MesKiwiAdventure: Tectonic Plates along with Silver and Diamonds for Father's Day.

To everyone who has inquired about our safety during the recent earthquake in Canterbury (Christchurch area), thank you. We are a long way from the part of New Zealand that has made it through the quake. Thanksgiving that no lives were lost, and prayers and hopes for those affected by the quake as they sort out the damages while suffering through some prolonged aftershocks. With typical Kiwi industriousness and no nonsense attitude, demolition and reconstruction is already well under way.

We were up for a trip back to Auckland for Father's Day, which is celebrated the first weekend of September in New Zealand. By random chance I had noticed an advertisement for tickets available for the Constellation Cup Series of netball games between the Australian Diamonds and the New Zealand Silver Ferns on the same weekend. We were set with a goal event for the weekend, a chance to take in some local sport and see a source of national pride. Better yet, in a best of three series, with the game in Auckland the final of the series, the two teams were tied one game apiece.

Antarctic explorers at Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World

As a sporting fan, I prefer the game invented by Mr. Naismith back in 1891 in Springfield, Massachusetts, so it was interesting to learn how the game of "basquette" ball had evolved in the Commonwealth nations to become netball. The game we would be attending is a continuation of the first international competition ever contested between Australia and New Zealand in 1938. Prior to attending the game, I came to the realization that my college summer spent savoring the aroma in the state with 10 million pigs and 3 million people has finally paid off! The rules of netball and the old Iowa rules basketball that was played at the high school level in Iowa until 1993 are quite similar.

So after a fun weekend that also included some exploration of the Auckland waterfront, a trip to the Kelly Tarlton Underwater World, the Auckland War Memorial Museum, and a Chinese lunch that challenged every ones palate, we were off to Vector Arena for the game. Some face painting for the kids, mom too, and we were in our seats ready for the game.

We forgot to dress them in silver and black!

Vector is a great venue for sporting events. Roughly 15,000 seats with good views all around. As you can see from the pictures, dad does not have corporate sponsorship with the Ferns (but I do have training to stop the nosebleeds in these seats!)

The game was closely contested until the final quarter, where the Aussies pulled away to win the game 46-40. But it was not the win by the Diamonds that I found to be my present for the weekend. Instead it was the sparkle I saw in my daughter's eye, as she was enthralled by watching the game. To see McKeely lock on to the action of the tall, intelligent, athletic, and internationally competitive women role models on the court in front of her, and maybe see her future, was my most precious gift on this Father's Day.