What I love! | Peaches Prattlings

{January 24, 2021} Hello Breck…What a Day!

Today was my last day of skiing and I decided on Breckenridge and I was not disappointed. To be honest, like Keystone, I have never been disappointed in skiing at Breckenridge.

It was 25 when I left Golden and 23 when I got to Breckenridge, but crisp and clear, so not terrible. You can tell that it snowed over the last few days, you could see snow on some of the mountains as I drove. Breckenridge was looking good! I found a parking lot and started to get set up for my day. The nice thing was that there was no snow in the parking lot where I parked, so I could step on the ground to get my boots on without fear of wet feet! Yeah!

I struggled, not as much as yesterday, but struggled buckling my boots. Funny enough, one of the women in the jeep that pulled in next to me was having the same issues. Oh boy, as much as it sucks, it’s nice to know someone else is experiencing the same thing! We chatted for a minute and then I was off and running, well, not running, there is no running in ski boots, at least not for me!

I took the gondola up to the first level and got off and went to stand in the very long lift line. The line went a little up the hill, so I trudged up with everyone else and inched my way down with everyone else, finally deciding to put my skis on when I got to flat land, I watched a lot of people standing sideways inching towards the flat spots. Up and up and up we went.

The slopes were wide open and smooth, there was some ice in a few places, they haven’t had a lot of snow over the past few months, but it didn’t get in the way. The ice wasn’t like East Coast ice, that was a plus. The music was on shuffle, never knowing what was coming up next. I swished and swished and swished, even a few straightaways. One of the runs I even shouted “I’m so happy!” and I was. It was such a great feeling!

I took a video of me swishing and swooshing down the hill, I completely forgot my GoPro, duh. One of these days I’ll get it set up and remember to take it with me, grrr. Let’s just say…my hand was mighty cold after 2 minutes and 33 seconds!

Eventually, I made it to the bottom, I can’t tell you how many runs I completed, but it was great, it even started snowing at some point, from the top of the mountain, it seemed as if there was low visibility, but it cleared up as you make your way down, still snowing, but easy to navigate. At the bottom, I used the facilities, had some lunch and decided it was time to go.

Part of me wanted to keep going because it’s my last day in Denver, but my body was telling me something else. Heart vs body, hmmm…body wins! I picked up my skis and headed to the gondola and headed back down to the bottom and towards the shuttle back to the parking lot.

It seems that a lot of people had the same idea, the same people I was ‘getting ready’ with at the car were at their cars to get disassembled, so to speak, at the same time, what are the odds? Granted, if you live in Denver and know you can ski many, many, many days during the season, even if you have to drive 2 hours, it’s worth it to go for just a few hours. It was the same for us when we lived in Hawai’i and would go snorkeling or to the beach, just to go to the beach, we’d go for one to two hours and go home, fair point.

Got ready to drive, headed out, got on the highway and then…what was supposed to be an hour and a half drive…red lights, no movement. I was already on the road about 45 minutes, maybe an hour and I looked at GPS, because of an accident on the highway, the delay was 1 hour and 4 minutes, really? It took me two solid hours to get back to the hotel. I was done! On with the pj’s! Figure out food and talk to you.

Tomorrow is my 12 hour drive back to PSM and two fur babies! And I’m already trying to figure out when I can come back to Denver to get some more skiing in before the end of the season. Hmmm… Despite the traffic, a great day, thank you Breck! Overall, three great days of skiing, fabulous visits with friends and a fabulous trip. Thank you Keystone, Breckenridge, Denver, and Colorado, I heart you!

{January 23, 2021} Treat after Treat after Treat after…

What a day today was, it was treat, after treat, after treat! I admit it, I’m spoiled, and I’ll take it!

Since I couldn’t get a reservation to ski for the day, I made other plans. First… last night I pulled down the blackout curtain, hoping it would help me also in a little. Well, any guesses how that turned out? It’s all good, more time for me to do nothing! Ha Ha!

