Angeles City, Holiday Inn (October 19-21, 2013)

Maralea and I stayed at the Holiday Inn at Clark Air Field in September 2005. We decided to stay there again this eight years later. It was a little like coming home. We were familiar with everything, from the workout room, pool, spa (nice place). We walked around upon our arrival and reminisced about our last trip here, such as where we happened to run into a group of sisters from the mission in the lobby and got to visit with them (complete with pictures), where we met with our friends from Angeles City where Brad was serving at the time (who loved partying with Da Royals - ha), where we sat in the buffet with Brad for the first time after our reunion, as he marveled at all the food, and the suite where Brad could not believe the water from the tap was okay to drink (there was a sign giving the A-okay for consumption), and where hot water was available at the turn of a handle. That was a great time. So, it brought us great comfort returning to this familiar place. We got settled in our room in the afternoon and, although we were very tired, we did not allow ourselves to sleep. Instead, we got unpacked, got caught up on the BYU game (which was of most importance) ventured around the grounds, had an early dinner, and went to bed by 8:00 am. I don’t recall the last time I went to bed at 8:00 pm, but I also do not recall a time when I was so dead tired. Once my head hit the pillow, I was out. Maralea complained the next morning about a lot of noisy people talking, laughing, running through the hallways, slamming doors, playing music, etc. I missed all that. (Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that she also complained that I was snoring.)pictures), where we met with our friends from Angeles City where Brad was serving at the time (who loved partying with Da Royals - ha), where we sat in the buffet with Brad for the first time after our reunion, as he marveled at all the food, and the suite where Brad could not believe the water from the tap was okay to drink (there was a sign giving the A-okay for consumption), and where hot water was available at the turn of a handle. That was a great time. So, it brought us great comfort returning to this familiar place.

Our awesome Angeles City party in September 2005

We got settled in our room in the afternoon and, although we were very tired, we did not allow ourselves to sleep. Instead, we got unpacked, got caught up on the BYU game (which was of most importance) ventured around the grounds, had an early dinner, and went to bed by 8:00 am. I don’t recall the last time I went to bed at 8:00 pm, but I also do not recall a time when I was so dead tired. Once my head hit the pillow, I was out. Maralea complained the next morning about a lot of noisy people talking, laughing, running through the hallways, slamming doors, playing music, etc. I missed all that. (Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that she also complained that I was snoring.)We enjoyed a day of total relaxation on Monday at the hotel, working out, spa, big breakfast, hanging out in the pool. It was great to just relax. We needed a day to recover. I still struggled to find a replay of the BYU/Houston game, to no avail. (Since it was the longest game in BYU history without going to overtime, and the biggest plays of the game happened in the final 1:20 of the game, I wanted to make sure we got it all on the DVR, so contacted Kelli to record it again when replayed on BYU-TV. These are important issues in our lives.)

Did I mention that BYU beat Houston?

We had the great pleasure of gathering at the hotel with some of our great Angeles friends, Pink, Jojo, Edsel, and James and Kris Guiwan (who we met for the first time, but who were here during the time Brad served in Angeles City). We visited in the lobby for a little over an hour. It was like a little family reunion. We were so excited to see them and had a great time visiting. A lot has happened in the eight years since we were last together, but it seemed like we didn’t miss a beat in our conversation. (Being Facebook friends helps with all that.) One more day and Jordan is physically back in the fold.

Back together again. Back from left: Edsel, James, Jojo, Mike (me)
From row from left: Maralea, Pink and Kris

James met Kris, talked her out of BYU-Hawaii and married her

"Jojo was a man who thought he was a loner, but he knew it wouldn't last."
(Sorry Jojo, that song comes into my head every time I hear or think of your name)