August 11, 2004

We have had a busy couple of days, but today was a day of relaxation and freedom to do whatever we wanted to in Sydney. Our next game isn't until tomorrow, so we took the time to check out a few more places that this great city has to offer.

After having another great breakfast at the hotel, most of the team chose to catch a 30-minute ferry ride over to Manly Beach where there are shops to buy great souvenirs and view the beautiful beach. After shopping for a little while, some of us got the urge to walk on the beach and get our feet in the water. Not too many of us chose to do this since this is winter in Sydney and the water to be freezing. However, those of us that chose to get near or in the water were able to see locals surfing and even got to take pictures with them.

After our shopping and beach experience at Manly Beach, we took the ferry back to the hotel to get ready for our next adventure to the Sydney Aquarium. Most of us went down to Darling Harbour where the aquarium is located, to view some of the largest fish I have ever seen. We saw big fish, pretty fish, ugly fish, scary fish, and yes, some of the fish there really had a strong smell. The most amazing exhibit that we saw was the shark exhibit. There were sharks in all shapes and sizes, but most of all, they all were scary.

Also, I would just like to add that I rode in my first taxi ride when going to the aquarium, and it was a true experience. Our first taxi driver was reckless and almost killed us because I made the mistake of telling him that we had to make it there before some of my teammates who were in the other taxi. Once I said that we had to get there first, he took off and didn't slow down until we arrived at the aquarium. Our second taxi driver who took us back to the hotel, looked like he was having a bad day so I decided to ask how he was doing. I soon learned that, in fact, he was having a horrible day. Apparently, he had just lost a lot of money from gambling earlier in the day. I then learned that Australians are some of the biggest gamblers in the world. After listening to his story and talking until we got back to the hotel, we both decided that he needed to break his habit and find something better to do with his money. He thanked me for listening, and I, and some of my teammates, exited the cab at the hotel to get ready for dinner.

Once some of the group got back from climbing the 50 story Sydney Harbour Bridge, we all loaded the bus and went downtown to eat at the Sydney Hard Rock Cafe. The food was good, and we all purchased some type of souvenir. We went back to the hotel following dinner and headed bed to rest up for tomorrow's game against Australia's Junior National team in the afternoon.