I thought about going to a yoga class or doing a virtual livestream class and then I thought about something PSM said, you’re skiing, you don’t have to do yoga, true, but I thought it might help, who knows. Then my body said, “um…yeah, you’re good, take it easy” and I listened, go figure! I laid in bed, turned on the tv and vegged out, it was fabulous! Then I got up and made myself an egg sandwich, moved to the couch and continued my relaxing journey! Not a bad way to start a Saturday.

I decided to be a little productive, checking emails, updating a friend’s resume, and making plans for the day, all while relaxing, that works for me! My friend texted that she loved that I had no plans and I have to say, it is refreshing to not have plans when you’re visiting somewhere. It all depends where you are and what you’re doing, right? I used to live in Colorado, there is a lot that I did, but there is also a lot I haven’t done and depending on what it is, I want to share it with PSM. This time, I’m only here to ski and see friends, and since I have the pass and I’m not that far from the mountains, take it easy.

I finally got motivated and headed out the door for my first treat of the day. I drove downtown to see LJ, she has a great apartment overlooking Denver and the view of the Flat Iron Mountains is fabulous! She shares the apartment with her boyfriend JS and their kitten, Steve. OM G, what a doll baby! Cutest little orange tabby with a lot of energy and a name tag that might be bigger than him!

We sat down and talked and talked, about everything and nothing, and just like all our conversations it went all over the place, par for the course, of course! All the while Steve took turns biting my toes and fingers, pouncing on me and other things, and settling in next to his mom’s side happy as can be. Oh my am I getting my fix!

After a bit, we looked for a place to go and LJ is one of the friends I have who tries to go vegan with me, a lot of places we called had a wait and we decided on…Edgewater Public Market, I’m in! She’s been there a bunch and her yoga studio is there, same one PSM and I go to, which means…next time we travel to Denver, we can go to our yoga studio! She went off and got pizza and I got a vegan chicken Caesar salad from Meta Burger, another hit! I told her about my dinner from last night and she had to get a side of the vegan mac-n-cheese, she was not disappointed! And we talked some more, we can do this for hours, wait, we are!

Then…another treat! We both saved room and went over to Happy Cone for some vegan gelato for me and full on fabulous ice cream for her! We were both quite pleased. It’s a simple ice cream shop, ‘New Zealand style creamery handmaking ice cream, chocolates and happiness’ is the tag from their website. I believe Hap Cameron, the owner was the one who scooped our treats, I could be wrong, but it sounded like a New Zealand accent when he spoke…through his mask!

Then we sat and talked some more, go figure, then a strange smell wafted by and despite the masks, we could still smell it, it was probably someone’s food as a few people walked by, but it was time for us to get some fresh air, so we went to the outside heated tent and sat at a recently cleaned table and talked some more. I mean, when don’t we talk!? I’ve told you this before, one of my favorite things about my friends is that we can sit and talk about everything and nothing and it’s always as if no time has passed. Eventually, sadly, it was time to leave. I took LJ back home, we said our goodbyes and hugs and headed off in different directions. Looking forward to the next time!

I called AM and we worked on dinner plans, that was the plan after all, hang with friends! He called in an order at City O’ City, I think we’ve talked about it before, but I la la la love this place! I placed my order for ‘chikn’ n waffles. The chikin’ is fried cauliflower, not to worry, the waffles are actual waffles! It’s served with vegan creme fraiche, maple syrup, and carrot bacon. We also had seitan wings for an appetizer, y-u-m! There was a vegan pizza, and for dessert…a ho-ho cupcake and a whoopie pie. Let’s just say, if you come with me to Denver, I’ll take you to City O’ City. I’ll tell you how good it is…the first place LJ asked about getting lunch…City O’ City! Oh yeah!

I picked up the food and headed to AM’s house, it was AM and his daughter…AM! Ha Ha, his wife NM was at their house in the mountains, I was bummed not to get to see her, we kept missing each other this weekend. It was a great time! We talked school, a teeny bit politics, books, movies, podcasts, it was quite the dinner conversation!

When the younger AM went to bed, AM and I retreated to the den, popped in Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan‘s first movie together, Joe Versus the Volcano then spent the next 1.45 hours talking movies, discussing almost every movie on the wall, laughing, disagreeing, agreeing, howling, taking moments to actually watch some of the best parts of the movie. I think I’m going to have to dedicate an entire post to this movie, it is probably one of my all-time favorite, same for AM. What a great night, it really was, I’m still laughing!

