Ok, dude. You first.

 

Jason and I were watching a cooking show - I think it was "The Taste" and Anthony Bourdain brought his contestant to an "izakaya." Its a Japanese style restaurant, he said. Upon doing some research I found out that "izakaya" literally translates to "bar with food." Sounds like my kind of place. We had never been and really had never heard of it so we began our search. Jason asked a couple of guys at work if they knew of any good izakayas and low and behold, they had! We got a baby-sitter and began our walk to the Araha Beach area where it is located. This is what is nice about living where we live. Almost everything is within walking distance. It rules. During my research I found that izakayas are almost always tiny, little, hole-in-the-wall places with red paper lanterns near the entry. We saw a couple on our walk but decided to continue to the one that was recommended. I couldn't tell you the name of the place because there wasn't an English translation. All I can say is that we were the only Americans there and it was packed. This is always a good sign that you're at the right place. It was a small restaurant with some booths outside covered in plastic sheets because you never know when the torrential rain might start falling. Inside there were about 6 tables and bar seating. The tables were the tatomi style tables (you are basically sitting on the floor cross-legged under a short-legged table). We opted for the bar seats thinking we might be able to strike up conversation with some Japanese folks (like you might strike up conversation in any bar across America - isn't that why people go to bars?).



 

We sat down and got our menus. Hm... not much English here either. The drink menu had more translations than the food. We ordered a couple of Moscow mules, excited to recognize something. Unfortunately the mules didn't come in the usual copper cups. They were in glass mugs. They tasted excellent though, so we weren't complaining too much. With our drinks came a large chunk of ice cold tofu sprinkled with dried fish. Jason wasn't too fond of it, but I don't mind tofu so I ate it right up. We wouldn't want to be rude.

I don't know why Jason is covering those up.
This is the tofu.

So we began our search through the menu for what to order and Jason noticed a "combination platter" on the bottom of the menu. Comes with 18 skeweres. This is how the izakayas serve their food. Shiskabob style cooked over charcoal. I was hesitant to order some strange combination of food as we wouldn't know ahead of time what we were putting into our mouths. I reluctantly agreed remembering we had some leftovers at our house in case there was nothing I felt comfortable eating. After the Moscow mules were gone we decided to switch to Japanese beer. I can't recall which one we had, probably Asahi or Kirin Beer, either are always delicious. They were cold and bubbly and came in tall glasses so we were good with that.



There was a young Japanese couple on our left hand side, but still had not even glanced in our general direction. I started to realize that the rule of generally not looking in anyone else's direction holds true even in a bar. It is considered rude to look at other people and also to eavesdrop on the conversation. Needless to say, we were not going to be striking up any conversations here. Bummer!

Our food came shortly after we had switched to beer. A small plate heaping with mini-skewers, called yakitori, were strewn across our plate. The very top one being a small fish. Yes, a whole fish. Head, eyes, tail. Um... I think we made a mistake. Jason's rule was that we had to at least try everything. Ok, dude. You first. He took a bite of the fish and almost immediately spit it into a napkin. I reluctantly tried it even though it was obviously disgusting. Yep. I swallowed mine. I don't know why. My description: That tasted like death. Next please.

The mini-fish skewer was by far the worst one of the bunch. I don't know why they would put it on top. Maybe its a specialty? Who knows. After that experience, I was still willing to try the others (although, I don't know why). The next one we picked up was just a chicken skewer in some kind of marinade. Delicious. Another delicious one after that and so on. Eventually we got one with a weird red sauce on the top. It was chicken so we each ate a chunk. Hm... weird. Tastes rotten. After reviewing the menu and looking at pictures we discover it is a "fermented plum sauce." Yep. Rotten. No thanks.

After that one they got weirder and weirder. At one point I was chewing on something (it had to be an organ of some kind) and thinking I don't know what this is, but its chewy and still sort of good. When I first learned that I was moving to Okinawa - the first Japanese phrase I wanted to learn was, "vegetarian" because I assumed I would be wimpy to try anything and that it would all be disgusting. I have never once said that Japanese word, actually I don't remember it.

