Our Trip to Guam

It’s Saturday 1 August and I can’t believe Mom and I have been back for a week already!  It’s been a rough week, for me anyway, as I promptly got sick when we got home and I am just now starting to feel normal.  I am cataloguing photos today and beginning my work here on Ellen’s page, to fill you in on our trip.  Please bear with me, as I took over 750 photos, and I did my best to keep up in my journal as well.  Today, I want to share the beginning of our trip and the dedication of the Continental Connection ATR-42.  As I was told, this was Ellen’s favorite plane to fly in, it now bears her name and a decal declaring her their “Queen of Micronesia.”

Our trip began on Wednesday afternoon, 15 July, when we left from Mom’s in Ocala, Florida, to drive to Orlando, a 2-hour drive away.  Our flight was scheduled for 6:30 a.m. the next morning and we planned to spend the night at a hotel close to the airport.  We made the drive easily, settled into our room and then walked across the street for dinner at Denny’s.  While looking over the menu (we were both opting for “breakfast”), I chuckled and asked Mom how it felt that both she and her daughter qualified for the Senior menu!  During dinner, a big storm blew in and even tho Mom had brought her umbrella, we waited awhile before trying to walk back across the street.  There was a tremendous amount of lightning and very heavy rain; when we finally got back to room and turned on the news, we discovered we’d been under a tornado watch!

Our check-in and trip thru security went smoothly and we were on our way on time.  We were both in First Class and had been able to get seats side-by-side for the whole outbound trip.  I tell you!  They sure do feed the passengers well in that cabin!  I don’t eat that much in a week, let alone a day.  I think it’s to either keep you busy for the long flights, or to make you sleepy.  We didn’t really sleep much, tho we both dozed.  We changed planes in Houston and then again in Tokyo.  Ellen and Russell’s friend, Yuko Imai (Imai-san), graciously made arrangements for us to have a guide thru Narita Airport to our next gate.  We might have done all right on our own, but it was comfortable knowing we wouldn’t get lost or be late.

We did have an interesting experience, sitting at the gate before boarding.  Near us gathered a rather large contingent of airport security people.  They all looked very serious, as they seemed to be studying something in the bottom of one of the ever-present recycle bins.  Some wore masks and some gloves, some had clipboards, some came and went … the concern seemed to center around a small cosmetic-sized bag that was apparently dropped into one of the bins and they didn’t know where it came from and were cautious about opening it (tho they did so, at least once that I saw).  After awhile, they took the bag and went about their business.

We landed at the Airport in Agana, Guam, shortly before 8:00 p.m. Guam time.  Even tho, at that hour at home, there is still an hour or so of daylight left, down near the equator, it’s been full dark for more than an hour, so all I could get of Guam flying in was this:

I forgot to ask Rusell about it, but I was on the left side of the plane, flying in, and if his geography lessons sank in, that’s the edge of Tumon Bay.  We landed safely, deplaned and were met by … oh dear.  I’ve forgotten his name!  He was a friend of Russell’s, an employee of Continental, and he guided us all the way thru getting our baggage and Customs.  Russell picked us up in Ellen’s car and took us to their home.

Oh my!  What a lovely house!  Lots of windows and a goodly view, almost all the way to the water.  The house is open and airy, with wonderful A/C units in all the rooms, and filled with furniture from Bali – ornate and cleverly carved.

We met cats Rumpleteaser and GirlCat and heard rumors that there was a third named Spidey.  We also met birds Toshe (spelling?) and Imai-San.  That was about it for that night, as we all crashed to rest for the big day the next day.