All for a good cause

Saturday, 14 October, 2006 by Beachbums1

I love going to fun events that are also for a good cause ~ it’s so win/win.  Last night, we enjoyed a great night at the 9th Annual Guam Women’s Club Wine Tasting and Silent Auction. I was expecting the usual drop of wine to taste and a cheese & cracker spread.  Silly me, I should have known that here on Guam, like in Hawaii, lots of food is the norm. And the wine tasting was really an open wine bar 🙂  The food was catered by the Outrigger Resort and I can’t get over how much food was served the entire time we were there. There was shrimp, oysters, eggrolls, cheeses, tempura, assorted desserts and even a carving station.  Delicious! I was really wishing I hadn’t had pizza with FG and her sitter before going out.  

The event was a benefit for the Sugar Plum Tree Charity which provides Christmas gifts for the less fortunate. There was a Christmas Tree set-up with paper ornaments with gift requests.  I picked one ornament for each of us including an 8 year old girl for FG. FG loves buying gifts for others even though she still thinks she should get a duplicate of whatever she picks out.

Silent auctions are always fun.  I bid on a couple items but didn’t want to outbid friends. I prefer when they give you a number so no one knows who’s bidding.  On one item, I got outbid by the governor’s wife and didn’t want to get into a bidding war with her.  I did “win” a bid on an original pencil drawing of a Hibiscus done by a local artist named Hank Rice. We collect local artwork from where ever we visit so this will go nicely in the house.  

We did win a door prize (a bottle of wine) but I was disappointed at not winning the fabulous raffle prizes: a Louis Vuitton bag and Northwest Airline tickets (business class to the States and economy class to Hawaii).  They had the representatives from the respective companies read off the winning numbers and the guy from Louis Vuitton was so authentic ~ very French and very classy.

Some say this event is the kick-off for the holiday season. If all events turn out to be this fun, I say bring on the holidays 🙂 

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Flashback Friday: Be My Guest

Friday, 13 October, 2006 by Beachbums1

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.

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Betel Nut

Thursday, 12 October, 2006 by Beachbums1

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The Betel Nut is split open, sprinkled with dry coral lime, wrapped in a pepper leaf and then inserted into the mouth for about 20 minutes. It’s addictive and it turns your teeth and saliva bright red. Lovely, eh?

Chewing Betel Nut is very popular in Asian countries and equally as popular, with both men and women, here in Guam. It’s illegal to import it to some states and western countries.

Problem is I always want to call it “Beetlejuice.”

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CNMI ~ Saipan

Wednesday, 11 October, 2006 by Beachbums1

A little background on Saipan:

There are 14 tropical islands in the Northern Marianas chain ~ they stretch across 400 miles in the western Pacific Ocean and are adjacent to the famed Marianas Trench. The Trench is the world’s greatest known ocean depth of 35,810 feet.

The Northern Mariana Islands were governed by Spain, Germany and Japan before being liberated in 1944 by US forces, after some of the bloodiest battles of WWII.  After the Japanese surrendered, the American Navy administered the islands until the were turned over to the United Nations as the “Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.” The islands gradually gained their rights to self-govern in 1975 when they chose to become a commonwealth of the United States. Now, they are known as Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Or more commonly referred to as CNMI.

Saipan is the largest of the islands and is the most populated with 75,000 people. There are two indigenous people of Saipan: The Chamorro and The Carolinians. Saipan measures 13 miles long and 6 miles across at the widest point. The average year-round temperature of the ocean is 82 degrees. According to The Guinness Book of World Records, Saipan has the world’s most equable temperature which averages 81º F. 

Our flight from Guam to Saipan was a short 40 minutes and will no doubt become a frequent weekend getaway for us.  FG especially enjoyed our hotel, the Pacific Islands Club (PIC).  It was my first stay at a PIC but I’d heard of the company from a friend who used to manage the company. The staff was so well trained and the customer service was so outstanding that on our second night there, FM said “This is the best customer service I’ve everencountered.”  This comes from a man who has been dragged by me to some of the top resorts in the world.  Werner, my friend who worked for PIC, left a great legacy at the Saipan PIC.

