Displaced Beachbums

We love having friends and family visit our home.  FG usually picks out one of her prized stuffed toy animals for our guests to sleep with since she feels they might be ‘homesick’.   We thought when we moved to Germany in 2001, we would have a non-stop flow of visitors since we were centrally located and our house could be a “home-base” for more extensive travelling of Europe.  But then the attacks on 9-11 happened and a lot of people didn’t want to travel, preferring the safety of being close to home.

Still, there were some who wouldn’t let that stop them. Our first visitor was Heidi H. who came in October 2001.  She’s one of my closest friends and it was so fun to have her there.

My Mom was our most frequent visitor ~ coming every Christmas while we were in Germany. It’s become a tradition to have Grandma Betty with us at Christmastime.

Then in 2002, two really fun couples came to visit. 

Sometimes, I don’t always like my friends’ husbands/boyfriends.  Usually the husband is  tolerable and OK to be around but it’s so much nicer when you have a good friend and their husband is wonderful, too.  My friend, K. & her husband, S. came to visit in October 2002.  I met K. when we volunteered together at a local NC animal shelter, we went through some heart-wrenching times with the dogs we encountered there and it’s because of her, we have our current dog, Sport.  Her husband is really special ~ he is a “get it done” kind of guy and someone I would most definitely want around in a crisis.  During their visit, we drove to Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic where we toured around for the day. They wanted to continue on to Prague for a couple nights and ended up catching a BUS to Prague. Talk about adventurous. My friend, Heidi S. still teases me about abandoning my friends on a Czech bus 🙂   Not only do they look adorable in this photo but I love the reflection in the train window:

Then there is W. and S. who rank with only one other couple as my all-time favorites. There are some people who are so smart, funny and give off such a positive aura that when you’re with them you feel great ~ that would be W. and S.  They are so strong as individuals and unbeatable as a couple.  Hard to believe I’ve known them for 35 years! Yes, I was very young when I first met them 😉 In May 2002, W. and S. were in Germany and made a special trip to visit us in Weiden. I was beyond thrilled to see them and wished they could have stayed longer. Heck, I wish they lived next door! There was so much FM & I wanted to show them. At the time of their visit, they were residing in Australia so it was a VERY long trip for them. Sad thing is now that we’re here in Guam, they’re back in the states.  Hopefully, we’ll see them again soon. 

As far as being in Guam, I think we might have more visitors here then we did in Germany. Could it be the beaches, great weather or the chance to visit such an exotic faraway locale? We’re already booked for Christmas and a few people are making plans for next spring and summer. To all our friends and family, you’re welcome anytime. FG will no doubt have a fluffy, cuddly, stuffed animal waiting for you on the pillow.