Twenty three hours in Washington DC

Well maybe not twenty three hours but we sure packed twenty three hours worth into our day.  We woke to minus 6 degrees and rugged up for a day sightseeing around Washington.  Our trusty bus driver Linda picked us up at 9am and even provided us with her friend Chuck as tour guide for the day.  First stop was the Jefferson Memorial which is situated next to the tidal basin for the Potomac River.  The tidal basin was frozen over and the wind blowing across it was icy- thanks to our sponsors for providing us with lovely warm jackets because we sure needed them!  From there it was off to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.  The highlight of this trip was the fighter jet simulator that some of the boys enjoyed. We quickly discovered that we should stick to basketball and forget any dreams of re-enacting Top Gun.  We spent an hour there and it was on to the Native American Museum.  The boys (and parents) were most impressed by the frozen water feature at the entrance to the museum and worked hard at chipping through the ice.  Sully managed to break through the ice and drench his shoe in iced water.

Boys working on breaking the ice outside the Native American Museum.

Our lovely bus driver Linda organised for us to visit the Australian Embassy to meet some of the staff and have lunch there. We had Aussie hamburgers, complete with egg, bacon, pineapple and beetroot. Burgers were great, quite authentic....even though they were made by a Korean in Washington!  Back on the bus and on to the White House where we all piled out of the bus, took off for some quick photos and were back in what our guide described as a 'D.C. minute.'  We then travelled to the Ford's Theatre where President Lincoln was assassinated by James Wilkes Booth in 1865.  The tour continued with a visit to the Museum of American History.  After an hour there we were treated to a sunset behind the Washington Monument.

  Sunset framing the Washington Monument

Our final stops for the tour were to Capital Hill, the World War 2 memorial, Lincoln memorial and the Korean memorial....all great photo opportunities, even in the dark!  By 7o'clock our tired bus load arrived at the Pentagon shopping mall for dinner and a quick shop.  All the boys are now resting up ready to move on again tomorrow as we fly to L.A.

 Team have become local celebrities.  This is our bus driver's god son who came to the motel to meet the boys and have his photo taken with them.

  

Amelia Academy - our final games for the tour.

Saturday saw the touring party travel two and a half hours to Amelia (country America). Light snowfall made the bus trip lots of fun as the landscape grew increasingly white. We arrived at the Econolodge and believe me it was aptly named. Economy was the theme. Made us all realise how spoilt we have been with our accommodation so far. We made a quick trip across the freezing carpark to the local Chinese restaurant for lunch. Back aboard the bus and on to Amelia Academy. No frills stadium, no cheerleaders and no parents with the athletic ability to do a series of handsprings whilst wearing leotards to take their place.  Junior Varsity team showed excellent sportsmanship by not completely destroying their host team. They won 50-7 even after being instructed by Wayne to make sure the ball passed through five sets of hands before being shot. The Varsity team faced closer opposition and were down by one point at half time.  The local crowd held high hopes for a victory but it was not to be.  Frankston pulled out all stops and played great basketball in the second half to win 90-59. The boys were then introduced to their host families and set off for what turned out to be a great nights entertainment for all concerned. We picked them all up in the morning, tired but happy. We took off for a days shopping at Potomac Mills but soon made a U turn to go and retrieve lost item number 9.....Sean's wallet that he left in his bed after his homestay.  Other lost items this trip include Jason D's wallet (left on the plane), Brett's iPod and passport (both left in his room), Hillies sunglasses (left on the bus he hired), Jen's camera charger (left at a motel), Shaun's coat (left at the stadium), Heath's hoodie (left at the airport) and Lachie's basketball shoes (left at his homestay house).  With a little luck and many frantic phone calls we hope to retrieve all these items before we leave for Aus.  Thankfully we still made it to the shops with plenty of time to plump up the U.S. economy. Tarryn continued on his quest to try and buy one of everything in America, a feat he has just about achieved.  We arrived at Woodbridge exhausted and ready to crawl into our very comfy beds.

 Some of the team after the game with their hosts.  All the boys received Amelia Academy tshirts as a gift.