What a day for me! Treat, after treat, after treat, after treat. I am spoiled and I’m ok with that! What’s next?!

{January 22, 2021} Meta Burger…What a Treat!!

Philly cheesesteak to be exact. And…VEGAN! And…FAB-U-LOUS!!!

Tonight I was looking for something to eat after I went to the local Indian Motorcycle Dealership of Denver dealership and went to my friendly neighborhood Happy Cow app and found Meta Burger, 100% vegan and only 6 minutes away, sold! I clicked directions from the Happy Cow app and away I went.

What I found was Edgewater Public Market, opened November 2019. I LOVE places like this…open space, exposed beams, open concrete floors, tables, food choices to satisfy almost any pallet, from what I saw, some in a food court type area, and some were along the walkways. There were a few stores, although it looked like they would be adding more, indoor and outdoor seating with strings of Edison bulbs. It was simple, open, inviting, and welcoming. It reminded me of some places I’ve been in the states and throughout Europe, a place I can see going with PSM on a date night, a girls night, group of friends, lunch during the week, or some fun on the weekend.

Quite a few of the restaurants had entrances along the outside and Meta Burger was one of them. Meta Burger doesn’t say they are vegan, their foods are 100% plant based. As they say, “Meta Burger’s Mission is to reshape fast casual dining through a metamorphosis of ingredients, atmosphere and company values in order to construct a better future for all.”

I’ve told you this before, but I absolutely LOVE when I don’t have to ask where they cook the food, is there dairy in the food, and other questions. My questions now are “Is it spicy”? And my favorite question…”what do you recommend?!” Should I choose between their burgers or classics? I get veggie or plant based burgers a lot, I wanted to try something different. “If I were to choose between the Philly cheesesteak or the chicken sandwich, what would you recommend?”

Philly cheesesteak it is and it was fabulous! It was strips of seitan, seasoned like Philly cheesesteak meat, peppers, onions, on a roll, and cheese sauce on the side. I skipped the grilled mushrooms, no thanks! and for a side I got the mac-n-cheese. I have to tell you, the cheese sauce, which was mostly potato based, was amazing and creamy and delicious and stayed that way, O M G!

The guy who took my order and helped me decide walked by while I was eating asked how I was liking it and I told him that normally I don’t finish my food and tonight, oh yeah! sandwich gone! Mac-n-cheese, well, the rest will make a good midnight snack! I will tell you that there wasn’t enough room to try some vegan gelato at Happy Cones next door. Maybe next time! Hoping there is a next time!

If you are in the Denver area, or within the vicinity of the Edgewater Public Market, give it a shot, I bet you could find something that would tickle your taste buds.

{January 21, 2021} First run of the season…swish, swish, swish…sigh

I made the 12+ hour drive to Denver yesterday, stopped by AM’s house to pick up my skis and poles and headed up to my hotel, the Hampton Inn in Golden, Co. I’ll tell you about my drive in another post.

Today, I got up, made myself a sandwich, I decided I didn’t want to pay $15+ for a sandwich at the resort! The drive was beautiful, the first thing I saw when I left the hotel was the painted sky, the clouds look like brush strokes, amazing and breathtaking, it was hard to look away! Each of the resorts have put serious restrictions on their properties, to keep people safe, one of them is making reservations for days to ski. I chose Keystone for Thursday and Friday and it’s about an hour drive from the hotel. There wasn’t a lot of snow on the way up, even when I got through the tunnel, not a lot, but it was still beautiful. Can’t beat it!

On the drive, no matter where I am staying, I always stop at the Georgetown Gateway Visitor Center. I actually stop there on the way up and the way back, if there is traffic, it’s a nice opportunity to stretch my legs, there’s a restroom, and now it’s tradition or habit. They had some great signs for social distancing, made me laugh so I had to share!

