Escape to Paradise: Two Unforgettable Weeks on Guam
We took Sadie and Nate across the Pacific to Guam, our former duty station and favorite tropical island.
January 30 - February 13, 2026
Guam!
“Again I saw something meaningless under the sun: There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. ‘For whom am I toiling,’ he asked, ‘and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?’” Ecclesiastes 4:8
Escaping to Guam
Nick and I first came to Guam in 2007. He came for deployment on his way to the Philippines, and I joined him on a rare mid-deployment visit during Christmas. We spent that magical week diving and exploring the island, just so happy to be together.
In 2010, we backed in to choosing two-year orders to Guam. One of the reasons we chose to live here is because Nick would get a hard-earned break from the constant work-up/deployment cycle. With two wars underway, and four deployments in 3.5 years, the only thing that could earn us more time together was escaping to the other side of the world, so we went for it. It was well worth the trek.
Living on Guam in our late 20s, the island was a tropical paradise. We lived on the Navy base and spent our free time diving, snorkeling, golfing, hiking, and enjoying the warm, tropical temperatures. We made wonderful friends in our neighborhood and through Nick’s command. And we amassed what amounts to a second family through the Lutheran Church of Guam, where I worked on staff as youth director.
Best of all was that Nick didn’t deploy. We traveled so much all over Asia, sometimes together, sometimes separately. I blogged our travels and adventures, preserving the stories and photos to remember later, having no idea our Guam adventures would one day become our kids’ bedtime stories.
Leaving Guam in 2012 was hard on so many levels. Not only were we moving to the East Coast in fall, when temps were going to feel frigid. But worse—Nick would start working up and deploying again. I hated the long separations and fearing for his safety. And now it was about to get more complicated as we were hoping to start a family. Our season of carefree adventure and togetherness was coming to a quick end as we left our generous island.
Making our departure even more difficult was knowing how hard it would be to return to Guam, to this colorful place full of kind-hearted people we loved, half a world away. No part of me wanted to leave the island. I wondered if or when we would ever make it back here.
Returning to Guam
Sadie and Nate have grown up their whole lives hearing stories and seeing pictures of Guam. Due to the distance and expense, we knew the Road Trip year was our best shot to have the time and the flexibility to make the trip worth it. We decided to go for it using Space-A. And thanks to a little luck and a lot of patience, a C-5 cargo plane from Travis Air Force Base made our dreams come true. (Its own story for another time!)
Our first picture back on Guam… at the same spot as our first picture together when we moved here in 2010. Vacation blue water :D
Once we recovered from the long travel days and started exploring, it felt like we were in an absolute playground. Taking the kids to our favorite places, driving around this familiar, beloved landscape, Nick and I had a a feeling of absolute giddiness—the kind of bubbly excitement that’s rare to feel as an adult.
I can’t believe we’re really here! I kept saying. For two weeks, we took the kids snorkeling at our favorite places: Gab Gab, Dadi Beach, Old Wives Beach, and Fish Eye.
We explored some of the island’s gorgeous beaches and went Boonie Stomping (hiking) at Mt. LamLam, Pagat Caves, and Tarzan Falls.
A Special Reunion
Guam had some surprises for us. Our old house is still there!
When we lived on base, our next door neighbor, Angel, was in fifth grade. He reached out to us a few years ago to share that he had joined the Navy and was stationed back on Guam, now with his wife and child.
Once we got on island, we reached out to him and met him and his family on base. Then Angel asked if Nick could do his reenlistment ceremony!
A few days later, we went to the range around lunchtime, and Nick led Angel’s reenlistment and gave a short speech to the other sailors there encouraging them on their journeys. It was a really sweet moment packed with Navy tradition that felt like such a Guam thing to have happen. As we like to say, OOG — only on Guam!
Our Church Family
Returning to our church in Guam was surreal. After nearly 15 years away, we were welcomed like family.
Our friend Siska, who I knew as a busy, working mother of five back in the day, now has one little duckling, Hope, left at home, the others all flown. And sadly, she lost her husband, Edward, a few years ago to a massive heart attack. How she picked herself up from that tragedy, led their children to the next phase of their lives, all while growing her commercial real estate business is nothing short of faith in action.
I remembered Siska had been in real estate, so I reached out to her when we were coming out to see if she knew of any rentals. She knocked our socks off and offered us three bedrooms in the furnished house her company was renting. She also loaned us a car (!). And introduced us to one of her contractors, Betsy, who was also staying in the house—and happens to live in Virginia Beach (of all places!).