Reporting in after a break.

So much has happened between the blogs. Hard to know what day it is and all we've done. Luckily Jenny has here trusty diary with her.

Arrived in Virginia beach on Thursday 6th at around 2.00 pm. We're right on the beach with great views from each room. Weather is sunny but cold. So cold in fact that instead of swimming in the outdoor pool we had to opt for ice skating. Yep! the pool was frozen over. All boys had balconies and could look out over the Atlantic Ocean. Travelled about 30 mins to play Norfolk Collegiate. The JV boys had a comfortable win 70 - 45 and the Varsity boys played a great game to win 62 - 57. It's terrific to see all boys doing their bit and making some substantial contributions. Went to Maccas for the first time on the tour to celebrate the win.

The guys got up at sparrow fart to attend a day at Ocean Lakes High School. Our boys couldn't believe the starting time of 7.45 daily. The beaut thing is that the students finish at 2.00pm.
We were warmly greeted by John Williams who is the Director of Student Activities and Cheryl Askew the school Principal. A room was specially decorated for us and along with the Ocean Lakes Basketballers we enjoyed a breakfast of chicken, bacon and egg biscuits, juice, flavoured milk and coffe. One of the coffes was Egg Nogg flavoured. I tried this with some reservation. It was a taste sensation. I wish it was available in more places. After breakfast the players from both squads paired up and went to different classes. John had organised for the parents and coaches to be given a guided tour through the school. He explained with enormous enthusiasm the layout which is based on a shopping mall, the natural light, the fact that the vast majority of class rooms have at least 2 windows and much more. The facilities are first rate. The entire touring group and Ocean Lake players were taken to the OUTBACK restaurant and shouted a free Ozzie lunch.

Game time came around and we came out to a rousing reception from over ONE THOUSAND enthusiastic spectators. JV boys were pushed all the way and got over the line 67 - 63. The speed of the game and the passion both teams showed was the perfect lead in for the varsity game.

Each team member of the varsity boys was read out and a cheer came from the crowd with each name BUT when Shaks name was read out well the roof was lifted. There were about 900 15 to 17 year old girls going nuts. The rock star had arrived.
We were treated to another exciting game of basketball that kept the fans on the edge of their seats. We had a scare during the game when Mitch was taken out on a lay up and he hit the deck with head hard. To his credit he took some time to recover but came back onto court. One of the highlights was to watch the BATTLE OF THE TITANS. Loch Geddes was crashing bodies with a monster football star that plays defensive tackle. It was huge. We got up 63 - 53. All hell broke loose after the game when the 2000+ screaming girls wanted to have their pictures taken with 'THE HUNK' we know as Shak. It was clear for all to see that he LOVED it.
After the police cleared the way we were able to send the boys on their way with their home stay families.

John Williams invited the 3 coaches and myself to a home cooked meal at his home. WOW we were treated like kings.

The boys will have some wonderful stories tell about their home stay experiences.

More on the way soon.

HILLY.

Half way through

Good Morning ya'll. Told ya I'm getting the language down pat.
Spent yesterday morning going over the UNC University of North Carolina basketball museum. This was a spur of the moment trip after talking with a guy at breakfast. He was a past student and helped organise what was sensational.

                                                The ever helpful MUZ being the doorman.

                                                                 

                                             There's a few shots for boys for the parents back home.

In the afternoon about 4.00 we traveled an hour to Goldboro to play Wayne Country Day school. JV boys played well and were comfortable winners.
The Varsity team had a nail biter and came second by 4 points 52 - 56. Both teams played the games with the right spirit. One observation that has stood out during this trip is the fact that our boys will nearly always give a helping hand to the opposition if they have gone to the floor. It doesn't happen the other way round. Your team mates have to help you up.

I've lost count of how many times someone has commented on how well behaved and well mannered our boys are. They have been a delight to look after and no problem at all. Eating well and most coping with the change in routine. I hope they all keep in touch with home but you can only lead a horse to water.
We are now about to have breakfast and then leave on a coach to travel to Virginia Beach.
This afternoon's game is against Norfolk.

