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Seeing the Green Flash in Saipan By Sandra Scott |
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The island is only 12 miles by 6 miles and is a very popular destination for Japanese and Korean tourists but is virtually unknown by Americans. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency which has an excellent beach location, a beautifully landscaped free-form pool, and several great restaurants./p> The first day we wandered around acquainting ourselves with the resort. While we were at the beach we chatted with Ernie at the Skippers Beach Bar. He told us that Saipan is noted for having one of the world’s best locations for watching the sunset. He invited us back for Happy Hour to watch the sunset and enjoy his award-winning cocktail.
We returned to the hotel and spent the rest of the day relaxing around the pool. When the sun began to settle toward the horizon, John and I headed to the Skippers Beach Bar where Ernie prepared his special cocktail, Leroy Brown.
Ernie’s perfect cocktail was a wonderful mix of a banana, Baileys Irish Cream, vodka, coconut syrup, and pineapple juice blended with ice. The result was a wonderful award-winning drink. When I asked him about the name of his cocktail he had an easy answer, “While I was thinking about a name for my new cocktail the song, “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” by Jim Croce was playing. I liked it so I named my cocktail Leroy Brown.” Ernie asked, “Have you seen the Green Flash?”
A couple of nights later we were sitting on the balcony of the Regency Club enjoying our evening social hour. I was watching the sun and said, “John, the sunset is going to be realyl nice tonight. Let’s go to our room and sit on the balcony to watch it.” We returned to our seventh floor room and, yes, the sunset was beautiful. And, at the very last second we saw the Green Flash. Amazingly luckily. Saipan has everything: history, beautiful beaches, Leroy Brown cocktails, and the Green Flash. Visit www.Hyatt.com. |
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We agreed and continued down the beach to the American
Memorial Park that honors Americans who
lost their lives during the Marianas Campaign of World War II. Over
5,000 names are inscribed on a memorial that was dedicated during
the 50th anniversary of the Invasion of Saipan. During the invasion
43,000 Americans, Chamorros, and Japanese were killed in 20 days of
fighting.
He said, “My Leroy Brown Cocktail placed second
in a cocktail competition. It made me feel good because I made it perfect.”
“Green Flash? What is it?” He explained
that it is a local phenomenon. When the last bit of the sun sinks
below the horizon, there is a flash of green. That night the sun set
was nice but there was no green flash. Ernie explained that a Japanese filming crew at the hotel
filmed each night for a week but no green flash. It doesn’t happen every night.