Day 2

Day 2 we headed into the central market area of Apia. There are two markets--one which boasts acres of fresh fruit, fish, tobacco, and arts and crafts and a second market that is mostly devoted to fabrics and arts and crafts.

On this particular day we headed to the first or "main" market I mentioned. It was a colorful sight to look across the rows and rows of goods for sale. It was also stifling hot. We learned quickly that if you stopped and browsed for just a second, you would have someone fanning you. I guess it is their way of coaxing you to buy.

Some of the colorful handicrafts...

The girls loaded up on handbags, jewelry and such. I went more for the finer crafted wood items. I bought the largest kava bowl I could find and bless Dan's heart, he carried all the way back to the car and then had it boxed up to be taken home. He always humors me!


After the market, we did a little bit of waiting in the lobby while Dan ran down to the closest ATM to get some local money or tala to have on hand.
Hilary, Julia, Emily and I walked across the street from the hotel and enjoyed the harbor view.




We loved seeing all the vibrantly painted buses that are everywhere. We had planned on riding in one but I felt guilty even taking any space from the locals who were almost always piled on top of each other for a seat.

The harbor was quite beautiful but sadly so trash laden. In fact, in all of the country, I saw 2 garbage cans and those were located in front of the McDonald's.

The navy ship in the background belongs to Australia. We ran into some Aussie sailors later in the day that were on a stopover in Apia on their way to Honolulu.

We learned really quick that a cold Coke is a coveted one. In fact, any cold drink is hard to come by even if they've been refrigerated. Sadly, Diet Coke was almost extinct and I had to settle for Diet Shasta. We stocked up on bottled water because the local water was said to be undrinkable. I guess you can drink it--Dan did on his mission--just not preferred.

Our next destination was Papase'ea Sliding Rocks not far from the hotel. There are a series of waterfalls in the area that feed into natural pools of fresh water. A few of the slides are smaller or medium sized and one area where they are quite steep. Let's just say that after I nearly went into cardiac arrest watching Julia slide down the steepest slide sideways I passed on the largest. The others were a lot of fun and not quite as smooth on the post exterior as I would have thought. We had a lot of laughs!

Just one view of some of the waterfalls looking deceptively small.

Hannah

Hilary

Julia being completely fearless. This is the child that a year ago didn't want anything to do with Splash Mountain at Disneyland... go figure... I guess she prefers the "real deal" because she went down slide after slide.

A series of stairs that we walked down and hiked up to get in and out of the area.

The evening we ended the day with a traditional Samoan fia fia (Hawaiin equivalent to a luau).

The entertainment was amazing and included everything you could think of-- beautiful Samoan voices, slap dances and fire dances. The only surprise was that they served dinner after 90 minutes of entertainment. By the time we ate it was 1am according to our body clock so we were famished! The food was Samoan, mixed in with a few salads that I braved. The kids were much better about trying all the food. As Dan says, Samoan food is an acquired taste.

Waiting for the fia fia to begin...

Notice the woven fans...they are absolutely essential in Samoa--pretty much everywhere you go you need them. The fans were the first thing we bought at the market.

Julia made it part way through the entertainment and then crashed on my lap.

She woke up and ate as enthusiastically as I did :)

We called it a night and prepared for another big day!

Salt Lake City to Apia, Samoa...Day 1

June 15th we headed to the Salt Lake City airport to catch a flight to LAX, the first leg of our 11 hour journey.

We piled in the back of the car, along with 8 pieces of luggage, not including one carry-on bag for each of us. We had a suitcase full of snacks and another large duffle bag filled with all of our snorkeling gear.


Julia killed some time writing in her journal in Salt Lake. Our plane was a little late taking off which made for a quick change of planes in Los Angeles. We had a direct flight on Air New Zealand to Apia.

There were so many missionaries at the Salt Lake airport waiting to head out into the mission field, two of whom happened to be native Samoans headed to the Fiji mission. Dan had so much fun talking to them and they insisted that we take some of their goodies they had stashed for their flights---Oreos and giant candy bars. I was reluctant to accept them but Dan said it is considered rude in their culture to not accept something that is offered.

We finally arrived in Apia, Samoa at 5:30 am local time.

Can you tell that I'm ready for a shower and a change of clothes? I couldn't believe how warm and humid it was when we stepped off the plane into the dark morning. I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised considering Samoa is so close to the equator.

We had reserved a rental van before we arrived and really had no idea what we'd be getting. It was a 2007 Toyota with 15 seats and the all important A/C. The van was stick shift and the car rental attendant claimed the van had been used by the Survivor crew during filming. We weren't overly impressed by that fact and I have to admit I became a little nervous when the attendant showed us where the car tools were located. I thought this might be an ominous sign, but we never had to use them. And boy did we run this reliable, noisy van into the ground!

Inside the unairconditioned baggage claim we were greeted by these guys. I couldn't believe how early it was in the morning and they were there all smiles singing.

The drive from the airport to the main part of Apia was about 45 minutes. We drove along the main road through village after village, catching glimpses of school children in their brightly colored uniforms walking alongside the road. We also saw scenes of what would become familiar throughtout our stay--- chickens, pigs, dogs, and horses roaming everywhere but the street. I swear the loose animals there stop and look both ways before crossing the street.

