more pics from the Gilley's Shield...

Australian National Champions

I just got back from our last softball tournament in Canberra. After three final games of seeding play, we finished ranked number two going into the play-offs for the Gilley's Shield.  The shield is the pinnacle trophy for Australian Softball.  Western Australia last won the shield in 1959.

The first round of play-offs was the 1st ranked team (New South Wales) against the 2nd (us).  We beat NSW 1-0 in seven innings which sent us straight to the championship game the following day. NSW went on to play the winner of the 3rd vs. 4th ranked team. NSW won and came back to face us again on Sunday for the championship game.  It was a very tight game, we went 7 scoreless innings with them, then put two runs up in international tie breaker only to have them come back and hit a two-run homer to tie up the game again. However, in the 9th inning we pushed in a run and held them to clinch the Gilley's Shield! It was an unnervingly close game down to the final out.

It was amazing to be a part of such a huge win and a great team effort. This was a dream come true for my Australian teammates and I feel really lucky to be a part of the victory. So after 51 years, WA softball brought home the Gilley's Shield. I also received the best pitching award for the nation which is a big honor.  This has definitely been the perfect ending to my softball career.  I'm really lucky to exit on such a high note. Thanks to everyone back home, no matter how far away I am I always feel the support and love from my family and friends.

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Vday to everyone back home.  The Minnesota Gopher softball team started their season this past weekend with a tournament in the Metrodome.  While I wasn't able to support the team at the dome I did follow their progress in the tournament daily on good ol' gophersports.com.  Congrats to Dannie Scrovie on her homerun!

My local team has completed our season here in Western Australia and now the state team is focusing in on our final national competition coming up this weekend.  On Wednesday we will be flying to Canberra where we will compete in a 3-day tournament which decides the winner of the Gilly's Shield.  Going into our last tournament we are on top of the rankings and look to bring home the shield for the first time in the past 50 years.  Our coach is getting anxious to start play so he has us practicing everyday leading up to our trip. I guess no matter where you are all coaches are the same :)

After tracking down corn syrup over here, I have finally introduced Australia to Special K Bars.  The first batch was a huge hit and I'm already getting pressured to make more.  If my college degree doesn't pull through for me I guess I can always fall back on my baking skills :)

Chew on this

While on "holiday" in Perth we took a two day "holiday within our holiday" and ventured south a couple hundred klicks to the Margaret River wine region. The area is dotted with great wineries as well as specialty shops. In addition we sampled the culinary delights at a chocolate factory as well as a cheese factory. The pictures below are at a winery we visited which sat upon a man made lake. The winery (name escapes me) was formerly a farm and they converted the fields to vineyards. They also created a lake and built a modern retail and tasting facility over hanging the lake. We arrived shortly after a tour bus group and they were in the process of having lunch while sampling their wine. As we were bellied up to the bar conducting our own taste test the tour operator emerged from a backroom carrying a tray covered with a linen napkin. I stopped him and inquired as to the secret lay hidden under the cloth. He couldn't be more happy that I was so nosy as he proceeded to toss back the napkin to reveal a plump grub worm (my description, not his). He was preparing to chop this into delectable little morsels and serve it as dessert to his entourage. I'm sure it tasted like chicken, but I wasn't interested to find out. We watched as his group squeeled when he revealed what was behind "door number 1". Some actually took him up on his dare as they gulped it down the hatch. One of the winery employees who had seen this ploy many times informed us that no matter how savory tasting he makes it sound, it still tastes like foul mush, or something to that effect. We took our last swallows of wine and quickly exited the premise, making sure we put some distance between us and the tour group.
- Paul Hassett (guest blogger)

Mmmmm.

Bon Apetit !

Winery deck overlooking lake with vineyards in background.

 

Doin' Time

Prior to our trip to Australia I was trying to locate some information on Briana's softball team. Getting somewhat frustrated I simply Googled "Hassett Australia". Well, I found an interesting story about a guy named Thomas Hassett who was an Irish political prisoner back in the 1860's who was sent to Fremantle Australia to serve a life sentence for deserting the British army. I won't go into long details, but he had every right to desert as he had joined the Fenians, a group of Irishmen determined to rid Ireland of British rule once and for all. As it so happens, I had a great-great grandfather named Thomas Hassett who also lived in Ireland around this time. Please remember these 2 facts (Thomas Hassett and Irish) as they will serve valuable later on.

