An Irish Christmas

Upon returning from my trip to the desert I was able to gather at a fine St. Charles establishment and celebrate the holiday season with a group of Irish friends on the Sister Cities/Irish Heritage club.
It was an intimate affair but the evening was splendid with Irish coffee and plenty of merriment to go around the room, and the Irish Session players who showed up to provide the music added a nice little touch as well.
To see some of the pictures from the Irish Holiday Social, click on the headline above.

Watching Cardinals Fly

Had a great time visiting the Arizonia Cardinals this past weekend and catching up with an old friend who is now the tight ends coach for the team.

Made the trip with longtime friend Paul from college and it was great to visit with him on the plane ride there.

Click on the headline above to see a slideshow from the game.

The Buck Slayer

Well I was just about to give up on my third day of hunting on deer season, after a Saturday adn Sunday of going out and not even seeing a deer, with about an hour left of daylight I was about to gather my stuff and head back then, but then this small 7 pointer came out of the woods and walked along the brushline until I dropped him where he stood with one shot. Not a big buck by any means, but for my first one I was pretty proud of the shot, to see some more photos click on the headline above.

Neglected Blog-- Back in the Game Though

As you can tell by the dates of the below entries this blog has been overlooked and neglected, but that will change now, a promise of more up to date posts and current ramblings to come over the next few months which will hopefully lead to more regular updates on a long term basis.

World Series Celebrations

While I didn't have a ticket for the game 5 World Series Championship clincher, it was a memorable experience as I headed downtown with my brother Jeff and dear friend Bookem (Dan Breneman) to just be close to the action.

We couldn't really see much of the game, even at the bars that had the game on a TV they were so packed it was tough to get a good view, but to be in the streets as the celebration ensued was awesome.

Click on the headline above to see some photos from Friday's festivities.

Melbourne's Sporting Highlights

Well my last few hours in Melbourne, in Australia for that matter, are drawing to a close.
With my last full day in town I decided to hit the streets and see what I could find, I know the hotel was within walking distance to two hallowed grounds for sports in Australia and I was able to not only find them, but do tours at each. Rod Lavor Arena plays hosts to the Australian Open tennis tournament every year and the Melbourne Cricket Ground is one of the oldest sporting venues in all of Australia and both were fun to see up close in person.
The tour of Rod Lavor ended up being a private one as I was the only one who signed up for the 2:30 tour, so that was kind of cool. The picture above is of me in the post-match press conference room holding court with the imaginary throngs of media I had to deal with, the tour guide got a good laugh over my antics as she took the photo.
The Melbourne Cricket Ground tour was interesting all together, I still don't really grasp the whole idea of the sport, I mean how can you call it a sport when they have a "tea break" and a "lunch break" and some of the "tests" can last as long as 5 days, are you kidding me? But still I can appreciate history and people who rise to the top of their game. The ground was actually used as a military base during WWII as a staging area for U.S. soldiers, who about them apples?
You can see all the photos of the sporting tours, click on the headline above:
After the tours I took to the streets of the city where I came across the "Shrine of Rememberance" which is kind of a WWII memorial but encompasses a lot of the country's military history.
My journey, at least in terms of photos, wrapped up with a visit to St. Patrick's Cathedral. There is a lot of Irish influence down here, and there is a funny story about that, ask me next time you see me, and the cathedral is a perfect example of that. The native "blue stone" used to build it really gives the church a characteristic you won't find at any other St.Patrick's.
To see photos of the surroundings of the city, including the cathederal, check on the blog entry below for the link.
Well it is Thursday night in Melbourne, I am all packed and ready to go, I am going to hit the poker table in hopes of doing two things :a) winning some money and maybe even playing against riegning World Series of Poker champion as the Crown is his "home" casino and he reportedly got into town yesterday and b) staying up as late as possible to try and sleep for most of the plane ride to help me suffer as little jet-lag as possible upon my return. But, as they say, the best laid plans. . .
Cheers and see you all soon.

Melbourne's St. Patrick's Cathedral

Click on the headline above to see a small photo album of photos from St. Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne.

Melbourne City Photos

Click on the headline above to see more misc photos from Melbourne's cityscape.

Down Time in Melbourne

Well the conference is over now, and I think was a success but no need to bore you with those details.
Had some down time today so I took a tour of the Great Ocean Road, which runs along the cost near Melbourne.
Among the highlights of the tour was seeing the 12 Apostles Rock formation (photo above) and Shipwreck Bay, a imposing rock formation that gets its name because so many ships met their demise in the 1800s after getting caught in storms or fog oonly to ram right into the rocks and drop to the bottom of the ocean.
Had Billy Tea and vegimite today too.
The photo you see here on the post is a self-shot LOL):
The trip is almost over as I have only one real day left (it is already Wed. night here) so I have Thursday which is going to be a work day in the hotel as I have loads of issues to tend to and calls to sit on, but I hope to get out in the afternoon and see some of the city sites as well as take in some poker here at the Crown Casino in Melbourne.
Cheers

New Perspective on Bridge Climb

I had time to upload some new pics that I took on my last day in Sydney, they give you a little more perspective of what it is like to do the Bridge Climb, as I took them from an observatory tower on the bridge on Sunday. Those can be found by clicking on the headline above.

The Great Ocean Road

Not sure if it is the simplicity of the road names themselves or just the fact that the splendor you get to see when youd drive down them, but one of my two favorite places in the world now is the Great Ocean Road outside of Melbourne, joined with of course the Great Sky Road in the west of Ireland. The views on both were breathtaking, click on the headline above to see some shots from the great ocean road in Melbourne.