Sumo on Okinawa

It's been like 5 years since there were top ranked Sumo matches on Okinawa. We were lucky enough to check these big guys out.

Maddie's Walk

Here's a little video about Maddie Mutt's daily adventures.

Kyoto

We went to Kyoto, Japan for Thanksgiving. It was spectacular!!! We saw a ton of beautiful shrines, temples and even a few Maiko-san running around. It was a site to see. The fall leaves were in full swing and the air was crisp with the feel of winter arriving. Here is one picture of a maiko-san. She is a Geiko-san in training... in other words training to be a Geisha... which is a performer. They go to school to learn to play instruments and sing and dance. Beautiful. Scroll down to the bottom to see some more photos.

Kyoto Thanksgiving 2008

We had a truly unique Thanksgiving in Kyoto. The fall colors were outstanding and the sights were fabulous. We wanted to share a video that John put together. Enjoy!

Thai in the Sky

Hello all!
Well today was VERY rainy... so we decided to take a road trip to the southern part of the island. John and I had a great day of exploration! We went to one of our favorite spots in the Southern part of Okinawa for a meal that sets your taste buds alive. It is Cafe Caracuma... or as most know it: Thai in the Sky. All of the dishes are made from fresh herbs that are grown right there. It is a unique spot that sits above the Pacific Ocean with a fabulous view. We went one other time but got there after dark so today was quite an experience. Here are a few pictures of our adventure! We are sorry that you couldn't join us.... hope this tantalizes your taste buds! It was SOOOO Yummy!

Maddie Mutt

We figure that Maddie deserves a spot on the blog too. She has been such a great sport. She has been a desert dog in El Centro, a snow dog in Indiana and NOW, now she is a tropical dog in Okinawa and adapting well. It was a bit rocky in the beginning, she was a bit nerved out from the 21+ hours in a kennel and in the air and then being stuck in a kennel away from us for 14 days...but otherwise she has adapted nicely. Of course, she is still spoiled... walks on the sea wall every morning and fattening food... still no people food though. She has been a "nurse mutt" to us when we got sick and still has not figured out why, when she goes out on the balcony that she can't find any grass... then she looks longingly down at the park... and yes.. we take her for yet another walk. Anyway, here are a few picture of the muttkins...

Fun on the Beach

The end of October we went to Okuma. It is a military resort on the Northern end of the island. It was so fun. We hiked to Hiji Falls - test of strength let me tell you. Between the (kid you NOT) 6 inch+ size spiders, steep hike (I am scared of heights) and the Habu snake warnings around every turn... I was pretty sure John was trying to kill me... and he called it FUN! Seriously, so worth the fear when we reached the falls the were very pretty, we even had a bit of fun in our pictures! ;0) We also just putted around and had fun. We hiked all over the area and saw a FABULOUS sunset. Here are a few pictures. Enjoy!!!!

It's Been a While!

Hello Everyone!

Wow! Time has really flown by. I had NO idea that it had been almost 2 months since I updated the blog. I PROMISE we will do it regularly now. We are actually getting into the groove. John really likes being back to work on a regular basis and I am volunteering a ton in our Navy Fleet Gift Shop on base. All proceeds go to charity so that is pretty cool. We have done a few things since my last posting so I will update and put some new pictures up. I officially finished my 8 week Extreme Fitness Challenge. I was SO excited to complete it. Our culminating activity was running a 5k for Breast Cancer. I ran it in 26:00 minutes flat... PRETTY exciting! Take care and thinking of all of you!

Shuri Castle Moonlight Festival

Hello!

Life is good here in Okinawa. We had to prepare for a typhoon this weekend but it missed us... luckily! We had our first real "Okinawan Experience" last night when we attended the Shuri Castle Moonlight Festival. It takes place at Shuri Castle which is where the King of Okinawa used to live. It was SO pretty and happens once a year based on the lunar calendar. I have attached a few picture for your viewing pleasure. The moon was full and the dancers were amazing!!!

