Category: Trips

Our final day in Hong Kong was a race to see as much as we could. 🙂 We began early in the morning after we checked out of our hotel with another Star ferry ride back over to Hong Kong island. Which, by the way, cost $4.40 Hong Kong dollars for two of us to cross one way. That works out to just over a quarter ($0.25!!) each. What a deal for a romantic boat ride!

The first stop for the day was to the Ocean Park. This is a large combination amusement park and oceanarium.
Here is the view from the gondola as we go from one half of the park to the other.

Once we arrived at the top, this is the view that greeted us. I was really struck by the sheer number of ships that were coming and going. It’s a great perspective on just how much commerce is conducted on and by Hong Kong.

While we didn’t partake in any of the amusement/theme park rides (it just didn’t compare to any of the Six Flags parks), we did see some fascinating and well done displays.

Even in the pictures, these jellies just look surreal…

I am still a fan of watching rays swim through the water. Such grace and elegance.

This is perhaps Anna’s least favorite sea creature, the Moray eel.

Of course, there were two Giant Pandas lounging. We learned that they spend 41% of their time resting, 55% eating and 4% doing other things. Apparently, we came during the 41%.

We next headed down to Stanley’s Market. Yes, I know we had already been shopping quite a bit, but hadn’t bought much. We mostly enjoyed wandering among the myriad of shops.
After we were totally shopped out (and now carrying a few bags of souvenirs :-)), we hopped a bus to the city.
We were headed to the Victoria Peak Tram for the highly touted ride up to the peak. The tram has been in operation since 1888, so it’s been around for a while. Nevertheless, we made it safely to the “top.” When we arrived, we found a shopping mall, several restaurants and lots of people. Since we wanted to reach the actual peak, we still had 30 minutes more hiking.
This is a view from the ride up.

We heard the sunsets were very nice from the peak, and while a little hazy, this one did not disappoint us.

We had worked up a healthy appetite during the day. We found a very nice, romantic restaurant right on the peak as well.


We ended our Hong Kong experience with another light show. This time, our vantage point was from the top of Victoria Peak (just over 1,800′ above sea level). With over 6 million tourists a year, this is the largest tourist attraction in Hong Kong.
The show was yet again, spectacular.


As you can see, it was a little cold for us thin-blooded people from Guam.


From there, it was back to the airport to await the 4 and a half hour flight back to Guam.
Hong Kong was a nice introduction to Chinese culture. It was a unique blend of the east and west. It helped that there was still a strong British influence and everything was in English and Cantonese (interestingly, not Mandarin as the rest of China is).
It was another great trip and one that we won’t forget anytime soon!
We can’t wait to experience more of the culture when we go to mainland China this spring.
–Jim

Ok, unfortunately, I wasn’t able to finish my “real time” posting of our Hong Kong trip. However, thanks to everyone who let me know they appreciated the effort. 🙂
The Hong Kong skyline at promptly 8:00 PM every night is punctuated with a dramatic and beautiful light show. Many of the buildings participate and have a choreographed show that is accompanied by music (broadcast on the radio). We watched from the Avenue of Stars where the music came over a public stereo system and even though there was a bit of a crowd, made the display quite enjoyable (albeit chilly).
Here are a few shots from the show.


This is probably my favorite shot…

After the light show, we took the venerable Star Ferry across the channel to Hong Kong Island. We spent the rest of night exploring the plentiful night life on the island.
Early the next morning, we got up and took the MTR (Mass Transit Rail) to the neighboring island of Lantau. We were going to see the “Big Buddha” as the giant statue outside the Po Lin Buddhist Monastary is reffered to.
It sits over 80 feet high and rests serenely atop a large hill and commands an impressive view of the surrounding country.
If you wish to go up and examine the Buddha, there are 260 steps that lead the way…

As we got to the top, we came face to face with a larger than life bronze Buddha. In fact, this is the world’s largest, outdoor, seated Buddha (of course, I don’t know where a larger indoor, standing Buddha is…)

Here is an array of pictures from around the top. I hope you’ll forgive me for including more pictures than I normally do (and causing this page to load even slower than it normally does), but there were so many important perpsectives that I didn’t want you to lose.















Here we are looking back up at the imposing “Enlightened One.”

