A Special Trip to the Mainland

Living on Guam has forced Josh and I to miss many special occasions with family and friends. We've missed holidays, graduations, weddings, births, etc. and it pains us to not be a part of these special times. However, it has made the occasions we've been able to share all the more special. Last summer, we were fortunate to be able to attend my dear cousin Melanie's wedding in Laguna Beach, CA. On August 1st, she married Ryan, a wonderful guy that we were able to get to know and love when we lived in San Diego. Josh and I had a blast catching up with family at the wedding, and I was even able to take a few days to visit my Uncle Ferol in Sacramento with my parents. The flights to and from the States (aka mainland) weren't exactly fun (think 40+ hour trips with 12-15 hour layovers...), but the hassle was well worth it. We look forward to our next visit to our Stateside family and friends, whenever that may be!




A thirsty bee at the Portland International Rose Test Garden. (12 hour layovers actually aren't so bad when they're during the day and you can go sightseeing...)



My dad and his brother, Ferol, at Lake Tahoe. Look at that family resemblance!


Another view of Lake Tahoe. What a gorgeous summer day!

Mom, Dad, and I at a vineyard in Sonoma Wine Country (Yes, I have acclimated to Guam temperatures. I did occasionally wear a coat in the Sacramento heat...)

Picturesque grapes at the vineyard...they make for tasty wine!

A day trip to Carlsbad to visit the Cornthwaite family


Here begin the wedding week festivities...we had something fun planned every day!

Mandi and Melli rediscovering our princess roots at Disneyland!

Disney fireworks over Cinderella's castle

Much of the family celebrating at a pier-end diner in Huntington Beach

Huntington Beach - it was absolutely gorgeous and lots of fun, but slightly more crowded than our beaches in Guam...

The Hollywood Bowl, an enormous outdoor amphitheater with great acoustics. We saw Guys and Dolls! (If you really strain your eyes, you can see the Hollywood sign in the back of the mountains on the right side...)

Mom, Dad, Josh, and I at the rehearsal dinner

The beautiful bride, escorted by her handsome brother, Daniel

Congratulations Ryan and Melanie - we love you!

USS Essex

I seem to be on a roll with blogging lately (well, for me at least...), so I'm going to keep my momentum and journey back in time to bring you photos from Josh's travels last year with the USS Essex. Here is a photo diary of January to May 2009 (as seen through the eyes of Mandi - i.e., these are the pictures in his folder on the computer that I thought were the coolest!)


We'll begin with a few official photos...


The USS Essex in the Gulf of Thailand


Josh and the USS Essex

A Navy helicopter resting while the Essex is docked in Okinawa, Japan

A hovercraft off the back off the Tortuga, one of the other ships in Josh's squadron. These are used to transport people from the ship to dry land. They literally hover over the water.

The regal looking entrance to one of the Thai Air Bases - Josh got to take a helicopter off of the Essex while it was at sea to go be diplomatic with Thai police.

Here end the official photos and begin the travel photos. When you're on a ship at sea you get to visit a lot of different places!

An atomic bomb monument in Nagasaki, Japan. The injured child in the woman's arms represents Japan on the day of the bombing and the woman represents the support of countries of the world as Japan rebuilt itself as a peaceful nation. (Good thing Josh thought to take a photo of the description of the monument!)

Another atomic bomb memorial in Nagasaki

Japanese peace cranes at another Nagasaki memorial. Look closely, each different color on every strand consists of 5-10 little origami cranes!

The bullet train to Kyoto (perhaps you remember my discussion of these speedy trains after Josh's and my recent trip to Kyoto...)

The Golden Temple - this photo inspired me to convince Josh to return to Kyoto with me. Kyoto (and especially this temple) is every bit as pretty in person as it looks in the pictures!

I'm not one to focus on food, but check out the snacks available at the Golden Temple...how often do you see Cup of Noodle vending machines??

Another striking temple framed by beautiful cherry blossoms

Moving on to Osaka, Japan...evidentally Osaka is known for its octopus balls. Josh says they taste about as good as they sound...

I'm also not one to focus on accommodations, but this is too unique to overlook - this was Josh's hotel room in Osaka!

Didn't get a good enough look? Here you go - that's the whole room. Or should I say capsule?

This is a cannon on Corregidor, a small island in the Philippines near Manila that played an important role in WWII

"I Shall Return" (General Douglas MacArthur) Any history buffs out there know the significance of this quote (which means I did not until Josh enlightened me!)

Josh and Manila Bay

I quote Josh here: "The Famous Manila Bay Sunset"

And now to wrap it all up...

Saying goodbye to the folks at the USS Essex after a job well done!

Our New Campaign

Peter and Debbie (Josh's parents) have been on island for a month now and Josh and I are thoroughly enjoying their company. You just don't realize how far away you are from family until you have them at your fingertips again. Josh and I are beginning to realize how much we'll miss our visitors when they leave (though fortunately it still won't be for a while), so we have come up with a plan. It's called The Entice More Visitors To Guam Campaign! :) What is it you'll get to do on your visit to this little paradise we call home, you ask? Well...

We'll start with a little culture...

This is the USMC Drum and Bugle Corps, visiting all the way from Washington. Poor people, I imagine it was a bit hot in the sun with that uniform...

The silent drill team, looking a bit on edge here!

We'll make sure to squeeze in some history...

Debbie and an old tank from the war

A re-enactment of Magellan's discovery of the island in 1521 (though I think the real Magellan had a larger ship...)

Debbie and an old lusong...basically, a Chamorro mortar and pestle

We won't forget to get our exercise...

Posing together after the St. John's School annual 5K...it's not too hot to run if you get up at 4:30am!

We'll be sure to maintain healthy eating habits...

Don't those coconuts just call your name?

Trust me, they're yummy!

We'll get in some pampering...

Josh getting a much needed foot massage from the fish at the Leopalace lake... (You know, you have to pay for that in Asia...you can buy time at a fish spa where you dangle your feet in a tank of fish and they eat all the dead skin off your toes. We're offering it to you free of charge!)

And we'll take you to really cool places...

Peter and Debbie at Pagat Cave, a freshwater underground cave. It's pitch black inside, but you can light it up pretty well with candles. Read about Josh's and my first visit to Pagat Cave here and see the pictures here.

Like father, like son. What are they watching so intently?

The amazing ocean crashing onto the breath-taking limestone cliffs

Now, just in case those photos didn't entice anyone to make their way to the Western Pacific, I'm going to go at it from another angle. I will affectionately call this segment The Battle of The Beaches!


Ritidian Beach

Haputo Beach

Shark's Hole (minus the sharks, that is..I think they just wanted the beach to have a cool name!)

So...any takers?! Or must we continue our little campaign?