Once in Perth our host family, Rick and Carolyn, suggested we pay a visit to the port city of Fremantle. One of the main sites of Fremantle is the old prison. I relayed my story of Thomas Hassett and how I had read that he was one of only 6 prisoners to ever escape. The story is well known and even served as one of the featured stories of the PBS series "Secrets of the Dead". Well, Rick being of Irish descent, and prone to some story telling of his own, was well aware of the story of the Fenians. Upon our arrival to the prison Rick immediately sought out an expert on the story. Within minutes a gentleman rushed up to me and said "are you the relative?". I explained my 2 facts (see above) and said that's all I know at the moment. It seems Brendan, our guide (who is an expert on the history of the Fenian escape aboard the Catalpa) was pretty sure I was a direct descendant of old Thomas. As we took the tour (directed by Brendan) he proudly pointed out to all my profound lineage. I even got to sit in the same cell as Thomas had once occupied. At the end of our tour pictures were taken with Brendan and I behind the wrought iron gates of the Fremantle prison. We exchanged contact information and I promised I would follow up with detail of my family tree. As it turns out we may not have the same Thomas in mind, however the options of some form of relationship (cousins, etc.) cannot yet be ruled out. I am now dedicating the rest of my life to solving this mystery. As Brendan said, if you are in fact a descendant, you will be the only one of the 6 escapees relatives to have ever come back to the prison. I just hope he doesn't reserve a permanent cell for me if my story doesn't check out ! I'm just sticking by my 2 facts.
- Paul Hassett (guest blogger)
Editor's note : Mr. Hassett does freelance writing every year at Christmas, known as the Hassett Christmas letter.

Briana preparing to be flogged (as Thomas Hassett once was)

Batter up !

No, this isn't another softball update. I'm talking real bats here, that of the two winged variety. It is fact that the Australian state of Quensland is home to more than 100 million fruit bats. Well, we got a chance to see at least half of them up close and personal. On our first day of walking the parkways of Sydney we were informed by a friendly Aussie bloke that a bat was hanging in a tree just over our heads. "That's no bat, it's a Yorkie terrier hanging by its feet". Upon further inspection we relized that the entire tree was laden with huge fruit bats, with wing spans at least 3 to 5 feet wide. If one has ever pondered what served as the creative inspiration behind Frank Baum's flying monkey men, look no further than the fruit bats (aka. megabats or flying foxes) of eastern Australia. Like all good bats they hang in trees by day and at dusk they emerge to gorge themselves on fruit and insects. And emerge they do. In tropical Cairns they would flood the sky every night at dusk. From our hotel balcony on the 7th floor one could almost reach out and grab them as they swooped above the tree tops. The pictures provided illustrate how the sky is darkened with bats every evening. The close up is a little blurry as I tried to catch a specimen in mid-flight, however the eerie bat features are quite pronounced. As we strolled along the "Esplanade" after dinner one evening we passed under a tree. At that instant a creature dropped down (probably 6 feet over our heads), spread its enormous wings, and took flight. Tere and Briana thought I was getting a bit obsessed with these flying rats until I pointed out a newspaper article citing 3 locals who were all bit by the same bat. It seems the last of the three was the athlete of the group as he cold cocked the critter with a swing of his arm. But alas, the creature was found to have a form of rabies and now all 3 blokes are undergoing a 2 year treatment of painful shots. So if you find yourself in eastern Australia, walking the streets at night, I caution you to beware. At the very least be sure to hang out with people taller than yourself.
- Paul Hassett (guest blogger)

Update

After returning from tropical Cairns, my parents and I spent a week touring around Western Australia.  The week was filled with a trip down south to the wineries, boating down the Swan River, watching some softball at the club, spotting koala bears at the park, sightseeing at the fishing docks, kaoraking into the late hours, and meeting lots of friends, family, and teammates of mine here down under. 

The week was jammed pack and I sent my parents back off to America looking pretty worn.  My dad will be making a guest appearance to tell the infamous story of Thomas Hassett and his escape from the Freemantle jail here in Australia. 

Crocodile Dundee

Since our trip to the rainforest, we have also spent a day on a private island where we did some snorkeling, boating, and hiking around the island.  It was a fun adventure and my mom was happy to see that none of us got stung by jelly fish.

Today we went on a crocodile tour and it did not disappoint! Here are some pictures of our day...

Save the Rainforest

Yesterday we ventured away from the pool and went on a 12 hour rainforest excursion.  We did everything from petting kangaroos and wallabees, hiking through the rainforest, swimming in the rainforest creek, enjoying the beautiful beaches, encountering numerous exotic bugs and animals, eating an australian bbq, and tasting fresh exotic fruit.  It was a fun and long day.... here's some pics, enjoy!

Recovering at the Pool

After a 5-day, 10-game tournament in the Queensland heat, our team unfortunately finished 2nd.  We entered playoffs ranked first and lost the championship game in extra innings. It was a tough loss to stomach after fighting so long in the heat to lose at the very end.  However, our next, and final, tournament in February is the big one where we will hopefully redeem ourselves!

My parents have arrived in Australia safely.  They spent their first few days touring Sydney where my dad enjoyed the fresh fish market.  Then they came up to watch the last 3 days of our tournament in Brisbane.  Now we all are up at the Barrier Reef in Cairns where so far we haven't had much motivation to do anything more than enjoy the pool.

Family Time

My parents are officially on the plane over to visit me in Australia.  I'm flying out today for Brisbane where I will be playing in a 5 day tournament.  My parents will arrive in Sydney and spend a few days there sightseeing, then they will come up and catch the last few of my games in Brisbane. After the tournament we all will head up to Cairnes on the Great Barrier Reef for a week long vacation. After we have our fill of snorkling and rainforest hikes we will all come back to Perth where my parents will stay for a week before they head back home to the snow and a very lonely cat.

It will be a hectic couple weeks but I am very excited and will try to update whenever possible.