The Resort had such a variety of activities that we didn’t get to participate in all of them. First off, there’s the huge pool complex with a lazy river, slides, lap pool, a “shipwreck” in the pool and a surf pool. Then, there are tennis courts, miniature golf, driving range, rock climbing, kayaking, archery, kids club. game room ( with the big chess set) and intro to diving. There are clubmates at all activity stations to help with the kids ~ the clubmates are mostly college students on a break from school. I thought I was adventurous going to the Grand Tetons to work during my summer breaks from school.  These students travelled a lot further from home!

Our favorite restaurants in Saipan::

  • The Cafe by the Park, located across from the American Memorial Park,  for a fabulous breakfast
  • Coffee Care,  on Capitol Hill, for a yummy lunch
  • Seaside Grill, at the PIC,  for dinner by the sea
  • Esco’s Bake House, Capitol Hill, for local treats

If you find yourself in this part of the world, Saipan is a must-see!

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Farewell to our Faithful Dog

Tuesday, 10 October, 2006 by Beachbums1

Seems like just yesterday we were bringing Bennett home and dealing with those sharp puppy teeth. He was such a chubby puppy, he could barely run without tumbling over his belly: 

Sadly, Bennett died this morning.  He will be sorely missed ~ he traveled the world with us and was definitely part of the family.  We have lots of wonderful memories with this sweet, lovable, faithful dog: 

       

Bennett  1995~2006

See you at the Rainbow Bridge!

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Saipan

Monday, 9 October, 2006 by Beachbums1

We returned today from a weekend visit to Saipan. It was our first off island adventure and what a great place to start our exploring. Off island is the term used to indicate that you’re somewhere other than Guam. The island is very charming and, even though it was rainy and cloudy for most of the weekend, we enjoyed our trip immensely. A sign of how much fun we had is our talk of returning sometime soon.

There was so much to do and a lot of historic places to visit ~ we managed to see all the  highlights in our short 3 days there.  Lots more details to follow after I’ve unpacked, done the laundry and got some sleep!  

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Flashback Friday – Pumpkin Picking 2000

Friday, 6 October, 2006 by Beachbums1

In October 2000, FG went on her first real pumpkin picking trip in Southern Pines, North Carolina.

We’ve made a trip to the pumpkin farm every October since 2000. It was especially fun in Germany where they had not only regular pumpkins but some really interesting shaped pumpkins and gourds.

For some reason, I don’t think I’ll find a pumpkin farm here on Guam so let’s hope the commissary will get some in soon 🙂

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Birthday Wishes

Friday, 6 October, 2006 by Beachbums1

Happy Birthday (a day early) to my favorite sister, Jo.

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Soggy Doggie Days

Wednesday, 4 October, 2006 by Beachbums1

The rainy season is back which makes all of us want to curl up inside. Bennett took advantage of the rainy day yesterday and enjoyed a snooze on ‘his’ couch.  This couch, which I’ve been trying to get rid of since FM and I got married, originally belonged to FM’s company commander. His company commander’s wife hated the couch since it was her husband’s college bachelor furniture and she told FM he could have it if he hauled it away.  That was in 1991! Well, over the years, Bennett has claimed it for his own so we’ve kept it for him. 

And since it’s been raining too hard and for too long, FG insisted on putting up the hammock inside. I have to admit, she does look very comfortable 🙂

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World Vegetarian Day

Sunday, 1 October, 2006 by Beachbums1

Today is World Vegetarian Day and I’ve even talked my meat and potatoes husband into participating. 

If anyone else wants to give up meat for a day or for even just one meal, there are some great recipes at Vegetarian Times. The current magazine also has a couple of interesting articles: one on organic foods and another on how to deal with seasonal allergies.

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