use. The first night we got there, there was a mist over the top of the gorge. It was very rare especially for this time of year because Alice Springs is supposed to be very dry. I guess the past couple weeks they had actually gotten a little bit of rain which made some of the stuff green. The ranger there said we got lucky to see it the way it was and reiterated that it was rare for rain at this time of year. We'll take being lucky.
The second day we drove around the West McDonell Ranges and saw the sites it had to offer. We saw Glen Helen Gorge, where the 39th annual top end Folk Festival was going on and Simpsons Gap. At Simpson's Gap we saw Rock Wallabies on a huge rock pile and were able to get a couple feet away from them. They just stood there and stared us as interested in us as we were in them. Wallabies are just like kangaroos, look just like them, only they are a lot smaller - less than half the size. It was cool to see them hoping down the rocks from one to another, we were 
amazed at how they didn't fall or slip down the rocks.
amazed at how they didn't fall or slip down the rocks.
(Rock Wallaby at Simpson's Gap)
& (Glen Helen Gorge)
From here it was a short drive back to Alice Springs were we stayed in a caravan park. As soon as we got to the store at the caravan park we bought a blanket. When we booked our first campervan, the one we ended up not getting, it was to come with blankets and sheets and warm stuff. The Wicked van we got didn't come with any of that except two pillows. Needless to say we froze at night. The flannel/fleece blanket wasn't that big but we needed everything we could find. Aside from putting every piece of clothing on before we went to bed the blanket helped a little. It did get down to 37 degrees a couple of the nights.
The next day it was up and on the road to Ayers Rock. It was a big drive, some 4 1/2 hour drive from Alice to Ayers Rock. Along the was there was really not much. It was just different scenery and vegetation than we were used to and something, with the red sand, than we have ever seen before. Along the way there were a couple places to stop and get gas. We stopped at a couple and drove through some other ones. Also, on the road we didn't see that many cars and when we did see a vehicle it seemed as though the drive always waved or just us a smile or something.
One place we stopped at, Erldudni, we stopped to get gas and tried to eat lunch. I say tried to eat lunch because as we sat down to have a sandwich at their picnic table we were bombarded with flies. I am talking one or two that would leave us alone, we had at least 6 in our face at one time. (the flies aren't the big flies we get back in Wisconsin they are the much smaller and much more annoying) You could kill them or shoo them away and more would just come back. We had to shake our shirts off before we got in the van, but even after doing this we still drug some flies in with us.
We made it to Ayers Rock Resort about an hour before sunset. We quickly checked in and headed into the national park so we could see the sun set on the worlds largest rock. The park fee at $25 a person to get in, which only lasted 3 days, was a little steep but I guess if it helps the upkeep and preservation of the park it was worth it.
We made it to the sunset viewing park about 25 minutes before the sun went down. We picked our spot and watched as the rock changed colors as the sun went down. Orange to pink to blue to a dark shade of purple, and asit was geIt was so cool to and we were able to get some great pictures as we just got our new canon camera the day before we left.Once the sun was down it was back to the resort to cook dinner. The resort was quite big. We stayed in the campground part of it, but there were other parts the had hotel rooms, apartments and many different types of places you could stay at.
After a dinner we were headed back to the van and saw some people having a fire and asked if we could join. They said we could come over so 
we did. The people we met were two different groups that were sitting around the fire. One group was from around Melbourne. They had drive over from the state of Victoria and were going up through the middle of Australia up to the top end (up to Darwin). The other group was from Adelaide. They were doing the same thing. Going up through the middle up to the top end. Since they had a similar Itinerary they had met up the night before and were staying at the same place this night. It was fun to sit around the fire and listen to them and b.s. with them a little. They told some good jokes and we had a good time. As the night went on and it got later and later more and more people kept heading to bed. When it was about 12:30 we decided it was finally time to call it a night, but before we did we went to the lookout and saw Ayers Rock lit up by the full moon. It was really cool.
we did. The people we met were two different groups that were sitting around the fire. One group was from around Melbourne. They had drive over from the state of Victoria and were going up through the middle of Australia up to the top end (up to Darwin). The other group was from Adelaide. They were doing the same thing. Going up through the middle up to the top end. Since they had a similar Itinerary they had met up the night before and were staying at the same place this night. It was fun to sit around the fire and listen to them and b.s. with them a little. They told some good jokes and we had a good time. As the night went on and it got later and later more and more people kept heading to bed. When it was about 12:30 we decided it was finally time to call it a night, but before we did we went to the lookout and saw Ayers Rock lit up by the full moon. It was really cool.Also while we were sitting by the fire Katy spotted a dingo (and no it did "my baby") and we heard it when we were on the moonlight walk only a few hundred feet away. We tried to find it but it was gone. It was cool to see one in the wild, even though we could really only make out its silhouette, especially since it went right past our campfire.
