August 14, 2004

Today was an early start, but it was well worth it. We started the day with another great breakfast in our new hotel, the Brisbane Hilton, and then set out to see some amazing animals in Australia. Our first trip of the day was to the Australia Zoo, the home of "The Crocodile Hunter". We were really hoping that Steve Irwin would be within the zoo, and we did ask, but the only mechanical response that we got was, "We are sure he is here today somewhere within these parts, but you will see him before we would." Obviously we were not naive enough to believe this response, but we understand they would lose business if they said "oohhh no, he isn't here today." That is only smart business. While at the zoo, we saw a wide range of animals from snakes, turtles, tigers, birds, Tasmanian devils, and of course, the crocodiles. We have plenty of pictures to show, and I took a few extra pictures of the snake exhibit to show my mom, only because she loves them so much. NOT!! The whole team went to the shows in the stadium, named the Crocoseum, to see birds, snakes, the cutest little baby tigers in the whole world, and then a huge crocodile. The trainers were amazing with the animals, and really did a fantastic job in explaining the different types of animals shown as well as the characteristics that each one possessed. I would highly recommend this zoo to anyone traveling to Australia, but if you can't make the trip, just watch the Animal Planet channel.

After having a great time at the zoo, we jumped into the bus and headed back to the hotel for our pregame meal at the Sizzler. We left the hotel at 5:30 p.m. to make the short trip over to the gym to get ready for our next match against a team called the Southern District Spartans and we were hoping to improve on our 2-0 record. The people at the gym were extremely nice and really seemed to be excited for us to be there. The first two games of the tour didn't feel like real games. We weren't announced to come out, didn't have the national anthem, etc. However, before tonight's game, we warmed up, got a very nice welcoming speech from the mayor, had a gift exchange between teams (where we give them a t-shirt and then they give us a souvenir), afterwards both national anthems were sung beautifully, and then we were announced. We weren't expecting all of that, but it was very nice.

The Hokies did get off to a slow start in the first 10 minutes of the game, but by the second quarter, we started to remember how to play and came back strong to win the game. We looked better at the end of the game than when we started. After the game, our hosts at the gym had a little social gathering. Once again, none of us expected it and it was really nice of them to be so cordial to our team. One member of the group that help put the social together was extra nice to Shelly, our assistant coach. We were all just socializing, about to leave the gym when all of a sudden we hear a scream, followed by laughter. We all turn around to see Shelly bright red with embarrassment; apparently, the nice man planted a farewell kiss on Shelly's cheek leaving her, as well as everyone else, in tears of laughter. They really were nice, and made a great ending to an already great day.

So, tomorrow we are going to Surfer's Paradise and of course we have another game tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully tomorrow is just as great as today.