Monday, May 29th: It's raining this morning and its chilly as well. No specific plans for today--we might go to the movies later. "The DaVinci Code" is just out and we haven't seen a movie since the end of March--hard to believe! First order of business is to return the car. That accomplished, we're off to the internet cafe to update the website with our Western Australia journal and check email. We spend most of the rest of the day window shopping. We also book the Torchlight Tour at the Fremantle Prison for Wednesday night--it's supposed to be "spooky" and the tour is enhanced by local drama students. Should be fun. Dinner is at Gino's, a fairly well-known Italian restaurant. Over drinks, we map out a plan for the rest of the week to include a visit to Rottnest Island, a day in Perth, the prison tour and the Footy match. Our "dance card" is getting pretty full! The walk back to the apartment in the chill of the evening seems to last forever, but it's actually less than 15 minutes.

Tuesday, May 30th: It's cloudy again this morning, but it's supposed to clear up and get a little warmer. The day starts off on a high note with a phone call from Trevor in Denham. He's one of the founding supporters of the Dockers and has contacted a friend of his, the VP of the club, who will be calling us shortly to invite us to some special functions before/after the match on Saturday. The call comes from Len Hitchen of the Dockers. He'll be arranging a tour of the Club facility for us this week. We're also invited to the pregame meal on Saturday for which he'll pick us up and be our host. Rick explains how we became Dockers supporters and will show Len the "Hooked on Footy" article for him to use if he wants.

It rains on and off all day, so after lunch we go to see The DaVinci Code. We've read the book and both of us enjoy the movie and think it was well done. We've heard poor reviews, but disagree. (Maybe we should start doing movie reviews on our website....). The theater is a lot like those in the US that have stadium-style seating. They are very clean, very little trash is left behind after the previous showing. We are reminded just how much we've missed good American popcorn--it's almost as good in the theater here, but almost non-existant everywhere else. We have dinner in again and watch many of the TV shows that we never bother with at home.

Wednesday, May 31st: Both of us are feeling a little ill, so we sleep in this morning. Once we get going it's too late to go to Perth so we decide to take a walk. About noon we realize that we have never returned to the Round House for the daily 1pm cannon firing. We have a quick lunch and walk over. There's still about 20 minutes until the firing, so we check out the photo exhibits in the old cell areas. One of the attendants opens the punishment stocks and Rory coerces Rick into trying them out. The stocks are wooden with holes for the head and wrists. They were used to punish prisoners when the Round House served as the first prison in Fremantle. In those days, the prisoner's ears were actually nailed to the stocks so the prisoner could not turn his face away from projectiles being hurled by onlookers. Rick escaped this part of the experience. Just before 1pm we walk up to the cannon platform. One of the attendants, Barbara, was preparing the big gun for the firing. The firing is now done via a control box that is wired to a charge in the cannon itself. We are told that the cannon could actually fire a ball, but it is now only a powder shot. Barbara asks for a volunteer to act as the Honorary Gunnery Officer, and Rory nudges Rick forward. Since there are no (actual) kids, Barbara chooses him. He's handed the control box that has been armed to fire when he pushes the "Fire 1" button. Barbara explains that the firing was the means by which ships anchored in the harbor set their clocks. There is a ball that drops (like on New Years Eve) as a visual signal as well. She starts the countdown from 10, and when she reaches 0, Rick presses the button and the cannon goes off with a flash and a loud bang!. For his skill and bravery, Rick gets a certificate that attests to the deed he has performed and procalims him Honorary Gunnery Officer.

Back at the apartment we receive a call from Len Hitchen to arrange our visit to the Dockers' facility at 10am tomorrow. Also, a prospective long-term tenant comes by the apartment. Before Vicki arrives, we provide a tour of the place, pointing out all the great facilities. By the time Vicki shows up, he's pretty well sold. We lobby for a commission....... We'll be having dinner with Vicki and Richard at Little Creatures on Friday evening. We have dinner in again--we're off to the Torchlight Tour at the Prison that begins at 8:10pm. It's a nice 10 minute walk in the cool windless evening. The tour itself is a combination of the Doing Time and Great Escapes Tours highlights. Doing it at night, using flashlights makes it an eerie experience and there are several "theatrical" enhancements along the way. Our guide, Linda, sets the stage by relating several tales of ghost sightings by previous participants. It's fun, but we don't see anything we hadn't seen before.

