October 9, 2010-"Playing Hookey"

     Where else in the world can you leave school and work early to catch a plane to a whole other island destination for the weekend and be there in less than an hour?  That's exactly what my sweet boys and I did today.  We left around 1:30 to catch the 2:15 plane to Roi-Namur to spend four glorious days basking in the sun and fun of our favorite get away destination with one of our favorite people and luckily, my sweetheart.  Upon taking off, I realized I had forgotten to lock our bikes together, which is a potential problem, as some people like to "Marshallese Borrow" bikes and take them from one spot to another and make it hard for the owner to find them again when they return (not purposely to be rude, but just to get to where they need to go in a culture which always helps each other out, even if it makes it inconvenient for the original owner), but that thought quickly escaped me upon looking out the window and seeing the magnificent view of my home atoll fading away into a tiny spot of sand as we headed into the sky above.  My youngest told me on the way to the terminal that he was excited about going to Roi for the weekend, but he was not excited about the plane ride. He tends to get motion sickness, but I told him that wasn't going to happen today as, unlike the last couple of weeks, it has been a beautiful day without a drop of rain, so the ride would be smooth and easy.  Fortunately, this ended up being true as the clouds were puffy and white the whole way. Some days, when it is bumpy and gray, we feel the effects of the weather from our head to our toes as the tiny tube of metal is tossed by the winds and rains of the moment. The planes are small, 19 seater, prop planes, and as safe as they are, they can also be unsettling to the unseasoned small plane travelers. Upon landing, we waited patiently and caught the work bus to the housing office where we received our keys to our "home" for the long 4 day weekend.
     Overall, it was a quiet Saturday night as my love and I were over tired from a long week at work, but the idea of a relaxing few days together with possibilities for camping, snorkeling, and general amusement filled out minds for the following days, and sleep came easy.  No matter what, weekends are always better when spent when loved ones.   Good night small world, enjoy the goodness of the day as there's always something to be thankful for...