Visitors!

For nearly a year we've been trying to convince friends and family to come see this beautiful island. We finally had someone take us up on the offer to crash on our couches and we didn't even make them sleep on the couch! My parents came for a few days this month so Clif and I took some days off work to be tour guides. The kids were so excited to show the island to their grandparents - they helped us plan our outings so we didn't miss out on any of their favorite spots (like the old WWII guns, which happen to be just about the coolest thing if you're a 6 or 8 year old boy).

The first day they were here, I put my mom to work. Our friends Moi and Polu were getting married and we heard that it's traditional for couples to wear matching outfits to weddings. All the sewing shops were so busy with outfits for graduations the same week that I ended up sewing my own puletasi. Unfortunately, I was sick the weekend before so I hadn't been able to get it done before my parents got here. Thank goodness my mom likes to sew! We finished up just in time for the wedding.

In the rush of getting to the wedding in time we forgot to take our camera. I wish we hadn't because it was amazing (see here and here for picture proof, including pictures of us in our matchy outfits)! Moi and Polu are such a great couple and I can't imagine a more beautiful setting for their wedding. We were so honored to be able to share their day with them.

And then the running around began! My dad vacations like no one else. If he can he'll wake up at the crack of dawn, run around all day seeing nearly a week's worth of sights in a day -barely stopping to munch some crackers for lunch en route to the next place and only really taking the time to eat after it's too dark or too late to see anything else. You see a lot of stuff that way, but you need a vacation to relax after your vacation to sight-see! I've gotten used to the laid-back Samoan pace so I was glad that it's a small island and, even if we wanted it to, that just can't happen here. We did manage to see a whole lot of island in a few short days, but I'm sure my dad would have liked to see more. I suppose that just means they'll have to come back ;)

First we stopped to check out the octopi on side of the road in Faga'alu. We've driven past these before, but hadn't ever stopped to see (and smell) them up close. Simon didn't seem too sure about it.

We hiked to the old WWII guns on Blunt's Point, with Everett leading the way. The first gun has been cleaned up and drained. The second one, a little higher on the hill, is absolutely full of toads! It was crazy to see how many were in there. Simon found a tiny one (on the leaf in the picture at the beginning of the post) that was about as big as a little black bean.

We drove the the end of the road on the East side of the island and stopped for a picnic in a fale at a beautiful beach with Aunu'u in the background.

We hiked out to see Pola Island in Vatia, snorkeled, hung out on the beach, and even got to see an amazing sunset over the mountains.

We hiked out to Airport Lagoon for some snorkeling and shell collecting. I'm sure I've said this many times, but airport is one of our favorite beaches on the island. The snorkeling is excellent and the hike is beautiful, especially at high tide when the blowholes are going crazy.

Then Ruth, my sister, came too. Ruth is staying until August! Everett and Simon have been talking about it for months, "our Aunt Ruth is coming and she's going to teach us school stuff and we're going to call her Miss Ruth" over and over. It's calmed down a bit lately, but not because they are any less excited!

The next morning we hiked Mount Alava in the National Park of American Samoa (described in more detail here). Everett was really excited about writing his name in the book in the fale at the top. The hike back down was much slower because Ruth showed Simon the grass that closes when you touch it. He tried to touch every single one he could see the whole way down, which, as you may imagine, slows down a 6-yr old just a little bit.

We hurried down the mountain (well, except for Simon who was too busy closing the grass) to get cleaned up and ready to eat dinner at Tisa's. Mmmmmm. I don't know how Candyman makes breadfruit taste so good - except that coconut cream is somehow involved, which makes everything taste better!
Then we snorkeled at Faga'alu and saw lots of cool stuff - tons of trumpetfish, moorish idols, and even an eel.

We shopped for souvenirs and then they left for Hawaii. Thanks for coming mom and dad!

Mt. Alava hike

Sunday I hiked to the top of Mt. Alava in the National Park. This half of the trail isn't particularly hard since it's just a double track dirt road, but it's long (3.6 miles each way) and it's tall (1610') and it's hot (8o-something degrees) and it's humid (80%) and it's exhausting (no data on this, you'll just have to trust me).

The beginning of the trail is at the star in the picture and the trail/road follows ridgeline for the most part. At the top are the remains of the old cable car that used to take people (including my father-in-law when his navy ship visited the island) from Fagatogo/Utulei to the top of Mt. Alava.

I've been wanting to do this hike for a while, but was a little unsure at how seeing the entire island at once would affect my sanity. There is a huge difference (at least for me) in knowing that the island is less than 55 square miles, and actually seeing all 55 square miles at one time. Especially since we still haven't left those 55 square miles and have no plans to do so in the immediate future.

At first I avoided places where I could see too much of the island at once, refused to drive to the end of the road on each end of the island, and just generally behaved psychotically in my attempts to make sure that there were edges of the island still left to be seen -because if I hadn't actually seen that the island ended in a certain place, I could always imagine that there was land behind those particular mountains instead of ocean.

Well, the Mt. Alava hike was the end of those mental games. I clearly saw just how small the island was and it really didn't feel that small. Small. But not "impossible to live on, I have to get off this rock" small. Maybe the "serpentine island" thing (long and winding, like a serpent sleeping in the ocean) makes the island look bigger than I thought 55 square miles should look or maybe I've finally wrapped my mind around the idea of living so far from a continent that the only thing visible from one of the highest points on the island is a little bit of island and a whole lot of ocean. Regardless, it was a pretty amazing view and I'll definitely be doing it again sometime.