Skip to main content

Guam 2020: Post 28 - Brook and Patty's Beach and the Lost Sunglasses



The first time Rob and I came to Guam with our kids, back in 2013, Brook and Patty showed us one of their favorite beaches on the south end of Guam. 



It isn't on any map. You can only know you are there by certain guard rail and colvert.


You walk just a little ways and find yourself in a quiet bay, inside the reef, all by yourself.



It seems that the tide was coming in, and it was still the weekend of the very high tides, right after the full moon.  Things were fine when we arrived.  Rob set our chairs up in the shade, out on the sandy beach.  I could tell the tide had been high, but I figured that was earlier in the day.  I started looking around for shells, and Rob sat down to relax.  All of a sudden, a sneaker wave came up higher than ever before.  Rob was suddenly sitting in several inches of water, and my backpack that was beside the chair was starting to float.  Rob lifted his leather shoes so they didn't get wet, and I grabbed my bag and started pulling things out, hoping they weren't wet.  The most important things were in zip lock bags, so they were still dry.  Everything else was wet. 


As the wave receeded Rob decided it was time to move up to safer ground.  Our chairs now sat up in the ironwood needles.


We sat down again to relax and watch the hermit crabs that had been washed up into the edge of the pile of debris start scurrying around again.


We walked around the corner and found more beach, with little clusters of islands in the water.



This is my favorite beach now too. 


What I didn't realize was that while we were packing up to leave that I dropped my sunglasses here.
I didn't discover they were missing until we were getting ready to leave the next beach we drove to, and I wanted to put my sunglasses on to drive into the sun.  We searched that beach carefully, but they weren't there.  I was ready to give up, because with the high tide they were probably already on their way to the Philippines.  But Rob persuaded me to drive back to Brook and Patty's Beach.  Turns out it was a lot closer than I thought it was.  We walked out to the beach.



And there they were, laying in the debris on the high tide line.  I'm so glad one of those big waves didn't come up while we were away and they were safe.


I was so happy to get them back.  I didn't want to drive without sunglasses, and I didn't want to have to find new sunglasses that fit while here on Guam.


I really do like this place.  I hope I get to go back one more time before we leave. 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Pohnpei, Part 3: Liduhduhniap Falls

(Note to those who weren't with me on Pohnpei in 1988.  You are welcome to listen in, but I am writing mainly for my fellow teachers, myself, and my family.  There will be some things you won't understand.  Just skim those parts, if you wish.) We stayed in this lovely building.  I think it used to be painted blue.  The lower floor used to be Mr. Quail's house.  The lower left apartment was Mr. Keith's.  Remember him?  The maintenance man?  We stayed in his apartment.  The building is still in good condition, but the cupboards and cabinets need help.  The particle board has swelled after all these years, and the drawers no longer work.  The building behind "Mr. Quail's place" is a cafeteria on the ground floor with  girls housing up above.  The boys are in the building that the nice Philippino lady, I think her name was Ramie, who taught typing lived in.  And there are a couple guys in the apartment in the top left of the elementary building.  I th

Guam 2020: Post 2 - First Full Day on Guam

I'm doing pretty good, jet lag wise for the first day. I was able to sleep until 4:45 this morning. On past visits to the island, I woke up at 2 or 3 AM and was unable to go back to sleep. I've been busy all day. We took a hike with our friends, Roger and Amy Krum, and their children Nathan and Alyssa. There is a mural at the parking area that wasn't there before.  It depicts the traditional sailing boat of the Chamorro people, and the ancient latte stones. We went south on the highway, just a little ways to the viewpoint for Cetti Bay.  Then across the road is the trail to Mt. Lam Lam, the highest point on the island.  It was such a beautiful afternoon with temperatures in the low to mid 80's and a nice breeze off the sea.  The trail goes up through grassland savannas with trees and flowers along the way.  We saw the Bamboo orchid that grows in the grass. There were some little blue pea family flowers and some yellow pea family flowers.  

Mother's Day - Meal and Music

To start the morning out, I was banished from our home.  The kids were working on a surprise, and they didn't even allow me to be in my bedroom to wait.  So, I went to garage sales (there aren't many on a Mother's Day morning, but I scouted them out anyway), I bought gas, and went back home.  They said they weren't done yet, only 10 more minutes though.  So Rob took me on a 20 minute walk.  They weren't done when we got back, so they sent me to my room this time (am I in "time-out"), and around 30 minutes later I was finally called for breakfast.   Ok, it was  worth it, waiting for breakfast until 10:30 A.M. this morning.  My kids made a gourmet meal for me, nicer then the finest restaurant around, and there is not chance of me getting "glutened' here. My plate looked like a serving platter itself.  They made Baked Hashbrowns in a heart shaped pan, and then filled the center with my favorite recipe of scrambled tofu, garnished with fre