Sharing Paradise

 

Last week we were blessed with one final visitor to share this island adventure with. After much prodding over Christmas break, we convinced our friend Annie to come out from Houston. Annie went to high school with both of us and, after running a zillion marathons and biking between major US cities, is one of the most active Muggles we know. We had a hunch that she would love Guam as much as we do, and we didn't want the opportunity to pass without getting to show her our slice of paradise. What do you know, she actually took us up on the idea and flew out over 4th of July week. We had an absolute blast showing her around! Here's the Annie on Guam photo shoot that ensued throughout the week:

 Peeking in the bunkers at the WWII landing site in Agat

 Defending herself against mad cow disease

 Enjoying the gorgeous views

 Not afraid to get her hands dirty, Annie experienced what I mean when I say that we earn our showers around here!

 She discovered the underwater world we so love

 Got to hike to Spanish Steps (which has been closed during several of our last visitors' trips!)

 I loved Annie's observation about the beaches... that what makes them so amazing (in addition to how beautiful they are), is that we are the only ones there!! The above picture was taken at picturesque Tarague Beach.

 Finally Nick was able to join us for the Fourth of July festivities... we snorkeled the massive coral heads behind the Apra Harbor breakwater.

 And we kayaked out to Anae Island, one of my favorite spots only accessible by boat.

 

Everyone make fun of Annie's Grandpa socks! (oh, and I called Stacey and Clinton to see if you could be on the next episode...)

Checking out the sights around Anae Island (or "Annie Island" as I called it for the day!)

A memorable July 4th for so many reasons!

 ....The main one being that we sank our kayak! Check out that lovely hole! Our hunch is we must have scraped a weak spot on the bottom with some of the sharp coral in the shallow area around the island. Nick swam the sunken kayak back to the island and Tim & Annie towed me back so we could figure out Plan B. With only one kayak (now) and four people, the guys insisted Annie and I take the kayak while they swam the mile back to the mainland. Luckily the guys in our crew are very good swimmers!

 The next day we opted for some less action-packed adventures. I took Annie to our church so she could see the gorgeous mural my sister painted. Having seen pictures on the blog, she said it was even more impressive to see in person :)

 We went shopping, went to lunch, and then went cave exploring in Pagat Caves.

 Friday made for an absolutely perfect beach day at Gun Beach.

 Followed by the tough girls hike to the top of Mt. LamLam, arguably the world's highest mountain.

 Big smiles at the top

 And gorgeous sunset views

 A few last activities... we played tennis, hit golf balls, and took Annie to see the plane wreck near the old runway behind our house.

And in the early hours of Annie's last day, we went paddle boarding at Gab Gab.  We saw lots of turtles and two black tip reef sharks, in addition to a beautiful sunrise before taking our friend to the airport to start her long journey home.

Of course I LOVED showing the best and most beautiful parts of Guam to our friend and sharing this awesome experience with her. But even more than that, my favorite part of her visit was getting to catch up... to really catch up. Amid our beach sitting and muddy hiking (and kayak sinking!), we found ourselves deep in conversations about real things that matter to us... about friends and family, joy and sadness, heartache and triumph. We have both been through a host of new life experiences these past two years, experiences that our quick dinners and coffee dates on my stopovers in Houston haven't completely covered. But with a whole week to ourselves and few distractions of everyday life, we had the beautiful gift of each others' time and presence to make up for years apart. Guam simply provided the gorgeous scenery for my friend and I to get properly caught up.

Once again our house has that eerie and familiar quiet that has each time accompanied the day after taking special visitors to the airport. The stack of beach towels have been washed and put away. The guest room is ready again for whoever (if anyone) comes next. Annie's visit is over, and yet our shared experience here will be tucked in the folds of our memories for years to come.

Thanks for coming out, Annie! As much as I'm going to miss it here, spending time with a good friend from back home is making me excited about heading that way here shortly. See you in ten weeks (gasp!).

PS... Good luck with the jet lag!

The Fresh Factor: Plumeria Leis

My friend Annie is on island visiting us this week! I can't wait to share pictures from her visit, but in the meantime, here's a Fresh Factor post I wrote up about the plumeria lei I made to meet her at the airport with. So fun having my friend here and showing her our beautiful island! Nice to have an excuse for a craft project too...

Peyt Sis Land!

Years from now when I look back over our time on Guam, there will be many weeks that stand out in my mind. Of all of them, few will compare to this one in which Peyt's Island transformed into a magical place called Peyt Sis Land. This past week my slightly older sister Courtney managed to finagle a week off work to visit us all the way out here from California. We had blocked off a set of dates for her to come, but as of our trip to Palau, there was no news of a plane ticket, so I came back expecting to hunt down another set of dates since these were fast approaching. Oh no... Court had booked her flight and would be on her way out the very next week!!

 Nick and I love having visitors because it's the perfect excuse to take them all over Guam and show off how awesome this place is. We hit the ground running on Court's first day with the southern island tour.

 Goofing off at Magellan's Landing

Carabao ride - One of 5 things you can only do on Guam

We wasted zero time showing off our favorites... like Inarajan Pools

Spanish Fort... ahoy

Jeff's for gifts and yummies

Caves at Dadi Beach

Surprise sand critters

Guam's ridiculous sunsets

Someone is happy to be on vacation! 

And then dinner... steaks that Courtney insisted be served branded.

So, yeah, that was the first day.

The next few days we spent exploring...

snorkeling at Fish Eye

 And Gab Gab

(thanks Mr. Baracuda for blocking my face)

 And gorgeous Gun Beach

We took Court boonie stomping to some of the Island's best hideaways...

 Inside Pagat Caves

The other side of the Pacific Ocean

And introducing her to the Philippine Sea

Hiking through Waterfall Valley

Making time for nature

 

Hunting down rainbows

Searching for Starfish (and avoiding spiders!)

Sampling local flavors

Climbing mountains

Summitting Lam Lam

And singing at the tops of our lungs.

Creating these carefree new memories and showing Court our slice of paradise unquestionably made for an unforgettable week. But technically, any one of you can come to Guam and have any or all of these awesome experiences (I am thrilled that a few of you yet are going to do just that!). But few of you... dare I say none of you... can come to Guam, do everything in these fabulous photographs, and in a week's time turn this boring, ugly, giant wall:

 

into a masterpiece:

Yes... my amazing sister led the painting of this entire mural, which we started on Monday and finished on Friday of the week she was here. This incredible piece of art on the wall facing our church sanctuary is a story of its own. But now, perhaps, you can see why this particular visit was so extraordinary... because this particular visitor is so extraordinary. Yes, this is my sister, who travels across the world armed with with a doodle pad and Dr. Seuss sticky notes, who always has a song to sing, who creates paintings and parties and possibilities that make our world a more fun, colorful, and beautiful place.

So grateful to spend this week with my sister, merging the one thing I love to do most -- exploring -- with the one thing she loves to do most -- creating! Together, we managed to conquer the entire world... in just one week. One seriously amazing week :)

Final sunset over Peyt Sis Land... love ya Court and miss you already.