Japanese meatballs = delicious

Me eating weird food

Japanese menu

 

Flying VIP - Japanese style

The day had finally come! The countdown was over and the day was upon us. I was checking into my flight out of Okinawa. I couldn't believe it. I was flying just Colton and I, so needless to say there was a bit of anxiety there, but I knew it would all be worth it in the end.
Jason and I had never been to the Naha Airport here in Okinawa so after getting only slightly lost in the terminal area we had finally parked and gotten into the airport. I waited in line while Jason chased Colton around the airport. It seemed like it took forever. I don't know why, but the Japanese airlines run your bags through security while you are in line before you check in and then you get them back before you actually give them to the customer service representative. I don't think this would fly in the states. I think people would be sneaking stuff in there after they had been screened. It probably only works in Japan because these people are rule followers. I know that's a generalization, but its a pretty accurate one. When I finally got up to check in I handed the man mine and Colton's passports and waited... and waited... and waited... one hour to exact. Its hard to communicate and ask if everything is ok, but he assured me that nothing was the matter. After I was FINALLY all checked in the man gave me 3 boarding passes. 2 for me and 1 Colton. Hm.... I would really like it if Colton could go with me on both flights. The gentleman told me that I would have to leave the security area and check him in separately (for whatever reason) in Tokyo. I was not thrilled about this as my layover was only 1 hour and 20 minutes but what could I do? This was the way they did it.
We got to our gate, ate some tacorice and waited for our plane to board.
While we were sitting there waiting for our plane to board, in a slew of people, a Japanese airline person came over by me and asked if I was Ms. Angel. I confirmed and she told me that they would let me board early and help with the car seat and my bags. Awesome!!! I love Japanese people.
So, when it came time to board, they were true to their word. They carried my car seat and buckled it in for me while I just watched over Colton to make sure he didn't go missing. It was amazing. Colton slept nearly the entire flight to Tokyo (about 2 and a half hours). I wasn't complaining. When we landed he was still sleeping. I wasn't about to open up the window and shine the light right into his face so I had no clue that we were exiting the plane in the middle of the tarmac and taking a bus to the actual terminal. So, like a fool I told all the Japanese people that I didn't need any help and I would just carry him out while he was sleeping and hook him onto my car seat wheel-barrow attachment and be on my way. Well, I had to carry that huge heavy car seat with my 30lb kid in it down a huge flight of stairs, across a tarmac and into a bus, where of course he woke up. So, it was all for nothing. I didn't know where I had to go to do the check in/check out thing to get Colton's other boarding pass so I asked the first person I saw. She directed me on which way to go and as I was headed in that direction I noticed a white board in the middle of the hallway with a bunch of kanji on it. Kanji and mine and Colton's names. Luckily there was a lady there and I asked her why my name was on this board and she said, "Oh, you have to go this way, then that way, then down these stairs, through these doors around this corner..." I said, "Can you show me?" She was Japanese so of course she did it (and with a smile).
I had now exited the security check and was checking Colton into our second flight, the one to Chicago. I told her I was boarding in only about 30 minutes and that I needed to hurry through security. She told me she would call them and tell them I was coming. I wondered how they would know who I was, but maybe there weren't a lot of white women with blonde haired children in the Tokyo airport that day. Sure enough I was not even to the security check point when a young man came hustling over asking if I was Ms. Angel. He ushered me through a secret way in the back and I flew past all the other people waiting. Again, Japanese people rule.
I knew I was running short on time but I had to get Colton's diaper changed. I stopped at a bathroom on the way and took care of business. I was back on my way in a jiff. Now, as I was approaching my gate ANOTHER Japanese lady came hustling over to me saying, Are you Ms. Angel? Again, I confirmed in fact I was (I didn't know she would be so popular). She told me that boarding had all ready started but that they were expecting me. This was not a Japanese flight. This was a United flight. So, needless to say, when I boarded this plane there were plenty of stewards and stewardesses around. They were just too busy talking and laughing and standing doing nothing (basically watching me struggle) to give me a hand. I couldn't believe it. Finally my own people and they are completely rude and unhelpful. Typical. Luckily there was a man in the row behind me who was kind of watching Colton to be sure he wouldn't run too far while I was buckling in the car seat. We were all strapped in - Colton at the window and me in the middle. A man comes walking up to his seat - right next to me - and he immediately looks disappointed. I say, "Hi. Do you have any kids?" I was hoping for a little understanding. He says, "Nope." I say, "Sorry." He says, "You don't have anything to be sorry about... yet." Well, at least he has a sense of humor. Turned out Colton was a saint and the man was very "impressed." I don't know if I was supposed to take that as a complement, like I had a well behaved child, but there's really no knowing these things. It was luck and sleepiness.
Needless to say my trip through customs in Chicago was a nightmare. Colton was upset (who wouldn't be). We had just gotten off a 12 hour flight and he was not happy to have to sit in a luggage cart and wait for our luggage to come around the bend. Again, no one was helpful, they wouldn't even move when I said excuse me so I could squeeze by to grab my bag. Can't you hear my kid screaming?! MOVE YOUR BUTT!!!!
Anyway, I'm sure you've all seen the pic that Jackie posted of when I saw salvation. I knew that when I walked through those doors my sister would be on the other side to help me and just be nice to me and not give me a dirty look if my kid is crying. I started crying before I even saw her. I have NEVER been happier to see anyone (except when Jason came home from his 2 tours safe and sound).