Something that impressed me right off on the drive to Apia were all the young children out in their yards with large baskets picking up breadfruit. We were told that it is pretty common for children to be up at dawn doing chores before going to school.

This is just one view of Apia harbor where we stayed. We were so grateful that we were able to check into our rooms at Aggie Grey's when we arrived. We all took showers, changed clothes, and headed out for our first full day in Samoa!

Home Sweet Home

We had an unbelievable and unforgettable trip to Samoa and we are home! Before I sort through all the pictures and video footage, I have a few notables to mention...

-Dan received more giggles and gasps from locals when they heard him speaking so fluently in Samoan. If they didn't know him, they were blown away and amazed. He also kept the local males in check when remarks (they didn't think he understood) were made about all the females in toe. Mostly, he endeared himself over and over to everyone he met.

-Most of us kept special journals while we were there and tried to write in them daily. I seemed to have logged the most pages, 32 in all. I'm so glad I did because everything we saw and did seems to be a blur now. Perhaps it's just jet lag.

-Emily took the most photos and the best ones I might add. She isn't afraid to try anything or any food. She traveled with a bad cold and didn't let it slow her down.

-Hilary had the most dramatic experience and scared us a bit when we had to take her to a local "hospital" on the last day. More on all that later. She and I talked about our longing for green vegetables throughout the trip.

-Hannah definitely wins the award for waving and smiling to the most people. I heard her say many times--"He waved to me first!" She only made one local little girl in a village cry with her smile. I'm pretty sure the girl had never seen a white person before. She also accumulated the most bug bites.

-Julia was the die hard snorkeler and swimmer. She wanted to do it almost non stop. She looked as local as any of us with her olive skin and dark hair and eyes.

More to come...

Where Would You Choose to Sleep...

if given the choice?

Just curious...we're sort split in the family on the choice.

We've decided we are going to "rough it" one night on Savai'i for the fun of it.

The first photo is a typical beach fale in Samoa--

thin mattresses and mosquito nets provided.

OR

a roofless platform set up at the top of a banyan tree in the middle of a rainforest--

mattresses and mosquito nets are also complimentary.

(Notice all the stairs involved to get to the top of the tree).

We are really interested in what you would do... let us know!

18

Watch out world...

Emily is 18 today!

It really and truly seems like yesterday that Emily was born right here in Provo, Utah.

We've bounced Emily around over the years....Southern California and Atlanta, Georgia.

But, her heart has always been in Utah.

Eighteen years ago Dan and I had no idea what bringing a new life into the world really meant. We only knew that we were excited beyond belief. Her birth was right out of a textbook (which I can only fully appreciate now). The magic of a baby being born and then the amazement which followed as we realized that we were entrusted with a piece of heaven... a brand new baby.

Flash forward and today Emily attended Relief Society with me... by the way... it was so cool to have her sitting next to me. I know I'm being sappy, but there is nothing more rewarding and wonderful than to see your sweet baby girl grow and progress and move forward into the world a confident, happy, and genuinely good person. She is still a slice of heaven in our home!

We love you Emily and happy birthday!!!

Recommendations

I always have a book on hand and I just finished Larry Miller's autobiography, Driven. I like real stories about real people and this is an inspiring book. Dan read it first and kept sharing snippets from the book with me. I finally told him to not tell me anymore because I wanted to read it too. So, I'll leave it at this--it's a very interesting and inspiring read.

Last night I enjoyed a rare moment. The planets seemed to align for me because I had a movie in hand that I wanted to watch and the alone time to watch it.

(I needed a good movie to absorb myself in after taking my final).

I don't know where I've been, but I didn't know much about this movie. The PG rating and British monarchy theme intrigued me. I absolutely loved this movie! Definitely worth one's time if you haven't already seen it.

I'm always looking for book and movie recommendations, so if you have any, send them my way!

So far...

this summer we've done a lot of whatever we want to do.

I've intended the first week of summer break to be such.

Enjoy the sleeping in until lunch time,

the unmade beds,

the forgotten clothes littering the bedroom floors,

the consumption of food and drink whenever and wherever we like...

(the speckled couch cushions are proof enough that this has proliferated the house this week).

Come Monday, some semblance of a summer schedule will begin.

Oh, did you read that dear children?

In the meantime,

Dan continues his travels here, there and it seems like everywhere. In his rare spare time, he booked our 20 year anniversary trip.

I continue to put off a dreaded final at the testing center while longing for vacation. I've confirmed that my attempts at sunless tanning only result in major skin rashes. I swear I've tried every brand and I have an allergic reaction to every.single.one.

Emily continues her job search, writing of thank you notes and lots of browsing the web for shoes and such.

Hilary has plunged into work and got her first pay check. Look for the 2 cute blondes behind the tube rental counter if you head to 7 Peaks. Enjoying some summer fun with friends.

Hannah mastered the cash register at the tube rental station while squeezing in lots of fun with friends too.

Julia got her first and I hope only (minor) sunburn after 5 hours at Seven Peaks--you can stick a fork in me after two hours at that place. She is nonstop and has pretty much started her summer routine before the rest of us (piano practicing, bed making, reading and writing).

The backyard basketball hoop continues to be the center of nightly Around the World and Speed games while our garden is beginning to sprout strawberries, green beans, tomatoes and more.

I love summer!