In the morning we decided to get up to see the sunrise on the rock. It was a very early morning, but after a very cold night it was okay to get up and get moving. It was cool to see but we both 
agreed the sunset view was the best. From there we went over and started the climb. It was amazing but tough. Right away they had chains that you could hang on to as it was very steep and if you fell you would be done. Then once you got past a certain point the chains ended and you had to climb the rest of the way on your own. But at this point it wasn't as steep as you were on the top side of the rock. If you have fallen here it would have only been a couple feet a most and not totally off the side
We thought it was only going to take maybe an hour or so but it ended up taking a lot longer a couple hours. We did stop quite a bit and take in the scenery and took a couple breaks, we felt like we had to as we wanted to enjoy it as much as we could.
agreed the sunset view was the best. From there we went over and started the climb. It was amazing but tough. Right away they had chains that you could hang on to as it was very steep and if you fell you would be done. Then once you got past a certain point the chains ended and you had to climb the rest of the way on your own. But at this point it wasn't as steep as you were on the top side of the rock. If you have fallen here it would have only been a couple feet a most and not totally off the sideWe thought it was only going to take maybe an hour or so but it ended up taking a lot longer a couple hours. We did stop quite a bit and take in the scenery and took a couple breaks, we felt like we had to as we wanted to enjoy it as much as we could.
When we got back down to the bottom Katy kissed the ground as we were happy to be back down. Then it was over to the cultural center to learn about the aboriginals of the area and the rock. One thing we did see there was a sorry book about all the people that had taken a piece of the rock with them and wrote a letter to send the piece back and say sorry, and that since they had taken it a lot of bad things had happen to them. Needless to say as soon as we left the center we drove straight back to Ayers Rock and put the rock in make pocket back where it had come from.
After putting the rock back in its sacred place we headed over to the Olgas, another large rock 
formation. On the way there we saw 3 wild camels, it was cool. At the Olgas we did a walk, took some pictures and headed out. On the way out of the park we saw a huge mob of wild camels - 20 or 30. Did you know Australia has the largest population of wild camel in the world.
formation. On the way there we saw 3 wild camels, it was cool. At the Olgas we did a walk, took some pictures and headed out. On the way out of the park we saw a huge mob of wild camels - 20 or 30. Did you know Australia has the largest population of wild camel in the world.On the way back toward Alice Springs we decided to stay our first night at a place called Curtain Springs. Curtain Springs is a large cattle station - 1.2 million acres large. Here they had free camping with $2.50 showers. We stopped here to get gas - $1.88 a litre - the most expensive we have ever paid in Australia. We decided to stay here as the people we met around the camp fire the night before were going to stay here. We found ourselves around their fire again at night, b.s.ing again and having another good time.
The next day we headed to Kings Canyon. A big canyon with a long walk. It was very cool to see all the colors of the rocks and the big cliff faces.
(Katy at King's Canyon)
At night we drove back as far as we could toward Alice Springs and ended up having to stop due to darkness at a place called Stuart's Well (at night is when kangaroos are at the worst, in terms of driving, and we really did not want to hit one). Here they had free camping and we took advantage. Stuarts Well has Dinky the singing Dingo. This dingo would hop up on the keys of the piano and as he would move his paws along he would howl. He has been on international news shows and is a question in the 20th anniversary edition of Trivial Pursuit. It was really funny/neat to see him play and had a good time. Here we also got to try camel-had a camel burger-it was very good!
(Dinky doin his thing)
Then it was back to Alice Springs. During the day we walked up the main street with all the
shops - Todd Mall and took a free Didgeridoo lesson. The lesson was cool and the guy who was showing us how to do it was amazing. He has been playing the didgeridoo for 20 years and showed us a couple cool things.
