Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

Rainy Days and Movies

Posted in movies, Travel on Sunday, 20 August, 2006| 9 Comments »

It’s been very rainy here in Guam and, since we are fair-weather boonie stompers, I’ve been catching up on a lot of movies I missed while in Germany and also getting my money’s worth from Netflix. I went through an “F” phase: “Failure to Launch”, “Flightplan”, “Fever Pitch”, and “Firewall”. The only one which I found mildly entertaining was Fever Pitch.  The others got fast-forwarded or shut off completely.  Sure glad I didn’t waste my time going to see these films at a theater.

Last night, FG and I watched “March of the Penquins” ~ Loved it! First off, I hate the cold and, since I tend to empathize rather than sympathize, I was “uncomfortable” throughout the movie, but it was worth it.  I never knew the sacrifices penguins go through to procreate: the moms losing a third of their body weight to produce an egg, the dads not eating for 4 months to keep the egg warm, staying out in 80 below temperatures, both parents trekking 70 miles between the breeding grounds and the ocean (multiple times), etc. Makes us humans look downright selfish as parents  😉  If you haven’t had a chance to see it, I highly recommend it. Good family viewing.

I need to add to my Netflix rental list, so let me know if you have any movie recommendations for me.

Read Full Post »

Where America’s Day Begins…

Posted in Guam, Travel on Friday, 18 August, 2006| 6 Comments »

In the last week, I’ve had three calls in the wee hours of the morning. The first one scared me, since a call at that hour usually means bad news, but as soon as I heard my sister’s perky “Hey, whatcha doin’?” I just said “It’s 3 am here, I’ll call you tomorrow.”  FM and FG sleep through anything including ringing phones, so I’m the only one awake after those calls.

It’s hard to get the time difference down since Guam is across the International Dateline. Once you leave Hawaii and head west, you cross the line and lose a day. Guam is a day ahead. One of FG’s favorite things to tell people is “I already know tomorrow’s a great day.”  If I weren’t such a “Betty Rubble” of the blog world, I would put a clock on my site with Guam’s current time.

I love getting phone calls from family and friends but, since I’m too out of it to talk at that hour, I’ve listed a guide for the time difference between Guam and a few other time zones.  Guam is:

  • 14 hours ahead of the Eastern time
  •   8 hours ahead of Germany
  •   7 hours ahead of Kiev
  • 20 hours ahead of Hawaii
  • Same time zone as Sydney Australia

As you can see, Guam truly is “Where America’s Day Begins!”

Read Full Post »

Another great restaurant recommendation…

Posted in Travel on Monday, 14 August, 2006| 1 Comment »

Josie, at Latitude 13, suggested we try a Vietnamese restaurant called Truong’s. We did so on Saturday for lunch and loved it.  One minute I looked over at FM’s Beef Curry:

 

The next minute, I saw this:

I don’t think I’ve ever seen FM inhale his meal so fast. FG has been getting much better at using her chopsticks and here she is enjoying her fried noodles with vegetables:

The menu offered several vegetarian items for FG and myself. I was feeling a little under the weather when I went in, but I ate the curry tofu with vegetables and, there must have been something medicinal about the curry because I felt great the whole rest of the day. Thanks for the recommendation, Josie.

Read Full Post »

Want for Nothing

Posted in Travel on Thursday, 10 August, 2006| 6 Comments »

I’ve had several friends ask if I feel as though I’m missing out on anything by living in Guam.  I’ve already mentioned that my only concern about moving here was the distance back to the states to visit family and friends but as far as having material things, it’s all here.

Granted, there aren’t many concerts scheduled but I’ve been checking the bands going to Tokyo which is only three and a half hours away. Should Dave Matthews happen to be in Tokyo, we’ll be there!

Besides all the outdoor activities, which we love, we can’t get over the fabulous restaurants we’ve been to so far. Everyone we’ve talked to loves the Indian restaurant called Curry Kebab and we weren’t disappointed. The food was delicious but I was a little bummed they were out of the lemon peel and the rosemary bread. Guess that means I’ll have to go back soon to try those items.

