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!

Vatia (again again)

We spent another weekend in Vatia; this time at the other side of the village near Pola Island. The side with the National Park is great for hiking and scenery, but not the best for spending time at the beach. It's rocky and the waves tend to be pretty big, while the other side has some sandy areas and is more protected from the larger waves.

That's not to say we didn't enjoy ourselves. Everett's especially good at keeping himself entertained - trying to pull a piece of driftwood out from between some rocks took at least an hour! As always, the diving was great.

Vatia (again)

We spent Saturday in Vatia - it's becoming one of our favorite places for diving and hanging out on the beach. The dive was incredible. We saw a bunch of fish, but the most amazing thing was the Tahitian stingray we saw. Clif almost swam right over it before I could get his attention. We watched it for a while, swam around to the other side of it so we were able to get a great look, watched it some more, and then it finally got tired of us hanging around and swam away. Watching it lift up off the sand and swim away was one of the coolest things I've seen in the ocean.

New Years

We had a few people over on New Year's Eve. The kids were so excited to stay up until midnight, and they really enjoyed all the glow stuff that came in a Christmas package. Those things provided hours of entertainment -thanks, mom & dad!

In the morning, Everett actually slept in.

We spent the first day of the new year at the beach in Vatia. We went diving, snorkeling, and kayaking - it was a great way to start the new year.

Vatia

We heard it on good authority (thanks to the prior clerks for a great list) that Vatia is one of the best beaches on Tutuila. So we had to go check it out. We loved it!

We snorkeled around and some of the more exciting things we spotted were a ray (Clif), a banded pipefish (Everett & I), and a peva (Everett & I). Peva is the Samoan word. I haven't been able to find an English term other than it's technical name - synapta maculata. But it looks like this.

Just as we were winding up, a group of some new friends showed up. In a happy coincidence they had planned to go to Vatia that day too. We stayed all day and had a great time getting to know them better.