All Colt wanted for his 4th birthday was to go stay the night at a hotel. He talked about staying at a hotel for months. He really wanted to go to Atlantis..(yes he sees all the commercials for it on the Nick Jr. channel)..but I figured this resort would do. And since the Bahamas are half way around the world from us and this resort is only 30 minutes from our house it would have to work! Brandon missed his birthday party because he was still in Korea so we finally found a weekend that we could celebrate his birthday! He was in heaven! I couldn’t even get him to turn around for the picture. He was so excited to get to the beach!
The boys had the most fun playing at the Ocean Park! They played for hours on the inflatables and in the hotel pool!
Colt and his best friend Jack searching for shells and sea slugs…got to love little boys! We are so thankful that Jack and his family came out to celebrate Colt’s birthday!
The view from our hotel room! The tide was really low when we first got to the resort! That is the hotel wedding chapel in the distance!
The inside of the hotel was very modern..I just love the tube elevators!
We ended the day with a beautiful sunset and dinner outside near the beach!
Colt had the best 4th birthday! He can’t wait to go back to stay at a hotel again…
My boys and I were so excited about Spring Break here in Okinawa! We would have loved to travel but with Brandon still in Korea and me not being brave enough to take 4 boys somewhere by myself we decided to just explore our island. We had big plans to visit all the islands off of Okinawa that we could get to by car…well mother nature had other plans. With it being the start of the rainy season here in Okinawa we only had one nice sunny day so we had to change our plans just a little. We did get to visit the first island on our list: Ikei Island Ikei Island is a very small island not far from our house. It is connected to mainland Okinawa with a bridge. It is an absolutely beautiful island with crystal clear water and amazing views. The island is filled with fields of sugar cane and other plants. There is also an ancient castle ruin on the island but we were enjoying the beach so much that we did not make it to the ruins. It was such a relaxing and beautiful day!
This is the bridge that connects Ikei Island to mainland Okinawa!
Oodamari Beach was perfect for snorkling. My boys saw lots of neat fish!
The next day we decided to have breakfast and try the famous Rainbow bagels here in Okinawa! They sell out really fast each morning so we were hoping to get some. We headed to Caracalla Coffee and Bread and got the last bagels they had..whew!! They are handmade each morning and are served warm with a delicious berry cream cheese on top. We had the best time and the boys loved the bagels!
Our last day we visited the Famous Kokasai Street in Okinawa! It’s a famous street in Naha, Okinawa. It’s where they have the famous Naha Tug-of-War each year. The boys were able to see the rope used in this years celebration. Kokasai is a street filled with stores and restaurants. My boys said, “Mom, this is the Times Square of Okinawa!” Haha..I got a good laugh from that one.
If you look close you can see the boys on the big screen. We had the best day exploring all the different and unique things to see on this famous street!
We ended Spring Break with a trip to the Camp Courtney Beach! We had a great day relaxing and playing before Spring Break came to an end!
My sweet friend Dale and I decided to take a road trip up north to see the beautiful Azaleas! We are both boy moms and my boys had seen about as many flowers as they wanted to see for awhile so we decided to drive up to see them! It ended up being a little further than we thought so we had a few adventures along the way. That’s what makes Okinawa so fun is all the little things you find when you take a wrong turn. The flowers were absolutely beautiful!!
We came across this cute buoy with a pineapple painted on it that we just had to pull over and take a picture of!
We saw a sign to pick strawberries and if you have ever lived in Okinawa you will know how excited we were because it costs about $7 for about 4-5 strawberries at the commissary on base. We followed all the signs to the strawberry field to end up at a place with a few greenhouses and couple of dogs that didn’t seem to want us there so we decided we might try that another day! We did find a hidden gem along the way! Dale collects pictures of all the different manhole covers in Okinawa and we found this one of a man in a kayak. Many Japanese cities, towns, and villages have manhole covers that are printed with different designs that tell a story about what makes their town special. The designs began in Okinawa but can now be found all over mainland Japan as well.
To end our road trip we decided to take a trip down Melody Road. Up north in a little town called Futami there is a section of road that if you drive over it at 40 kph you will hear an Okinawan folk song. In 1945 during the war in Okinawa, two Okinawans were told by US forces that they needed to leave the town they were living in that was in the southern part of the island. They moved up north to Futami just days before the end of the war. They decided to write a song about their new home.
So like a lot of you I finally saw the movie Hacksaw Ridge. It was a great movie and I just had to visit the site of where it actually happened here in Okinawa. Sometimes I think about the terrible battles that have happened here, and I can’t believe that I live here. It was a very surreal day. The battle of Hacksaw Ridge took place in May of 1945 so almost 72 years ago. I just stood back and kind of watched my boys and the other Japanese tourists. My sweet Colt stands out in Okinawa with his blonde hair and all the locals just love him. I watched as he ran in circles around groups of Japanese tourists and the way they just smiled and waved at him. How could it be that not that long ago we were bitter enemies. Then I looked at my oldest son and thought that some of the men that fought here were just a few years older than him. Urasoe Castle which is on the ridge was the Japanese defensive position during the battle. The Japanese fought from the castle and in caves and tunnels around the castle. It was on the North side of the castle where Desmond Doss lowered injured men down the cliff. I was surprised to see how much of the castle survived the battle.
This is the part of the Ocean that the ships were located during the battle.
We ended the day at this little cafe that is at the bottom of Hacksaw Ridge and Urasoe Castle. The Japanese man that owned the cafe was so sweet and kind to my boys!
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!