On Tuesday, we went to Guam’s only all-vegetarian restaurant, Simply Food, ~ yummy and so healthy. They have specials everyday and I really want to go back for tomorrow’s special: Thai Curry w/brown rice and Broccoli Ginger Seaweed soup ~ how’s that for nutritious?! While we were having lunch, I noticed the anchors from Guam’s news station picked up their lunches for take-out. It was weird seeing someone you watch on TV every night.

Guam also has the usual chain restaurants i.e. Hard Rock Cafe, Planet Hollywood, TGIFridays, Lonestar, etc. There are two Stone Cold Creamery stores which I have yet to try but have heard so much about. We prefer to keep trying local restaurants as opposed to the chains. I recently read a review about Le Tasi Bistro which is owned by a Frenchman and his wife, who is Spanish. The combo of French and Spanish food sounds too good to pass up.

For anyone who wondered, we want for nothing 🙂   

Read Full Post »

Sigh of relief

Posted in Travel on Sunday, 6 August, 2006| 7 Comments »

Tropical Storm Saomai skirted by Guam without causing too much damage. It pruned a lot of dead palms/coconuts from the trees on base which is a good thing. Other than our overturned trash can, a damaged hibiscus plant and a neighbors umbrella blown into the yard, there was no damage. We never lost power or cable ~ what a relief.  On a positive note, it was good to go through the drill and we do feel prepared for a real storm. BTW, I went ahead and drank the storm wine anyway.  

Read Full Post »

Moving To Guam with four-legged friends

Posted in Animals, Dogs, Guam, Travel on Sunday, 6 August, 2006| 1 Comment »

Once I got over the surprise of moving to Guam, I started researching the island and talking with anyone who had been here.  FM had spent a month on Guam back in 1999, so he knew a little about it and everyone we spoke with had only good things to say about the island. I also read the local newspaper daily as well as several Guam blogs to get a feel for island life.

Most of the advice we got were along the lines of get out and enjoy the island, don’t limit yourself to the base and, if you see something you like at the commissary or BX, buy it because it won’t be there for long.  All good advice that I would give to anyone moving here.

The biggest obstacle to our move was the transportation of our two dogs. We had to plan 120 days prior in order to be eligible for the 5-day quarantine as opposed to the 30 day or 3 month quarantine.  It was a complicated, frustrating and more than a little worrisome to move the dogs here. They ended up flying from Frankfurt, via Seoul, to Guam on Korean Airlines. I got more than my fair share of jokes about how Koreans love to eat dogs and my mom was nice enough to call the Korean Airlines cargo in Seoul to check on the dogs during their layover.  The cost was crazy but there was no way we were parting with two members of our family. 

As both dogs are curled up at my feet as I write this, it was so worth it! Needless to say, I’m already saving for our next move.  

Read Full Post »

Storm shutters are closed and the gnome is coming in…

Posted in Guam, Travel on Saturday, 5 August, 2006| 5 Comments »

A tropical storm is expected to hit Guam by tomorrow afternoon with sustained winds of 35 mph and gusts up to 60 mph. We closed the storm shutters and FM had to make sure our lawn gnome was safely put in the house. Sure glad we upgraded our typhoon supplies to include Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine!

UPDATE (as of 9am on Sunday): The storm has been named “Tropical Storm Saomai”. Not a a good sign because that means it’s big and bad enough to have a name. Brave Ulysses has great updates on the storm over at his blog including video – check it out.

FM summed it up well last night when he went out for one last thing (more beer), he said “You know it’s going to be a bad storm when you see your Baptist neighbors buying a bottle of rum.” 

Read Full Post »

How we ended up in Guam

Posted in Guam, Travel on Thursday, 3 August, 2006| 2 Comments »

When we found out we were moving to Guam, most everyone we told expressed surprise and the inevitable question was either: Why would an army person be going to Guam? and How did FM manage such a great gig?  To be honest, no one was more surprised about our move to Guam than myself. 