After our time there, we went back to the hotel, then out to a very good Indian restaurant for dinner with some British friends we met in Hong Kong.
It was quite a lively discussion at the dinner table. 🙂
Then, back to the hotel for some well deserved rest.
The next day would have many more interesting sights and sounds to experience.
So, until then.
–Jim

This entry is a first. I am writing and posting pictures THE SAME DAY. 🙂 I know that’s how this site is supposed to work, but rarely do we take a break with enough time to sort the pictures, resize them, AND post the text. So, hopefully, this more timely approach will help alleviate a little of the time burden.
OK, so, here’s what our Hong Kong experience has been thus far. For those of you not familiar with the area, here’s a map of China.

We arrived late last night and checked into our hotel. We promptly fell asleep, despite intentions of wandering around the hotel to get our bearings. Oh well, it was a good night’s rest for today’s walking tour, at least.
Our hotel is in Kowloon. Here’s a map of the Hong Kong area, so you can get a better idea of the area.

Hong Kong was turned back over to the People’s Republic of China back in 1997 (after 99 years leased by the British), but it certainly still retains many western (British) aspects (streets named Waterloo for example). So, while this may not be like “mainland” China, it is certainly a unique culture.
We began our day on the Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong’s homage to it’s film industry and stars. Here I am trying to be like the venerable Bruce Lee. Pretty good impression, huh?? 🙂

Ok, so the statue looks better without me making a fool of myself in front of it…

Anna’s hands are almost as big as Jackie’s.

The harbor afforded interesting juxtapositions of old and new:

From there, we wandered along Nathan Street and came across this unique statue:

Then, over to Kowloon Park. Perhaps since it was a Saturday morning, there was a large group gathered to do what appeared to be Tai Chi. We stayed and watched for a while. Anna was really tempted to join in, but didn’t.



Another vestige of British rule.

Our big event for the day was shopping. We stopped by the Jade Market, the Ladies’ Market, and several other smaller ones. In fact, the whole area is absolutely packed with shops with just about everything imaginable for sale.

We also sampled some of the local food. It was a little scary at first (and sometimes hard to communicate what it is and what we wanted), but it was quite tasty in the end.

So, we are now in the hotel room resting up for tonight. We’re planning to watch the light show (many buildings on Hong Kong Island have lights on them and there’s a nightly show … supposedly, it’s the world’s largest regular light show). Then, over to Hong Kong island for dinner and perhaps see how the night life is over there. 🙂
Hopefully, tomorrow I will be able to update you with the story and pictures from that!
Until then.
–Jim

This January circumstances have required that Jim and I be apart for most of it, so I (Anna) will fill you all in on what I have been up to while Jim was “watching the earth be born” in Hawaii.
I took a little airplane ride (20 hours) from Guam to Wisconsin, stopping in Seattle to visit my sister, Susan, and her family for the first time. Susan weaves textiles in the traditional Skakomish (Native American tribe in the northwestern U.S.). During my day with Susan and her youngest son Akea she was preparing for an exhibit at the history museum in Tacoma in which her weaving was highlighted. I truly enjoyed getting to know her and spending some time with her family. I am looking forward to spending more time together in the future. Who knows, maybe we will get stationed in Washington one day.
This is Susan and her youngest son Akea getting ready for our day at the museum.

Some of Susan’s textiles



This is Susan and her incredibly active family

After spending the day with Susan in Seattle, while they were enjoying their 26th straight day of rain :-), I flew over to Wisconsin to reunite with the rest of my beloved family. This trip can be summed up in one word … playing. I spent almost the entire time playing with my niece and nephews and loved every bit of it.



After a few more days of playing, my best friend from Texas (Corree) came up to visit me with her son Perrin. We had an outstanding time playing and she and Perrin got a little taste of life with the Miller/Gingras family. They made it through relatively unscathed.


I got to spend some time with my very pregnant sisters…

Here are the moms all worn out from a day of playing.

And here are my two favorite moms in the whole world (yes, this last comment is very biased)

My favorite niece looking adorable as always

There were lots of other people I visited with on my trip and it was great spending time with each of them.
I absolutely loved my trip home to see so many people I love. I wish Jim could have joined me and I can’t wait to see all of them again in September, plus two new additions :).
XOXO Anna