Slip & Slide

GOOD morning EVERYONE! HAPPY FRIDAY! At least for us it is TGIF... for all of you back home.. you are almost there! Well they say pictures are worth a thousand words and today I was SO thankful there wasn't a camera around! John doesn't have to go into work until later and he and I took Maddie on her morning walk. I need to say first that in our area there aren't sand beaches, it is the cement wall things that you walk down and then into the water. I decided to look for some sea glass because the tide was not quite in yet so I went down in the area that has a little coral beach and when I was coming out, I slipped on the cement wall. I realized I was falling so sort of turned my body (mind you I am fully dressed) and proceeded to slide on my rear down 2 or 3 steps and then slide into the ocean. Yep, hit the wonderful sea floor! John described it as a zpt.. zpt...shoooing... He was laughing hysterically and had the perfect view as he and Maddie lounged on the upper cement steps! Moral of the story: there are reasons, which I now understand ever to clearly, why they say wear the rubber soled ocean shoes when playing around in that area of the East China Sea! I have attached a picture of where I fell... but fortunately for me... there are none of the incident itself. Just imagine me sliding into the water on the right side of the picture and then sinking...Yes, it was truly an typical "Angela Moment!"

Thursday

Hello everyone,

Well this week has flown by. John was off until Wednesday so we have just been playing catch-up. Life is good in sunny Okinawa. I started a pottery class yesterday... PRETTY cool... I am learning to throw things on the wheel... it is a bit harder than it looks... I had to laugh at myself a bit and finally told my teacher to laugh to... he did of course! I came home very messy. I created 5 masterpieces... none of which will be worth a million dollars... probably not even 100 yen but we will love them just the same. My bowl basically looks like a soy sauce dish because I didn't throw it even and my cups look more like mini bowls... oh well. I there is only room to go up! Prodigy I am not! For dinner last night we went to the Pizza House... WHAT a unique experience. As with other things here we are realizing that what things say they are and what they are are TWO very different things. I had 3 tacos for dinner with a "mini pizza" and John had a sort of italian trio thing. Now the pizza is dough, cheese, hard boiled egg slices, a piece of hot dog and I think some red pepper was on there...bit different than Domino's.... Actually wasn't half bad though. More to come and pictures at the local grocery store will follow. Take care and kumbawa (good evening)

Public Potties!

I have to mention the public potties... for men, they consist of a urinal outside usually with just a partial wall... we have one near our house that the taxi drivers seem to enjoy frequenting... usually when mutt and I are doing our morning walks... I have learned to just look away! As for women... it is quite the experience as I mentioned earlier... they are basically a urinal in the ground! You squat, aim ( if possible) and pray that you are hitting the right spot! Quite the challenge since most don't even have a bar to hang on to... not to mention holding purses, pants, undies and anything else you brought in... Goodness knows you don't want it on the ground when trying this feat!!!! I posted a few pictures for you to get an accurate idea of these puppies.. ENJOY! The pictures are of the ladies public potties... so friends and family... when you come to visit... make sure and practice squats before arriving! HAHAHAHAHA ;0) There are a few places that have American style ones but I am realizing they are few and far between!

Shisas

I am fascinated by the "shisas" everywhere. They are said to be the "bodyguards from malevolence." It is a lion-dog and can be seen everywhere! They are in a variety of shapes and sizes and I have found them very interesting. Some say there is a male and female. The male should be on the right. They usually come in pairs, one with mouth open and one with mouth closed and serve different purposes. The ancient Okinawan's say the dispel bad luck and evil spirits. They are so neat and so different. Here are a few pictures!

Happy Tuesday...Monday for those of you in the states!

Your horoscope says that Tuesday will be great! Just kidding... who really knows. We each create our own destiny...it is actually a bit overcast here today. Maddie and I got rained on as we took our daily walk along the Sunabe seawall.

