Hello from our Layover in Hawaii

December 29, 2008: (Honolulu, HI, USA!) Sorry, there are no photos for this blog. We're using an Internet station we found in the Honolulu Airport and have no way of uploading photos. We've been traveling for almost 33 hours...and only have 7 hours left to go. Hooray! But, we are glad to have had a break here in Hawaii and spend some time outside of the airport.

We have pictures and stories to share about our time in Manila and we'll post pictures of the things we've done in Hawaii too. So come back to our blog and read about the end of our amazing adventure! Here are a few teasers...

Brother Peter who climbed Mt. Everest
The Manila Temple
The American Cemetery in Manila
8 hours in the Manila Airport (fun!)
The rental car rate for 6 hours
Visiting Pearl Harbor
Dipping our toes in at the Waikiki Beach
Arriving home to snow!

Flip Flops

A couple of days before we left for the Philippines, Amy told me I needed to bring a pair of flip flops for the shower. Just my luck, I had donated my flip flops to DI two weeks earlier and no longer owned a pair. Try finding flip flops in December! Any store I happened to be in I looked for flip flops, but didn’t have time to look everywhere. I came to the conclusion that I could buy a pair of flip flops during our 20 hour layover in Hawaii. Well, luck was not with me! The only flip flops we found were at the airport and cost $38.00. I decided to pass!

As it turns out, EVERY BODY sells flip flops in the Philippines!!!

Filipino Children

December 29, 2008: The faces of Filipino children are beautiful. Here are a few examples...okay, lots of examples. But they are all so cute it was hard to pick out just a few.

Meet my friend Mariah. I met her at the Naga Stake YM/YW Christmas Presentations. We became instant best friends! We had great fun even if she couldn't speak English and I couldn't speak Tagalog. I wanted to pack Mariah in my suitcase and bring her home!

This is Maraih's cousin. At four he is already a wiz at playing games on the cell phone.

This little girl was a RIOT! She was dancing and clapping and having a blast at the Naga Stake Activity.

We met this little girl in the post office. She wouldn't smile for Terri no matter what we did.

Filipino style scooter.

These girls were so excited to get their picture taken and thrilled to see themselves on my camera.

These guys were a hoot! They kept saying "Hey Joe!"

This is Danielle. She is Rosemary's daughter and quite the favorite at the Mission Home.

This little boy is Tess and Sandy Lopez's nephew Gab. He was so cute!

Imagine some strange white woman sticking her head out the car window and taking your picture. No wonder she's hugging her dad so tight!

These kids were out gathering bananas. The girl is holding a banana heart.

It's hard to get them to smile. This was one of the few smiles we got.

I know you can't see his face, but this kid was great! He was busy at his task of cutting bamboo with this huge long knife. I was amazed he didn't cut off a toe in the process.

Sometimes the kids are a little shy to start with.

But, once we started taking pictures of one kid, all the others would come out to have their picture taken.

Don't you just love her expression?

Or how about his? This is Bo Bo. We met him at the Mayon Rest House when he and his friends tried to sell us some fruit.

This is Bo Bo's friend.

This little girl was getting the family's water for the day.

These were children at the airport when we arrived.

This video is sideways, but it's a fun clip of kids trying to say "Amy Elizabeth Erminetrude Annie."

Our Final Day in Naga

December 28, 2008 (Naga, PI): We've been so busy the past two weeks running from here to there, trying this and that, and having one adventure after another. We're exhausted! Church wasn't until 1:00 so we had a slow start to the day. We attended the Naga 2nd Ward and were greeted warmly. Amy took the opportunity to attend Young Womens while I attended Relief Society. We are grateful for the reception we have received here. We will miss the people we have met!

This evening we had a real treat! The Naga 2nd Ward YSA and missionaries came Christmas Caroling. Here is a picture of the group that came.

They brought their beat box and tambourine, which added to their beautiful voices. Amy wanted to give the beat box a try, so one of the girls show her how to tap out a rhythm.

Here is a video clip of the group singing.

We will be heading to the airport at 6:00 am tomorrow morning. We are nearly packed. We are sad for this experience to come to an end, but we both have responsibilities back home. We have a 10 hour layover in Manila and if all goes well, we will make it to see the Manila Temple! We then have a 10 hour layover in Hawaii and will try to make it to Pearl Harbor. By the time we reach Salt Lake City, we will have been traveling for 40 hours. I'm tried already! lol

I am grateful for President and Sister Smith and their hospitality! They have made this trip an experience to remember and cherish. We wish them the best!

Saturday is a Special Day

December 27, 2008: One of our favorite things here has been the mangoes. Rosemary started our addiction to Mango shakes the first day we were here. Since then, we've had Mango shakes at every opportunity. Then, last Sunday, my mom made us Mango Crepes! Well, there really isn't anything better, I can tell you! So, it was one of our last meal requests and we had them for breakfast on Saturday. Yum!

We realized Friday night that Saturday would be our last shopping day in Naga before heading home. So we arranged for my dad to drive us down to the Naga Market for some last minute souvenir shopping. My dad dropped us off at the corner and said, "I'll park on the Horse Street and meet you there when you are finished shopping." So, off Terri and I go to do our shopping-buying little gifts for the folks back home-and maneuvering our way through the maze that is the Naga Market. Here's Terri standing at the entrance to one of the maze hallways of the market.

A little over an hour later we were done and it was time to find my dad. The only problem? I didn't know where "Horse Street" was. So we circled the block where we'd been shopping thinking maybe he had found a parking spot in the area. No luck! Tricee drivers kept offering to drive us where we needed to go and I was just about to say, "Let's go back the Mission Home" when Terri suggested we walk down one more street. Ta-DA! We see a horse-drawn cart! "We must be on horse street!" And just a few more feet down the street, parked and hiding behind a Jeepney, was my dad. Whew! He had been getting nervous when it took so long for us to show up (uh, yeah, we were shopping!) and called my mom to tell her we were lost. Next time we'll take a cell phone!

The day started out with sunshine, but by lunch time, it was looking pretty overcast and was windy. Our afternoon activity was spending a few hours at the beach at Pasacao--the one we briefly visited on Christmas Day. We spent a few hours just taking our time enjoying the ocean air, eating some lunch, collecting shells, dipping our toes in the water, and visiting with Elder and Sister West. Here's a great photo of the Wests relaxing in the Nipa Hut.

Here's the Wests and my parents relaxing in the Nipa Hut.

And here's Terri on the beach.

And us in the water. That's about as deep as we went because it was so cold. But we got wet with the rain.

After lunch Terri and I walked down the beach collecting shells. We found some really great ones-interesting colors, fun shapes, various sizes.

At one point, the beach curves a bit and there is a huge collection of shells and coral. Most are pretty small and as we were looking at them, we realized they were moving! There were hundreds of little itty-bitty crabs in tiny little shells all crawling over the beach. We took my parents down to explore and guess what my dad discovered? They may be little, but they sure can pinch! Here's a few photos of the shells and the little crabs. Here's a photo of my dad holding a little crab.



We ended the day at the Naga Stake YM/YW activity. The theme was "Voices and Graces" and each unit (7 wards & 2 branches) gave a presentation of song and dance. The first thing we noticed when we arrived was all the different types of vehicles in the parking lot--Jeepneys, Tricees, Motor Scooters, bikes, and just as we arrived a big open bed truck arrived full with members! The cultural hall was already packed with people too. The presentations were pretty good. I was amazed at the talent and willingness of the youth to perform. Here are a few photos from the presentations.

Camaligan Branch YW after their performance. We Tweety and Twinkle Lopez on Christmas Eve

(they're the two wearing jackets).

One of the wards singing Christmas songs.

From Rail Skate to Slip and Slide

December 26, 2008: It was raining very hard Friday morning, but we weren't about to let that stop us from the adventures we had planned. From day one President and Sister Smith talked about the "Rail Skate." They would say, "We've got to go ride the Rail Skate!" Do you know what a Rail Skate is? Neither did we!!!

This is a Rail Skate!

The Rail Skate rides the rails (rail road tracks) and is powered by a motor. I'm not sure how the contraption stays on the rails or how it works, but we were about to find out.

Amy, Sister Smith, and I took the front seat on the Rail Skate. There were no seat belts, no lap bars, and nothing to hang on to. Would we need such things?

And what happens when another Rail Skate is coming from the other direction?

I think most people who ride the Rail Skate do so to get from one place to another. Us crazy Americans were just going along for the ride. Want to join us?

The Rail Skate was a lot of fun. Have you ever ridden Big Thunder Mountain at Disneyland where the train runs crazy out of control? Well, besides the ups and downs, that's kind of what the Rail Skate was like, only there was nothing to keep us in our seats!

Friday afternoon we went to Consocep Falls to see a waterfall. It was raining pretty hard! We needed our umbrellas and I even put on my jacket.

The steps were covered with moss and VERY "slippery when wet!"

The hike was beautiful, but treacherous! We were slipping and sliding all over the place. It's a good thing there were hand rails, and I'm glad I had my hand on one. Otherwise, when I slid off this step, I may have ended up at the bottom of the stairs. Ouch!

This is where I slipped!

My leg all scrathed up! Ouch!

See the small waterfall in the background? Amy decided to take a swim! What was she thinking?!?

And it was COLD!!! Don't you love that face?

We found a cool tree house where we ate lunch. It was nice and relaxing and we had a beautiful view of the rain forest. It's amazing how many different kinds of plants we could see.

It stopped raining and warmed up a little, but since the steps were still so slick, we didn't hike all the way to the falls. Better safe than sorry! The decision to not go all the way to the falls was made after President Smith slipped and fell and sprained his wrist. Like I said, it was slick!!!


We then found another beach! More beautiful scenery!

With the stormy weather, the waves were roaring in! Can you see Amy's head in the middle of the picture? Since she was already in her swimsuit, she's the only one that fought the waves.

President Smith sporting his new ace bandage.