Wow, this weekend I had the opportunity to witness the earth being formed! I walked on land that was much younger than me (sometimes just a few hours old!).
I was on the island of Hawai’i (also known as the Big Island). Since I had some free time this weekend, I decided to take a short 45 min flight over. Although there were about 100 things I wanted to do with my time there (including diving with Mantas at night and seeing the Ironman Triathlon site), I had to limit myself to basically
only 2 things. Visiting the Kilauea Volcano and a black sand beach were my two top priorities.
For those not familiar with the volcano or the Big Island, let me share a few of the highlights with you.
The Kilauea Volcano is the most active volcano in the world. In fact, it’s been continuously erupting since January 3, 1983. Now, you may not always see the lava on the surface, but it’s been going, nonetheless. It’s also conveniently located right in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. The park itself is perhaps one of the most
fascinating places I have ever visited. It’s characterized by lush tropical forests, vents spewing steam, volcano calderas, huge chasms, lava tubes, lava fields and often, visible surface lava (what I was after).
The military decided back in the early 20th century that the volcano would be a perfect site for a recreation complex. So, there is a nice resort conveniently located right at the volcano. Since it’s uphill from the volcano, it’s perfectly safe from the volcano’s violent eruptions that has claimed a couple nearby towns (182 homes
in the recent eruption) and has already added 600 acres of new land on the coast.
The current eruption is at a newly created vent on the volcano called Pu’u O’o. So, my goal was two fold. One, to watch the volcano come to life at night; two, see flowing lava up close and personal.
To the first goal’s end, I arrived in the late afternoon and immediately headed down to Pu’u O’o after I checked in at the resort. When I got there, I found a huge crowd that had a similar idea. There were a couple hundred cars parked on the side of the road. There is no parking lot and there are old (meaning hard and cold) lava fields that cover the whole area. When I found a parking spot, I set out on a half mile hike, just to get to the start of the trail. Once there, it was a mile and a half over a rough and uneven lava field to reach the viewing site.
Here you can see what happened to the road:

Since there is no sunlight to compete with, the lava in the late afternoon and early evening looks like it is more abundant.
Unfortunately, my camera was not able to get adequate shots of the lava field at night, but here’s what I have.

Imagine a river of fire visible miles away, with the end of the river pouring tons of liquid rock into the ocean.
When the lava hits the ocean it is instantly quenched.
That night, I only hiked in the hour or so to get to the viewing site. Since I was by myself and not familiar with the area, I decided to make the night hike an expeditionary hike. Although I would have loved to hike all the way to the surface lava right away, I decided to make that my goal for the next day. I got back to the resort at about 10PM, after spending quite a while just enjoying the view out on the lava field. The next morning, I was back out there, but this time I could see everything around me and allowed me to go much faster.
Don’t worry, before I set out, I checked in with the ranger station and got the best description of the current flow (it’s obviously always changing and therefore in different locations). Also, the active surface flow was marked by the dozens of helicopter tours that circled overhead.
So, I set out to find fresh lava.

As you can see, the lava makes a surreal landscape.


Here’s what a lava tube looks like. This one looks like there was a clog and the pressure built up so much, it blew up!


Plants are already in the process of taking the land back.

The ground I was walking was formed sometime between 2003 and now (that’s how long the lava has been flowing in the area, at least).
The description I got was that the lava was somewhere between 200 and 400 feet above sea level and past the place where the lava pours into the ocean. You’d think that would be more than enough information to find flowing lava. Well, since the flowing lava can be hard see from a distance, it’s a bit like finding a needle in a haystack.
However, I got to the area I thought the lava should be at and there was nothing but lots of steam coming from the cracks, indicative of lava below, but nothing on the surface. So, I headed up the hill (where I knew I would find lava … I could see the lava rivers a few hundred feet up the hill).
As I came up over a little ridge, suddenly, I was right in the middle of an active lava field! A little surprising, but very exciting!
I spent lots of time exploring and watching the flow. It was fascinating. Kind of hypnotizing like watching a campfire.
Here’s what the earth looks like as it’s being born.






After I was in a spot for a while I moved up the hill for a while. When I came back to my original spot, it was entirely COVERED! Luckily, the lava flows slowly (so I wasn’t in danger of being covered myself), but it was a strange feeling. Also, even though the lava is 2,000 degrees, you can still get pretty close (I was about a foot away getting some of these shots).



