Christmas in Saipan

Heather, Rich and Max spent Christmas in Saipan, part of the Northern Marianas chain of islands.  Our trip would combine some good old-fashioned R&R and a dose of history with intentions to visit the World War II memorials commemorating the Battle of Saipan. For more on the battle, visit http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1770.html

It took about 3 and a half hours to fly from Tokyo to Guam. When our plane was ready, we exited the terminal into 80 degree weather and sunshine, schlepped across the tarmac and boarded a small turboprop airplane en route to Saipan.   

Luckily we had a smooth half hour flight and touched down at Saipan "International" Airport intact.  There were about a dozen people on the flight and the tiny airport was empty when we arrived so we quickly passed through customs and got a cab outside and headed to our hotel.

Well, things took a downturn when Max came down with a fever on the 24th.  Some children's Motrin brought it down but it spiked after dinner at (103.4) and he grew listless and began breathing rapidly so we took a taxi to the hospital.  Luckily the hospital was just a few minutes away and we were seen quickly.  The diagnosis was an ear infection so Max was given a dose of antibiotics and we were given a prescription to fill on Christmas morning. 

Spending Christmas Eve in the ER was depressing enough, but we were in and out fairly quickly.  We passed a difficult night with Max up on the hour.  But we made the best of things and Max had a Christmas stocking the next morning and managed to get through the remaining days fairly well doped up on alternating doses of Tylenol and Motrin and the amoxicillin.

Throughout the remainder of the week, we did the best we could to keep Max comfortable, enjoy the beach and the pool and take a tour of some of the WWII historical sights.  We visited the Last Command Post which was an eerie place with plants and trees growing through an abandoned tank and various very large guns.  We saw Banzai Cliff and Suicide Cliff, where Japanese families and soldiers jumped to their death rather than surrender to the Americans. It was certainly a haunting and melancholy experience.  

On a happier note, we took a boat ride out to Managaha Island for snorkeling, played a lot by the pool and saw some nice sunsets.   

If you check the right side of this blog, you'll see a photostream available on Flickr.  Just click through the picture to reach a series of albums about our trip.