February 2020
It’s an interesting place, Guam. Very tropical, much like Hawaii, yet tiny. Really tiny. To be exact it’s only 212 square miles in total. Just a speck in a really large ocean and if you don’t believe me, try to find it on a globe. I know roughly where it is and it still took me a while. A U.S. territory that’s thirty miles long and eight miles wide, surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, belongs to the Marianas Island chain, temperatures that are steady all year with highs in the 80’s during the day and low’s in the 70’s (F) at night, two “major” cities, an Island wide 35 mph speed limit, a major U.S. Airbase, and a strategic Navel Base known locally as “Big Navy”. And that about sums it up. What a cool place to visit!
Wondering why I’d be in such a place so close to Super Bowl Sunday 2020? Well, as a retired member of the U.S. Armed Forces, I qualify to fly on Air Force and Navy cargo planes and certain chartered flights to bases around the world on a Space Available basis. I had some time on my hands and was traveling “Space A” heading generally West from Dover Air Force Base (AFB) in Delaware. The first flight with availability was to Travis AFB in California so aboard I went. Renting a car at Travis I spent a week visiting San Francisco and Monterey (post coming soon) before bumming my way to Hickam AFB in Hawaii.
It was January after all, and very cold on the East Coast. California and Hawaii seemed quite logically, the choice destinations. I spent 10 days or so between cheap hotels and campsites at the Marine Corps Base, Kaneohe Bay Camp Ground and the Camping Facility at Bellows Air Force Station on the beach near Waimanalo. After spoiling myself with surf, amazing snorkeling and some laid back nightlife, I decided my vacation had run its course and headed back to Hickam AFB in an attempt to bum a ride with the Air Force back to the mainland.
But here’s an interesting thing about Space A travel. Though they should consider doing so, the Air Force doesn’t just operate for the pleasure of retired Marines 🍺. Flights don’t alway go to places you want them to go, or may not have “space available”, or they may not carry passengers due to cargo constraints such as certain types of ordinance. So after three days of trying, I was a little down in the dumps with no short term solution back to the mainland in time to watch the Chiefs take on the Niners in what was sure to be a classic Super Bowl. And then just like that, three flights to Guam popped up. I said to myself, “how cool would it be be to watch the Super Bowl in Guam”. After all, I’m sure they have hamburgers and beer, and just think about it, the game probably starts at like 9:00 AM, all adding up to a killer day. So, off into the wild blue yonder and the island of Guam I go, all courtesy of the U. S. Air Force.
Usually the best trips are the ones that just seem to pop up out of nowhere and my adventure to Guam, was no exception. Being ferried to the Island on a KC 135 Refueler who’s mission was inflight refueling of the new F 35 fighter jets was the first treat. Once on Guam I rented a car at the Anderson AFB terminal and drove immediately to the touristy beach of Tumon and found lodging. I arrived in Guam on Saturday Feb 1 2020 and the Super Bowl was just a day away which gave me plenty of time to check-in to my accommodation, the Bay View Hotel. More importantly, I had plenty of time to scout out Tumon for a great place to watch The Game and to check out the town. Tumon it turns out, runs the length of a beautiful horseshoe shaped beach with my hotel the Bayview, and a killer view, sitting above. Nailed down a room for a very reasonable $80/night, a steep discount due to construction going on within. I felt like I was on a serious winning streak at this point so into town for a beer and a burger I went.
A quick chat with some of the patrons at Caraboa Brewing (a no brainer, it being the nearest craft brewery) over a surprisingly good red ale and I was already feeling like a native. After all, it’s a small island and the best intel always comes from locals who enjoy good craft beer. I was directed to a popular spot called Pika’s Cafe with a recommendation to try the Tinaktak Burger, a locals favorite made with Coconut Milk and topped with string beans, roasted tomatoes, balsamic onions, a local concoction called lana sauce, all on a toasted Ciabatta and paired with an ice cold brew. Definitely a burger that impressed. Advice on the game was predictable, pick a big hotel catering tourists from the U.S.A. and they would be playing the game. As a fall back, TGI Friday’s and the Hard Rock Cafe, would have it on as well. Yeah that’s right, Guam has a Friday’s and a Hard Rock Cafe along with a California Pizza Oven, Chick fil-A and every other fast food restaurant known to man. I planned to get up in the morning and head to the Hilton Hotel on the beach which seemed like a solid plan, so I headed back to my hotel and crashed for the night.
I was up early Sunday morning googling the official Kick Off time and found it was 9:15 AM. Time to shower and walk down the beach to the Hilton. Didn’t expect much of a crowd but was really disappointed at just how dead the place was. When I found the bar was closed until 11:00 AM the panic set in. How could this be? All these American service men and woman running around and the bar still wouldn’t open early for the Super Bowl? What if the Friday’s was closed? Could it be that I’d only get to watch the second half of The Game? Seemed my string of good luck had finally run out.
But here’s a quirky little fact about Guam- as the slogan goes, it’s “where America starts its day”. Since I had crossed the international date line, while Sunday had just started in Guam, it was still Saturday in the States. Normally, I’m about a six pack in by the time I start making a fool of myself, but here it was 8:30 AM on a Sunday morning and I was already wondering who kidnapped my brain. The very nice folks at the Hilton explained to me that here in Guam, the Super Bowl is on Super Monday, not Super Sunday. The good news was that I could now head back to Pika’s Cafe and licked my wounds over a killer Loco Moco. Ever had one of those? Chances are good if you’ve ever been stationed in Hawaii or Guam. A sunny side up egg over top a hand made beef patty, smothered in a thick black peppercorn sauce, topped with sautéed onions and mushrooms, all on top of your choice of rice or Texas Toast. A great cure for a hangover and an even better way to give your arteries a challenging early morning workout before putting your liver to the test later in the day.
Things always seem to happen for a reason. After walking off the food baby I had created with my breakfast, I stumbled across the USO. Surprisingly, it was located on the ground floor of the Royal Orchid Hotel* a block or so up from the beach. A fantastic facility with several rooms equipped with long chairs, computers, pool tables and TV’s, the Tumon Bay USO was the finest USO I’d run into anywhere in the world. And better yet, they were hosting a Super Bowl brunch on “Super Monday” complete with free drinks and a breakfast spread. Fate was once again my friend. I hopped in my beat up rental and spent the day checking out the camping opportunities at the AFB and Big Navy. Anderson AFB in particular has one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen complete with some seaside hiking trails to explore. And it turned out the Air Craft Carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt was in port down at Big Navy. I then spent the afternoon touring the southern half of the island and chowing down on some tremendous sausages and German beer. How could that even be possible on a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Turns out Guam has a problem with feral pigs and a clever German transplant took advantage and started a restaurant/bar with a killer view of the ocean. The clever German thought up an unforgettable clever name for his clever bar and called it McKrauts🍺.
After a great Sunday, Super Monday rolls around so off to the USO I go. The volunteers working the Super Bowl put on an incredible spread of eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, muffins, fruit, as well as hotdogs and hamburgers if you’d rather. Juices, water, and sodas to drink and all for free. But no alcohol. I mean it was only 9:00 AM so what’s the big deal right? Though it did feel a little different watching the game sans beers. Not to worry though, I chatted up a few of the Air Force Zoomies who had been stationed on Guam for a couple of years and they clued me in to their plan. Free eats and drinks at the USO followed by a stroll down the road to TGI Fridays at halftime to watch the 2nd half of the game. Sounded reasonable to me. The game itself was terrific as was the enthusiasm of the crowd. Except for the few patrons with ties to San Francisco, most of the crowd was rooting for the Chiefs. Tons of fun chowing down on the great breakfast and hearing stories of the service men and women’s experience on Guam with the game in the background on any number of TV’s.
Halftime came quickly and I followed the crowd down to Friday’s. Once again I was surprised by what I found. First, the place was packed, standing room only but fortunately easy to get a beer. Second, the military presence was far outnumbered by the Chamorro (folks indigenous to Guam) as well as pockets of the ever present Japanese tourists curious about American Football. The loyalties were different as well. It seemed most of the Chamorro and Japanese favored San Francisco as many had relatives and friends living there. The game was great and the atmosphere incredible, a much more memorable experience than I could have hoped for. It was still early afternoon when the game ended so I spent the rest of the day at the beach deciding how much longer I would stay in Guam. I decided I’d spend a week camping on the beach at the AFB Campground, a no brainer once I discovered they had showers and bathrooms, and a Restaurant and Bar. Coupled with the camping and beach gear I could rent at the base Morale, Recreation and Welfare center (MWR), at $20.00/night, it was to good to pass up.
If you ever get to Guam, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! After a week at the beach I was back at Anderson AFB hopping a flight back to Hawaii for a couple of days and then on to the Mainland. Just thinking about the frigid East Coast weather had me missing Guam before my flight was even in the air. It was mid February 2020. By mid March the entire world would be shutting down for Covid. I was probably lucky I got off the Island at all.
* The USO has since relocated to Dusit Hotels- The Plaza Shopping Centers.
Btw- a quick tip on what to call people from Guam. The most proper term is Chamorro which include all the people indigenous to the Mariana Islands but you also hear “Guamanian” from time to time. Never Chamorrian, and certainly never call someone a Chamorron. Apparently it happens more often than you’d think.