Then it was back to Alice Springs. During the day we walked up the main street with all the
shops - Todd Mall and took a free Didgeridoo lesson. The lesson was cool and the guy who was showing us how to do it was amazing. He has been playing the didgeridoo for 20 years and showed us a couple cool things.Before sunset we were off for our camel ride. Katy and I got to ride on Greyhound, an ex-racing camel. Marcus, our guide, asked us not to kick him. That would have been something if he would have took off running. On the camels we got to see kangaroos and had a good time. It is kind of like riding a horse, but the one humped camel is a lot taller and we sat much higher up off the ground. It was a pretty smooth ride. The camels at the place we went to were very healthy, not like the skinny ones you see in the states. One of them was absolutely massive with a hump that seemed to be just as big.
(Katy and I with Greyhound - he's even smiling for the picture)
After our ride we got some pictures and had the chance to feed them. They love their straw/hay.
After one more night sleeping in the cold we hopped a plane and headed back to Melbourne. It was a great trip and even though we spent a little more than we had originally planned we both said it was well worth it.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Alice Springs 1 of 2
This past weekend Katy and I took a trip up to Alice Springs. It was a great trip overall except we had a little hiccup at the beginning and end of the trip.
So when we booked the tickets I booked the flights up (from Melbourne to Alice Springs) on Friday and then for the return flight on Monday instead of booking it from Alice back to Melbourne I booked our tickets for Melbourne to Alice Springs.
Our coaches said we could miss a practice and were able to change our flights to coming back on Thursday. So that was one little problem.
When we got up to Alice Springs we called the company we had booked our campervan through to just confirm where we had to pick it up. They then informed us that the campervan we reserved was no longer available....great. They told us that there was another campervan available. It was a little bigger, sleep 4 people instead of 2. It was a little bit more but we really didnt have another choice as we were already there and needed a vehicle. We looked into renting a car and taking a tent with us, but since all the car companies in Alice only give you 100 kilometers a day and one of the places we wanted to go was over 400 kilometers away. We would have went way over in kilometers and they said that extra kilometers a day would be $.27 each kilometer . So that was out of the picture. We really had no other choice but to except the bigger vehicle. So we told them to go ahead and book it. The lady on the other end of the phone then told me that they did not have that vehicle either. ????? I was so confused and a little upset. How can they tell us they had a vehicle and then not have it. The lady then went onto say that they had a a 4X4 for over $800 for the 6 days. We decided not to do that as that was way too much and who knows if they would have actually had the video.
I called a couple other companies and they said that they did not have anything available as this was the biggest weekend of the year in Alice Springs. They had a big race called the Finke Desert Race. It was a buggy race with high performance buggys that go very fast. Many people fly up for the weekend.
So we called around and finally got onto a company called Wicked. They said that they had one campervan available. It wasn't cheap but because we didn't have any other choice we had to do it. So we booked it. When we picked it up it turned out to be...no joke...a model from 1980 or so. The thing was old. It had well over 300,000 kilometers (200,000 miles on it). So we picked it up and went on our way.
The campervan we had originally booked came with all the linens and bedding and warm stuff we needed to be comfortable. This one was different...we had to struggle to get two pillows and it came with nothing for covers or to stay warm with.
So every night before bed we put on every piece of clothing we had. The first night we froze and decided we needed to buy a blanket. At the caravan park we stayed at they had one blanket left and we bought. It was a fleece flannel thing and it helped a little but not a lot. The rest of the nights we crawled under neath it but still froze. It was very cold as it got down to just a few degrees above freezing. We tried to do everything we could to stay warm, a couple nights we even started the van a few times to try and warm it up, but since there was no insulation in the van it went cold within a matter of minutes.
It was cold but we made it through the middle of the trip with nothing really going wrong. The last day was a different story. We woke up early, made breakfast and cleaned up the campervan early to make sure we had enough time to go get the thing washed and vacuumed out. As we were leaving the caravan park we get halfway out and our van stopped. We thought oh great, why does it have to happen on the day we need to be at the airport in a little bit. We saw that we were low on fuel, as we rented the thing on empty and were trying to bring it back on empty as well. So, no big deal-we'll just get some fuel and it will be alright. So I asked the owner of the caravan park for some fuel and he gave me some. We put it in the van and started it up...at least we tried to. Nothing happened. By this time an older man saw that we were struggling and he came over to try and help. He said we were low on oil so I went back into the camp store and tried to buy some oil. The shop didn't have any small containers or regular size containers of oil all they had was a huge container that would last you many oil changes. But, since we needed to be at the airport in a little bit I had to get it. So I paid $35 for oil. We put in the oil in the car and filled it all the way to the top. Then we started it up....or tried to. Again nothing happened. We were starting to get a little more nervous as we got closer and closer to when we needed to be at the airport. The man said if we poured gas down the carburetor it should start right up. So we tried it and wallah it worked. It started for two seconds and then stopped as fast as it started. It did this not only once but tricked us and gave us false hope a couple of times.
