Well finally something to write about......

So not much going on since Thanksgiving out here. Nice weather, went home to CT, came back to celebrate Christmas here with a morning waterfall/beach hike and some fresh coconuts on the beach with Jason, Angela and of course Katrina.

We shipped our Christmas booty from home out here, got it lost in shipping and it miraculously arrived 6 weeks later as I was calling to file the claims paperwork. Considering my golf clubs were part of that shipment, I was relieved to get it all safe and sound, albeit late and after much frustration.

Uneventful New Year's Eve included diner with a bunch of friends and some laughs. Got a new President and the same problems. I'm certain they'll soon be either replaced by, or in addition to, new ones.

My parents came out for a quick 8 week visit to do some traveling and remind me that in my Mom's eyes, I'll always be 8 yrs old and unable to do anything for myself. Some things never change.

We took them to Kosrae (ko-SHRY) after spending a week golfing, fishing, pissing off some local people, and touring Guam's beaches and sites. Mom tries to be politically correct, but.....not so much.

Kosrae was great. I've flown through there and it is stunning in it's untouched beauty and natural features. It's a fairly mountainous and under developed island in the Federated States of Micronesia. No ATM machines, so bring your cash money. Part of the island is not accessible unless you've got a boat. No lights, no phones no motorcars......You get the idea. Just a short step away from car-camping. Although, our accommodations in Kosrae were very adequate, a lot of the island in not accessible unless you hike or swim and most of it is not inhabitable. It's straight out of Jurassic period for much of it.

I went scuba diving one day, and fishing that morning brought in a couple barracuda and a 20lb Wahoo that gave me nearly as much fight as the 137lb marlin did this past summer. Another day, Katrina and I caught up with Hemilson Philips, a local guide, for a spectacular hike to the summit of Mt Ohma, through the rain forest (400 inches of rain/year!!) Along the way, we crawled through some Japanese WWII tunnels, learned how to set a wild boar trap, scare the mountain-apple tree to make the fruit sweet instead of bitter (crazy but true), enjoy some orange/banana/coconut straight from the trees, and bask in the reward that was one of the best views in Micronesia at the peak. That day provided for some great pics on our Flickr page. Hopefully we'll make it back for a few more days. Hemilson promised to teach me how to spear fish. He has a very welcoming and beautiful family that made my parents, Katrina and I sweet smelling floral leis to take on our flight back to Guam.

Guam was a short sleep and we were on an early flight to Sapporo, Japan, for the 60th annual snow festival. We were only up there for a few days to check out the festival. My parents seemed to like it, but are genuinely uncomfortable in places where they can't communicate easily with everybody. I love it 'cuz nobody bugs me.

I learned just how adventurous my parents can be when my mom ordered spaghetti for dinner the first night, and was concerned it'd be too spicy. Not exactly sure what Katrina and I had, but they were both really good. The next day we froze for the day at the snow fest. So many people, all considerably shorter than I, made me feel huge. A giant among people with far superior toilet technology (Don't miss that pic either...It's amazing and slightly awkward).

The Snow fest at Oduri park was chock full of snow statues. Some were 5-10 feet tall, and some were pushing 5 or 6 STORIES tall with bands and stages built in. They were surely time consuming to build the larger snow buildings, amazing feats of design and detail, and useful for about a week.

Susukino (night life district) had the ice sculptures. Most 5-15 feet tall, and lit up at night with flashing lights and spotlights. Pretty to look at, funnier to see Katrina mock them and slide down them while screaming "Bonzai!!!".

Back home now in Guam, and leaving here in a couple short months. We're gonna try to get a few more trips in before we leave. Philippines in March, Tokyo in April, and hopefully Kosrae and maybe Palau one more time. Other than that, Katrina and I are golfing, playing tennis and doing some harder training in case I decide to race at all this year at home. And if not, I could stand to lose a few lbs anyway.

Hopefully the updates will come a bit more frequently now that we're getting back to travelling again.