Day 17 – 21st Dec

Our last day in LA and ….yes it’s still raining relentlessly but we battle on.

This morning a driving tour of downtown LA and Hollywood.  The boys had a look at the famous Staples Centre (the home of the LA Lakers) and then spent some time on Hollywood Boulevarde.

Group at the Staples Centre

"I wish I was that tall!"

Who is the real star in this photo?

We visited Universal Studios before going to the airport for the flight home. Let it rain, let it rain , let it rain !!

 

Boys at Universal

Tired and wet but pleased with an action packed and enjoyable trip we now all look forward to a Merry Christmas with family and friends. See y’all later.

 

Heading home sweet home. A beautiful Aussie sunrise.

 

Day 16 – 20th Dec

More rain but spirits weren’t dampened and we went to Disneyland regardless. At least the wait to get on rides was shorter than normal.

Boys at Disneyland

A last evening meal together with some sensational desserts!!

OMG! and Chris ate it all

DAY 15 – 19th Dec

A number of hours in the air.  Charlotte to Dallas, then Dallas to LA.

Off to LA

It is pouring here in LA and we hope that the rain will break for our visit to Disneyland tomorrow.

Day 14 – 18th Dec

Second day of the Mid Carolina Tournament for the Varsity team and a game against St. Joseph’s Catholic School for the JV team.

V lost 71-28

JV lost 13-22

George Macarthur-Stanham was named in the tournament All Star team – a well deserved recognition of his efforts over the past 2 days of play. 

The playing component of the trip is now over and although we come home with only 1 win and 2 games that went into overtime, in the context of the standard of the opposition, the boys did well.  A number of the host schools had won regional and State Champioships so the boys have had the opportunity to play against some very talented High School basketball players. 

A drive back to Charlotte this evening in preparation to fly out early morning for the last leg of the tour in Los Angeles.

The weather has been extremely cold in the Carolinas and the forecast for LA is very heavy rain and flood warnings!!!

Day 13 – Friday 17th Dec

Wet and cold today but there is no snow falling. A visit to the campus of the University of North Carolina this morning (where Michael Jordan played his College basketball).

Jordan at the Basketball museum

The group visited the excellent Museum of Basketball and had a snow ball fight with the remnants of yesterday’s snowfall.

UNC campus

Varsity team played in a tournament game vs Silver Bluff High School.  The team played very well and the score is no indication of the quality of the game. The boys are definitely improving.

V lost 48-76

Silver Bluff game

Day 12 – Thursday 16th Dec

A snow storm started at around 4.00 am and roads became icy and slippery. 

The view from the hotel window this morning

 

Unfortunately the visit to Duke was cancelled due to dangerous conditions for large vehicles but the College game in the evening was held between Carolina State and Youngstown.  The boys had a great time. 

Carolina State vs Youngstown

Boys supporting the 'Wolfpack'

Day 11 – Wednesday 15th Dec

A long coach ride to Mt Airy High School for games this evening.  Very cold but no snow here.

Exciting JV game that went into double overtime.  A couple of timely possessions by the other team and the fulltime siren gave Mt Airy the win.  A great effort by the boys.

JV game start

JV lost 39-42 (2 O/T)

The Mt. Airy Varsity team taught our boys a lot about physical defence - lessons to take home to the GPS competition.

V lost 22-53

National anthem again

The local sheriff is often “a spectator” at the High School games over here !!

Just to keep those wild Aussies in line

We drove on to Raleigh after the games, arrived in the early hours of the morning so the group will definitely be having a sleep in before going on a tour of Duke University.