MOTOGP 2010

We enjoyed the MOTOGP at Phillip Island so much last year, that we just had to go again!  Last year it was probably my favourite sporting event - a trip to Phillip Island, a beautiful day and a great atmosphere!  This year we had again got tickets for the Sunday - and on the Friday it absolutely poured with rain all day, and it wasn't much better on the Saturday - it wasn't looking good!

Saturday night we went to the Perry's for tea, and then Mark came to stay at ours for the night so that Mark, Darren and I could leave from our place for the early start on Sunday morning.  As the evening wore on, it became clear that Darren was not relishing the thought of standing in a muddy field, cold and wet all day.  Because it's at Phillip Island, the coaches drop you off around 8am and then don't leave until after 5pm - a long day if the weather is nasty as there's not much chance of shelter!

So Sunday morning, Darren dropped Mark and I off at the catch-a-coach point, and headed back to bed!

Not to be put off, Mark and I got off the coach in the rain, brolly in hand to walk around the course, ankle deep in mud!!!

It didn't take long for the rain to stop though, and after that it only rained for about 10 minutes just before lunch and then it turned into a lovely sunny afternoon.  Because it had been bad weather it meant that it wasn't so busy, so Mark and I could spend some time looking round the expo.  With a bit of coaxing Mark agreed to play 'Spin the Wheel' - and he's glad he did because he won the jackpot - $250 pair of motorbike gloves!  I on the other hand won a helmet bag - that will come in handy!  And I also got Cameron Donald's autograph (aparently he's famous!)

I would love to be able to tell you about the actual races, but unfortunately I was there for the day out rather than the racing!  So here's some pictures instead!

So what started off as a soggy day ended with me eating ice cream and going home with a sunburnt nose!   I can't remember the last time that Mark and I spent a day together, just us two.  As kids it's was always with mum and dad and as adults it's always been with our better halves.  So cheers, Mark - great day!!!!

Aussie-versary!

Can you believe that we've been down under for a whole year!!!  In some ways (missing family and friends), it seems like we've been away for a lifetime, but in others (still so many new things to do) it seems like we've only just got here!

When we arrived last year we missed the AFL Grand Final.  It's a really big thing here, and our team - St Kilda - were playing so it was our chance to get involved.  So September 25, we headed to the St Kilda Fan Zone Live Site, where there was a big screen showing the game, and plenty of support.

INXS played before the game!

Collingwood (The Magpies) were hot favourites as they aimed for their first flag since 1990, while the Saints wanted to erase the bad memories of last year's loss to the Cats.

Collingwood were leading 50-26 at halftime, but St Kilda fought back to force a thrilling 68-all draw - only the third drawn grand final in AFL/VFL history.  All very exciting as I expected it to go to extra time - but no!  They were set to replay the grand final the same time the following week!
 
So with a feeling of de-ja-vu, October 2nd we headed back to St Kilda!  This time there were even more St Kilda fans packed into the fan zone live site - only to be disappointed!  Collingwood defeated St Kilda by 56 points - boo!!!!!

In between the first and second grand final of 2010, Darren and I bought a car!!!  We thought it was about time that we gave ourselves some more freedom to explore more of what Australia has to offer!  Much as we love Melbourne and being close to the city, it's time to go further afield and at the very least see what the rest of Victoria has for us!  The car is a Peugeot 307 - a bit smaller than Darren is used to and a bit bigger than I'm used to so a happy compromise!  I've only driven it once so far - the night that it was delivered - around the block!  It's an automatic, and I've only ever driven a manual, and I nearly gave us whiplash as I pulled into the side of the road!  I took my right foot off the accelerator and put my left foot on the clutch (which of course was the brake!), followed by my right foot also on the brake!  Needless to say, we stopped quite abruptly!
 
This week has been quite busy too!  I took my Black Belt Six Sigma exam (still waiting for the results!), went to see The Script, and today Darren and I did the Melbourne half Marathon.  Well that's a whole marathon between us!  Last year we did 5km of it, so this year it was quite a jump to do the half marathon!  The weather was perfect, the course was great, but we're now both walking around like we're 90!!!  Darren has sworn that he will never, ever do it again!  We'll see.........