Thursday, June 1st: Finally, the sun is back out and it's warmed up a bit. Rory is feeling much better, but Rick is pretty sure he's got a cold coming on. A stop at the chemist (pharmacy) results in some cold pills and cough lozenges, and we're on to the Dockers' offices to meet Len Hitchen. We're greeted by Amanda who provides us tickets for the game and passes to the Admiral's Suite on Saturday. Len arrives a few minutes later and takes us on a great tour of the facility. First stop is the communications and marketing department--they're interested in the "Hooked on Footy" article that Rick wrote. Everyone wants to know the story of how we got interested in the game and how we've come to know Len. Before we leave, Keith Black, the General Manager for Corporate Affairs provides each of us with an official cap and a team guernsey (jersey), that Rick will probably try to have autographed. We continue the tour including the coaches area (we meet several of them), the media room, the strategy room, the locker room and the weight room. There are pictures in the hallways of many of the all-time great Dockers players and Rick is able to identify a few of the current players from various blown up photos on display. Len comments that Rick has been studying up. It's really a terrific tour and we are impressed, not only with the tour but also with the facility itself. Len is a wonderful host. We spend about an hour, and one of the points of interest for us is the Harbormaster Plaque, on which we locate Trevor Deacon's name. Before we leave, Amanda reminds Len that the pregame meal in the Admiral's Suite is a jacket and tie affair. Obviously we are not prepared for this, especially Rick. Len offers to bring a jacket for Rick to wear on Saturday (he and his wife, Barbara, will pick us up) and goes back upstairs to find an official tie for Rick (and one for himself). Saturday's activities will include the dinner in the Admiral's Suite, the game from the owner's box, and a postgame meeting with the players. Rick does his best to contain his excitement. Before we go, Rick buys an official team jacket and Len makes sure he gets the staff discount.

Our task now is to find Rick a pair of slacks and a dress shirt for Saturday, but we've got to find a place to eat lunch first. The menu at Sandrino's (just off the South Terrace, behind Gino's) looks promising and we enjoy one of the better lunches we've had on our trip. Our shopping completed successfully, we're back to the apartment. There is still the issue of the tickets we bought by phone while we were in Kalbarri. We don't want them to go to waste (they are non-refundable) and it will be inconvenient to try to sell them at the game. We think that maybe Richard might like to go--a phone call to him at his office takes care of that. We'll make the necessary arrangements when we see him and Vicki tomorrow night.

Friday, June 2nd: We've got nothing on our agenda today. This second week in Freo has turned out to be a "kick back and relax" week after being on the go almost constantly for the past two months. At our favorite internet cafe, Rick checks email and prints out a letter for Richard so that he can present it at the box office on Saturday and pick up the Footy tickets. We liked Sandrinos so much yesterday, we go back for lunch again and return to the apartment before 3pm. A nap seems like a good idea (us oldies need our beauty rest....) and before we know it, Richard and Vicki are here to pick us up. At Little Creatures we meet two of their friends, Sandra and Cathy, and enjoy a nice evening of food, beer and wine. They are all curious about our adventures and how we've managed to meet so many interesting people (not to mention our "in" with the Dockers). It's fun to relate these incidents, and we still can't quite believe our own good fortune. Vicki suggests we go for coffee and dessert at Gino's and we walk over from Little Creatures. It's a bit chilly, but it's a nice walk and Gino's has a reputation for the best coffee in Freo. A little cheese cake tops it off for Rick. By 11:00 (late for us), we're on our way back to the apartment. We've really enjoyed getting to know Vicki and Richard. They would make great neighbors!

