Hello friends and family! Carlton has been home since the beginning of July but we really haven't been up to much that was noteworthy which is why you haven't heard from me. We hadn't been hiking because it gets very hot and humid during the day and many of the hiking trails are exposed. We chose to risk heat stroke for a short hike with friends to a dam that was built in 1910 to supply water to the capitol city of Hagatna. The walls of the dam are constructed with red bricks and there is a rope if you want to try your hand at climbing up the dam. The whole area was pretty slick since it had rained recently, so we chose to skip that attraction. The swimming hole at the base of the dam is supposed to be a popular swimming location for locals, but considering how muddy the water looked, none of us wanted to jump in it. Also there was a tour group behind us and we overheard the guide tell her group that there was a dead wild pig found in it the other day...not exactly appealing.
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| Entrance to the hiking trail |
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| View of the dam from the river |
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| Another shot |
I didn't take any pictures along the trail because there wasn't really anything to see but jungle and the trail was rather treacherous in areas due to all the slippery mud and tree roots sticking up, so I concentrated on staying upright instead.
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| Us! |
This past Friday (August 5th), the USS Topeka went through a change of command. I attended the short ceremony but the pictures I took did not come out well. The power went out shortly before the ceremony started, so the only lighting inside was candlelight. It did not make for good pictures. But here is a link to an article that was written about the ceremony and some professional pictures taken by guys with leeway to walk all around during the ceremony.
http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=96055
Today I joined some of the other Topeka ladies for brunch where we celebrated our friend Liz who is due to have her baby any day now! It was a lovely brunch at a restaurant with great views of the downtown area.
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| All the ladies, ready for brunch! |
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| View of the downtown area |
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| Great egg white omelet with scalloped potatoes |
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| Beautiful Mom to be! |
Not much else is going on with us. Carlton is getting ready for a couple short underways with short breaks in between. I am still training my ladies in my house and the dogs are doing well!
We hope you are all enjoying your summer and getting a chance to watch the Olympics!!
XOXOX
Always glad to hear from you.
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