Mark Riccadonna Travel log: TRAVEL to GUAM: DAY 5 and 6

Day 5 and 6 Travel to guam.. lotta stops

Typical Travel day Hurry up and get to the airport so you can sit and wait. We got our itinerary- Roi, Kwaj, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Truk, and Guam. This is where we tested nukes; this is where Godzilla comes from. We need to watch ourselves!

Kosrae: With a population of 7,686. The island is located approximately 370 miles north of the equator, between Guam and the Hawaiian Islands. Its land area is about 42 square miles that are mainly unspoiled, as off the regular tourist routes, in other words, it’s a big ass jungle with beaches around it.

Kosrae is becoming a destination for scuba divers and hikers. Viewed from the sea, the island’s distinct shape resembles a female body with crabs and everything. This has led to the island being called “the island of the sleeping lady.” And looking at the guys there, you may want to stay asleep!
Kosrae’s airport on the northwestern coast of the island is served by Continental Micronesia “Island Hopper” flights (three times a week in each direction) between Hawaii and Guam.

Pohnpei Island is the largest, highest, most populous, and most developed single island. The islanders of Pohnpei have a reputation as being the most welcoming of outsiders among residents of the island group. The island also contains a wealth of biodiversity. The airport was tiny and had a wooden bar with no stools, so don’t get too excited.

Pohnpei is one of the wettest places on earth (because its by the sleeping lady.. OOHH!) with annual recorded rainfall exceeding 300 inches (7,600 mm) each year in specific mountainous locations. Pohnpei is incorrectly said to have a national soccer team described as “the worst team in the world.” That’s just not right- Pohnpei is not a nation - it is but one of four states in the FSM. A Pohnpei football team is currently active, and a national Federated States of Micronesia team, which is the worst soccer team in the world. Get your facts straight before you run your mouth.

Truk Lagoon During World War II, Truk Lagoon served as the forward anchorage for the Japanese Imperial Fleet. Five airstrips, seaplane bases, a torpedo boat station, submarine repair shops, a communications center, and a radar station were constructed during the war. Protecting these various facilities were coastal defense guns and mortar emplacements. At anchor in the lagoon were the Imperial Japanese Navy’s giant battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, tankers, cargo ships, tugboats, gunboats, minesweepers, landing craft, and submarines. Some have described it as Japan’s equivalent of the Americans’ Pearl Harbor. Which we blasted and threw into the water. Don’t start what you can’t finish.

Once the American forces captured the Marshall Islands, they used it as a base from which they launched an early morning attack on February 17, 1944, against Truk Lagoon. The Japanese withdrew most of their heavy units. Operation Hailstone lasted for three days, with an American bombardment of the Japanese wiping out almost anything of value. In essence, 60 ships and 275 airplanes were sent to the bottom of the lagoon so we as Americans can scuba down and visit our enemies at the bottom of the ocean.

The attacks, for the most part, ended Truk as a significant threat to Allied operations in the central Pacific. The Japanese garrison on Eniwetok was denied any realistic hope of reinforcement and support during the invasion that began on February 18, 1944, greatly assisting US forces in their conquest of that island. Truk was isolated by Allied (primarily US- hey, we needed a place to go to the bathroom!) forces as they continued their advance towards Japan by invading other Pacific islands such as Guam, Saipan, Palau, and Iwo Jima. Cut off, the Japanese forces on Truk and other central Pacific islands ran low on food and faced starvation before Japan surrendered in August 1945

With all this time in planes we saw guys on the plane who looked like famous American versions: Here is our list of favorites:

Marshallian Adam Carolla

Polopaneasian Don rickles

Marshallian Joan Jett

Polopansian Mariana Riveria

Marshallian Bobby Hill

GUAM: Hafa Adai: Sounds like “Hoffa Day” (it is just like ALOHA!)

And Now finally Guam
As the largest island in Micronesia and the only US-held island in the region before World War II, Guam was captured by the Japanese on December 8, 1941, hours after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It was occupied for two and a half years. They didn’t seem to have left. There was only 1 other White couple that where non-military at the pool.

During the occupation, the people of Guam underwent acts including torture, beheadings, and rape, Downey is hoping to keep this tradition alive.Guam was subject to fierce fighting when US troops recaptured the island on July 21, 1944, a date commemorated every year as Liberation Day. Today, Guam’s economy is supported by its principal industry, tourism, which is primarily composed of visitors from Japan. Guam’s second-largest source of income in the United States military. Guam’s Japanese occupation lasted for approximately thirty-one months. During this period, the indigenous people of Guam were subjected to forced labor, family separation, incarceration, execution, concentration camps and forced prostitution. Approximately one thousand people died during the occupation, according to Congressional Testimony in 2004. Mariana Island historians estimate that 10% of Guam’s some 20,000 population were killed by violence, most by the Imperial Army and Navy. We ain’t so bad now, are we!

The Aquarium is connected to the sea grill. It is beautiful! I’ll have one, and Kevin will try what’s in the tank over there!

Tikki Light Pool was a great way to unwind after all that travel.

HOT TUBE TIME MACHINE

After all that travel Kevin and I went to the pool but also went and got some plum wine to take with us. We ended up not drinking it but just swimming and calling it a night.

BRIGHT AND EARLY: DAY 2 GUAM awake by 6:30 beach by 7.

So on the beach, two girls in High heels and stockings came by, Carol and I lost it. Hookers on the beach- like ordering takeout!

My view from the balcony

Carol, Kevin, and I decided to stroll the beach and hit up the Tikki bar. Frozen drinks before 9:30. It is going to be a good day. Stephen later meets us poolside.