2labs1girl

I felt bad that there were no photos of Guam so here are some of mine. Hope you enjoy.... read more

A hundred different shades of green and blue. White foam of surf breaking on the reef, the sapphire blue of the deep and the turquoise green of the shallow. Air that does not have the heavy scent of salt, but the strange and unfamiliar luring sweet of the mangrove blossom. A breeze blows the faintest hint of plummera. I follow a village elder and a small group of tourists down a mossy stone path, through small taro patches and betel nut palms. This ancient path, made difficult to keep prying eyes from looking up and into neighbors’ homes, is slippery and yet rough at the same time. We are told by a village elder that we must enter the village with respect, as respect for property and rank is extremely important in Yap. We must carry ... read more

After almost completing a long list of projects, my pregnant sister in law became very dizzy. Whether it was the rapidly rising southern California heat or the paint fumes, no one knew but after several hours at the local hospital the doctor prescribed home and lots of rest. My brother having gone back to school was in his last week of finals for the summer session which left me babysitter of choice. I was not very qualified, but I was free and already in the house so much to the frustration of my former boss, I delayed working on my required performance evaluation and entered the world of my 3 and a half (as she would have me note) niece. It had been a very long time since I had visited this world but with my ... read more

As we start our decent for BWI we fly low and slow over Annapolis. She is full in her summer beauty. It is early evening and the sun has just begun to set. The sky, a golden yellow, reflected off the water, breaks into a million little dancing prisms. There are still hundreds of sail boats on the water. I do miss that sight. It is America at her most beautiful. The weather is in the 80’s according to the pilot. It looks like it has been a sunny day but the dark clouds of an impending summer storm lay heavy on the distant horizon. The weather seems to be mimicking my internal struggle. I wonder what it will be like to be back in the US, I think to myself. As we race to land ... read more

Passport Control Keflavik Happy to finally be the next in line I stepped forward, smiled and handed over my passport and onward ticket to the large blonde Immigration Officer in uniform. He looked to be in his mid 40’s, his light blue shirt matched the color of his eyes. He took my passport and without looking up mumbled something to me in Swedish. I was a little surprised given he was holding my passport that had United States of America stamped all over it, but maybe because my name is Scandinavian he assumed I spoke Swedish. Tried and lazy, knowing his English would be better than my rusty Swedish, I changed the conversation to English. “Back to the US.” I said with a smile. With that he looked up at me for a moment and then ... read more

Nikki Beach Club How to describe Nikki Beach Club? We arrived around 4PM in attempt to escape the sweltering African afternoon heat to a high white painted wall with two white directors chairs and table in front of the entrance. There was a modern floral display of white calla lilies and grass on a table covered in a pristine floor length white tablecloth. Five men all clothed in white smiled at us as we handed them the invitation card from our riad. It was all screaming South Beach. “Oh yes please welcome” Ok, I don’t know what Heather is thinking but I am thinking we are way out of our league. Gone are the days when we used to sneak into 5 star hotel pools in places like Bali. We are actually guests, but I can’t ... read more