By this time we really starting to get nervous that we would not make it to the airport so I called wicked and tried to get the number for the office in Alice Springs. since it is a small office the number is for a personal mobile and they couldn't give me the number. Go figure. So I got transferred to Roadside assistance after explaining the problem. The lady at roadside took my number and said she would call the man at the Alice Springs office and get him to call me so we could work out what to do. Whether we could just leave it there or if we had to organize a tow truck to tow it back to the Wicked shed. While we were waiting I thought lets try it one more time. This time we were in luck. We got it started. We quickly hopped in and did not stop until we got to the shed. We were able to turn the van in and catch a cab in time to make our flight. I have to say it was a very interesting day, but at least we made our flight and got home safely.
So when we booked the tickets I booked the flights up (from Melbourne to Alice Springs) on Friday and then for the return flight on Monday instead of booking it from Alice back to Melbourne I booked our tickets for Melbourne to Alice Springs.
Our coaches said we could miss a practice and were able to change our flights to coming back on Thursday. So that was one little problem.
When we got up to Alice Springs we called the company we had booked our campervan through to just confirm where we had to pick it up. They then informed us that the campervan we reserved was no longer available....great. They told us that there was another campervan available. It was a little bigger, sleep 4 people instead of 2. It was a little bit more but we really didnt have another choice as we were already there and needed a vehicle. We looked into renting a car and taking a tent with us, but since all the car companies in Alice only give you 100 kilometers a day and one of the places we wanted to go was over 400 kilometers away. We would have went way over in kilometers and they said that extra kilometers a day would be $.27 each kilometer . So that was out of the picture. We really had no other choice but to except the bigger vehicle. So we told them to go ahead and book it. The lady on the other end of the phone then told me that they did not have that vehicle either. ????? I was so confused and a little upset. How can they tell us they had a vehicle and then not have it. The lady then went onto say that they had a a 4X4 for over $800 for the 6 days. We decided not to do that as that was way too much and who knows if they would have actually had the video.
I called a couple other companies and they said that they did not have anything available as this was the biggest weekend of the year in Alice Springs. They had a big race called the Finke Desert Race. It was a buggy race with high performance buggys that go very fast. Many people fly up for the weekend.
So we called around and finally got onto a company called Wicked. They said that they had one campervan available. It wasn't cheap but because we didn't have any other choice we had to do it. So we booked it. When we picked it up it turned out to be...no joke...a model from 1980 or so. The thing was old. It had well over 300,000 kilometers (200,000 miles on it). So we picked it up and went on our way.
The campervan we had originally booked came with all the linens and bedding and warm stuff we needed to be comfortable. This one was different...we had to struggle to get two pillows and it came with nothing for covers or to stay warm with.
So every night before bed we put on every piece of clothing we had. The first night we froze and decided we needed to buy a blanket. At the caravan park we stayed at they had one blanket left and we bought. It was a fleece flannel thing and it helped a little but not a lot. The rest of the nights we crawled under neath it but still froze. It was very cold as it got down to just a few degrees above freezing. We tried to do everything we could to stay warm, a couple nights we even started the van a few times to try and warm it up, but since there was no insulation in the van it went cold within a matter of minutes.
It was cold but we made it through the middle of the trip with nothing really going wrong. The last day was a different story. We woke up early, made breakfast and cleaned up the campervan early to make sure we had enough time to go get the thing washed and vacuumed out. As we were leaving the caravan park we get halfway out and our van stopped. We thought oh great, why does it have to happen on the day we need to be at the airport in a little bit. We saw that we were low on fuel, as we rented the thing on empty and were trying to bring it back on empty as well. So, no big deal-we'll just get some fuel and it will be alright. So I asked the owner of the caravan park for some fuel and he gave me some. We put it in the van and started it up...at least we tried to. Nothing happened. By this time an older man saw that we were struggling and he came over to try and help. He said we were low on oil so I went back into the camp store and tried to buy some oil. The shop didn't have any small containers or regular size containers of oil all they had was a huge container that would last you many oil changes. But, since we needed to be at the airport in a little bit I had to get it. So I paid $35 for oil. We put in the oil in the car and filled it all the way to the top. Then we started it up....or tried to. Again nothing happened. We were starting to get a little more nervous as we got closer and closer to when we needed to be at the airport. The man said if we poured gas down the carburetor it should start right up. So we tried it and wallah it worked. It started for two seconds and then stopped as fast as it started. It did this not only once but tricked us and gave us false hope a couple of times.