Moral of the story is, if you have the opportunity, fly a Japanese airline. I will from now on.

Better Luck Next Time!

So the weekend finally came for our glorious trip to Okuma. Now granted we got reservations so soon because it was off season. February here is usually in the 50-60 degree range. We knew that the water sports side of it may be a little frigid but there was still a lot we could do. Plus, the relaxation would be nice.

We planned our meals for the weekend and did the grocery shopping and packed up the car. My friend and I and our boys were headed up first and the daddies were going to drive up together after work. It was a 2 hour drive, but the boys behaved and we only had to stop once for a potty break. We made it in no time.

First stop, lunch!

We got there a little before check in time and stopped at the restaurant that they have at the resort. The boys had grilled cheese and loved it. After that, we checked in to our Turtle's nest!

This picture is upside down and for the life of me I cannot figure out how to flip it. So... whatever. You get the idea!

Home sweet home!

 Bathroom floor was raised on these wood slats. Weird, but pretty!

 Shower. Amazing. Each of those holes shoots water out like a jet!

 Bathroom wall tiles. Don't they look like worms in love?

 Our bedroom - I forgot to take pics before we messed it up

 

 

The view from our front porch

 

We got into our cabin, unloaded the car, picked rooms and decided we were going to head to the playground. Always an easy pass time for the kiddies.

 

 

After this, we wanted to head back to the cabin to see if we could get the boys to nap. Colton's friend napped just fine. Colton, on the other hand, did not for one minute consider the idea. After a few minutes of screaming, I couldn't take it anymore. Colton hung out with the ladies while Levi snoozed. Dinner time rolled around the dads still were not here. We had to make something for the boys to eat and we had steaks and potatoes and stuff for us for dinner, but we weren't about to fire up the grill and cook dinner with 2 toddlers running around! I taught my friend a new trick and we microwaved some eggs for them. We did not have a stove, obviously. The boys were thrilled to have full tummies and we were glad they weren't so ornery anymore.

 

 

 

 After putting the boys to bed we finally got ahold of our husbands. They were here! They just needed to run to the on base store to grab some beer and they would be at the cabin in no time. Wrong. Ben got pulled over for speeding. They were sitting there so long waiting for the guy to write the ticket that Jason just ditched his friend and walked to the cabin instead to get the grill going. When they finally arrived we decided to do the hamburgers tonight and the steaks tomorrow. It would be easier and faster this way. We devoured the hamburgers as it was around 9pm by this time and started our bonfire and I cracked open our bottle of wine. Let the relaxation begin!

 

 

 

That blackness that you see behind us, that's the ocean. Pretty amazing.

 

So, the relaxation came to a screeching halt when our friends' monitor kept going off and their son was not sleeping so soundly. It got late and the girls decided to call it a night.

 

When we woke up in the morning we learned that Levi had been up all night getting sick! We hoped it was maybe something he ate (like microwaved eggs) that had just upset his stomach and everything would be fine. We got dressed and headed down to the restaurant for breakfast. Just as we were sitting down Levi had taken his first bite of yogurt and it hadn't stayed down. Looked like our friends were going to have to take the drive home and spend the weekend helping their little man feel better.

 

Jason and I were on our own for the rest of the weekend. We grilled out the steaks and made the best of it, but it just wasn't the same without our besties. Jason wanted me to document how perfectly he cooked our steaks! Believe me, they were delicious!

 

After having some time to look around I noticed these weird things on the side of our cabin.