I got to Keystone, and one of the things I love about skiing there is free parking!!! There is a lot more, but free parking is fabulous and when I park, all I have to do is walk from the car to the lift. Now…the thing I do not love about skiing, at all, is the boots, trying to clip the higher buckles. I covet snow boarder boots! Look at them! Slide your foot in, lace them up! Ski boots…wiggle and shove your foot in and get the buckles snapped, not an easy feat! I should not sweat before I start skiing! OMG! AM did give me a good tip, keep them buckled when I’m not using them and keep them by a heater before you put them on, it helped, but not enough, ugh! I would pay someone to get my boots buckled, seriously! I actually thought it would be a good side business, all you do is buckle and unbuckle a person’s ski boots!

Whew, boots buckled, it’s time to ski! I walked through the resort, it looks like a cute alpine village and an easy walk to the gondola, after a quick bio break. Up the mountain, I had a gondola to myself, and a chance to cool off! Turns out having a mask on with a hat and four layers on top can make you a bit toasty!

Got to the top, put my skis on, took a look at the view, breathtaking, pushed off and away we went! Another thing I love about skiing at Keystone is the slopes, they are wide and open and the powder is fabulous. All level of skiers go down these slopes, you’ll find newbies through experienced on the Easy Green Dots, Medium Blue Squares, as you can imagine. The more experienced or think they are experienced on the Black Diamond or Double Diamond.

None of the slopes are ever crowded, even when they don’t take reservations, you can ski freely, always just checking that there isn’t anyone right above you that you might cut off. There are even some slopes you might be skiing on your own, not another skier in sight, possibly for the entire run, until you get to the bottom.

The resort requires everyone to wear a mask and they have staff members checking and giving out masks if you aren’t wearing one. The only place we didn’t social distance were waiting on the lift lines, but the chairs themselves, they were only letting a certain number of people on at a time, I actually had every gondola and chair lift to myself, not complaining, mind you! Although, one of the things I’ve enjoyed in the past was chatting with folks about their day as we ride up. Oh well…this is what it is right now.

The runs were great, I got on the skis and it was like I hadn’t been off them! I did mostly greens and a few blues. One of the blues was great until I got to a middle section and looked down and psyched myself out! I started edging down the slope slowly, then said to myself, ‘grow a pair!’ and I did and away I went!

I got to the bottom and realized I was hungry, so I took a break, sat on a bench and had a sandwich. It was a nice feeling, sitting in the sun, while it’s cold out, just enjoying the moment. All of sudden, all of us that were sitting there together heard a noise and looked up and saw a row of skis and snowboards that were leaning up against a railing fall down. It was like one of those scenes in a movie when a domino effect happens, then I realized my skis were in there! Not to worry, it’s all good.

After sitting for a few more minutes, I realized I was done for the day, kind of tired and I don’t need to go back up there. The beauty of a ski pass is that you don’t have to spend the entire day skiing, you can ski a few hours and be done, and that was what I decided, I was done. I headed back to the car, took off my boots and ski pants, put on my fabulous furry winter boots and went back to walk around the resort for a bit, you never know what you might find.

Now, it’s time to head back to the hotel, I took a right and went through the Loveland Pass and oh my, is it beautiful! It was also 45 degrees and I decided to put the top down, and away I went! Just hoping it wouldn’t snow while the top was down. The drive was absolutely stunning! It was hard to keep my eyes on the road, only because I really wanted to marvel at my surroundings. The mountains, the snow, the ice, the beauty of it all, the absolute splendor.

The rest of the drive was normal, beautiful, but normal! I stopped at the Georgetown Gateway Visitor Center, of course! Then back to the hotel, a nice, uneventful drive!

Tomorrow…Keystone again! Who knows what will happen!

{January 20, 2021} Vegan BBQ? I’m in heaven!

Last night we went out for BBQ, at Smokee Mo’s BBQ, a place I found on Happy Cow, the app I use to find vegan, vegetarian, and veg friendly options all over the world. I la la la LOVE this app!

PSM said let’s go out to dinner, I was up for it and started to look on the Happy Cow app. Vegan didn’t work in our area, so I selected options and a few more options came up, this time Smokee Mo’s BBQ, which offered VEGAN BBQ! What?! Let’s check it out! It’s only about 15 minutes from us. PSM said let’s go!

