Too bad about the hotels. Nice ones. Should have good deals on rooms and happy hours, then.

The dogs...snake hunters. Jack Russell Terriers, most likely. Bred as tree climbers to go after squirrels and such. I bet they ARE good with those snakes.

I need to pull up a map of Guam and refresh my memory. There were a couple of great little beaches down south...off the path. One wasn't much good for snorkeling, but the layout and sound...coral cliffs and a surf sound like inside a conch shell. One of the more amazing acoustic experiences I've ever run across.

Let's see...there was a 'shell club' down south that met once a week. Nice folks. Learn a lot about marine life there. Should still be going on and easy enough to find.

And I remember a local event...maybe connected with Discovery Day...where they had a big deal tree-climbing contest. That was a hoot. Contestants from all over Micronesia. Climb coconut trees on a slant of about 45%. Race to the top. Lots of rivalry between Guam and Palau, etc.

Oh, and coconut crabs. I never saw one, but I saw the holes at the bases of coconut trees. Some of the locals said they were as big as cars, but there are some small cars there. The crabs come out at night and crack coconuts in their claws. Or was I being set up for a snipe hunt? Never had the guts to go out at night and thrash around looking for crabs that could eat me, but I wish I had made the attempt...must be an amazing sight.

Coolest thing I did on Guam was hitch a ride on a sea turtle. Snorkeling in the bottom of a bomb crater when one approached overhead, and I hurried up and caught on to it...just barely, they swim fast. Then there were the dark blue starfish. Some friends and I got GREAT pictures with them...just holding them up and smiling with the mountains and sea in the background.

The bomb craters...shelves of white coral going out a couple hundred yards from land...coral a couple feet beneath the water. Then the big drop off to turquoise water...sharp division line. But on the white shelf, turquoise circles where the American shells fell as the US took the island back from the Japanese. We found an old Jap gun emplacement at the edge of the water...little cave area with the big metal gun-ring still in the floor. And ammo still in the coral as you snorkel. Rifle cartridges dropped by troops coming ashore.

The sense of isolation really catches up with you when you get bad news from home. That's why tours on Guam are short for military and non-military. Lots of teachers go there from the states for the experience, but once you touch down on Hawaii and then travel on west several more hours, you KNOW you're way out west. And all that water you flew over. Gives you a real sense of remoteness.

The computer should help now, though. Voice chat might be a good thing to look into. Best wishes.