Bali, Sulawesi & Muck Diving

Hello Everybody,

It's been a while since our last blog...thats because we were diving in the great Lembeh Straight, Indonesia. We've been back about a week now but editing all the pictures took me a while to get ready. I'll include a few of the best shots but everybody is expecting a little video so maybe I'll post part of that later. If you want a nice little sideshow just follow this link to the Piersons Blogspot...they did such a good job you should watch it!!

The Trip...the quick explanation is we dove our brains out, In 5 days we did about 17 Dives and saw the craziest critters ever. Now back to the beginning. We started off by flying to Bali where we stayed the night. The next day took us to Makassar on Garuda Airlines...yes thats the one that crashed last month. Needless to say our flight was delayed 1-2,4 hours at which point we were told a new plane was coming. When it arrived we were a little worried when the technition brought out a ladder and proceeded to demonstrate how the Baro Probes (Pointy things on the front of a plane) was moving around freely. That didn't instill a lot of confidence in the airline which soon canceled the flight. The next day we were up early and on the way to Lembeh without incidence. We started diving right after we got there. We stayed at Nomad Adventure Divers (NADS:) They treated us great even after their Gererator caught fire and we didn't have any tanks for diving. In reality they worked their butts off for us.

The diving was amazing! Yes we had great soft corals, sponges and crinoids, but the main attraction was the Muck!!! Thats right, some of the craziest animals were found of the sandy, and sometimes polluted beaches in the straight. The critters ranged from Hairy Frogfish and Mimic Octopus to Flamboyant Cuttlefish and colorful nudibranchs. Look at the size of this Pigmy Seahorse...thats my finger next to him. Needless to say we had a great time getting waterlogged.


After Lembeh we had to say goodbye to the Fly's who needed to return home to work. Thus the Piersons and us decided to stay the weekend in Bali. Especially since the package included our ticket, hotel and breakfast and was less than an airplane ticket alone! Nice!!! We enjoyed a nice weekend at the Kuta Lagoon resort. We went up to see the lake district with sunset at Tanah Lot Temple. We also fit in a shopping trip to Ubud and the Monkey Forest. Ken...don't harass the monkeys ;-). In the end we enjoyed some wonderful food and found some great art to decorate our homes. Anyway, I think that covers everything. Here are a few pictures to fill in the blank spots. We hope you are all doing great!! Drop us a line if you have a moment. Take care!!!!

Blast from the Past

Here is a couple photos of my parents arriving in Guam some 30+ years ago. Love the blue suit dad and mom thats some big hair!! The second one is Papa O checking a kids teeth in Yap. Enjoy.

Grumpy Diver

Well, I'll make this short. We had a very very nice day out on the ocean....until I lost my diffuser which was custom made...by me!!! Lucky I made two ;-) But I really liked that one. Didn't quite make it back in time to pick cucumbers this week. Maybe Tuesday!! Here is a Nudibranch Picture for you fanatics.

Phyllidea elegans

Diner and the 144,000

Wednesday Night we got together with a group of couples and had some great food along with a discussion on the 144,000 in Revelation. Thanks Ken Lee for sparking the study and the great thoughts from everyone else!!

Remodel Update #3

We changed out the nice Purplish-Pink Blind for Ivory a while back. Doesn't sound like a huge job but it made the rooms look a lot nicer. There is also a picture of the new yellow guestroom. Hopefully we can get a nice painting to match in Bali next week. We also had the Powers over last Friday and here is a picture of the crazy clan.

Cucumbers & Diving

Happy Easter Everybody!! Today we got up late and decided to go get wet. Didn't see much super exciting but it was a beautiful day to be out in the water. I was surprised to see some new soft coral growing at one of our dive sites. I also got a decent picture of a Thurdilia Nudibranch for those of you who enjoy them. Afterwards we decided to go and help pick Cucumbers at the Jimenos house. Something happened to our churches water line and we ended up having a huge water bill. To help with the costs (since we don't have an overflowing bank account) we decided to start a farm and grow cucumbers. The things are growing like crazy. There were 4 rows a couple hundred hards long. They have to pick them 3 times a week. Today we ended up picking around 400 Lbs of the things. Yikes!!! They actually taste better than the imported US ones. Anyway, enjoy the pics!!

Blood Diamond...a must see!!

This week we rented the movie Blood Diamond. A story starting Leonardo Decaprio in Sierra Leon when diamonds smuggled from the country, funded their own civil war. The story will wrench your heart, especially if you have African ties. It was a great scrip and excellent acting! If you see it don't expect to leave feeling wonderful, but you will appreciate life and the value we have for it! Rent it!

Remodel Update

Last weekend we finish the master bedroom. We now have a dark tan/green paint that looks much nicer. We also finished the storage space above the closet. Check out those new doors with our accent color. The vanity area is still under construction with a new mirror and lights on the way.

Happy Birthday Papa San

Well, we would call Dad on his B-Day if he was available but he is too busy bungy jumping of bridges in New Zealand!! I cant wait to see the pics. Anyway, we just wanted to send a shout out to the old man! Wish we could be there with you dad!! Happy Birthday and many many more!!!