We got there and it’s set back from the road, it looks like a BBQ joint, or a giant barn, words burned into the wood, high ceilings, exposed cross beams, huge chandelier, big menus and best of all…as I rounded the corner, a GIANT VEGAN MENU! I’m over the moon! And it’s not just one or two items, nine full items and eight side items, all vegan!

If you eat meat, you start at the beginning of the line, if you are vegan, you order from the folks at the register, even better…the girl who was helping me was vegan, and when the person helping you is vegan, you can breath a little easier because you don’t have to explain things or ask certain questions, that honestly, I get tired of asking, so I honestly do appreciate it!

If you go to their website, you can view their vegan menu, they even have a vegan holiday menu! The tagline on the page “It’s Like A Vegan Restaurant Inside A Traditional BBQ Restaurant!”

One thing I really liked is that even though, when you first walked in, it was smokey, like a BBQ joint smokey, it wasn’t overpowering smokey, so I could actually sit in the place and not think about what I didn’t want to think about. They were socially distant, first, by the signs, and second, it wasn’t very crowded, which was unfortunate, because of the high ceilings and lack of a crowd, it was a little chilly, but that didn’t deter our enjoyment!

The food comes out on big silver trays, I saw a tray of nachos go by that I think you would need an army to finish! PSM got two meets and two sides, brisket and pulled pork, with corn and carrots, along with a piece of cheese bread, it looked good and I did taste the carrots and corn, the only thing non-vegan about them was that they were cooked with butter and as we know, butter hasn’t killed me yet! The carrots were tasty and the corn had a kick.

For me, I got a BBQ pulled jackfruit sandwich with cheddar cheese and mac-n-cheese, which was made with cashew cheese as a side. I love that I didn’t just have to say vegan this and vegan that. If you haven’t heard of it, jackfruit is an exotic fruit grown in tropical regions of the world and it’s used often as a substitute for meat because of the texture of the fruit, which can be shredded, hence the pulled jackfruit sandwich. I don’t always like jackfruit, just like anything, it all depends on how it’s prepared, and in this case, it was smokey BBQ good, had a little tang, I added lettuce and tomato and really enjoyed it!

I have to tell you, I love my husband for suggesting that we go out for vegan every once in a while, and if it’s 100% vegan, he’s a great sport and can always find something to eat and quite often enjoys what he orders, I don’t always enjoy what I order, so it’s fair! I love Happy Cow for helping me to find somewhere to go that we can both eat, I love that I could find a BBQ joint that could accommodate me and it was good! I am looking forward to going back to try something else and even taking you when you come to visit! Let’s go!

{April 2, 2018} Day 9…Good morning Guam!

Hafa adai from Guam!

It’s Sunday and we left Chuuk at 250am and we have a, twelve hour layover in Guam, what to do?!

We collected our bags, they wouldn’t check them all the way thru to our next location, rented a car and away we went. Mind you, it was about 5am at this point.

We wanted to find a place to watch the sunrise, love Google! We went to a beach known for great sunrises in Guam. When we got there, it was still quite dark out, so we closed our eyes for a few minutes.

Somewhere between 545 and 6am, we got up and went to sit on the beach with everyone else. There appeared to be a sunrise service about to start as well, we weren’t sure if it was a regular Sunday service or an Easter Sunrise service.

We sat there enjoying the sunrise where ‘America begins its day’, crazy, huh? Eventually, it was grub time!

We wanted to try something new, that goes for when we’re back in Guam, the hotel executive lounge breakfast, not great… We looked on Google maps and Pika’s got great reviews, away we go!

We had a, great breakfast, I got an omelet and PSM for something local with Chomorra sausage and we shared khalua drunken French toast with caramelized bananas, y u m! Oh, they had decaf coffee, so PSM was a very happy camper!

I got to color, we laughed, talked, got silly and had a great time. Then we had to figure out what to do for the day, we had to be back at the airport about 245pm. Not a bad thing, gotta love the United Club!

One of the things we talked about was new water shoes for PSM and fins for both of us. When we had been at the dive shop last week, a woman we talked to told us about Cost-U-Less where we could find fins a lot less expensive, and she was right!

