Fourth of July

Wednesday was Independence Day. While we had the day off, it is not celebrated that much in Am Sam. Especially compared to Flag Day (aka Dependence Day). Dependence Day celebrates the Samoans ceding the island to the United States - we get two days off for that celebration and everyone goes crazy - big parties and celebrations. They didn't even have fireworks for Independence Day. We did get apple pie - thanks Liz. Anyway, I guess it would be weird for Am Sam, a U.S. Territory (aka colony) to celebrate Independence Day. But I digress. Never wasting a week day off - we waste enough weekends, I tagged along with New Guy and his folks (who are visiting for the week) for the day. First we went snorkeling at Fagaalu. You normally can see some turtles in the area. New Guy says that he saw one, but not sure if we believe him. However, the Coletti's saw six turtles on the same day. go figure. After snorkeling we drove to the north side and the village of Vatia. The drive to Vatia is great, and the bay is really cool. After Vatia we went to Tisa's Barefoot Bar. The ava was not that bad, so we did a little snorkeling. We then did a little drinking. We went back to Palagi Village, cleaned up and went over to the Castro's for a BBQ. Nikki's folks were also in town for the week - this must be family week. They brought Fred the Cadillac of coolers. Pretty sweet. Coolers on the island are like two or three times as expensive then ones on the mainland. Fred might be able to trade it in for a used car. As with any Castro BBQ, it was a huge success. However, after a busy day, I was tuckered out. I left around 9 pm. About 15 minutes later, I heard the neighborhood dogs going crazy and a lot of noise coming closer to my house. I opened my door and found this...I guess the remaining party goers were not happy that I left. They organized an angry mob to get me back to the party. Of course, one can't go against an angry mob, so I went back to the party. That angry mob might have been the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me - man, I am going to miss this place.