Masso Reservoir

The Masso Reservoir was first built by the Navy in the late 1940s for drinking water for the surrounding villages. In 1951, it was closed down for use for potable water. Then in 1978, the Guam Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources took control and converted the reservoir into a nature park and recreational fishing area. Most of the dock platforms are missing slats and it is somewhat creepy.  There were some people fishing there using a string wrapped around a Gatorade bottle with bread as bait.  Good to have a tiny destination just a few minutes from home. 

Milton's 5th Birthday

Milton is 5! He ended up having 3 parties too.  One with us at home where he got his presents from us and Rod and Ileene, one with cupcakes at school, and then his main party at the library.  He wanted to go to Skyzone, but they closed just a month ago.  Milton came up with the library idea and then we found out that the library was having an engineering day on the Saturday before his party.  He invited his friends from school and we had 4 of Milton's classmates come and then also their older siblings.  We got a construction cake from the commissary that I thought was fairly yummy.  I am a cake fan though. Milton also got an upgraded pirate and fireman shirt to have a 5.  It is either those two shirts or one of his island outfits for his wardrobe.  He had a great birthday.  

Guam Marathon

The Guam Running Club Marathon occurred on 20MAR2022. It started at 0400. It started early because Guam is hot and humid. The sheet said to arrive by 0300 so I did, but this was meant for the people setting up. The volunteers for this run were amazing. They got up at 0300 and basically 5 people put on an entire marathon. One of the water stations was run by HN Flores who I work with. A unique thing about Guam marathons is they have water stations every mile at the end. I usually do not drink the last 5 miles but in Guam, I stopped at each. Guam is hot. The race was nice. It did not rain during the actual event, just before. I had a boonie dog try to attack me. Boonies are the super mutts of Guam. They have descended from dogs brought over in World War II, pets abandoned on island, and the closed dog racing track. I also had some Marianas crows dive bomb me. Boonie dogs and aggressive crows are just part of the local fauna. I got a time of 4:16 which is my second slowest marathon ever (this was marathon 21). My slowest marathon was my virtual Guam Boston Marathon this year. Running in Guam is unique and hard because it is a tropical island that is always 70-80 degrees Fahrenheit. I really appreciated the opportunity to run a marathon. The volunteers did a great job on this one.

Piti Guns - March 2022

We ventured to the Piti Guns again.  Even though the temperatures are just as hot as the rest of the year, being in the dry season causes many of the trees to drop their leaves.  I loved seeing all the different colors of the leaves on the ground.

March 2022

March was rather eventful for Milton. Most importantly, Milton's birthday!!! (There is a separate blog post for that). He started off the month with a fall at the playground getting a buckle fracture on his left arm. The sweet boy was not dramatic whatsoever. He was in a cast for three weeks and then in a splint. It was not a major break, but the doctor recommended a cast instead of a splint because at his age he was not as likely to keep a splint on. The cast got pretty stinky! A friend of ours was in a cast at the same time. He had a total break so was in a cast for a while, but it was fun to have them in a cast together. Damon and I never had any broken bones so it was our first experience with a cast. Milton's other medical excitement was getting a pea-size ear wax lump out of his ear and a smaller one out of his other ear. Should help him hear better now! The boys had spring break too and we didn't do anything major, just little trips near home. We finally got to see the Shark Pit overlook on base since it is only open when a coast guard guy is there. Milton also had his 100th day of school and to do his outfit thingy I stitched 100 buttons on his shirt. He loves buttons so we have been acquiring them lately and I had my sewing button stash from many years of gathering spare buttons that would come with sweaters or pants. On one of our days out during spring break we met the Guam US Representative. We were at the boy's favorite restaurant Fizz where they are buddies with the cook. The cook is so sweet with the boys asking them questions. Owen is always eager to have somebody to talk with. Owen is continuing with his piano lessons and Milton is having fun with his soccer team. He has moved up to the next older group since he is 5. He definitely looks like the oldest kid on that team. Both boys are doing wonderful in school. My classes started up again at the very end of the month. I'm reaching the halfway point! Damon is doing well with work biking in every day. He gets a flat tire almost every other week. The roads have so much debris on the shoulder. The Carl Vinson was in port and Damon got to see it leaving while he was out on a boat dive.