It was like Costco on crack! And the Spam! They have it in fifteen different flavors! The Pacific Islanders do love their spam!

After our purchase we decided we weren’t going to get in the water today, so to the movies we go! We say Ready Player One, really liked it!

There wasn’t much time after that, so we went to the Hilton to relax. PSM sacked out on a chair by the water and I went wading for a bit until it was time to head to the airport.

Not a bad day, huh? There’s more! Talk soon!

{April 2, 2018} Day 9…Goodbye Guam…Say hello to Saipan!

Long time no speak!

Forty five minute fight on a puddle jumper to Saipan, our next location! We got off the plane like we did Palau and Chuuk, outside the terminal. I think we talked about the Latte, the symbol of freedom and the pillars the Chammoran people used as supports for their buildings. It’s part of their flag, license plates, everywhere. I loved the welcoming lattes at the airport!

We picked up our rental car and headed to our hotel. It was a long grueling eight mile drive! The island is only about 12 miles long!

Here’s the thing about the hotel… The hotel listing made it look like it was right on the beach with cozy little rooms or bungalows. The image, it turns out, was of the restaurant! The rooms are exactly as they looked on hotels.com, modern, comfortable and an amazing a/c unit, we were going to stay cool!

After checkng in, we went in search of foods, to said restaurant, just as we caught the sunset, our new favorite activity!

The restaurant was open on to the beach, the bar was an lcd panel that looked like a riverbed with swimming fish, very cool! We enjoyed dinner, the breeze, the sound of the surf and the company.

I can’t wait to tell you all about our next adventure… whatever it may be!

{March 31, 2018} Day 8…Chuuk

Good morning from Chuuk!

Today… We snorkel! Yesterday, we finally got in touch with the Blue Lagoon Dive Shop. They answered the phone!

That’s part of the reason we didn’t stay with them to begin with, we couldn’t get them on the line, maybe they were out diving. We couldn’t ask the dive folks at the Hilton questions, they were out diving!

We took a taxi to the Blue Lagoon, about a twenty minute drive to the other side of the island and wad I mentioned yesterday didn’t change, it was the same type of housing and markets. There is even a guard at the gate of the Blue Lagoon.

Here was the interesting thing! As we are driving, the driver drove very slowly, which was good, the road was not paved that well and lots of pot holes. He was saying hello and nodding hello to people along the way and one time stopped and someone got in the front seat, no words were spoken until almost the gate at the Blue Lagoon, I think they were friends, or related, as most people are on Chuuk!

Then, and this is an actual taxi, the styrofoam board said so in black marker… We got to the Blue Lagoon and he could not make change… the shop didn’t seem to have change either, funny enough, had change when we paid for the snorkeling… so, with the driver we tried to arrange to have him come back at three when we were done. With very little English, what do you think he did with our $20? Yup. We knew what we were doing…

We settled in for an adventure… paid for our snorkel adventure, got our equipment and we’re off! Private boat, just us, our guide Rocky and the driver, I do apologize, I can’t remembr his name.

I believe I mentioned yesterday that Chuuk is known for its WWII wreckage, that’s what we saw! Planes, boats, subs, bombs. I met a diver, before we went out, who showed me pictures of the betty bombs, bombs that spelled out Betty, we couldn’t get down enough to see those, but we saw some spectacular sites!

Luckily my phone got some decent pics! It’s just amazing to me to see these implements and machines of war and destruction with coral and new life growing on them.

After two more stops of amazing, we stopped for lunch at an island in the middle of… nowhere. It was fabulous! There’s a cabin you can reserve for the night, no internet, but there was electricity. There are two boys, well, young men, who stay on the island for two weeks and then two more come out and so on, well take care of the island and the people who rent the cabin, cooking meals, things like that. Oh, they also take care of the two dogs who guard the island, so to speak. Two short legged stumpy dogs who just want to say hello.

We sat there, eating, contemplating, enjoying the view, weather, company, can you blame us!

After a while, we decided to snorkel around the island, especially after seeing the reef sharks! Can you see him? The tips of his tail and fin are black.

When we were ready, one more place to snorkel, this time a plane, upside down, PSM even touched some of the wrecks!