By this time we really starting to get nervous that we would not make it to the airport so I called wicked and tried to get the number for the office in Alice Springs. since it is a small office the number is for a personal mobile and they couldn't give me the number. Go figure. So I got transferred to Roadside assistance after explaining the problem. The lady at roadside took my number and said she would call the man at the Alice Springs office and get him to call me so we could work out what to do. Whether we could just leave it there or if we had to organize a tow truck to tow it back to the Wicked shed. While we were waiting I thought lets try it one more time. This time we were in luck. We got it started. We quickly hopped in and did not stop until we got to the shed. We were able to turn the van in and catch a cab in time to make our flight. I have to say it was a very interesting day, but at least we made our flight and got home safely.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Sunday - two wins
This was a great day for both the men's and the women's team.
The first game of the day was Katy's game. She played the team that is currently first in their league and a team who beat them pretty bad the first game. Katy played very well in this game. She ended up with 13 points and had a nice block on one of the other team's big girls.
The first game of the day was Katy's game. She played the team that is currently first in their league and a team who beat them pretty bad the first game. Katy played very well in this game. She ended up with 13 points and had a nice block on one of the other team's big girls.You will be able to see the block if you go to:
It will be the first highlight clip in the series (It is kind of hard to see because the camera is so far away but left me tell you, it was a nice block)
At the end of the game it was very close. Kilsyth hit a shot with a couple seconds to go to go up one. On the made shot Katy's teammate got fouled and had a chance for one free throw, but missed. Then the other team, Brisbane, had one last chance and ended up turning the ball over. The girls were very excited as that is a huge win for them. They finished the month of May at 6-1 and are on a very good roll.
For the men's team. We were ahead the whole time. We got out to an early lead and never really looked back. We had a little lapse in the third quarter where the other team drew back to about 12 points but then extended the lead out from there again. For me it was a good game. It is probably the best game I have had and was pretty happy with the effort, however I ended up falling on my wrist and it is bothering me at the moment. This weekend we do have off though so I am hoping to get a little rest for it.
Some highlights from our game:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dl4gty5-2Uc
Because this is a holiday weekend here both teams do not have games. It is the Queens birthday weekend. Katy and I have been planning for some time to fly to Ayers Rock (the outback of Australia) and see what it is like. The current plan is to fly out on Friday and originally we were supposed to come back on Monday, however I messed out plane tickets up and instead of booking a flight back from Alice Springs I accidentally booked another one to Alice Springs. So the next soonest flight back would be on Thursday afternoon. I think we will be able to do it but just have to switch the flights over with the airlines-hopefully they still have flights left on Thursday as Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are all sold out.
You will have to check back next week to see how our trip went, if we are able to go at all. We are also excited as we bought a new camera last week and it should be here Thursday. This way we will be able to take it with us and hopefully get some good pictures.
Link to girls story:http://www.kilsythbasketball.com.au/index.php?id=21&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=374&tx_ttnews[backPid]=210&cHash=a3a43fdb34
Link to men's story:http://www.kilsythbasketball.com.au/index.php?id=21&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=373&tx_ttnews[backPid]=210&cHash=2f321e230e
Link to related story:http://www.kilsythbasketball.com.au/index.php?id=21&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=375&tx_ttnews[backPid]=210&cHash=2b9d34e694
Check back soon
Friday-Mt Gambier (Road Trip)
Well this weekend started off with a long road trip for the men's team. On Friday night we played in Mt Gambier, a hour plane ride away (or a 6-hour drive if you drive). Most of the team flies however a couple of the guys drive.
A couple years ago the plane that flies to Mt Gambier (not a jet but a prop plane) ended up with problems to one of the engines. The whole cabin filled up with black smoke and none of the guys thought they were going to make it. They didn't really know what was going on and said they could see the pilot get out the instruction manual, not helping their panic. Many of them said they thought that was going to be it. Well, they made it and I guess there wasn't something catastrophic wrong. Some of the guys though said they would never make the flight again, as you might imagine, and have decided to drive since. Katy and I hopped in with one of the guys that drive for a long drive there and back. We left Friday during the day, Katy had already let the school know before she got her 6-week contract that she would not be able to make it in that day and we left around 11:30. We stopped a couple times but the drive in all took about 6 hours. Have to say it wasn't too bad on the way there.
