Okuma

Okay, this is my first blog post, so it may be a bit wordy, but bear with me.

This past weekend the kids and I spent two days up at Okuma, which is a beautiful military resort on the northern end of the island. Our room was across the parking lot from the beach, and the view was spectacular! Chad was on Tokashiki Island for youth conference, and the kids were out of school on Friday. I hate staying home looking at the same four walls on a long weekend - especially without Chad around - so we decided to go sightseeing. We had a great weekend! On our way up north we took a detour, hoping to find a mikan (tangerine) orchard so we could pick some for lunch. We stopped at a fruit stand to ask if there was anywhere we could pick our own mikans. The guy said, "follow me," so we did - about a mile down the highway and up a long meandering road that took us to the middle of nowhere. There he left us with another man who jumped into his truck and said, "follow me." He then led us to the mikan fields where we could pick to our hearts content. Had we not been in Japan, I would have been a little nervous about following all of these strange men. However I have always felt perfectly safe here! The man gave each of us a bag to fill, so we picked mikans, took pictures and ate mikans till we were full. They didn't look beautiful, like the ones bought in the store, but they sure were sweet and juicy.

From there we drove up Mt. Yadaeke in search of cherry blossoms. That was the weekend for the big cherry blossom festival in Nago (the largest town in that part of the island) and I knew there would be thousands of people trying to catch a glimpse of the blossoms on Saturday and Sunday, so we went on Friday hoping to beat the crowd. We scored!! The road up the mountain was packed with cherry trees. They were all in bloom and just stunning!! In fact there were so many trees, and they were so large, that the branches stuck out into the road. We kept having to drive in the middle of the road (although that's not that unusual in Okinawa) to keep from scratching the van. Upon reaching the top we ate lunch and headed back down, stopping at the cherry blossom bridge that is all pink, with pink blossom emblems on each rail - very Japanese and very cute.

On our way back to the main highway we also stopped at the Pineapple Park. Very touristy, but a "must-see." After touring the park in a Pineapple Car we walked through a cool Shell House - full of amazing shells and sea life found in and around Okinawa. Then for the best part - the Tasting House. We tasted pineapple juice, pineapple cake, pineapple pie, pineapple pound cake, pineapple chocolate, pineapple cheese, pineapple ice cream, pineapple cookies, pineapple candy, pineapple chunks (fresh), pickled pineapple, dried pineapple, and pretty much any other pineapple product you could think of. It was yummy!! After that we headed up to Okuma, got checked in, and headed for the beach. Within 15 minutes Tanner had been stung by a jellyfish, and Reed had badly bruised his toe trying to kick a heavy float that had washed up on the beach. We had a quiet evening watching movies so everyone could recuperate.

Tanner and I started the next day bright and early with a walk along the beach in hopes of finding some cool shells. We found plenty. Later on the five of us went hiking. We found a great look out with an amazing view of the ocean. I took a lot of pictures, trying in vain to capture of beautiful colors of the water. I know I have said it before, and will probably continue to say it, but the color of the water here is just stunning, and indescribable. I could gaze upon the water ALL day long, and never tire of it!! After a full day at Okuma, we headed home - happy, tired and full of sand!

One quick side note. I had downloaded two audio books that we listened to all the way up and back. "Tell Me a Story" and "Tell Me a Story 2" by Amy Friedman. Very fun listening for all ages. We didn't have a terribly long drive (approx 1 1/2 hours each direction), but I would definitely recommend them.