Projects Possible

Hafa Adia (Pronounced: Half A Day, Means: Hello, Language: Chamorro) from Guam!  My recent business trip took me to the island of Guam.  It wouldn’t have been that bad if getting there were just a bit more convenient.  Our flights took us from Spokane, to Seattle to Japan’s Narita airport and then finally Guam.   All total with the layovers it was nearly 25 hours  of time.  We left on a Friday morning, got into Guam at about 2am on Sunday.  To make matters worse, most of it was on Northwest (affectionately known by me as North WORST) Airlines.

The island itself is quite beautiful.  It has a rocky, tropical rain forest feel to it.  Since we didn’t work on Sunday we decided to take a drive around the island.  We ventured from our hotel (Hotel Nikko) in the Tumon bay area and headed south around the southern tip and then back up the opposite side of the island.  For the most part the drive is quite pleasant with some absolutely gorgeous vistas.  I would encourage everyone that is there for a brief visit to at a minimum take the drive around the island.

As we were driving north, we passed a home right across from Jeff’s Pirate’s Cove that had bunch of sculptures in the front yard.  As many readers of my blog know, I love sculpture and these wood sculptures had a great “island” feel to them.  The artist - Michael R. Genereux has been a resident of Guam for 20+ years and his medium is IFIT wood which is a tree that is found only on a few of the islands in Micronesia.  It is actually against the law to cut a live IFIT tree so all of his sculpture is created from dead trees he has harvested from around the island.

Ifit has some interesting characteristics.  It is quite heavy (I know… I carried a piece through airports all the way home).  It also has a dark, very rich coloring and he finishes his pieces with a high gloss polish making them quite stunning to look at.  Ifit does not float and is so hard you can not drive a nail through it.  An added benefit, probably because it is so hard, it is termite proof.

Needless to say I left the island with a one of a kind Genereux sculpture and had it not been so heavy or so large I may have come home with additional pieces.  If you are ever in Guam… head south on highway 4 on a Sunday and you will see his work on the right side of the road.  Stop and enjoy the stories, enjoy the art, and perhaps bring a piece home as well.

Our stay in Guam had us at the Hotel Nikko.  The room rate was quite reasonable considering every room in the hotel has an oceanview.  From my room I could see Two Lover’s Point a tourist destination not to be missed and miles and miles of sandy beach.  Hotel Nikko also has a couple of absolutely gorgeous wedding chapels, but it is not a unique feature of the Nikko as they are spread throughout the island.  If it wasn’t so far to go, it would be a perfect place to have a nice private wedding with family and friends in an absolutely gorgeous surrounding.   This picture is of the wedding chapel on the point at the hotel.

If you like shopping you have all the big names in Guam.  There are a number of malls including the one in Tumon that has Tiffany, Armani, Channel, Bulgari, Coach, etc..  If you are more into off price you can shop at the outlet mall, or even the Micronesian mall. 

A couple of additional recommendations for you… Hagatna Grill for a Kahlua Pork sandwich.   Wednesday nights I would recommend that you take in the “Evening Market”.  You will find a number of reasonably priced food vendors, handcrafts vendors, and music and dancing.  You might even get to have your picture taken riding a Carabao

For my short stay on the island I had a great time even if I was there for work.  I’m sure if I were there for a vacation I would have spent quite a bit more time doing tourist related things.  Golf seems to be a big tourist attraction especially for the Japanese.   If you like the warm weather (80s most of the time), friendly people, great water, and interesting history… check out Guam as a possible vacation.

The first time I saw a Lyman Whitaker Wind Sculpture my wife and I were visiting Lincoln City, Oregon and we happened to pass the  Freed Gallery where they had a whole “forest” of these sculptures.   We stopped… and watched, absolutely mesmerized at their movement.  We then walked through the “forest” and after seeing a few price tags realized that for now we would have to enjoy from afar.

Fast forward a few years… We now have a lake home, and if you happen to take a look at the Deep Lake Web Cam image you will notice that I am now the proud owner of a Lyman Whitaker - Double Spinner - Wind Sculpture.  For my last birthday my wife and I took a trip to Lincoln City and we came home with my birthday present.

The sculpture (if looking from the webcam) appears to be deceptively small.  It is over 9 feet tall.  It is made of copper and stainless steel on a steel pole that we’ve set into concrete.  I can literally watch this thing for hours and the kaleidoscope effect that it has is mesmerizing.

The setting by the lake is absolutely perfect and as I spend my day at work I can peer out the window and enjoy this beautiful piece of art in a setting that seems just perfect for it.   The Whitaker website describes it perfectly: “By placing the sculptures in settings dependent on natural elements for movement, opportunities are provided for participants to think about their surroundings. Lyman’s sculptures are organic and natural like vegetation and are enjoyed best in interactive settings where they are viewed over time.”

This past summer we’ve had many curious visitors stop on the lake to enjoy the sculpture… it is almost as fun to watch them point and stare as it is to watch the sculpture.   

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