Scurrying by firelight, we shoveled bags into bags with the few
belongings our scattered minds could collect. In the whirl of our daily
routines and the busy-ness of our lives, we failed to adequately ready
ourselves for the eve of our departure. Thus, preparations became an all
night affair. Our dogs joined in the excited confusion, but stole the
cat-naps we couldn't afford ourselves. No time to sleep as we watched
the clock roll towards our departure time, and packing to straddle the
equator, we kept the fire burning hot in our new home and prepared to
leave her and our pups in the caring hands of Debbie's co-worker, Susan.
When Susan arrived at 4am, it was time to zip up our two suitcases and
assume that we were ready. When we arrived at the airport, we found that
it hadn't yet opened and we were forced to do the shiver-dance in our
minimalist traveling clothes until they let us in. Through the open
glass doors, we took our first steps back toward the tropical climes of
Indonesia --a journey that would take us first through NASA's Houston,
the North Shore's Oahu-Hawaii, and militarily ghost-ridden Guam.
Houston, our only other possibly cold-weather locale, was not. We found
it warm and our long-sleeve attire was to be left behind with Deb's
sister, Amy. We stayed with Amy and met her new pup, Adara, named after
a particular star (Amy works at NASA and had recently played a role in
the shuttle mission --John Glenn's return to space). We enjoyed her pad
while filling up on foods we knew we wouldn't have for a while --mexican
and pizza (no cheese in Asia!). Amy will be moving so we'll visit her in
a new home on our return. Though we wished we could drag her along as a
clothing model in Asia, we had to leave her behind to tend to her task.
The next long flight dropped us on the isle of Oahu, Hawaii. Our
friends, Tekak and Paul, put us up in their newest place (they were
living on the Big Island, Hawaii, when we last visited) and filled us in
with tales and the tribulations of work at Mid-Pacific Institute where
they supervise boarding high-school students and enjoy an island's pace.
Together we shared good meals and a superb sunset walk along gentle
Waikiki.
Brian connected with his surfing friends, the Simmons brothers,
and found Mike a willing participant but Bryan too busy to escape.
Together with Mike, we set out late one morning for Oahu's North Shore
(the USA's premiere surfing destination) and found that it was
HAPPENING. The infamous 'Pipeline' was magazine-cover-picture-perfect
and breaking with 25 foot faces (fronts) to some very serious waves.
Some of the world's best were stroking for these waves. Mike took us to
a spot within sight of Pipeline, called 'Log Cabins' where the waves
were breaking a bit smaller. Still, these were some of the heaviest
waves Brian's tasted. Breaking with at least 10 foot faces, the waves
were hollow and strong as they slammed against jagged reef a few feet
below the surface. In two hours, Brian caught only four waves and yet
still felt lucky to leave the North Shore relatively un-dented and
bodily intact. So... --the next day he had to go back! This time Mike
and Brian got up early and went alone. When they arrived at the North
Shore, it was 'Sunset Beach' that seemed to steal the show. They watched
for a while and then set out in search of waves that Brian could handle.
They settled on Pu'uena (sp?) Point and got in the water with enough
time to surf for only about one hour. A hasty return got Brian back in
time to get showered before climbing onto our next flight. We waved
goodbye to our friends in Hawaii...
Guam struck us as an island that must once have been beautiful. Ravaged
by wars and an industrialist mentality, however, it felt most venerated
by the ghosts of battles gone past. We used our 22 hour layover to drive
a circuit around the island, visiting historical sites and absorbing
what beauty still remains. We saw pods of leaping porpoises in Umatac
Bay, enjoyed mountain-top vistas of some unspoilt coastline, and hiked
to some interesting caves. Most peculiar were the 'Latte Stones':
pillars of unknown origin and use, found only in the Mariana Islands.
Most striking to Brian, however, might have been the irony of flipping
on NPR (National Public Radio) to catch war stories, spots on Veteran
artists, and classical music called 'In the Shadow of the War' because
it was Veteran's Day on the other side of the International Dateline --a
day that we somehow skipped by traversing the globe. We spent our last
hours there enjoying the clear waters at a quiet beach built up for
Japanese tourism but laid bare by the crashing Yen.
Finally, we boarded a plane destined for Bali...
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