Thank you, Siska and Hope, for everything!! See you soon Betsy :)
I grabbed this spontaneous selfie after the service with some of the long-timers who have been here 15+ years, enduring a lot of changes, as many families like ours came and went. It was so fun to bring Sadie and Nate to the place where I led youth group, hosted lock-ins, and where we played Beep Bop until the wee hours of morning (IYKYK).
The sanctuary hasn’t changed at all. And the mural my sister and I painted in the courtyard outside by the preschool’s playground has been touched up and looks wonderful! Sadie and Nate have grown up seeing pictures of the mural, so it was really special to take them to see Aunt Coco’s beautiful artwork in person.
During the weeks, we enjoyed sharing meals with church friends who are still here. Our friend Angie showed Sadie how to make some of her favorite Thai dishes. It was an amazing spread!
We caught up with our church friends, Jeff and Kate, who filled us in on major island events and let us borrow their masks and fins. And Kate, a biology professor at the University of Guam, joined us for snorkeling+. That’s snorkeling + learning a lot about the fascinating underwater interactions we were seeing.
We took the kids on a tour of the Southern part of Guam, which has phenomenal WWII history (understatement — the history alone could be its own post). And we visited my favorite spot, Inarajan Pools, where the reef makes natural ocean pools you can swim and snorkel in.
On Wednesday night, we took the kids to the local weekly festival, Chamorro Village, for island barbecue (meat on a stick) and other festivities.
Nick invested in a machete so we could have fresh coconut every day. We still did home-school math and Spanish on the weekdays. And we watched the Olympics. But mostly, we just played in paradise, skipping from one tropical adventure to the next.
We took turns imagining our lives here. What work and school would look like. All the swimming and exploring we would do. All the places we would travel to. We could have stayed in this paradise forever.
A Dream Unfolding
Just being on the island together as a family was incredible. Reconnecting with church friends was soul-filling.
And another hidden layer of the trip that blew me away was a realization that snuck up on me only once we’d been on island for a few days. When Nick and I lived on Guam in 2010-2012, we didn’t yet know what our family would look like one day. We had only just started to let ourselves dream about that. Would we have daughters? Sons? One of each? Twins? What would they be like? Would they enjoy doing? Who would they become?
We had so many questions. Only the Lord knew those answers.
Thirteen years later, returning to Guam with Sadie and Nate was like going back in time, revisiting the curiosity we held close during that season about our one-day family. Thirteen years later, we can see how all of those questions we once prayed about were answered with a family far beyond our wildest dreams. A family that spends time in nature, catches fish, climbs rocks, swims in the ocean, hikes to solitude, tells jokes, says prayers, reads books, meets new people, keeps in touch, and explores the world.
Every time I let my mind drift here, to see our family as it is today, I am overwhelmed by how extravagantly our prayers 13 years ago were answered.
Ocean hair, don’t care
And so, this trip wasn’t just about the warm waters, the sea life, the palm trees, and the bright green hillsides. Our time on Guam was a gift to see the family of our dreams standing right in front of us.
In the day-to-day circling of meal-making and school and work and chores and all the things that fill normal life, it can be easy to overlook the absolute miracle that is the family you get to love and care for. The journey of awe and wonder that is bringing life into the world and shepherding it well. We don’t always see that. But on Guam, it was staring right back at us.
After two weeks on the island, it seemed fitting that no one wanted to leave this special place. But eventually, it was time to go. And when that time came, I was nothing but thankful for the time we’d spent here. For the friends who graciously welcomed us. For the gorgeous sea life we explored together.
And thankful for the island’s parting gift: Being able to see that what truly made our time on Guam so spectacular… was coming home with us.
Thank you to our island friends and church family who made our two weeks on Guam unforgettable. We loved every minute!
Roberts on the Road
For those just finding us, hello! Inspired by the Year of Jubilee in Leviticus 25, our family is on a yearlong RV road trip in 2025-2026 to celebrate my husband’s retirement after 20 years in Naval Special Warfare, as well as our 24 years together during the ups and downs of it all.
With our 12-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son in tow, this trip to explore America’s national parks and beautiful places is intended to help our family reflect and reset as civilian life begins.
Sign up below to receive updates about the trip, along with stories, photos, and reflections from 24 years of military service. We look forward to keeping in touch on this epic adventure.
To join the Road Trip email list, please fill out this short form. We promise no spam and an AI-free zone. Any typos and mistakes are my own :)
For background info on who we are and where we’re traveling, we’d love for you to read the intro post. The full list of road trip blog posts can be found here. Thanks for stopping by!
