My name is Barry… (aka Wally) from the
Wanneroo Basketball Association in Perth, Western Australia.
When I was first asked to accompany 28 excitable 16 to 18 year olds
and only 4 “grownups” to America for 5 weeks it was
a scary thought. How would it all come together with such a large
party? Surely it would be a logistical nightmare.
Not so.
From start to finish, everything was organized to the letter by
Aussie Travelers.
From flight connections to accommodation to tours, everything ran
exactly how it was supposed to.
Even when we did need to speak to someone, we were able to reach
David Greenburg 24 hours a day if need be. David also touched base
with us at least every 3 or 4 days to make sure everything was OK.
We played basketball at 8 different High Schools from one end of
Kentucky to the other over 12 days. Everything fell into place beautifully
and made it an experience to enjoy instead of one filled with stress.
We were able to relax and enjoy the Southern hospitality and fried
chicken.
From Kentucky we traveled to New York City, Orlando, San Francisco
and Honolulu before heading home.
We were away from home for 5 weeks, caught 13 flights in all, stayed
in 8 different motels, had the children home stayed with school
and church groups and went on tours of places such as Alcatraz,
Pearl Harbor, Madison Square Garden and Ground Zero, as well as
an NBA game and a College ball game, Universal Studios and Disneyworld.
Tickets were waiting for us every time and transport turned up to
collect us on time……….except for one time!!
The biggest drama we had on the tour was when the bus that was booked
to take us to the airport in New York for our departure to Orlando
broke down and didn’t show up to collect us.
Panic set in, and after a quick phone call to David back in Sydney
we started hailing taxis.
All of a sudden, like an angel sent from heaven, a guy in an old
school bus pulled up and asked where we were going. A quick business
transaction was completed and we were on our way to catch an airplane.
All in all the tour was a great success, giving the children from
the Wanneroo Basketball Association the trip of a lifetime.
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