Chad & Sho

Weekend in Saipan

Well, the Ordelheide, Pierson and Fly clan was at it again. We had jammed packed weekend that included diving, eating, golf, brunches and very little relaxation. We really had a great time enjoying the $1 tacos at Olies on the beach. Mmmmm, tasty, cruchy tacos! Anyway, here are a few quick pics from the time on Saipan. P.S. We got 4 new Nudibranchs.

Kites for Wishes

Today we stopped by the Kites for Wishes extravaganze at Asan Park. Although it caused a huge traffic jam it was still a lot of fun to see all the kites. There was also a kite surfer doing tricks in the bay. Although it was really hot, it was about perfect with the breeze under the palm trees. Enjoy the pics.

Happy Valentines

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Sho got her flowers a day early this year. Guam floral shops have a set "Menu" like the restaurants. I didn't want their overpriced roses that last 1 day so I had to do a little fandangling. She loved the bouquet and then we had dinner at our favorite Mediterranean restaurant. Happy Valentines.

Renovations #2

Now were have also started to remodel the little laundry room. The room only had cement so we decided to try our hand at a little tilling! Anyway, as you can see were not quite done. The man we purchased the tile from was a Shady Korean dude. Halfway through the second line we found out he gave us two sizes of tile. As most people know, tiles won't look that great after a few mis-sized ones are placed. Anyway, after convincing the lame guy that we needed the same size tiles they got us new ones. We'll try again next week!! We also started to make a mess around the vanity. It needs a power socket... Who wouldn't put a plug in a vanity area???? Have a great week.

Renovations!

In the Kitchen: The opening was about a foot lower. Making you feel like you were in a cafeteria. I had to cut down metal studs and push everything up which was a pain. At least now you can look out; or in without ducking!!


In the master bedroom there was a large wasted space above one of our closets. What you see framed now was just drywall. We demolished the old wall, removed metal studs and chipped out cement gun nails. As you can see its now on the way to giving us quite a bit of storage space!!

Keep an Eye out in the near future for the Caribou of the week photo.

Faces from Home.. :-)

Hello.......

It's been a long time since we've posted a blog. Our internet has been on the fritz. While we were at home we didn't get around to posting anything but now were back. It was great to see everyone while visiting the states. Thanks a million to everyone! Especially those who went way out of their way to see us. You really made our trip worth while! Anyway, the first work weed back is over so I guess you could say I'm back in the saddle. That also means the politics of the clinic is up and running again. Anyway, here are a few pictures of our friends from home!

Walla Walla was cold outside but warm inside!! We had a great time relaxing and enjoying your company! I'm not sure about your Salsa though Edwardo ?#@

Christmas was a blast hanging with the family. We just loved lounging around and being up to our ears in Carcazone, Settlers, Trains, Bobs crazy cards and whatever else we did. It was just nice being with you all. Miss you lots!

Too much fun with the Mundy, Munson, Ordelheide Clans. We wish we could all be a little

closer together!!! Thanks again for all the good memories!!

Miler, it meant a lot that you drove all the way from Idaho to see us!! Wish we could see more of you. Best of luck in your new pratice bro, I'm sure it will be a success!!!!!

Allison Gooch, it was great seeing you in San Fransisco. Good luck in the world of Law. Thanks for hanging out with us at Yoshi's!

Clarks, thanks so much for dropping by Walla Walla. We had a blast with you guys. Don't Forget to put Guam on that To Do List some time!

Mallory...you just make me smile!!

Of course it was great to hang out with the Hilliers in good old Oakdale!!

We love you Tawney & Mallory. We wish we could have brought you back to Guam with us!

Skyla, you are just too cute. Keep to the men in you life...they'll always like that... at least I did ;-)

Bono!!

Here's one for you U2 Fans. In Honolulu I was taking a nap on our 4 hours layover when I heard my wife say something about Bono. As I woke up a nearby lady said he had just walked by. So, I grabbed my camera and walked down the terminal, and there he was. Nice guy, we had quick conversation and a here one photo later!!

The Final Ride of the Harley Boys

Well, it's almost time to head home to California and Walla Walla... But before we head off into the wild blue yonder, I had to take one more ride! Thanks to the Generosity of Dr. Vercio letting me use his bike, we cruised the whole island. It was a great day, blue skies, ocean vistas and wind in our hair. We cruised from Tamuning, to Ritidian Point along the east side, past Cocos Island and up the west side. A few windy roads through grass coverd hils made for some extra excitement as well. As it goes, it's only one more day of work before we get a little vacation so hope to see you all soon!!

More Pics from Bali

Bali 2006 Nudibranch Video

Bali 2006

Well, our Bali weekend was a blast. Very short but very fun. We'll give you a better blog with more factoids later! Meanwhile, for all of you Nudibranch lovers out there...(which there better be many by now!!) Here is a little taste of the Macro heaven of Tulamben, Bali.

Nembrotha Kubaryana...gotta love that!!!!!