The game on the other hand was not good. We started off okay but ended up not playing a whole game. We gave up way too many easy lay-ups and our defence didn't look that great at times. Needless to say we ended up losing that one, which was frustrating because it was a game we probably should have won.
Aside from the game Mt Gambier is an interesting place. The stadium that we play at is called the ice house, and for very good reason. In each corner of the court they have heaters positioned, as the stadium is not heated. These heaters are small cylindrical tubes that shoot flames out. Its kind of weird as I have never seen them in another stadium before. Also, after the game when we were stretching down I could see the steam rising up off of me. Usually you only see that from football players in the winter, but not here.
Then it was the drive home. We quickly stopped at the post game function (after every game there is a post game function here where both teams get together in one room. The home team provides food for both teams to eat and the coaches from the two teams get up and say nice things about each other. Kind of different than back in the states). After we quickly stopped in we were on our way. We left about 11:30. On the way back we probably saw 30 kangaroos at various times, some right on the edge of the road. Good thing they didn't cross because just like a deer they can do some good damage to a car. It was also very foggy. We would go without fog for a mile or so then fog for a mile then without fog for a mile, then with fog. I wasn't driving one of the other guys, Gerrard (Gez), was and he did a good job of staying awake. I am not sure how he did it after being up all day and just having played a game. Somehow though he made it all the way home. Katy and I offered to drive but he said he was doing fine. Besides him, the other three of us (Katy, me and Gez's girlfriend) fell asleep.
Last year when Katy, Andrew and I made the same drive after the Mt Gambier game, so we could back in time to see my parents and Andrew fly out, we had to stop and take a power nap as we could not stay awake. It is not an easy drive to do. We ended up getting home around 5:30 and went right to bed.
A couple years ago the plane that flies to Mt Gambier (not a jet but a prop plane) ended up with problems to one of the engines. The whole cabin filled up with black smoke and none of the guys thought they were going to make it. They didn't really know what was going on and said they could see the pilot get out the instruction manual, not helping their panic. Many of them said they thought that was going to be it. Well, they made it and I guess there wasn't something catastrophic wrong. Some of the guys though said they would never make the flight again, as you might imagine, and have decided to drive since. Katy and I hopped in with one of the guys that drive for a long drive there and back. We left Friday during the day, Katy had already let the school know before she got her 6-week contract that she would not be able to make it in that day and we left around 11:30. We stopped a couple times but the drive in all took about 6 hours. Have to say it wasn't too bad on the way there.
The game on the other hand was not good. We started off okay but ended up not playing a whole game. We gave up way too many easy lay-ups and our defence didn't look that great at times. Needless to say we ended up losing that one, which was frustrating because it was a game we probably should have won.
Aside from the game Mt Gambier is an interesting place. The stadium that we play at is called the ice house, and for very good reason. In each corner of the court they have heaters positioned, as the stadium is not heated. These heaters are small cylindrical tubes that shoot flames out. Its kind of weird as I have never seen them in another stadium before. Also, after the game when we were stretching down I could see the steam rising up off of me. Usually you only see that from football players in the winter, but not here.
Then it was the drive home. We quickly stopped at the post game function (after every game there is a post game function here where both teams get together in one room. The home team provides food for both teams to eat and the coaches from the two teams get up and say nice things about each other. Kind of different than back in the states). After we quickly stopped in we were on our way. We left about 11:30. On the way back we probably saw 30 kangaroos at various times, some right on the edge of the road. Good thing they didn't cross because just like a deer they can do some good damage to a car. It was also very foggy. We would go without fog for a mile or so then fog for a mile then without fog for a mile, then with fog. I wasn't driving one of the other guys, Gerrard (Gez), was and he did a good job of staying awake. I am not sure how he did it after being up all day and just having played a game. Somehow though he made it all the way home. Katy and I offered to drive but he said he was doing fine. Besides him, the other three of us (Katy, me and Gez's girlfriend) fell asleep.
Last year when Katy, Andrew and I made the same drive after the Mt Gambier game, so we could back in time to see my parents and Andrew fly out, we had to stop and take a power nap as we could not stay awake. It is not an easy drive to do. We ended up getting home around 5:30 and went right to bed.
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