Monday was chore day. For those that don't know, I'm a check-in-the-box kinda guy, the type that always liked to finish homework before going out to play (some call this "nerdy" behavior). So, Monday the girls and I knocked out the grocery shopping, vacuumed the house and did multiple loads o' laundry so we (I) could enjoy some guilt-free vacation time the rest of the week.
Tuesday I brought the girls to their school because I had an eight o'clock meeting with the principal and vice principal about the base's unattended children policy we are updating. I wanted to make sure we were synched with what the school currently does with respect to releasing students in Kindergarten and 1st grade. After that, we spent the afternoon at Gab Gab beach on base building sandcastles.
Wednesday (today) I had to take a PRT (physical readiness test) at 0600. I was home by 0800, so I wasn't really missed. Most importantly, I didn't impact any of our plans.
The girls had been asking to go to Talofofo Falls for a while now, so I figured this was a good day to do it. It was nothing like I expected.
Sam and I had hiked to some falls when we were in Guam the last time (between '96 and '98). Turns out they were called Tarzan Falls. Tarzan Falls was a fair hike from the main road to some smallish sized falls in the middle of the jungle where you could then get in the pool at the bottom and cool off. Anticipating this, I had the girls wear their bathing suits under their 'hiking' clothes so they could jump in when we got there.
Unfortunately, Talofofo was nothing like this. It bills itself as a 'resort park' but it's about as trailer-trashy a place as you'd ever want to visit. Trust me. I left out the pictures of the child's train, 'love land' (don't ask), bumper cars, tea-cups ride, and 'mono-rail' - just suffice it to say I wouldn't put any of your kids on those rides.
The highlights of this field trip were the cable car we took down to the falls, the wild pigs walking around the 'park', the boonie dogs and boonie puppy, and the lively debate we had about whether we should enter the 'ghost house' - we didn't (thanks Ellie - always the voice of reason). The biggest letdown however was that there was no swimming allowed! Of course, we didn't know this until we made it to the bottom, so as bad as the park was up top, there was always the payoff that once we got to the bottom, the would be able to cool off under a waterfall.
Therefore, we all decided when we got home we would swing by Gab Gab and jump into the 3-sided ocean pool to cool down. This helped take the bitterness out of everyone's day and Maddie stopped mumbling that we should get our money back.
Photo's below - enjoy!
This is kinda neat. It's a depiction of the cave Yokoi (a Japanese soldier from WWII) lived in for 28 years. He apparently thought the war was still on and continued to hide out year after year. I think he must have had some mental issues.
Descending to the falls in the cable car. Cause we've got high hopes, we've got - high hopes...
Hopes are still high as we cross the suspension bridge that the cool water awaits!
Ellie finds out we aren't allowed to swim at the falls. Maddie wouldn't even pose!
Wilds pigs at the falls (one of the day's highlights).
At the end of it all, we stopped by Gab Gab beach on base for a quick cool-down. All's well that end's well.
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