So, after I had my fill, I headed back to the ranger station and completed the 10 mile round trip hike in about 5 hours (it was rather slow going through the lava fields…).
After the lava, I wanted to see what a black sand beach was like, so I drove back up and around to the other side of the lava. There was a world famous black sand beach just down the coast. Unfortunately, it is now covered in about 70 feet of lava. There are still a couple other black sand beaches though. While they may not have the same allure as the old one, the one I was on was quite beautiful. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with. So, I will leave it to your imagination to see a black sand beach with smooth black stones and a raging sea crashing and palm trees protecting the beach goers from the sun and rain.
Wow, what a weekend! 🙂
–Jim

I finished the rest of the weekend with two new experiences (at least sort of). My time here has been characterized by adventurous experiences … by myself. I am not used to doing things like this without my beautiful wife, Anna.
So, it’s a little bitter sweet that I get to have fun and try these new activities.
First up for the day was a stop on the North Shore at Dillingham Airfield. I decided that it had been entirely too long since I last flew. So, since I had never taken an ultralight (this particular one was a two-person powered hang glider also known as a “trike”), I decided that was the way to go. Well, the flight was a blast. We went anywhere from 500 feet to 3,000 feet above the ground. Since the seats were basically just lawn chairs (with a very secure harness, of course), the view was breathtaking. We flew for over an hour and went all across the north shore Oahu.
Here are a few shots from the flight to show you what I am talking about:

Flying over the North Shore:



Second stop was out on the ocean. For those of you who have read the previous post on the dive trip Anna and I took to Palau, you know we’ve dove with sharks. This was a whole different experience though. Previously, if we happened to see a shark, great, but it wasn’t the objective of the dive. Also, the sharks we had seen were reef sharks (black tip, white tip and gray) and not particularly aggressive. This time, we were after more aggressive sharks (Galapagos). So instead of using scuba gear to get close, we used a boat and a very strong cage. Here’s the boat and our protection from the animals we were searching for.

On the ride out to the buoy, we were treated to more north shore visitors.



As you may be able to tell from the last picture, we found a migratory humpback whale with her very new calf (from Alaska).
When we arrived, it didn’t take long for the sharks to hear the sound of the boat’s engine and come say hi. 🙂


The two guides tied us to the buoy and launched the cage. There were eight of us on the boat, so we went into the cage, four at a time.


I chose to go in the second group. So, after the first four got in the cage, the guides took out a large bucket of random fish parts. They tossed in pieces and basically got the sharks a little more excited with the free food passed out. In fact, there were long pieces of skin. You can see here what the guide did…

The sharks almost look tame (like a dog sitting up for a treat). However, that assumption could be very dangerous.
If you lose respect for these predators it could be fatal (or at least painful).
Each group spent 25 minutes in the cage. Since I have gotten used to the warm water in Guam, that was plenty long enough for me to get a little chilly.
Here’s my group in the water:

This shot gives you a better idea of how large the sharks were.

Basically, these sharks were anywhere from 6-12 feet long. That was only slightly larger than the reef sharks we found in Guam and Palau. However, in the water, they looked significantly larger! Of course that may also be because we watched them feeding… 🙂
Also, along with the sharks looking for a free meal, there was a large school of mackerel (probably 400 or so).
It was a great way to get up close and personal in complete safety to these spectacular predators. Next time though, I would love to find some great whites. we’ll leave that one for another time though.
So, after that thrilling morning, I headed back to Honolulu for a quick hop over to the Big Island of Hawai’i. I planned to spend the rest of the weekend chasing another long time desire.
So, until then…
–Jim

Hi everyone, ok, so I have now spent almost a week here in Hawaii. I am here to help with a quasi-promotion board. My job is to help prepare about 350 records to meet a board of senior officers who will decide who gets a promotion recommendation. The actual promotion selection will come later at another board in Texas where they look at all the records from the Air Force. This board is just for the Pacific Theater bases (Guam, Alaska, Hawaii, Japan, & Korea).
That said, we have had a fairly light schedule this week. There are 5 people here to help out with the board. Since it’s normally a 3 person job (they brought more of us to give us better exposure), we’ve gotten things done quickly. In fact, today I had off! What a treat! 🙂
Since I often have to work at least part of the time on the weekends, this is some compensation at least.
Let me backtrack for a minute. Since Anna and I have lived on Guam we’ve talked numerous times about learning to surf, however, for one reason or another, we never did. I found myself in the surfing capital of the world last weekend with an entire day to myself. So, I decided it was high time to remedy my surfing desire.
I took a group lesson and after about 30 minutes of land instruction (in both English and Japanese, of course), the 6 students and 4 instructors headed out to catch the waves of Waikiki.
Now, for those of you who aren’t familiar with learning to surf, let me clarify a couple things.
1. The surfboards one starts out on are HUGE. I mean they are aptly called floating sidewalks (12 feet of foam and so buoyant that you can almost stand up on them without a wave to push you).
2. The waves we caught were not the 20′ curling waves of the North Shore. These were more the 2-3′ variety. I thought they were just right. Not too big and not too small. 🙂
Now, hopefully, that will put things in perspective a little more.
Here we are on the way out.