It is officially September and life is going great. John and I have been in Okinawa for almost a month and have even managed to visit a few "touristy" type spots. We even did a Tour yesterday of the Nago area. That is North of where we live by about an hour or so. We visited the Pineapple Plantation, the Orion Beer Factory (John's favorite.. you got 2 free beers and they were regular size.. not like the itty bitty ones at Sea World... even got beer nuts too.. whooooohoooo!) We also visited the Ryuku Glass Factory & the Nakijin-jo Castle Ruins. We had a yakiniku style lunch which is where you cook your own food... pretty fun.. using large chop sticks... QUITE the experience... overall it was a great day!

I have added a few pics of our time here. We are settling in nicely. John is back to work and very happy about that. He was ready to fight the war on plaque once again. Maddie has finally gotten into a routine and is our normal happy puppy. I am figuring things out. I am starting a pottery class tomorrow and will learn to throw pottery from an Okinawan gentleman. I have also joined a few groups and plan on volunteering at the Navy Gift Shop regularly. It should be fun.

This country is so incredible in some ways. They are SO respectful of their elders and everyone is very friendly. There are definately some differences.. for example, the fastest you can drive is 60 km an hour and that is SLLLOOOOWWWW.... but the cars are not really made to go faster than that. We have learned a few phrases... I have gotten very good at "gomen a sai" which is "I am sorry"...hahahahaha... and we know some basics. The public toilets are QUITE the experience for women.. yes, you squat, hold, pee and don't forget ... PRAY that everything goes where it should!!!! A bit more difficult than for men...

We had a great experience a week or so ago... we ate at a place that I have NO idea what it's name is but we call it... SUSHI GO ROUND because you literally sit at a diner-style bar and the sushi goes around on a conveyor belt and you pick what you want, save your plates and pay at the end... PRETTY cool... there were some really good ones and some that even John said were a bit TOO much for him! I am beginning to like different sushi and even a few raw types!

Curry has become a fast favorite... espcially the all you can eat spot we found about a 5 minute walk from our house. Speaking of walking... Boy do you do a LOT of it here! We walk and sweat everywhere... that is the way it is! They even sell little pads for under your arms ladies.... to gather the perspiration...how funny is that!

Well more later but enjoy the pictures and we look forward to hearing from you!

We are HERE!!!

Hello everyone!

Okinawa is beautiful! I will post a few pictures later but just wanted to let all know that we made it safe and sound. Maddie has been officially labeled a "Leash Only Pet" due to her excessive need to escape at the kennels... just have to laugh! She is READY to be in her new home and we can make that wish come true in just a few days! Until then~ she will remain a "leash only dog." More info later... thinking of everyone and missing you all!

Ang loves to cook and this is one of our favorite dishes... Shrimp Italian... YUM YUM

HELLOOOOO Everyone!

John and I are moving to Okinawa, Japan... for any of you who didn't know... NOW you do!

Soooo... we decided to start a blog so that we could keep in touch with everyone we love and miss. We will try and update it regularly with all sorts of good stuff...

We are getting VERY excited... I am learning ALL about the Navy and how it works. I am also attempting to learn Japanese... Not very easy... I will take Spanish ANY day! (Hahahahaha) We have learned how to leave 3/4 of our worldy possessions behind and decide what we will need for the next 3 years of our life in a place we have never been and with no idea of what our house will be like... as John says... "Welcome to the Navy honey." John, on the other hand, is researching the best golf courses and dreaming about teeing off on beautiful golf courses followed by a day of windsurfing...

Maddie is a bit on the nervy side since she as been shuffled, pricked, poked and prodded to get ready for her big move. She is a WELL traveled mutt... she has lived in the desert, the snow and now she will be on a tropical island!

It is sure going to be tough getting used to gorgeous aqua colored oceans, warm weather and the island life! ;0)

So, that is it for now.. please continue to check back in... this will surely be a GRAND Adventure!