City sidewalks, busy sidewalks

“In the air there’s a feeling of Christmas”?  Well, not really, not with the beautiful 82 degree weather and bright sunshine, but we went Christmas shopping today anyways.  The postage deadline is looming for us on the other side of the world, so even though I’m a month or so ahead of most of you, I’m right on schedule here. 

We headed down to Naha (Okinawa’s capital city), specifically the Kokusai-doori area, for some lunch, a bit of shopping and lots of sightseeing. 

It was a great day just to be outside . . . and hey, check out that McDonalds!  (No, we didn’t eat there.)

We were lucky enough to stumble across a group of eisa dancers performing in front of an office plaza.

And then there’s this T-Rex head sticking out of a storefront.  Why?  I have no idea; probably just because it’s Japan :)

There’s a great market tucked into a covered alleyway off the main street that’s lots of fun to explore.

A lot of the stalls in the alley-market look something like this . . . 

. . . but then you look closer and realize that they each have something unique to offer, like these frog-skin coin purses made from real frogs!

And if you need a snack, apparently you can grab some Puffy Snow.  In case you don’t know what Puffy Snow is, the sign helpfully explains “Sweets of topic ‘Dragon ice’”—no, I have no idea either.

Back out on Kokusai, we found some goya-shaped benches to rest on after all that shopping.

Logan made out quite well today.  He seriously was given FOUR cookies by different shop owners who cooed over him.  He loves to make people smile and has almost no fear of strangers right now.  Luckily Japan is extremely safe!

As we headed home, this was our view looking out over the base and towards the East China Sea.  Perhaps I haven’t mentioned this before, but this is a great place to live!

Check back soon; we’ve got a lot going on this week so I should be updating several times.  USMC ball coming next!

All for One and One for All!

A Musketeer in general, or D’Artagnan in particular if you like.  Either way, he’s a handsome fellow!

Hey, check out this cool sword! 
(Sword by Dad, rest of the costume by Mom.)

Not too sure about this hat though . . .  

The hat didn’t stay put very long but then we expected that.  We kept putting it on him to take pictures but most of the time he wandered around with out it.  Oh well!

We enjoyed ourselves at the Harvest Festival hosted by our church.

Logan didn’t quite manage a chivalrous bow to the elegant ladies in princess costumes, but this was pretty close!

Au revoir mes cheres!  Soyez bien et soyez sage! :)

Pictures & Packages

As you can see, we have a designated “picture window” for family (if Logan calls you “aunt” or “uncle” then you’re included here).  Several pictures we have displayed here are years old, but are the best, most recent picture we have of you.  I’d love to get some of these updated but I need your help.  If you’d like to send us a recent picture of yourself/selves, I’d really appreciate it.  My goal is to designate a frame for each person, couple, or family (include your pets if you want) which you can keep updated with whatever picture you like, as frequently or infrequently as you wish.  And the benefit for you is that Logan may actually know your face the next time you see him!  Thanks!

I have also begun Christmas shopping—can’t exactly wait till the last minute when everything’s got to be shipped!  I have several ideas already, but I thought I’d put this out here too: is there anything in particular you’d like from Japan?  Speak up!  Kimono?  Japanese tea set?  Your own maneki neko cat or pair of shisa?  A kokeshi doll?  Something decorated with cherry blossoms, geishas, koi fish or dragons?  There is also a good variety of products here from other Asian countries, so if there’s something you’d like, let me know and I’ll have a look around, see what I can find!

Dud

Sorry, I’ve got nothing for you this week!  We went to a pretty amazing children’s museum this weekend (Jake and I definitely enjoyed ourselves there too), but I forgot the camera.  Then we had dinner with some friends from church.  Other than that, we were inside all weekend because of the rain.  Stay tuned, Halloween pictures coming up!  And who knows, maybe I’ll come up with something worth posting about later in the week.  Until then . . . have a good one!  Love you all!

Completely Random

A beautiful walk along the beach

I’ve heard it said that there is one vending machine for every seven people on Okinawa.  You can get practically anything from a vending machine here: coffee, beer, ice cream, hot dogs—I’m not joking!

The hibiscus have been in bloom since we arrived on the island back in June and are still going strong.  The weather has really started to cool off though—I think the high today was only 79!

Logan LOVES to “help” around the house!  He carries his wet diapers from his room into the laundry room . . .

and climbs the stepladder to put them into the washing machine.  He also helps put away groceries (taking stuff out of the bag and handing it to Mom) and pushes the laundry basket down the hall when it’s time to wash clothes.  He helps put away his toys every night before bed too.  Now if only we can make sure that these good habits continue into and through adolescence!

Jake posted this one on Facebook, so some of you may have seen this one before, but not everyone has Facebook and I just love this shot of my two boys!

This is on the hillside overlooking our neighborhood.  Most people seem to think it is, or was, a hotel, but no one seems to know for sure.  Just another odd feature of our everyday life!

Logan enjoys Okinawan cuisine such as taco rice & cheese.  We tried goya champuru on him tonight though and he mostly just ate the noodles with whatever bits of tofu stuck to them.

Making friends at the park!

Non-pictured oddities: the Japanese penchant for pachinko (gambling) and lots of bizarre Japanese fashion, including sun-conscious accessories such as arm-warmers and parasols, and wearing super-high heels with everything! 

I warned you this one was random :)  Good night all!

Getting Up Close With Nature

So this weekend—or Monday and Tuesday rather, since we had a long weekend—we took some time to head up north and hit various small sites of interest.  We drove up Monday and had lunch at an awesome little place called the “British Wine and Tea Shop” where the chef serenaded us with Phantom of the Opera and gave us a proper British tea lesson.  We hit a few of our to-do’s that afternoon before staying the night at Okuma, a military “resort” facility.  (I use the word “resort” loosely because, even though it was very nice, it certainly wasn’t a four-star hotel or spa.  We had a cabin with a bed (BYO linens), AC and a micro-fridge, and communal restrooms across the road.  Comfortable, convenient, fun, but not exactly pampered.)  Got up Tuesday, checked out a few more places and headed home.  It was a quick trip but we had a great time!

Our first stop was NEO park, basically a gigantic petting zoo.  There are four different enclosures but the boundaries are only to keep various species of animals separated; there are almost no animal-human boundaries.  You can buy enough food to feed nearly every species in the park for only 200 yen (about two dollars)!  For example, we got to wander among the ibises . . .

Feed the goats . . .

Peek at the ostriches . . .

And chase the miniature kangaroos . . .

(This is what they looked like when they weren’t hopping away from Logan)

There were also llamas, pigs, lemurs, tortoises, a variety of birds, etc., but one of the things Logan was most excited about was finding something with wheels tucked away in a corner.  “Vroom-vroom” he says.

Next stop—Hedo Point, the very northern tip of the island, for some dramatic views despite the nasty weather.

I have no idea why there’s a statue of a chicken here . . .

But Logan seemed very amused!

If I had been quicker I could REALLY show you how up close with nature we were able to get when this HUGE spider dropped down next to the picnic table at our cabin, but I was too busy ooh-ing and ahh-ing at a safe distance to think about the camera right then.

On to day two . . .

We found the Nakijin Castle ruins.

And these really unique hibiscus flowers.

Then we went to a butterfly garden.

Where Logan, as usual, was intrigued.

And that was our weekend in a nutshell!  Hope you enjoyed hearing about it.  Hope also that life is going well for you and that you are enjoying your own adventures!

Notice anything different?

Before . . .

During . . .

 
After . . .