 

 

 

 

The steel wires went up and over the building where they were clasped down the same way on the other side. This little hooks were holding our roof on! I guess it gets windy up in here!

 

It was a cold morning in February but we weren't just going to spend the day cooped up in our cabin. We rented a golf cart and drove around a little bit to see the scenery.

 

 

 

 

Colton didn't really drive. We just let him think he could.

 

We packed a picnic lunch and found a deserted beach. It would have been fantastic had it not been so windy and cold. We just felt lucky that we could be enjoying it at all, seeing as how our friends had to go home.

 



 

Then we played a little mini golf after Colton's nap.

 

 

Colton was terrible at mini-golf! I guess he gets it from me.

 

We did a little shopping.

 

 

After we put Colton to sleep we hung out with the guys we had met at the fire the night before. They were fine to chat with, they were pilots or something, but they had nothing on our friends. We called it a night pretty early, woke up in the morning and swore we would find time to do it again!

 

Needless to say, the week after we got home, both Colton and Jason caught was our little friend had had. Colton had his first terrible sickness, but we made it through!

I think I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese.

In Japan they have restaurants that are "sushi-go-rounds." The name gives it away. You sit down at a table and there is a conveyer belt that is coursing its way through the entire restaurant filled with different types of sushi. On our first visit, the restaurant was very new and didn't have English translations on the automatic order menu yet and none of the signs that were posted at the table were translated, so we did what we saw everyone doing. We sat down and started pulling plates of sushi that looked good off the conveyer belt and put them in our bellies. They were so good. Most of the fish we could tell what it was, but there were some that we didn't know. We realized that you could go through the automated menu screen and place orders of certain things you wanted. After doing this, we wondered how we knew it would be the one we ordered. We did not want to steal someone else's special-ordered sushi and we did not want someone stealing ours after we had been waiting for it. We pushed the call button to see if the waitress could give us some info on our current situation. She said that our little tv screen (seen below) will speak to us and flash and tell us that our sushi that we ordered was coming around the belt. She said it would be up on a bowl. Oops. We stole A LOT of people's sushi that day.

 

This is the order screen. The pictures were taken a few months after the place had opened. I think they must have had a lot of Americans stealing sushi because they had translated everything (almost everything) so we could be rule following diners.

 

Below is the picture of the sushi that is free for the taking. No one has ordered this sushi, the chefs thought someone might like to have it! I don't know what this one is, but it does not look too tasty. The plate is directly on the conveyer belt.

 

 

Oh and do you see that little spicket that comes out of the wall? Its hot water. There is a little green powder in a canister at the table and you can make instant green tea! Jason didn't know this the first time we went and he thought it was powdered wasabi and mixed it with his soy sauce. Needless to say, it wasn't tasty. He wasn't too ashamed to just leave it sit there though. He made new delicious dipping sauce. Later we learned that the wasabi is between the fish and the rice so there is no need to put any into your soy sauce. The only reason we learned this is because they don't have soy sauce dipping dishes. There is a slew of different soy sauces here too, all with kanji labels. I always just chose the biggest bottle because I assumed it was the most popular. Of course Jason tried them all. He claims some were more floral or something, but... give me a break. Its soy sauce. It tastes like salt!

 

Here is the picture of all the different soy sauces.

 

 

 



 

 

Here is the picture of the "special ordered" sushi. It comes raised on a bowl (Jason grabbed it a little too quick to get the full effect here - he must have been hungry) and your computer screen really does light up and talk to you! It even talks in English now!

 



I don't know if you can quite make out what is in the picture here of what we ordered. It is Colton's favorite. A mini-hamburger patty covered in some sort of garlic sauce atop a little ball of rice. Look Grandma Kagger - a Japanese Patty Melt!

Here's Colton chowing down on his favorite Japanese dessert. Almond Jelly. The second picture is him loving his Japanese patty melt!

Good thing this kid is not picky. He will try anything once. I don't even have to lie and tell him its something its not. I can just say, "Hey Colton, this is Octopus. Do you want some?" He's like, "Sure, mom. That sounds so good!"

Here's my favorite at Hamazushi (that's the name of the restaurant). Tuna with avocado and thinly sliced onion with a dollop of mayonnaise. I don't know if I ever mentioned it before, but Japanese people love mayonnaise. They even put it on the top of loaves of bread before they bake it! My friend and I were out to eat once and we got some complimentary bread with our lunch and we were super pumped to see that the bread had a layer of cream cheese! How delish. Wrong. Mayonnaise.

The other one that Jason and I love is some scallop from somewhere that starts with an "A." Aioda... Aoshi... Somewhere with an A. They're so good. Yes, they are raw. I don't even have to "not think about it" to be able to eat it anymore. I can think directly about how I'm eating a raw scallop and totally not be grossed out! I think I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese!

Here's Jason indulging! Look at that cool hair-do!

Here's some other ones that we haven't tried. These we just let roll on by! OMG! What is that!? Next please!

 

They also have Okinawa Soba and fried chicken to order. Here's the greatest thing about this place. Each plate that you either order or grab (it doesn't matter which) is between 90 yen to 100 yen. That's $1. The color of the plates signifies the cost of the sushi that is now in your belly. There are some that are more expensive that come on a different color plate. I don't know why you would spend more money on raw fish. Its not like its seasoned or anything. Raw fish is raw fish. Pass me the plain old tuna or that "A" city scallop! The soba and the salads are around 250 yen ($2.50). They are delicious and come clad with a piece of shrimp tempura or a slice of pork just like they would if you went to a different restaurant.

 



Colton loves noodles, so we always get a bowl for him.

When you are all finished you push the button on your screen and a worker comes over and tallies up your plates and gives you a check.

And this was a cheap day!

How did our parents do this? Just google it!

Somehow Jason got it in his head that we needed to fly a kite with Colton. I actually think I mentioned it one day in passing, but I never thought it would become his ultimate goal in life. After finding out that the stores on base didn't have any we began our search of the Japanese stores. We brought up a picture of a kite on our cell phone and asked them if they had any in stock. Oddly enough, the picture we found had an article about how Japanese people invented kite flying more than 2000 years ago. We thought for sure we would find one after reading this. Wrong again. The Aeon didn't have them, San A or Makeman. We waited about 3 weeks and checked back at the stores on base. We can't really ask any of the workers, mostly Japanese people,  at the base stores for help because whatever you ask for (if they don't know the word) they just say they don't have it. Very frustrating. After a little searching Jason found a kite! I don't think he's been so excited about something in his life!

That weekend we went over to our friends' house with a back yard. Jason was dead set on flying kites in the back yard. They tied the string onto the kite and took the boys to see if they could do it. My friend and I made some sangria, poured ourselves a glass and let the entertainment begin. I should have video taped it, but I was laughing so hard that I didn't even think of it. Our grown husbands were running around with kites dragging behind them in the grass. Colton didn't even care enough to watch. This ensued for about 30 minutes without one ounce of success. After the neighbor came out and told us how ridiculous our husbands were they decided to call it quits. Oh, I forgot to mention. There wasn't one breeze. Not even a  little wind. We chalked it up as that being the reason for no kite flying and let the BBQ begin.

The next day was a little windier and Jason wanted to head to the beach to fly the kite. We packed everything up and headed to Araha. Again, my husband was running around dragging his kite in the sand trying to get it to fly.

We decided to google it. "How to fly a kite." Turns out he was doing it all wrong. So we tried the new way. One person holding the handle and the other about 60 feet away holding the kite. Of course I'm on the dangerous end, holding the kite, waiting for the wind to pick up. Finally we got the kite into the air only to have it come dive bombing down on me. Luckily I have the quickness and got out of the way the many times I could have been killed. After getting my hands on the kite I realized that Jason had tied it so that the decorative side of the kite was facing upward. I then realized our problem. I untied and retied the kite so that the flames were facing us when it would be flying (if we ever got it to do that). We had a little more success this way, but again, it just wasn't windy enough. No matter how bad Jason wanted to fly a kite, it would just have to wait until the wind kicked up.

The following weekend we went kite flying again. It was windy. Seriously windy. We thought for sure we would get our kite to fly! Jason left before me to get down to the beach so I jogged to try to catch up to him. I got to the beach and Jason and Colton were no where in sight. I called Jason to see if he had gone somewhere else. Nope. He was about a block away when he realized that the kite string had come undone and was wrapped all around the stroller wheel. He should be down there in a few minutes. I think this was a bad omen.

Finally we get to the beach and start our flying. It's working!!! We are flying a kite!