It all started when FM put in his application for Professor of Military Science (PMS). With the application, he was asked to list the top 15 Universities (from a list of available positions) he would like to be assigned. Once he made his list, he showed it to me for my “approval” and I mostly agreed with his choices.  University of Hawaii was his first choice and since I’m from Hawaii (the Big Island) and my Dad got his undergraduate degree from UOH, it would have been ideal to be there for a few years. Unfortunately, every other applicant put Hawaii as their top choice. The other schools FM listed were OK with me since we had a connection to them. One was my Alma Mater, two were in towns we used to live in and liked a lot, several were very close to family or good friends but then I see the University of Guam listed as number 11.  Hmmm…island life sounded nice but I knew how far away from family and friends we would be. We’d already been in Germany for 5 years and, as much as we loved it, it was a long flight to visit anyone. I knew living in Guam would double the flight time so I took University of Guam (UOG) off the list.

When FM came home last October and said he’d been selected for a Professor position, I was on the edge of my seat waiting to hear where we’d be going.  I should have known something was up when he started giving me hints rather than just telling me. First he said it was his 11th choice which I remembered as #11 being Kansas State U. Then he said it was in the Western Region. Montana State? No, it’s way west.  My heart skipped a beat when I thought it was Hawaii.  It was then he thought he’d better go ahead and tell me: Guam.

Needless to say, I was surprised. My stubborn FM put UOG back on the list and doesn’t ‘remember’ me taking it off the list.  Guess that is why I married the man ~ he continues to push me in directions I might normally not go but it usually ends up being the best choice.  Since, the distance was my only concern, our move to Guam has, so far, been a good move and FM loves working at the University.

Read Full Post »

Dinner with the Governor (sort of)

Posted in Guam, Travel on Saturday, 29 July, 2006| 2 Comments »

FM and I attended the 25th Anniversary of the Guam National Guard last Sunday. Had I known what a big deal it was going to be, I would have dressed more formally.  The Governor was there as well as elected officials and all the top brass from the Air Force, Navy and Army.  I’m still counting it as dinner with the Governor even though he was a couple of tables away from us.

I sat next to a woman who is obviously ‘connected’ in Guam. She knew everyone who walked by and I got to meet a lot of people including the Governor and his wife (again, wish I had dressed more appropriately). It’s an election year in Guam and the political banter is flying. I don’t know the players yet but I’m slowly learning who’s who in Guam politics.  As far as the Governor, I thought his questions to my dinner partner were thought-provoking.  You learn a lot about a person, not only by the answers they give, but by the questions they ask.  

It’s hard not to become interested in politics here. The daily newspaper does a great job exposing every detail  ~ sometimes it starts sounding like a made for TV movie.  The current scandal is the newly elected Superintendent of Schools ~ the drama of it all would be comical except Guam schools DESPERATELY need an intelligent, tough, organized, budget-focused person at the helm and from what I’ve read in the Pacific Daily News, the new Superintendent is not that person.  But, we all know you can’t believe everything you read in the newspapers. 😉  Bottom line: I hope the Board of Education makes the right decision and makes it soon, since the Guam schools start up again in a few weeks and those children deserves the best Guam has to offer.

Read Full Post »

A Little Quirky…

Posted in Germany, Travel on Thursday, 27 July, 2006| 5 Comments »

I’ve noticed things are a bit quirky here in Guam. They are a little different then what we’re used to and yesterday was a funny example of Guam quirkiness.

FM went to get our license plates for our second car and was told that not only were they no longer doing personalized plates, but they were out of regular plates as well. What? The DMV actually ran out of license plates?! Were the prisoners on strike?

He was then given a book of unclaimed vanity plates to choose from which is a little strange since whoever picked them in the first place might not be pleased that we’re running around with their plates. He was told it would only be $4.00 to exchange them at a later date which meant I could go down and pick out a different one if I really didn’t like his choice. He chose the following since our car was manufactured in Leipzig, Germany:

He was happy when I “got” the connection right away ~ Do you? 😉

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »