The Shorn Dome

Haputo Beach Teaser

I like to call it the teaser because you hike roughly half a mile through mosquito infested forest - albeit bueatiful, but infested only to arrive what is the beach on all the post cards. You are the only person there - all you can hear are the waves crash on the coral. Powder soft sand, and water that is as clear as far as you can see. We put on our snorkel gear and get about 100 yards off the shore - nemo and all his friends are swimming around you and the local Guamanian authorities let us know the beach is closed - teaser. Haputo Beach, so far the most awesome beach I've ever been to. I immediately thought whatever the price is to get Jenn out here would be worth it so she could see this beach - she wouldn't dig the hike though.

Swine Roast - Teragge Beach

Pig roast - Teragge Beach here on the base. We had an Ops/Maintenance beach barbecue tonight. It's been a long week for everyone here with alot of the crews getting back from Korea so it was good to relax on the beach and enjoy some swine with some warm beer. I wished I had some after pictures of the pig, there was nothing left but his nugget...and I'm pretty sure that some of the maintenance dudes had enough to drink that it was probably eaten as well.

Guam Critters

I figured Cole and Brad would like these. There are a few things here there are no shortages of - and that's wildlife. If you find yourself outside before the sun is up or after it sets watch where you step. These lizards are all over the place - everytime I see one I think of the boys and how much fun they'd have chasing them around. Also I need to keep up my lizard catching proficiency so I'm not afraid to snag one from time to time.

In addition to lizards this place is crawling with little hermit crabs and these other crabs which are everywhere and yet virtually invisible. The nice thing is they make a neat pop sound when you step on them on the coral because well - you just can't see them. They're actually lightning fast but it seems as if they try to quickly move underneath your foot to hide...POP! Like stepping on a ketchup packet.

BMOT- The little red steed

Basic Mode Of Transportation. I had to free myself from the shackles of 4 minivans for over 60 aircrew. I told myself I wasn't going to do it but I couldn't pass up this little red steed. I'm about to take it out on her maiden voyage to work. It's about a 3/4 mile ride from our hooch. I know - it doesn't sound like a bad walk - but it's no kidding all up hill, against the wind and you get attacked by these black birds the whole time you're walking.

Navy Guam Beaches

This is one of the beaches at the Navy base in Hagatna Guam. The water is about 85 degrees and it's the clearest water I've seen at a beach. It's not your traditional beach since it's about 4 feet deep and coral floor until about 50-75 yards from the shore then it drops off to over 100 feet deep. All of Nemo's friends are out there. Really as soon as you get in the water you're surrounded by fish it's very cool. We spent the afternoon snorkeling here while some of the other guys went scuba diving. There are some excellent dive spots around here where there are some planes and boats left over from WWII. The little hermit crabs are all over the place. I can just see Cole and Brad going ape over all the crabs.

Anderson Links

Anderson AFB golf course - $45 a month all you can play. I guess there won't be any excuse for not tightening up my golf game. The course is really nice - butted up against the cliffs and the ocean. If you can get past the 90% humidity it's actually a sweet setup. You can call ahead - give them your member number and they'll let you walk on to any hole that's not being played. Each cart has GPS so they know where the majority of everyone is at on the course - unless you're brave enough to walk. The greens are little postage stamps and they're lightening fast. The first time I played I putted it off the green and it rolled another 50 yards into the fairway. You also have to watch out for falling coconuts. I missed getting my cranial crushed on #7 by about 3 feet. It's time for work.

A First for everything

Wierd - first father's day away from the little ones. I'm trying to remember looking back if dad was ever gone for father's day. I'm sure he was and I wonder how he felt about it. I was fine until I read Jenn's blog and it made me think about how the boys feel - not so much now but after I've been gone for a couple months. A steady dose of Wii and transformers can only go so far in keeping them sidetracked. I'm off to bed. This picture is normally how I look after staring at the computer trying to figure out why my internet connection sucks so bad. We're paying for 2200Kb/s transfer rate but we're getting 15...the Guamanians could care less...Happy Father's day, it's hard to miss important dates since we get them in advance.

Almost like home

It could be a lot worse. Minus Jen taking care of me, 2 screaming boys, homecooked food, 2 yappy dogs and a cat that jumps in the shower while I'm washing my hair - it feels like home. Really I set my expectations very low and this place has easily exceeded them. I guess if you're going to have to be away from the family this isn't a bad place to be. So far I haven't left the base and explored greater Guam but I'll have plenty of time to do that later. I flew this morning and it was glorious raging around the island and out over the ocean. There are several cliffs around the island making for some good scenery from the sky. It's tough to beat the mountains around Idaho but this is a good change for a while. All in all the days have gone by very quick highlighted by being able to get back and talk to Jen on skype and listening to the stunts the boys have pulled every afternoon. God bless the 30 pound brain that came up with internet.

The 2nd must stop

Giovannis shrimp shack - look it up. A close 2nd to Pearl Harbor. It's on the North shore of Oahu in some tiny little town. It may look like an rv but it's actually a little slice of heaven on 4 wheels. The spicy garlic shrimp was awesome - and it kept the bugs away for the next 3 days. The other is a seared ahi tuna wrap, also infuego. I still can't believe this food came out of that piece of an rv.

Pearl Harbor

What an awesome and sobering place. We were able to come visit for a couple of hours and it is a must stop for anyone visiting Oahu. There are actually still bullet pock marks on the hangars and other buildings at Hickam from the Japanese attacks back in '41. It was interesting to see that there were actually more Japanese visitors than American.

Could be worse

I was stuck living on the 25th floor of the Waikiki Beachcomber while we were in Hawaii. It was an awesome place and a good break before the real work begins. I should have packed more than a single pair of shorts and undies for the 4 days we were here waiting for all the jets to get in.

leaving on a jet plane

This is my first stab at this and I'm doing it on my phone. All in all the flight out was smooth except for the back of the C17 where I was at was freezing and the front was cooking. It wasn't easy saying goodbye to Jenn and the boys - especially when Cole made me come back to the car after I was dropped off so we could say a group prayer. I'll add more in Hawaii. oh, I found out we'll be there for 10 days. Maybe I should have brought more than 1 change of clothes in my carry on.