Heya Footy Fans,
We're the Eagles, the West Coast Eagles.........West Coast are back on top, where they rightly belong!!! It was a bittersweet win for me, I am stoked that they captured their third flag, disappointed that the ticket I had been promised for the game fell through at the last moment :-( Nevermind, I got to watch the game with my sister in Sydney in the heart of Swan territory. I was in all my Eagles gear and surrounded by a pub full of swannies. The pub was very cool, full of girls reading LOTL magazine (LOTL - Lesbians on the Loose). What a crack up!! Sydney was dead as a doornail that night, partly because the Swans lost and all the people that jumped on the bandwagon for the game quickly sobered up. It was also the league Grand Final the next day with no Sydney teams involved for the first time ever.
The main reason for the trip over was to take a drive up the coast and visit the old man and Mum. Dee and I left early on the Monday to get to Dad's who we took to Bellingen (Adam Gilchrist's home town). Bellingen was beautiful, very natural, historic and laidback. We basically took it easy for the time we were there, late lunches, beers and afternoon siestas. That is aside from the old man and I hiring bikes and ending up lost on some mountain in the middle of hicksville! We caught up with Nathan's (Dee's quirky mate) Dad for some lawn bowls and to check out his amazing pad with a funky old balcony overlooking the forest.
After leaving Bellingen, Dee and I headed for Mums. The drive up the east coast is beautiful, lush and green and very scenic. Unfortunately I took a wrong turn at the Gold Coast which cost us about two hours in peak hour Brisbane traffic, not what you want after 6 hours of driving! It was great to catch up with Mum, Kieran and the boys who are growing up so fast. It seems each week Mum has a new story about the two older ones boozing or chasing girls......it must be genetic!!! It really was a flying visit though, a chance for me to say goodbye before heading off to Canada next year. Dev and I drove back down via Byron Bay where we stayed for a night in a cool hostel. We checked out a few of the local pubs which were pretty busy even for a Monday night. I would love to check out Byron with the lads one time, awesome town, even if its now a tourist haven.
By the time we hit the road back to Sydney Dee and I were well and truly past driving (possibly past each other too haha) and were eager to get home. Two potential speeding fines didn't help, not to mention a near miss in Brisbane where a car crossed 7 lanes of traffic and a median strip about 200 metres in front of us during peak hour! Unbelievably this guy didn't hit a thing, even the concrete wall on the far side.....nothing short of miraculous!
Back in Sydney I caught up with Rino and his mate Skip for beers and a night out on the turps. We started in Newtown before heading into a backpacker bar in the heart of Sydney. Rino picked up early and I eneded up playing the 'wingman' role for him with this girl who proceeded to use my shoulder as a pillow, before throwing up all over the floor and having us carry her out of the bar, not pretty at all!! To make it worse, Rino lucked out as well :-( The night was a crack up though, especially back at the hostel we stayed at. The poor Spanish guy we shared the room with would not have known what hit him!
Anyways, hope you're all well whatever you're up to.
Keep smiling, Ben.
