A Return to Saipan

We did a day trip to Saipan today. The flight took about 45 minutes, and we arrived about 8 am. Mimi's friend and our tour guide the last time we went, Bernie Ito, met us at the airport. Our first stop was at Herman's Bakery where we met Herman's daughters, Agnes and Anna (who are Lupe's relatives) and met Sid Sablan who recognized some of the people in the 1950 yearbook from The American School for Dependent Children. (Fran was in the 6th-8th grade class, Ann was in third grade, and I was in first grade).
From there we scouted for the location of our housing area and felt that we were close to it, although we were unable to pinpoint the site exactly.
From there we went to the Senior Citizens Center where a rousing game of bingo was being played. Some of the participants left their bingo-playing to look at the yearbook and pictures we had brought. Some recognized names and faces asnd seemed excited to see items from long ago. We also showed them the sandals we had from our days there. Some people thought they had been made by Lino Tenorio and others felt they had been made by Manny Blanco.
We then visited the Micronesia Arts Council and saw wonderful artifacts and works of arts and crafts from the past.
Then we went to the Museum of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands where we met with the director, Robert Hunter. We showed him the sandals and asked if he would be interested in having themm for the museum. His eyes lit up and assured us he would like to have them, because they have very few things from the Navy Ocupation period. We also gave them copies of the yearbook and photos we had taken from 1947-1950 period we were there.
Sometime in the midst of all this we took time for lunch. Ann had a rustic salad, and I had the most delicious dish with wahoo and vegetables marianated in a lime vinaigrette.
To end our day we walked along the beach looking for shells. It was a wonderful way to end a very special day. We are grateful to Mimi for making the arrangements and to Bernie for being such a good hostess.