Here's our little plane.
Flying low lets you really see the topography of the islands and reef.
We caught the bus into town from the airport. So instead of paying 40 tala for a taxi, we paid 4. Plus we got to feel the spirit of village life. At no extra charge.
We stayed at Hotel Elisa. Fortunately it was a nice place because the kids aren't really into venturing out. They just wanted to stay in the hotel, eat crackers, and watch Swiss Family Robinson on TV. Why watch it when you can live it?! Oh well.
The temple was very beautiful, of course. It had a tropical motif which gave everything a new feeling. I wish we'd taken better pictures, but we forgot to take our camera when we actually went to the temple, so this is the best we could do driving by with the camera hanging out the window.
After two days in Apia, we took the bus 2 hours southwest to the village of Lalomanu, which is famous for its beautiful beaches.
Here we rented a beach fale for two nights. We'd definitely recommend this to anyone who can appreciate relaxing at a beautiful beach.
It was fiafia night on Saturday so we were entertained with music, dancing, and a fire knife show.
Master and apprentice. Who would let their kid do this?!
The final dance was performed by the resort owner. Ella gave our donation for the dancers' pasese or "bus fare home".
Easter Sunday sunrise. We're the last ones to see the sunrise. West of us, in Tonga it was Monday's sunrise already.
We had an egg hunt around the fales.
Each meal was served family style, so all the guests had the chance to get to know each other. It felt like a youth hostel with people from all around the world. And the food was delicious!
Ocean kayaks for "hire".
We went to church with another LDS family visiting from Utah. Ella and Madison were glad to have each other to play with. And see the little girls in the background so curious about these little blondies at their church.
Doesn't that look inviting?
Isaac's playing hide-and-seek under the fales. And see all those awful bugbites? That's what mosquito nets are for.
We can't wait to go again!
P.S. We used the work camera for the trip. Still looking...
8 comments:
It looks like an amazing trip. The only bad thing about moving to Switzerland is the cold. At least we get the Alps but the beach looks so inviting. Do they need any CPA's in American Samoa?
I am SO excited to come visit you after those pictures. I really hope that flight prices don't go through the roof with all of these bankruptcies.
Did you get a new camera?
Looks like a good time. That beach house looked amazing! Cute pictures!
Looks like a great trip! I'm sooo glad you were able to make it to the temple. We're still working on that one, and our temple is only an hour away! Oh well. Faith is a principle of action and power, right? Glad you had a good time!
holy cow, what cute kiddos!!! Man, poor Isaac and those bug bites - what a trooper! Looks BEAUTIFUL, and I am so glad you got to have some time at the temple!
I've been trying to convince Mighty to come visit us instead of samoa. Now I want to convince her to take me along. My goodness woman you are in PARADISE@
Hi Melinda!
My brother-in-law's Dad was a mission president in American Samoa and I was telling him about your life an adventures. I'm passing him your blog address so that he can check it out. He says I should totally come visit! And I would love too, I just don't know if I can handle my 2 kids on such long flights!
I also just found out that we can ship Pampered Chef products to American Samoa! Who knew? So if you need anything... Let me know. :) You really look like you're having a blast! And I LOVE reading about it.
Oh my gosh! You guys are freakin' awesome! What an adventurous family you are. You should totally have a reality tv show of your life. :)
Post a Comment