Monday, September 28, 2015

Whirlwind Visit

Carlton was finally home for a few days and so we got out to do some sightseeing! It was nice that he didn't have to work while he was home this time. I took him to a place called Leo Palace, which is where the Khaki Ball was held. I only got to see a small portion of this resort when we were there for the Khaki Ball but as we were driving in, you could see that the place is huge!

It's a resort but they also have condos where people live. It is also a popular venue for sports camps, concerts, Balls, and other big events - there was a fitness competition there just last weekend! It's easier to show you:

This is the front of the main hotel portion.

This map shows how big the place is.












So the picture of the map may be hard to read but they have two fields for baseball, two for soccer, two for softball, a golf course, a competitive swimming pool, a waterpark and a regular recreation pool. They also have a gaming area inside with billiards, darts, ping pong tables, and a mini bowling alley. They have a mini lake as part of the landscape. The place is just huge!
The back side of the main hotel with part of the lake showing.

The chapel for weddings

My handsome hubby!

Cheesy selfie!
Closer view of the back side

More of the lake with more artwork

Closer look at the artwork
Back side of the hotel with the lake

The entire main hotel with the lake

The condos across from the main hotel


















































































These photos were taken on our hike to Mount Lam Lam which turned into a hike to Mount Jumullong. Both hikes start at the same trailhead and about three fourths the way up the trail splits. We turned to go to Mount Lam Lam but after being on the trail about five minutes, a couple guys saw Carlton above the grass and yelled to him that we should turn back. Both were carrying rifles and were apparently hunting wild pigs. Since we didn't want to a) run into wild pigs or b) get shot by the hunters, we chose to go back and hike Mount Jumullong instead.

Mount Jumullong is the second highest peak in Guam at 1,283 feet. Mount Lam Lam is the highest at 1,332 feet. Mount Jumullong is also very popular with the Catholics on island that trek up to the top every Good Friday. The top of the "mountain" has several crosses on it and there are crosses along the trail as well. Turns out this is not the best time of year to hike this trail. We were lucky it didn't rain on us but it was very muddy and wet...I was up to my ankles in mud a few times along the trail. So the trail was pretty slippery in many spots - it was either really muddy or you were walking on limestone that had been smoothed out by copious amounts of rain. Needless to say, it was an interesting hike! Here are some pics:
Before the hike, this is Cetti Bay from an overlook


Trailhead

Freshest dead Brown Tree snake I have seen yet!

Most of the trail is overgrown with sword grass.

More views of the coastline from the trail.

Plaque at the base of the largest cross on the top.

Largest cross, at least 20 feet tall.

Other crosses near the big cross.

Gotta have the cheesy selfie!

View from the top.

All the crosses.

View of the top from the trail.

Last view of the coastline from the trail.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Khaki Ball

I have been meaning to post pics from the Khaki Ball we attended but kept getting distracted. So as you know, the boat was not here for this ball either but we still had a good time. Not much to tell but here are some pics of all of us that went to enjoy ourselves.

Alicia, Jen, and I were the first to arrive!

Jen and Emilee with me - love our big grins.

Alicia jumped in on this group photo.
L to R: Jen, Alicia, Amy, Me, Jessica, Krissy, Emilee, and Jen.

Cheesy selfie with Emilee

Our memento for the evening.

Our fierce centerpiece!

The coin for this event!

And the other side of the coin!

Sunday, September 6, 2015

The Birds - Guam version

Not too much to report from this past week. It has been pretty quiet and nothing new going on with the dogs. Bubbles is anxiously waiting for her stitches to come out so she can finally get the cone of shame off. I am anxiously waiting for the cone to come off so I can give her a bath!! She has become very stinky since she hasn't had a bath in about 7 weeks now!

My garden continues to grow and I have one okra growing on my okra plant now! I was very happy to find that the other day and I am eagerly waiting for more to pop up. Here is a pic...

Since I do not have much news, I thought I'd share a video that someone else posted on youtube awhile ago. The video shows a bird (the black drongo bird) attacking a lone walker. These birds are very territorial and have a tendency to build their nests on top of the light posts that are right above the sidewalks. I have seen them attack individual walkers and runners. I have also seen someone carrying a racket to wave at the birds in case they did attack. I have had this happen to me on two separate occasions, both times when I was at the pet lodge. I had Bubbles by the back of my Tuscon where I was working on changing her bandage back in May. Twice I had one of these birds swoop down and do a flyby right above my head! They seem to be intimidated by larger groups though, so even if there is a walker with a stroller or if I walk with Edge, the birds do not attack. I also chose this video because it is filmed in the same housing area where we currently live, so you can get an idea of what the houses look like on the outside.

The video is a bit long, so if you skip to minute 1:20 you can see the houses and neighborhood. If you want to go right to the bird attack, then skip ahead to minute 2:40. Enjoy!!