Will keep you posted.

HILLY

HOOTERS RULE

Well that's what the boys now reckon. Last night we went to Hooters for dinner and had a blast. We all piled in and were treated to an entertaining night by scantilly clad, buxom, young ladies. The boys thought Christmas had come again.
The girls knew what bait to throw and reeled the guys in hook, line and sinker. After the meal the girls come through with calendars and tee shirts for sale. I think the boys bought out the stock. The girls even signed them.

         Heres an audition photo for a two positions vacant. Can you guess which two got the job at Hooter?

We also celebrated Nats birthady at Hooters. The girls got him to stand on a chair and act like a chicken while they sang him happy birthday. The photo really doesn't do the occasion justice.

                                                            Nat dancing like a chicken.

Before lunch we went to Duke University. Due to the New Years Day public holiday not much was open.
We did get the opportunity to have a look at the stunning Chapel.

The guys also stepped on the hallowed turf of the football field only to be told in no uncertain terms by the head coach, bellowing from the roof top to GET OFF THE FIELD.
Alls OK though, we told him we were from Nunawading. Their banned from Duke for life.

Guys got sick of being photo models by the end of the day but  I was able to get a beaut of them outside Cameron Stadium.

Day 9 and we got to get into Cameron for more photo's.

I'll get all the details of the game against Mount Zion to you in the next blog but I can tell you that we won comfortably.

Will send the next blog in the morning. Getting to late to keep going. I need my beauty sleep.
Bye for now.

HILLY

Day 7 and all is well.

Good evening all. I'ts 10.34pm on Sunday the 2nd.
Just came in from a great meal at the local Applebees restaurant.

                                                     The boys looking forward to their meal.
The guys really like the food and are experimenting with ribs, sliders, cajun wings etc. A lot of these guys have very healthy appetites so it's good the servings are very generous.
Before that we saw UNC beat the pants off St Francis to the tune of around 50 points. Even though it was on e sided the atmosphere and pagentry was exciting.

                                                 The team with the UNC court in the background.

We took a shuttle bus from the campus centre to the Dean E Smith Stadium. Cost us $4.00 for a return ticket. The great thing about using public transport is that we all get to talk with locals.

                                                        On the bus with the good looking locals.

They ask lots of questions. I'd like a dollar for each time we've been asked if we come from England. Heaps of the local people just want you to keep talking. they love the accent.
We take off at 9.00am for a look around Duke University. We'll visit Cameron hall and the gift shop. All the guys hanging out for that. We then do the big S. yep that's S for SHOPPING. These guys are almost as bad as last years girls. A lots have the shopping bug.

I've finally got the results so far, in front of me. Here we go. This is for the Bi-Lo Tournament.
DAY 2   Varsity vs Silver Bluff   lost 54-55
DAY 3   Varsity vs North Augusta lost 41-78         Junior Varsity vs Carringtons  lost  25-70
DAY 4    Varsity vs The Rock  lost  31-64               Junior Varsity vs Silver Bluff  lost  50-66

DAY 5     Varsity vs Carolina Titans won 66-50.

Just came back from my walk around the corridors to make sure is OK. All quiet on the Western Front with all the little soldiers tucked up safe and well.
If time permits I may have a couple of guest writters to give you their spin on the trip.
We all hope your well at home and enjoying the updates.

I look forward to updating at some stage tomorrow.

Hilly

ps. Hi Pru, Kelsey, Tiarne, Liam and Samara. Lots of Love.

SHOP TIL YA'LL DROP

Sorry about the title. I'm starting to learn the new language.
Took off from Greenville yesterday morning about 9.00 and drove 2 and a half hours to Charlotte.
We drove to Concord Mills and went nuts SHOPPING.
WOW the guys really got in touch with their feminine side. We had a bit of a comp for the best deals purchased.
Shak won it hands down with some amazing shopping. All did a fact finding mission first and then dived on the bargains like a plague of locusts.
Had an early night which the boys enjoyed.
We're now off to UNC to look around and go to the UNC vs St Francis. Should be a ripper.

Talk to you soon.
HILLY