Spring Break

We spent a good part of spring break last week at Tokashiki Island.  What an amazing experience!!  It's about a 70 minute ferry ride from Naha (at Tomari Wharf).  We stayed at the Okinawan Youth Friendship Center. That was very interesting. It's kind of like a dormitory, except each family had their own room. The rooms were bare, except for a tatami mat on the floor. The closet was full of futons and pillows that we'd put away each day. I started out with one futon, and ended up with three by the last night. Each morning and evening we were required to attend the flag raising ceremony, as well as the morning exercise. The kids got to help out with the flag raising and had a ball. The exercising was hilarious, but felt really good after basically sleeping on the floor all night. For meals (we ate breakfast and dinner there), they had cafeteria trays with the food already on them waiting for us. Along whatever they had cooked, there was plenty of rice and miso soup to go along with each meal. Mmmm. . . We also had access to their gym (the kids had a great time playing in there one night), and tennis courts. We went with 5 other families and were the only ones using the facility. However they had a group of 300 arriving on the day we left. The water there is, as usual in Okinawa, stunning. Pictures just can't capture the beauty. The Friendship Center where we stayed owns one of the beaches and let us use their kayaks, snorkeling floats, and their dragon boat. That was very fun to paddle around in. It took 15 of us to do it, but was a fun experience. We had fabulous weather and made many lasting memories. Take a look at some of the pictures we took . . .

After a day at home, doing laundry and getting settled again, we decided we had time for one more adventure before spring break ended. We'd been wanting to make a fire at the beach and roast marshmallows, so I called Torii beach (a marine base north of us), to see if they had any cabins available. That way we could play at the beach, have a fire, and then just stay the night and be able to walk out to the beach again first thing in the morning. Finding an available cabin on such short notice, especially during the break, was a huge surprise and a great blessing. We had a great time! The perfect ending to a fabulous spring break!! As you can see in the pictures, the cabins appear to be very small, but the space is well utilized. There is a double futon, two bunk beds, and a loft with a double mattress, with room for some sleeping bags. There is also a refrigerator, microwave and a TV/DVD player.