Our guides were happy to bring us out to the best location and paddle next to us and when the right wave was coming, say “Go … start paddling! Paddle faster! Harder!” Sometimes they even added a little push to get things going.
After one minor miscommunication with my guide, I was able get up on a wave and ride it in the 100 yards to shore. It was quite a thrill! Then the hard part began. I was eager to get back out and try it again, so I paddled hard. After the third wave, my arms began to get very heavy. By the end of the hour out there, my arms were like lead. As we paddled back in to shore, I could barely raise my arms to complete a stroke. Wow, I was not expecting that to be the hardest part of the experience!
By the end of the hour in the water, I could (relatively) get up easily and ride in a straight line. I still have much to learn in the wave of turning and using a smaller board, but it’s a start at least!
Here are a few pictures of me and the group that went with me:

As you can tell, I was a little excited just to be up riding a wave!



Here are the others in the group:

This kid was a natural!

A Japanese couple’s first attempt at holding hands while surfing…

Now the last, and SUCCESS!

The rest of the week has been filled with work and when not working, it’s been rather rainy. So, my outdoor activities (including the golf I planned to do) have been curtailed. That changed today though.
I started the morning off with a refreshing run and countered that with a divine (albeit unhealthy) pancake breakfast. It’s purported to be one of the best places around. I agree it was good. It’s a place called Eggs and Things if you stop by Honolulu.
Then off to the second biggest tourist attraction (after Pearl Harbor), snorkeling in Hanauma Bay. It was nice, but very similar to Guam. The visibility was much less (although the rough surf may have had something to do with that.
After, I continued around the windward side of the island. Since Oahu is about 3 times the size of Guam, it took a little while. The windward side was beautiful though. Much less crowded and the mountains and sea are very majestic.
I made it up to the North Shore in the late afternoon and spent a while just sitting on the beach in awe of the surfers who rode the very large waves.


It’s hard to describe, but these guys are all decked out in protective gear (the waves are big, the water is shallow, and the rocks/coral is hard … dangerous combination) and the drop into some very serious waves. The waves look very innocuous, until you see a person that is only a third or half the size of the wave (sometimes less).
After I had my fill of those two world famous surfing spots, I stopped at another unique location. It’s a place where they have VERY gregarious and friendly sea turtles. When I got there (right around sunset), there were three turtles lying on the beach supposedly drying themselves out. There were many more in the water, but the rip tide was too strong to don a mask and snorkel and jump in with them. Hopefully, I will be able to go back tomorrow morning.


I will leave tomorrow’s activities to the next post.
I finished off the evening watching a fireworks show from my room…

Until the next post…
–Jim

The first stop on the day’s itinerary was to a very pretty bird sanctuary. While there are birds on Guam (contrary to the common misconception that the Brown Treesnake has eaten them all), but not large preserves like this.



Next destination was a latte stone quarry. This site has a number of unfinished latte stones. The bowl shaped piece goes on top of the rectangular base. If these were completed, they would have been some of the largest in all of Micronesia. However, most likely, these would have been used symbolically instead of for construction. It’s also possible that construction was halted by the Spanish when they subjugated the area in the 16th century.



We headed back to the water on the other side of the island. This is a popular swim hole. As you can see, the surf had picked up a little from the previous day. Fortunately, we were in a relatively protected location.

The ancient Chamorro people often used caves and karsts for shelter. One enterprising family made use of one and turned it into a small museum. While the displays were inelegant, it was interesting nonetheless.


Here’s an example of a sling stone. It’s the first that I’ve seen. The shape is prominently displayed on the Guam flag.

Here are some unique artifacts from the time of the Spanish.

Mark is manning the WWII Japanese guns…

Here’s what the erect latte stones look like. Of course there is no building on them, but it’s a good example at least.

Next up was a trip back to the run course to show the girls the view from the course and stop by another scenic overlook.

Putting another WWII Japanese gun to good use.



Back to the village our hotel was in and up the hill nearby to get a better view. Here’s what it looks like.

Here’s our hotel (the large building in the center).

Well, that whirlwind tour took us to just about all the high points on the island. So, it was time to load up our gear, and head back home.

Just a short flight and our condo was in view. Ours is the medium size white building in the center of the photo.

It was another great weekend trip. If you ever want a great quiet little tropical island to get away to, Rota is your place. 🙂
So, until the next adventure…
–Jim