OK dudes,
Here is a big update! I have been super lazy about getting a post up, but at the same time, super busy finding things to do to make my next post more entertaining!

Probably one of the more interesting things i have done lately, is getting the opportunity to go to Augusta to watch the US Masters practise round. Keally’s dad, “Oldy Dave”, got tickets through his work, and thought it would be a great experience for me to see the Augusta in the flesh. It was a fantastic experience, and i feel very lucky, as the Masters golf tournament is arguably the most exclusive event in the world to try and get tickets to, especially for an Australian!

Even for the practise round, there are still so many people at Augusta. It is pretty amazing really, but if people can get tickets, for any day, they take the opportunity to see the amazing course.

Here is the club house, with the flowers neatly arranged into the shape of the USA. Everything was just curated to perfection. Everything is so green too, including the winner’s jacket!

This is a photo of Amen Corner. If you could see it up closer, and have seen any pictures of Augusta golf course before, this is probably what you have seen. One of the holes down there is the one where they hit onto the water-surrounded green, and there is that old stone bridge across the water.

It is absolutely amazing to see this course in person, even if you are not a golf fan. If you have a taste for nature, or the outdoors, you will find it stunning. It is just amazing the care and perfection put into every aspect of this place. Dave was telling me that the course is closed for a good part of the year, where the curators tear up the whole course, every bit of grass, and clean it all out, then plant new grass to make sure it is in the best condition for the following year’s tournament. On top of that, there are big machines laid under the grass to suck the moisture out of it, to make sure it wont stay too wet after it gets watered. It is pretty weird, because you will be walking along, and hear some big generators going, and can’t see anything, except for a tiny little air vent in the ground. Pretty impressive.

I also got to watch former US Open winner, and fellow Melburnian, Geoff Ogilvy play. Geoff is pretty impressive, and an interesting thing we noticed about him, was that he had an advertisement for Mojo Pies on the side of his golf bag. It turns out Geoff misses Aussie meat pies so much when he is in the States, that he decided he would start a meat pie company here in the US!
Here is his swing in action:

Another crazy thing at Augusta is the food. It is amazing that for such an exclusive event, the food is so cheap. We got a couple of sandwiches, chocolate, and drinks, for something like $8 or less! The food is still the same price as it was years ago! It also comes in green wrappers, so that if the wrappers don’t make it to the bin, they wont make the course look messy on television.

We have also been heading into BBQ season right now. The weather is getting better, and the sun is now out longer, so that calls for starting up the barbie and having a good time! The first barbeque for the year was a week or so back, to help celebrate my team mate Dan’s birthday. We had a great time, and it has kick-started the idea, and need, for a lot of barbeques! Wicked! We have a great patio outside the apartment, and makes for a great entertaining area:

Last weekend we raced a Georgia Cup in Chattanooga, where, by the way, Frank won all three stages and the GC! We raced really well together, and hopefully it is a sign of good things to come in some of the better races coming up. We headed out for a bite to eat at Lupi’s pizza place, a favourite for anyone who has stayed with Eddy Hilger up on Lookout Mountain! As you can see by the photo, the calzones Lupi’s make, are HUGE! It is a real effort to get through them, and they are awesome!

It was great to see my old team mate Eddy and his family up in Chattanooga, and his kids have grown up so much! This is what they looked like in 2006! They have grown up a lot now, and while i don’t have a current picture of them, i did get to race against little Kenzie in the kids race, which she beat me in!

In other news, we had a squirrel stuck in the front of the apartments! It was a little baby one, and couldn’t get out of the area it was stuck, and into the trees. I spent a fair bit of time trying to help him escape, and eventually Dan rocked up, and we were able to get him out. We’re not sure how long after that it took for him to get run over by a car?!?!

There has been a bit more pollen in the area too, but hopefully it is nearly gone now. Here is the last of it, i hope:

One last picture to update on! My good mate Bruno has been training up in Quebec. It seems like it has been a bit colder up ther than it is down here! He is always carrying on about how hard he is going to be because of the training in the snow. I guess it worked, because he has now won four races in five starts, with a second placing in there! Hopefully he can get back to racing pro soon! Check out how high that snow is!

Well, there is a bit of an update on what i have been up to. Racing is finally about to start for us here, with our first race coming up this weekend at the Athens Twilight. I should be able to shoot out a few more updates in the coming weeks, as i will have some races to write about.

Hope everyone in Australia is going well!

Laters dudes…

About 200,000,000 M&Ms are sold each day in the United States.