 

Colton thought it was a blast and was dancing every time the kite got up into the air. Daddy wanted to Colton to hold the handle and do the "flying." Well, he was not interested in that and abruptly put the handle down. Needless to say - he kite went sailing away toward the ocean, I was watching the kite fly through the air with my head looking upward oblivious to what was happening on the ground. I look down to see Jason running down the beach after the kite shouting to me to grab it. I do a belly-flop onto the sand and grab a hold of the handle when the kite comes crashing down, nearly dive-bombing an Asian family with small children. We're lucky we didn't have an international incident!

 

 

 



After laying out in the sun and getting all the seaweed off of Old Faithful I'm sure she'll be ready to fly again soon.

Ryuku Mura

One beautiful Saturday afternoon our friends and us decided to head over to the Southeast Botanical Gardens to feed the monkeys. Since we have yearly passes, this is something we can do for free! We get there right at opening (9am), nothing opens around here before that. I don't know why. Even the grocery stores aren't open early. It wouldn't normally bother me much, except that my kid wakes up at the crack of dawn and it would be nice to be able to do some of our running around before his first nap, which is at 9m. I digress, there were no cars in the parking lot. Upon asking an attendant she told us that they are closed on "chatterday." (hehe). We couldn't figure out why and couldn't ask (we had seen them setting up tents the previous weekend when we were there and figured it must be a wedding or something). Needless to say, we couldn't go in and had to find something else to do. The couple we were with knew of a place, they went to high school here and know a bit more about this island than we do, unfortunately for us, they still don't know much more Japanese.

We decided to go to Ryuku Mura. I don't know what that means. It had some of the oldest buildings in Okinawa there. They had even taken some down and put them back together on the Ryuku Mura site. When we first arrived we wanted to get our boys pictures taken in the kimonos. So cute, right? Well... not so much!

 

Needless to say, Colton did not think it was very cute. He hated it, So did his friend. We had 2 screaming babies. Luckily for us, as soon as we took their outfits off and headed away from the stand they were happy again. At least they had eachother.

 

 

There was a small parade at the opening ceremony. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time. You have to count on this a lot when you're an English speaking/reading person in Japan. Colton is not scared of anyone really. Sometimes a little nervous, but never as scared as he was of this man!

 

 



I guess the white mask is a little scary. Again - as soon as the masked man was gone, Colton recovered just fine.

There was a bit of walking and looking at the old weaving factories and potting areas. So neat by the way. They are still working businesses too. I don't know how many tapestries one person can make on a one person loom, but I suppose that's why they're so expensive. Little wooden sandals sat at every doorstep as Japanese people don't wear their shoes inside. I didn't see any people working when we were there (probably too early in the morning for them), but I imagined them wearing kimonos. I don't know why.

We saw a Habu Snake show. We sat in the front row, I'm not sure what we were thinking. They had a Habu Snake in one cage ad a mongoose in the other. For some reason this is a common couple to see. There was a Habu and Mongoose show at Okinawa World, too. That one they swam, but in this one, the Mongoose did not come out of the cage. I was glad. I was worried they were gong to fight to the death or something. My girlfriend and I voted that if that happened, we were leaving.
They did however take the snake out of the cage. A few actually. The talk was in Japanese (obviously) and it made it a little scarier. We didn't know what was coming! The handler swung the snakes up over our heads. At this point we moved the babies to the back of the room. There was a photo opportunity at the end where the handler put the snakes around a few people's necks. Not mine. Definitely not mine. One of our friends did though.

I got out of there as fast as I could. I never realized how much I hate snakes.

After we had cleared our minds of the terrorizing snake show we took in some of the beautiful landscape.

 

Its a jungle out there!

 

 

There was a little underground shop fill with shisa dogs. In case you don't know what these are, they are everywhere. Every establishment as the at the door. One on either side. The one on the left of the doorway always has its mouth closed and the one on the right has its mouth open. I assume it has a meaning, but I'm not sure what it is. They also had some of the pottery that was made on site.

 

Then there was an ox or water buffalo or some large friendly animal turning a crank that ground sugar cane. We touched it. Colton didn't want to.

 

 

Island style is to be in hurry, but c'mon, this must take ALL day!!!!

 

 

It was lunch time and we settled into the food court. There were only a few options. Curry or soba. While we ate lunch there was a little show.

 





Okinawan music and dancing. The boys really liked it. Colton's friend clapped and danced in his chair and Colton got up and ran around. It was a fun day especially when our original plans had been cancelled.