Trip journal - day 5
5 September 2005
Up for breakfast. We (Cindy, Caroline, and I) ate with Molly and Gabe. We had papaya, along with eggs and toast (this time sunny side up – we forgot to tell them to do scrambled). Then to the Robert Louis Stevenson plantation estate, Vailima Villa. We were treated to a special tour by Brother Winegar (along with Alan Bergin, the Naylors, Brother and Sister Hess and others). Delilah’s sister, Margaret (formerly a flight attendant) is a guide there. Caroline took lots of pictures. A beautiful place with beautiful grounds. Much like the estates we saw in England. A garden party there tonight.
We stopped in Apia for lunch at McDonald’s, met lots of missionaries: Elders Stark, Owen, Merrill, etc. Their P-day and "payday". All Apia Samoa Mission missionaries were in Apia for the dedication. I introduced two to Delilah.
After lunch, back to the hotel. We dropped off Mark and Emily in Apia to shop (since their plane leaves late tonight). Then to Sauneatu (“Son-yah-too”). I read aloud the excerpts from Bapa’s journal about the place as we drove there. Beautiful lush growth on the road into the mountains off the coastal road. A clean village in the mouth of an ancient volcano, ringed by lush green-covered peaks. A David O. McKay monument (he had visited as an LDS apostle in 1921, the year my grandfather first came to Samoa), also a David O. McKay fale (traditional Samoan house -- a roof on pillars withou no walls). A beautiful LDS chapel, and a “gym” for 24 young men from all over the island, who dropped out of school to help their families, and come on Monday then go home on Friday. A missionary couple (the Osmonds from Coalville, Utah) teach them the Book of Mormon, preparation for missions, and some business skills – they run a small shop. Elder Osmond showed us around, took us into his home for a drink of water. He showed us a trail to a nearby waterfall and swimming hole. There were very slippery, mossy concrete steps going down. Without a recent rain, the water was too low to safely get out over the slippery rocks. We took pictures anyway.
The visit to Sauneatu gave me a stronger sense of place and about my grandfather’s service. He helped build a school here. We walked where he likely walked. It was well worth the trip.
We drove back to the coastal road, then through lots of villages. Finally we came to a stretch of beach. The kids (Caroline, Molly, and Gabe had wanted to go to the beach since our first day). The water was very warm. We collected seashells and coral. Then back to the hotel.
Everyone but Caroline and Gabe and I went to the garden party at Vailima. The four of us had dinner together on the front veranda of the hotel (I had the club sandwich, Caroline had a curry bowl, and Gabe had a burger with a side of garlic bread – one of his favorites now), with a new large cargo ship lit up across the harbor (it arrived around breakfast this morning after another cargo ship had unloaded its contents the past few days, and left this morning). Later, the kids watched the rest of "Sahara" and started "National Treasure". Gabe and I fell asleep at some point (I, during "Sahara"). The folks got back from the garden party, and Cindy reported dancing with Sini toward the end. We said goodbye to Mark and Emily and they left (with the intrepid Delilah driving) for the airport. To bed.
Up for breakfast. We (Cindy, Caroline, and I) ate with Molly and Gabe. We had papaya, along with eggs and toast (this time sunny side up – we forgot to tell them to do scrambled). Then to the Robert Louis Stevenson plantation estate, Vailima Villa. We were treated to a special tour by Brother Winegar (along with Alan Bergin, the Naylors, Brother and Sister Hess and others). Delilah’s sister, Margaret (formerly a flight attendant) is a guide there. Caroline took lots of pictures. A beautiful place with beautiful grounds. Much like the estates we saw in England. A garden party there tonight.
We stopped in Apia for lunch at McDonald’s, met lots of missionaries: Elders Stark, Owen, Merrill, etc. Their P-day and "payday". All Apia Samoa Mission missionaries were in Apia for the dedication. I introduced two to Delilah.
After lunch, back to the hotel. We dropped off Mark and Emily in Apia to shop (since their plane leaves late tonight). Then to Sauneatu (“Son-yah-too”). I read aloud the excerpts from Bapa’s journal about the place as we drove there. Beautiful lush growth on the road into the mountains off the coastal road. A clean village in the mouth of an ancient volcano, ringed by lush green-covered peaks. A David O. McKay monument (he had visited as an LDS apostle in 1921, the year my grandfather first came to Samoa), also a David O. McKay fale (traditional Samoan house -- a roof on pillars withou no walls). A beautiful LDS chapel, and a “gym” for 24 young men from all over the island, who dropped out of school to help their families, and come on Monday then go home on Friday. A missionary couple (the Osmonds from Coalville, Utah) teach them the Book of Mormon, preparation for missions, and some business skills – they run a small shop. Elder Osmond showed us around, took us into his home for a drink of water. He showed us a trail to a nearby waterfall and swimming hole. There were very slippery, mossy concrete steps going down. Without a recent rain, the water was too low to safely get out over the slippery rocks. We took pictures anyway.
The visit to Sauneatu gave me a stronger sense of place and about my grandfather’s service. He helped build a school here. We walked where he likely walked. It was well worth the trip.
We drove back to the coastal road, then through lots of villages. Finally we came to a stretch of beach. The kids (Caroline, Molly, and Gabe had wanted to go to the beach since our first day). The water was very warm. We collected seashells and coral. Then back to the hotel.
Everyone but Caroline and Gabe and I went to the garden party at Vailima. The four of us had dinner together on the front veranda of the hotel (I had the club sandwich, Caroline had a curry bowl, and Gabe had a burger with a side of garlic bread – one of his favorites now), with a new large cargo ship lit up across the harbor (it arrived around breakfast this morning after another cargo ship had unloaded its contents the past few days, and left this morning). Later, the kids watched the rest of "Sahara" and started "National Treasure". Gabe and I fell asleep at some point (I, during "Sahara"). The folks got back from the garden party, and Cindy reported dancing with Sini toward the end. We said goodbye to Mark and Emily and they left (with the intrepid Delilah driving) for the airport. To bed.
posted by Barney at 6:40 AM
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