Midway, Part II

Map in the visitor's center that gives an idea of what Sand Island is like. The bigblack strips are
runways.

I left off talking about the barracks. These are old Navy barracks that were left behind when the Navy left and Midway became a refuge. I stayed in Charlie barracks, where most guests stay.



You can see from the outside how old the buildings are. They were comfortable on the inside, but outside paint is peeling (bad because the birds eat the flakes) and they really need rehabilitated or torn down to make room for new buildings. Unfortunately, there's only so much money in the budget, and wildlife of course comes first.




But, like I said, I was completely happy with my room. Except the time I walked in and saw a mouse jump off my bed on Wednesday. My boss looked and couldn't find it, and then I had someone else look before I went to bed.

Whoops! Cut off the "e" in refuge!


So after we had settled in, we biked over to the visitor's center for orientation. Everyone who comes to Midway has to attend this. The refuge biologist goes over what you'll see, history, how to handle birds if necessary, things like that.



There are also a couple of exhibits to look at, including artifacts from the Battle of Midway in WWII.







By the time we were done with orientation it was just about time for dinner so we headed off. This is what it looks like coming out of the visitor's center:



And this is looking off to the right from the barracks. All of the white spots you see are sand burrows where the white terns (birds) nest.



Meals at Midway are cooked by a chef, Pong, and his team and are served in a dining hall type atmosphere. So, everyone on the island has the same two hours to eat each meal and it works really well. It's so nice just to walk in and know that you'll know everyone. Here's the Clipper House, where meals are served:



How perfect is that? I ate my breakfast out on the patio overlooking the ocean the next two mornings. Out there alone, in complete silence except for the water, it was really amazing. You could really understand what peaceful means out there.

After dinner my boss and I went and sat by the ocean for a little while, accompanied by one of the island's firemen who had a crush on me. That would cause teasing from my boss later. It was starting to get too dark for pictures, but I tried anyway.



And I'll leave you with something that's become a tradition of mine: a picture of my feet in water they've never been in before =) Happy weekend everyone! I probably won't continue the Midway story until Monday. This is my next to last weekend in Hawaii, so I plan on being out and in it all weekend long.