New Sports/Old Sports

Greetings from the greatest island in all the land. It has been a great few weeks, and am looking forward to reporting out on some of my adventures.

Larry and I ventured out last weekend for another round of golf at Kingston Links (http://www.kingstonlinks.com.au/html/index.htm ) just south of Melbourne. The course was in great shape and the scores for the day were equally as good. Larry, who has been playing less than a year, shot a 95 or so. I had a 84 (43/41). I think my score was due in large part to the new putted I purchased on Saturday with a portion of my winnings from the poker table the previous evening. I’ve included a few pics from the course.


Sunday was the day of new sports. I traveled to St. Kilda beach (20 min tram ride) with Ethan for my first Lawn Bowling event. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawn_bowling It was a great day on the lawn, and the game was quite fun and relaxing. You can get an idea of the facilities via the picks below. The game was basically a cross between bocce ball and bowling. What a great combo.

We continued our evening with ‘a few’ additional beers down at St. Kilda beach with the 15 or so folks that met up for the bowls. I got a crash course in Cricket from the guys that had been down for several months. I think I’ll need several more crash courses before I’ll be able to understand/enjoy that game. I’ve included a shot from the beach, and a pic with Ethan and the infamous “Ute” vehicle with which he is infatuated. To me it is nothing more than a glorified El Camino.

This weekend, the one wrapping up now, was pretty laid back. I went into the office yesterday to help out for a few hours. Last night was dinner at my favorite steak place, Squires Loft, http://www.squiresloftcity.com.au . The best steak I have had since getting here.

On Sunday I played in the Melbourne Corporate Games as part of the 6-on-6 mixed volleyball event. We went 2-1, not too bad for a bunch of workaholics. The real sporting event started up at 12 noon here (8pm Saturday back east). The IRON BOWL!!! I was able to watch the final quarter, as my beloved Auburn Tigers held off the University of Alabama Saban 17-10. It was the sixth year in a row. I memorialized the event with a pic from the living room.

Don’t look to hard at the photo. Yes, that is a mustache or “mo” as they call them here. I am participating in the annual rite of passage known as Movember. http://www.movember.com/au/home/
Don’t worry Stephanie, it will be gone before you next see me.

Until next time,
Matt

p.s. This place is starting to grow on me more each day. You can’t image how refreshing it is to be surrounded by some of the happiest, most pleasant people in the world. It is highly contagious.