Saturday, June 3rd: Rick is still feeling a little under the weather, but NOT enough to cancel our plans with the Hitchens for the Dockers game. He justs rests up until it's time to get ready. All the clothes we bought coordinate properly and Rick hasn't forgotten how to tie a tie. Len and Barbara pick us up exactly when they said they would. First order of business is for Rick to try on the jackets they have brought along. The blue double-breasted blazer fits Rick just right and we're off to the Subiaco Oval. When we get there, Len parks in a reserved spot just outside the stadium and we proceed to the Admiral's Suite for the pregame meal. We've been given the proper credentials and are ushered directly to the suite. The room holds about 190 people and we are seated at one end of the head table next to Len and Barbara. We even have place cards at our seats. The CEO of the Dockers (Cameron Schwab) is seated at the other end. We are introduced to many people connected with the team and most are curious how we've gotten here. There are preliminary speeches and presentations. Cameron gives a "state of the team" review, and in his intorductory remarks he includes us when he introduces special guests. We are wowed!! A short video about the Aussie Men's and Women's National Field Hockey Teams follows, and then Cameron gives an overview of what to look for in the Dockers vs. Richmond Tigers game. The meal is outstanding--one of the best we've had on our trip so far. The wine is equally good. After dinner, Len and Barbara lead us to the President's Box, from where we'll watch the game.

Upon entering the box, we are given pre-printed name tags and shown to our seats (which also have our names on them) in the first row (above the lower tier of seats) almost at dead center of the field. Unlike our first footy game, we have an excellent perspective of what's going on and can clearly see who has the ball and when a goal is scored. The game gets underway and the Dockers take an early lead. The first quarter ends with our lads in the lead by 12, but by half time it's tied at 48. Len is somewhat critical of the team's performance; and Barbara (who is quite knowledgeable) is not too happy either. All we can think about is that the Dockers somehow have to find a way to win, or we'll feel that we have taken advantage of everyone's hospitality. During halftime, we're invited into the coaches box from where the game strategy is executed and Cameron gives us an explanation of what goes on there. The third quarter is a disaster, and ends with the Dockers on the short end of a 77-68 score. The fourth doesn't begin much better as the Dockers fall behind by 15. All Rory can say is "Oh no!" and "This isn't good." We've been told that neither of these teams has won back to back games at home against the other. Since the Dockers won last year, it looks like the streak will continue.

The home crowd has been out-shouted by the small minority of Richmond supporters; but the the Dockers dig deep and their offense comes to life. With only a couple of minutes to go, they're down by 1 at 89-88. Have they run out of gas?? NO!! Des Headland sends the crowd wild with a 6-pointer to make it 94-89 Dockers. Rick exhorts them to score once more and with about 2 minutes to go, our old friend (Paul) Medhurst kicks one thru. The horn sounds with the Dockers on top 100-89!! We enthusiastically tell anyone who'll listen that our string is unbroken: we've seen two games and the Dockers have come from behind to win both! Cameron says we should come back, and we promise that if they make the Premier League Final (like our Super Bowl), we'll find a way to be there.

Rick gets two more treats before we leave: a visit to the locker room and a walk on the field. We've had a great time, been treated like royalty, and met more terrific people, topped by Len and Barbara. When they drop us off at the apartment, we again feel like we're leaving family behind. We hope they'll come see us in the States some time soon.

Sunday, June 4th: It's our last day in WA and it's another gorgeous one. We don't want to leave without going to Rottnest Island. We want to see the little quokkas (small marsupials who look like miniature wallabys, which look like little kangaroos...). We get a little mixed up on the ferry schedule, but the 11:30 will do fine. It's a 30 minute ride to Thornton Bay where you debark the ferry, so we'll have 4 hours to spend before the return ferry is scheduled to depart. We've been advised to take the "hop on/hop off" bus that circles the island once an hour, and then get off wherever we'd like to explore further. Since there's a nice walk between the last stop and the first, we hop off at Geordie Bay. There's a general store there and we get some drinks for our walk. Rick gets an ice cream and sits down outside to eat it. There are four quokkas wandering under the tables, looking for anything that may have dropped (you're not allowed to feed them). They are not at all intimidated by people and even allow you to pat them. They are so cute that you forget they are wild animals.