About 2 weeks ago, our friends Jen and Ryan flew all the way from Michigan to Kwaj to visit us! We wanted to make sure they got to experience all that Kwaj has to offer, so needless to say we had one crazy, busy, fun, whirlwind week!
First I gotta say, Ryan and Jen get major brownie points for one of the best gifts ever! A few months before they came, Ryan asked me if we wanted them to bring anything special out to us, since we can't get a lot of stateside luxuries out here on Kwaj. I kid you not the only thing I could think to ask for was a Chai Latte from Starbucks! Lame I know. I told them I was just joking cause I knew there was no convenient way to get a Starbucks drink to me, but really...I'd been craving one for months and that's all I really wanted. After they landed, Johnathon took Ryan and Jen to visit me at work and the first thing they did was hand me a GIANT THERMOS OF STEAMING HOT CHAI LATTE!!!! I mean...these people packed an empty thermos, and asked the people at Starbucks to make it extra hot so it would make the flight from Honolulu to Kwaj and still be warm! Like I said...BEST GIFT EVER!!
Anywho....back to Ryan and Jen! They had a super long flight the first day, so we tried to keep things pretty low key. Johnathon took them on a tour of the island, then, after I got off work we went to watch the sunset at Emon, then finished the night with drinks on our patio.
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| Part of the island tour: highest point on the island is from telemetry hill |
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| Panoramic view of Coral Sands beach |
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| the "hot tub": the power plant shoots out warm water into the lagoon, and at low tide the warm water gets caught in this rock formation making a hot tub....that may or may not be safe to get in.... |
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| Sadie enjoying the sunset (and actually looking at the camera...amazing!) |
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| Watching the sunset on the first night...Sadie wanted to come too |
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| It had rained all day so I'm glad the sun appeared in time for a perfect sunset |
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| Chillin at Casa McClellan |
The next morning we took the Sekol's to play golf at Kwaj's super professional , world renowned 9 hole golf course! While none of us are good by any means, Jen, who hasn't played since she was a kid, schooled all of us! She was awesome! I had to work that afternoon, but that evening we all went to watch the first game in the Kwaj World Series.
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| Jen showing us how its done! |
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| This is me trying really hard to just get the ball airborne! |
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| Taking in the baseball game...(sorry Jen this is the only photo I had of the game) lol |
The next day we got up bright and early to catch the flight to Roi-Namur, the island that Johnathon works on at the North end of the atoll. Unfortunately we were flying standby and both the flights were unusually full so we didn't end up making it. However our back up plan wasn't too shabby...
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| Ryan and Jen getting some quality time at Emon Beach |
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| Love this guy! |
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| Our day in a nutshell..floating the day away... |
The next day Jon and Jerrod took us fishing on their boat the Nalu. We were really hoping that Ryan and Jen would catch something while we were out, and boy did they! Jon was our captain and he took us out ocean side along the West side of the atoll. We hadn't been out very long when we caught an Ono which is a kind of tuna that looks like an over sized baracuda. We trolled up the atoll for a few hours, then stopped near a reef so the guys could snorkel. I had no interest in jumping in open water, but the ocean was the closest thing I had to a restroom for the next few hours so...in I went!
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| I sat on the side for about 15mins trying to convince myself I could jump in, pee, and climb back in without getting eaten by a shark |
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| Me looking totally relaxed after jumping in.... |
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| The boys on the other hand were having a blast snorkeling |
On our way back to Kwaj we were about to call it a day, when Jon saw a HUGE bird pile off in the distance. A bird pile usually indicates there are fish beneath the surface, and man were there fish! Our lines started going crazy the second we passed through the bird pile. Jen started reeling in a nice yellow fin when we noticed something swimming behind it. Jerrod thought it was a marlin at first, but we quickly realized it was a shark trying to steal out catch! Jen was a pro though, and reeled in the fish without losing it to the shark. Jon wasn't so lucky though...what I would call a "sizeable" shark came up and took a huge chunk out of his fish! It was crazy! I felt like I was in an episode of Deadliest Catch! After hitting it big in the bird pile we took it easy and enjoyed a spectacular sunset over the Pacific. After it got dark, my seasickness decided to rear its ugly head. We went through some pretty rough water as we crossed from the ocean into the lagoon, and I was holding on for dear life. Everyone else seemed to be doing fine though, so I did my best to suck it up. :) I have to say ...I've never been more excited than I was when we reached the dock. Here are some pictures of the bird pile, sunset, and and our catch!
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| Johnathon, Ryan, and Jerrod ready to fish! |
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| Captain Jon |
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| Jen and I |
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| just some of our catch |
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| fearsome fisherman :) |
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| Massive bird pile..picture this all the way around our little boat |
The next day I had to work, but everyone else made it up to Roi to tour the radar Johnathon works at, as well as all the WWII sites. The Japanese had control over the Marshall Islands through most of WWII, and Roi Namur still has lots of Japanese bunkers still intact on the island. Later that night we celebrated having our friends come and visit by having everyone down for a shrimp boil on the beach. It was our first time hosting a shrimp boil, and besides having some technical difficulties getting the water to boil, ( may have had something to do with Johanthon sticking the pot where wind was blowing directly at it...not sure?!?!?) the food was great and it was a big success!
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| Large Japanese guns! |
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| Ryan comparing foot prints with the Japanese footprints still visible in the concrete |
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| Johnathon showing us how "hard" he works everyday ;) |
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| Ryan and Jen at the Gabby Shack |
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| Of course our one pic of the whole group I wasn't looking..oh well! Here's everyone at the shrimp boil! |
The last day of Ryan and Jen's visit we just took it easy and went for a low key boat ride to see some of the ship wrecks in the atoll, then logged some more quality beach time. We couldn't let them leave, however, without making some sushi! Ryan and Johnathon went to town making some awesome tuna rolls for us. Jen was a little scared of eating raw fish, but the rest of us ate some and it was delicious!
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| This never gets old... |
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| Cheers from Kwaj! |
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| Panoramic of Emon Beach |
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| Boys making some sushi rolls |
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| Prinz Eugen..a German heavy cruiser that sunk off one of the islands in the atoll.... |
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| For my dad: Wikipedia says the Prinz Eugen sailed with the Bismarck and helped the Bismarck engage the British ships Hood and Prince of Wales. It was given to the US Navy after the war and was used during the nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll. How cool?! |
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| The concrete wreck...who makes a whole ship out of concrete!?!? |
We are so glad the Sekol's came to visit, and that we got to show them where we live! Thanks for coming to visit Sekol's! We hope y'all had as much fun as we did!
