Life with the Lokeys

8 months in Okinawa and my 8 favorite things!

I cannot believe we have already been living in Okinawa for 8 months!  In some ways it feels like we just got here and in other ways it feels like we have been here forever! We are having the most fun exploring this tiny island in the middle of the Pacific. Here are my 8 favorite things about Okinawa so far!

1. Okinawa’s Islands.  Okinawa is part of the Ryukyu Islands that consist of about 55 islands in the Pacific. Our favorite islands so far are the Keramas!  We visited Tokashiki Island last October for my birthday and it had the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen.

 

 

 

 

2. The Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium.  This is by far the best aquarium I have ever been to. It is also known to be one of the best in the world.  We loved the dolphin show and sea turtles outside the aquarium. The best exhibit was the whale sharks. We sat and watched them swim and it was such a beautiful sight to see. The drive up to the aquarium along the western coast of Okinawa is absolutely beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Oh..the Cafes. I have had the most fun exploring all the little cafes on this island. My friends and I love to meet for lunch and try a new cafe. For anyone new coming to the island..find a friend and start exploring the cafes as soon as you get here.

 

 

 

 

 

4. Tedake Falls.  We loved visiting this waterfall. I will admit that the hike up to the falls was not as easy as I had imagined. I was having to climb and hang on to ropes in some spots but when you finally reach the amazing waterfall it is so worth it. The boys loved swimming in the falls and swinging from the ropes. It was such a fun day!

 

 

5. Scuba Diving.  This is the one thing my boys were the most excited about doing when they moved here. They were able to get certified over Christmas vacation. I have never seen my boys so focused on learning something. They studied there guide books from cover to cover the first week of vacation and then completed their training and dives the next week. I was so proud of them. I’m hoping they will be able to dive all over the world!

 

 

 

6. Castle Ruins. My boys love visiting all the castle ruins on Okinawa. They love to learn about the history of the castles.  It is amazing how they were able to build these castles so long ago without modern tools. The views from the castles are amazing.

 

 

 

7. Flower Festivals.  I just love the beautiful flowers here on Okinawa. I love how the local farmers will share their fields of flowers with everyone. My boys know how much I love flowers so they go with me to the fields and even let me take their picture!

 

 

 

 

8. The Beaches.  The beaches here in Okinawa are so beautiful. We have the best time exploring all the different beaches here. Each one has something unique that makes it special!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have absolutely loved our first 8 months living in Okinawa!  I can’t wait to see where the next 2 years takes us!

Okinawa Zoo, Seashells, and Sea Glass!

Brandon left last week for Korea.  He will be gone for about 2 months for training.  We are hoping the time flies until he gets back home. I’m going to try and keep the boys as busy as possible.  We decided to explore the Okinawa Zoo this weekend.  Colt was so excited it’s all he talked about!  All the boys loved it.  It was a beautiful Spring day and the flowers at the zoo were amazing!

 

 

 

 

 


The minute Colt got to the zoo all he wanted to do was see the elephants.  It’s all he talked about and we had to hurry and find them for him.  He then found out that he could ride one and he wasn’t leaving the zoo until I let him.  It brought back memories of my grandmother who rode elephants when she was little in my grandfather’s circus.  I will tell you that I was a little nervous getting on the elephant!

 

Finally we ended our first week of Brandon being gone with a trip to the beach after dinner to look for shells and sea glass.  The tide was really low so we found lots of treasures! 

 

 

 

 

 

We ended the day standing as evening Colors played on base!

Thank a Vietnam Veteran…Brandon’s trip to Vietnam!


This is a really hard post to write.  I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it must have been to be a military family during the Vietnam War.  I do believe that we have learned from the past that no matter your political view of a war the men fighting are not politicians but husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, and uncles.  Two of my uncles served during the Vietnam War and one of those uncles was actually stationed here in Okinawa for a little while.  He was your all american kid but when he returned from Vietnam he was never the same.  He was in and out of VA hospitals for years and ultimately the pain was too much.  If you know a veteran that is struggling in any way please find a way to reach out to them and help in any way you can.  We owe so much to these men and woman that sacrifice for our freedom.  They put their lives on the line so selflessly that we may have the freedom to think, speak, and do as we wish.  

There were so many heroes from the Vietnam War and amazing men that fought for our country and some that sacrificed everything.  I would ask that we honor these men, and if you ever cross paths with a Vietnam veteran please stop and let them know how much you appreciate their sacrifice for our country.  

Brandon had the opportunity to visit Vietnam and see the places he had only read about in military history books.  

 

 

 

 

 

Sunflowers and Nakagusuku Castle!

We had the best day exploring Nakagusuku Castle on Okinawa!  Of all the castles on Okinawa this one is the best preserved.  At the top of the castle you can see the Pacific Ocean to the east and the East China Sea to the west.  It was so beautiful as the sun was being to set.  This castle was built in the late 14th century and was part of the Ryukyu Kingdom.  It was amazing to see the stone laying techniques they used back then to build the walls of the castle.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
And ohhh the sunflowers!  I convinced my boys to stop by the sunflower fields on the way to the castle!  The fields were beautiful, and they reminded me of the sunflower fields back home in Texas!  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows.  It’s what the sunflowers do~Helen Keller
 
 

I miss you so much!

In my last post about the beautiful Cosmo flowers that grow here in Okinawa, I mentioned the Indian Blankets that used to fill the fields of our Texas farm.  I looked forward to these blooming every year! There is a little more to the story about these flowers…I lost my grandmother 9 years ago this year to breast cancer.  She was everything to me and my best friend.  We would talk on the phone for hours..and she taught me what unconditional love really is.  When I was pregnant with my oldest son, I lived in Camp Lejeune, NC and I was really sick the whole nine months.  She called me EVERY day just to see how I was doing…that’s just who she was!  We moved into our Texas farmhouse the week she passed away…she never got to see it.  Her favorite flower was the Indian Blanket wildflowers that grow in Texas during the Spring.  I would always pick these flowers for her, and we would put them in a vase in her house.  She just loved these flowers so much.  The Spring after she passed away…I found that my entire pasture was filled with these Indian Blankets as far as the eye could see.  I just know that somehow it was her saying I’m here with you and you are going to be ok. We lived here for 8 years, and every year the flowers would fill my fields during the Spring.  I looked forward to them every year!  These pictures are so special to me because she never got to meet my sweet Colt…I believe that somewhere in Heaven their paths crossed and she gave him a big hug before he came down to me!  She was an amazing woman and I miss her so much! XXXOOO

I have an exciting project that I have been working on to honor her.  I cannot wait to share it with you in the next few weeks!