Then it was time to head back in and head back to the hotel. Guess who didn’t show up… it’s all good, someone who works at the dice shop drove us back to the hotel and we got some food, chilled out, packed and got ready to get some rest, we fly out at 145am!

We’ll get the shuttle back to the airport, we have an eight hour layover in Guam and then head to… tell ya soon!

{March 30, 2018} Day 7…Chuuk

Hello from to Chuuk! Chuukese is way too difficult, I’ll stick with English!

So… we get to Chuuk, it’s give name, but… here’s the kicker, you may have heard it called Truk because when the Germans came in they couldn’t pronounce Chuuk [pronounced Ch-OO-k], so it was changed to Truk!

Interesting bit of information about Chuuk…Although Chuuk is an overwhelmingly Christiansociety, traditional beliefs in spirit possession by the dead still exist. Allegedly, these spirits overwhelmingly possess women, and spirit possession is usually brought on by family conflicts. The spirits, speaking through the women, typically admonish family members to treat each other better.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuuk_Lagoon

We left Palau very early, layover in Guam for a few hours and then under two hours to Chuuk. It was an experience from the moment we walked of the plane. Outside exit, no one pointed us towards the correct door, so we went into the gate area, huh?

Redirected to the correct place, we waited for our bags. And waited. And waited. It was an interesting cluster… everyone just stands there in front of where the bags slide out, no conveyor.

While we walked into the baggage area and while we waited, it seemed like everyone knew each other, everyone was very friendly and greeting one another, handshakes, hugs.

Here’s the next interesting thing, they sent out all the plastic tubs and coolers first. And they came out and came out and came out! I asked someone and it turns out they bring fish to Guam and bring meat back from Guam.

Finally…our bags came out, funny part, just after PSM and I swapped places! Then as we walked out of the airport terminal, we ran into the shuttle driver from the hotel, which is literally across the street! You can see the runway from our balcony!

We got to the hotel and go figure, can’t find our reservation, but they had a room for us! This hotel is really for people who are there on business, The Blue Lagoon is where people stay when they are there to scuba. If you notice the picture that says “Welcome to Chuuk. The Best Wreck Dive in the World. The Truk Lagoon.” That says it all.

The room was very nice, large with two incredibly comfortable beds with pillow top mattresses! Water cooler and bottles of water in the fridge, big bathroom, nice a/c unit and a ceiling fan. And big balcony overlooking the airport and ocean.

It was interesting, there are bars outside the hotel and someone opens it at all times. When we went outside to venture we understood.

Now, we got to Chuuk with not much planned, we hope to go snorkeling at least once. It was raining on and off and since we couldn’t go snorkeling today, there is only one tour and it left already, we decided to have a chill day. Relax, rest and maybe go out for a walk later, we have been going non-stop since we started this trip! A lot of early morning flights and not much sleep. Relaxing sounds good to me.

We decided to get some lunch in the cafe downstairs. Not much for me, but I did get vegetable curry. The funny part was the waitress came over a few times to tell us what vegetables they didn’t have! Oh well, it’s an experience!

After lunch, we went out until the street and understood a little better why the hotel is guarded and you get a shuttle driver from/ to the hotel.

The landscape, the mountain areas, are beautiful, the up close, not as much. It’s a poor island, many people seem to live in makeshift homes made with metal sheeting, the streets are not all paved, there aren’t very many shops or markets and the markets there are have bars on the windows and doors. The interesting things about some of the shops is that they are small boxes, so to speak, you walk up, look in the window, which is another small box and you make the transaction through the window. There are shops for just alcohol others just cans of food, some bread and fruits.

As we walked down the street, some people smiled hello or nodded, others just looked at us, kind of sideways, if that makes sense. We found two restaurants for dinner, one didn’t open until 630pm and the other, all meat. Back to the hotel we went.

We ended up relaxing, watching movies, the rain on and off and eventually, downstairs for dinner, there may have even been a nap or two thrown in!

Not much else happened today, I’d say it was a success!

{March 29, 2018} Day 5…Palau

Alii from Palau!

