Aunu'u Redux

A few weeks ago, I headed back to Aunu'u, the island off the SE coast of Tutuila with a group of friends. A fun and relaxing time was had by all.

Aunu'u Harbor:

Church:

Tree:

A few of us tested out the lake of quicksand, including Amity:

Maamaa Cove:


Tidepools at Maamaa Cove. Great for relaxing in and getting splashed by the waves. Potentially life-threatening when the tide and waves are high:

Lava field by Maamaa Cove:

Loaded boat arriving from Tutuila:

Heading back to Tutuila:

Leaving Aunu'u behind:

Around The House v.2

Patriot and amateur weatherman:

Map:

Shoes up high so the cat won't destroy them:

Dive tanks:

My view:

Cars Get Crushed

Last week was eventful.

I almost broke my foot, but X-rays showed no fracture. I got painkillers and limped around all week.

Then, two prisoners escaped from the prison next to my house. One a murderer. Eventually the police caught up with them, although I'm told it was after they got drunk and turned themselves in.

Then a tree fell on some cars:


Finally, there was widespread panic due to a tsunami warning. School let out, court was canceled, traffic backed up, kids roamed the streets:

Clocked In

Some shots from the office.

Art:

Research:

Map:

Surf Shots

Lack of a water-proof camera or locks on my car doors prevent me from getting any pictures on days when I get in the water. So, I stole some pictures from WannaSurf.com for the reader's viewing pleasure.

Here's a spot called "Sliding Rock". About 15 minutes from my place, it picks up variations of south swell, but seems to work best on a SE. Land-mass to the east keeps it protected pretty well from trade-winds. It is one of the more convenient and consistent spots on the island. As such, it gets pretty crowded (which means about 8 people, tops).

I've heard it called "Mini-Teuhupoo" and can kinda understand why.

ASBA Xmas Party

Yeah, yeah. 3 months late on this one. Way back in December, the American Samoa Bar Association held their Christmas party at "2 Dollar Beach" aptly named because it usually costs $2 to go.

American Samoa Christmas party:

Someone let Doug hold a baby. Neither I nor Jeremy, it seems, are sure why:

Even the non-lawyers were allowed to attend. Simon went snorkeling, while Naomi looked on, and Vojik contemplated something in the distance:

Everett demonstrated his excellent rock-climbing ability:

A few gentlemen enjoyed the warm water and night air:

View west:

View east:

Bodyguard

Along with being a friendly companion, Sadie doubles as an excellent bodyguard. Case in point, the drowned centipede she proudly displayed to me one morning:

Return to Pago Pago

After a very nice week I unfortunately had to leave Hawaii and return to the real world. Well, not really. I came back to another tropical island.

Leaving Honolulu:

The flight was uneventful until our approach to Pago Pago. As I watched out the window, I suddenly noticed a large swath of lights on the island go dark. "Weird", I thought. As we passed over McDonald's I thought we looked way too high to land. Turns out I was correct. There was a power outage (including the runway lights), and the plane had to abort the initial landing and try again. Classic:

Sharks!

As mentioned, we went shark "diving" while on O'ahu. It wasn't actually diving; more like floating in a cage behind a boat. Fun, nonetheless.

Hale'iwa Harbor:

Heading out:

Looking back to shore:

Another shark boat:

The crew preparing the cage:

Dark shapes:

Jaws-esque:

Others in the cage:

The sharks were all Galapagos sharks, ranging from about 6' to 10' in length. Our underwater disposable camera worked pretty well:



Underwater:


Erin with shark in the background:

Close-ups: