Alex’s 13th Birthday

August 4, 2014

Pago Pago ended up being fun for the kids, because in addition to Lady Carolina, there were two other kid boats in the harbor.  One was a boat called Wildlife with an Australian family who are now based in the Ha’apai group in Tonga, and they had a boy and girl, probably 14 and 12 or something like that.  The other was a boat called Moonjoos with some guys from South Africa, including a 15(?) year old nephew. 

The day after the storm the weather couldn’t have been more different.  The wind stopped, the rain stopped, and the sun even came out a bit.  So, we were able to proceed with our plans to celebrate Alex’s birthday with a BBQ on board Exodus.  The kids all came over and hung out, then we grilled up some burgers and dogs, then the kids went to shore to play while the adults drank and chatted on into the evening.  It was nice and relaxing, especially in contrast to the chaos of the previous night.  That was August 3rd, which meant the next day was Alex’s actual real birthday, and it was our intended last day in Pago Pago, since we had been tracking a weather window to leave for Tonga.  On Alex’s actual birthday I dragged the boys around for last minute provisioning, but don’t feel too sorry for Alex.  The day DID include lunch at McDonald’s and a bus ride that included all of the latest hip hop tunes.  I usually let the boys pick out presents for each other, so Brenden picked out a small speaker for Alex to use with his new iPod nano.  Yeah, we gave Alex a new nano for his birthday.  We were able to find one in a computer and electronics shop just outside Pago Pago.  He is really getting into music, and he wanted a nano so he can listen to music as he does dishes or moves about, since “his iPod doesn’t fit in his pocket.”