What a day! It started out gloomy and turned into ahhh! This was one of those days that of we were home or in one place for a while, we could have seen staying in and watching movies, but we’re really only here for two days, so we don’t want to miss it.

We’re glad the rain didn’t stop is because we didn’t stop! Museums, aquarium, waterfall, monoliths, oh my!

Let’s start with the Prisoner’s Carver. This is where the jail used to be, it’s since moved and now, you can visit the Prisoner’s Carve, it’s a shop not easy to find. All the carvings are what’s known storyboards.
They select a well-seasoned piece of timber, stroke its grain, and start carving ornate “storyboards” depicting ancient Micronesian legends that have been handed down through the generations on Palau, a group of small islands with a population of 15,000.

Isn’t it amazing! The turtle is the one we are bringing home with us. It’s the story of how the technique for natural birth was developed, all because a spider god fell in love with a girl. Sigh…

After the Prisoner’s Carver, we went to the Etpison Museum. This museum displays history, fabulous storyboards, carvings, the celebration of childbirth, craftsmanship, stone money and so much more!

After the museum, we went to the Palau Aquarium. This was great, not your traditional aquarium, but an immersive experience. Each ‘exhibit’ was as close to their natural habitat that you could get without actively being in the exhibit!

We start with mangrove trees and see grass.

Then we move on to what lies beneath. This included a nautilis, a spotted garden eel who came out to say hello and a stone fish, so cool!

We end with coral. Simply stunning!

What an amazing experience, if you’re ever in Palau, I recommend it!

Next, we stopped at a park you admire yet another stunning view and stopped at a hotel for lunch, which didn’t happen, we drooled over their lagoon, can you blame us?

After lunch we stopped at a visitor’s center and asked about things to do. One of them we decided sounded interesting. Stone monoliths.

On the way to the monoliths, we passed a sign that said “Waterfall” ooh, let’s do it! Joe long is it to the waterfall? Not long, about 20 minutes walk. Ok, sure.

The steps were tough, lucky there was a rope handle most of the way down, it was mostly dirt. We passed the men working to rebuild the steps, rebar, planks, more dirt. It will be great when they’re done!

After the steps, rocks and water, falling, because that’s the way it rolls, downhill, but that wasn’t the waterfall. Keep going…suspension bridge, loved the sign ” Warning: Don’t jump” thanks!

The waterfall was beautiful. Like so many, it was a wonder! We played in the water, more me than PSM, I was wearing a bathing suit, didn’t stop him from getting wet!

After a bit we headed back and unfortunately, what goes down must go back up, dammit! KR, my trainer, would be very proud, he might have thought about it, always trying to kill me!

At the top, a treat! A fresh coconut! Cut it open put in a straw and ahhh… fresh coconut milk! Yum!

Now… where to next? Stone monoliths! Let’s go! Back in the car, hoping the downloaded maps work! Our network doesn’t work here, only WiFi in the hotel lobby. Paper maps it is!

We found the stone monoliths! Just as we got there, it started sprinkling, not a bad thing, they gave us umbrellas. But how will I grow if the rain doesn’t water me?

So, the story behind the monoliths… they were being built by two demi-gods who were friends who only worked at night in secret and one felt it was going to slow, so he played with the sun and created a rooster out of an egg to trick the workers into thinking it was day. The workers didn’t fall for the trick and left and there the stone pieces sit.

We also made a friend, Taki the cat, kind of lives there, greeted us and of course I had to love on her and then guess what happened… she followed us the entire way and each time we stopped, she required payment, a rub up against my leg! If I walked ahead, I would turn to ask if she was coming and her she came.

After the monoliths, it was time to get back into town, return the rental car, shower and get some food.

We’ve been looking for some local food, as we do everywhere we go and someone told us about the restaurant at the hotel behind ours. Apparently, they offer fruit bat soup. PSM was excited and I was intrigued until they said it was the whole bat, fur and all. He was still excited, me, not so much. So sad to say… no shipments of fruit bats came in. Whew!

So it was taro soup for me and local fish soup for PSM. Quite tasty in fact.

And that folks, is all she wrote for today! Tomorrow, our next adventure begins!

Email Subscription

What was I thinking?