Betsy's Blog

  We arrived in the Philippines in the middle of the night! The city lights of this sprawling city around the Manila Airport signaled our arrival. Our plane was full of local passengers carrying bags of food, clothing and who knows what. The plane was filled with meat, vegetables, and a lot of laughter. We bought a phone card upon arrival and got a taxi. We found out later that we were overcharged 'tourist rates' for both. Ugh! Then we signed up for Grab Car and used that App for the rest of our Philippines visit. Upon our arrival at the AirBnB, we ventured out for a late-night snack of Gatorade, pretzels, and cookies from 7/11. We walked on narrow streets and were almost hit by crazy motorbikes and fast cars. Manila is a wild and humid, but exciting city. Beware!  Filipinos like to have daily fun whatever they are doing. They gather on sidewalks sharing food, telling jokes and laughing at everything. I love their joie de vivre and group mentality. They are also kind and atten...

     After spending ten hours island hopping from the Marshall Islands to Guam yesterday, we arrived at 9pm last night. We asked the airport taxi to stop at a grocery store and were surprised at all the American food products for sale. One of the customers even had a Las Vegas grocery bag. Our airplane felt like a party bus full of local Marshallese colorfully dressed with flowers in their hair. They got off and on the plane at five different island stops along the way. The plane was full all the way to Guam with a variety of passengers. They kept changing seats and the flight attendant would send them back. They traveled with boxes of who knows what and it was a non-stop party. It was the most exciting plane ride I've ever been on!  Today we walked down the 100 or more wooden steps to the beach below our Air BnB. The clear blue water is shallow and so clean that you can walk out forever. Chuck snorkeled and there was no one else at the beach. Luckily, there is a was...

  The next stop was six hours later from Honolulu to the Marshall Islands. Iakwe! I didn't know what to expect. I used to teach with two Americans who worked in an International School in the Marshall Islands and they loved it there. Now I see why! It is one of the smallest countries in the world spread out over 70 square miles. It is a tropical island with flowers, empty beaches, and white sand. The islanders are friendly and curious to see foreigners. Some were shy, but the children were excited! They followed us everywhere and were full of joy. Iakwe means hello and goodbye in the Marshallese language. It translates to, "You are a rainbow."  There is no public transportation system on the long island. We learned to stand on the road and cars stopped and picked up people along the way. We met all ages and they were curious but shy. The children were eager to practice their English with us and very happy. Who wouldn't be happy living on an island with tropical fruits...

 I have never been to Hawaii. How is that possible? I used to live in California twice years ago and read the Sunday Newspaper ads for trips to Hawaii. This was before the Internet. In this photo, we are giving the Hawaiian hand Shaka sign for 'Hang Loose, Don't Worry or Rush!" Our trip plans began with using our Air Miles to fly from our home in Las Vegas to Hawaii. Then it expanded by using more Air Miles to continue our island visits worldwide. Did I mention that my husband Chuck planned a Round the World Trip for a Fifth Grade Class Assignment? He was reliving his project over 50 years later. Why not? We need to travel while we can still walk, talk and know where we are! So here we are in Honolulu with my sister and her Hawaiian husband. Paul was born here and spent most of his time at the beach until he got a swimming scholarship to the University of Colorado and met my sister Anne (in the middle of the photo above). That's another story. So when they heard we wer...