Okinawa Zoo

A few weekends ago we went to the Okinawa Zoo with our friends Craig and Max.  It had a bunch of really neat animals, but it made me sad to see the conditions they have them living in.  Needless to say, it was a quick trip through.

This poor guy was beautiful - but miserable in the cage:

You would never get this close to hippos in the states!  They were literally less than 3 feet away from us at one point - we could have touched them (but were smart enough not to):

The giraffes were really funny:

This part disturbed me the most.  I didn't like the men riding the elephants:

The anteaters were funny looking...and smelly:

This was the view at the front gate of the zoo:

Michael and Craig (aka the dorks with the crackberry's - j/k) :)

Welcome to "TEX'AS" ya'll!  Didn't you know that's how we spell it?!

Ishigake Island

We got back last night from our quick weekend trip to Ishigaki.  We almost didn't get back thanks to Typhoon Fung Wong springing up so quickly!  We left on Friday:

Us on the plane:

An advertisement in the airport - Don't you want some Yasubkemcoisjfiwenv??

While we were there we took a trip to Iriomote Island (where the star sand is located).  It was a VERY rough ride on the shuttle boat due to the impending typhoon:

Here is Michael on one of our three twin beds :)

A picture of the weather outside our hotel the day we flew out:

Michael enjoying a last free cocktail before we left the resort:

Here we are next to the waterfall that we hiked to after the kayaking trip:

During the kayaking portion of the trip (on the way to the waterfall and while at the waterfall it POURED rain!):

On the bus ride we had to sit behind everyone (luck of the draw I guess) - what is it with Japanese people and the damn peace sign!?!?  Ask Michael or me about it sometime when you next see us and watch the tangent we go off on!

Trekking to the kayaks - huge leaves!  Small Japanese children use them as umbrellas :)

Me in the water about to begin the hike through "Triple canopy jungle" - it was so thick!!

We thought that at any moment Charlie might surround us :)

Me while at the waterfall:

My toes for the trip in Ishigake sand:

The beach at our resort:

Looking at some of the surrounding islands:

Us on the beach:

Typhoon Fung Wong trying really hard to not let us get back to Okinawa!  We got on the last flight of the day after our flight was cancelled at 1330!!

Out the door...

We're heading to Naha to fly to Ishigaki Island!  Woo-hoo - no typhoons to cancel this trip!  We'll post some pics once we get back.  Have a great weekend everyone :)

Another Trip Cancelled

Because of Tropical Cyclone Kalmaegi, our day trip to the Keramas was cancelled.  We were pretty bummed until we saw how insane the water was while down at the Sunabe Seawall last night!  A co-worker of mine that lives down there took us to this amazing sushi restaurant where she knows the owner/chef.  He came out and briefly spoke with us - he used to be a prominent sushi chef in New York!  Like most Okinawans though, when his parents were too elderly to take care of themselves he dropped everything and moved back home.  I cannot tell you how many times I've heard this tale and it shows how much respect Okinawans have for their elders.  It's been a neat aspect of the culture to get to see.  

While down at some of the restaurants by the water, there was a helicopter with a searchlight looking for a lost surfer.  It was a good wake up call for us that we shouldn't be getting on a ship this morning to go snorkeling on an island closer to the tropical cyclone! 

A Happy Anniversary!

My wonderful husband bought me a new MacBook for our 4th anniversary!  I can't even explain how excited I am about having my first laptop :)  Now I can blog from the couch, while Michael plays his new PS3 tennis game, instead of having to go upstairs and missing valuable time with my hubby!  

Just a quick update - we might actually get to do a little bit of traveling!  We're supposed to head to the Keramas Islands this weekend for a snorkeling day trip.  Then next weekend we're flying to Ishigaki Island to spend a relaxing weekend at Club Med!  Ishigaki is where they have the "star sand".  Click here to see a picture of it I found on the web.  It looks pretty cool and I'm really excited.  I thought this trip was our anniversary gift to each other so you can imagine my surprise when I came home from work to find gifts on the kitchen table (a day early too!).  I'm not sure what I did to deserve such an amazing husband but I am one lucky girl!

Karaoke at the Big Echo

We finally went out in town with friends to a karaoke house! It was a pretty wild night that we won't forget any time soon :) You have your own room to rock out in and it is all you can eat and drink (which they deliver to your room) for a set price for however many hours you want to stay. We're ready and willing to take anyone/everyone that comes to visit!

We eventually got a menu with English titles, which made picking the songs a little bit easier:

Torii Beach Jazz and Wine Festival

We went to one of the most lame "wine festivals" ever up at the Army's Torii Station. They served Boone's Farm. Seriously. Well done Army...well done. (j/k!) It was absolutely beautiful and besides the wine, we would definitely go back! They had little kids dressed up like Shisa dogs and they danced to the traditional sanshin instrument and drums (see video at bottom). They had great food and drinks for a hefty price (besides the wine obviously), but great friends, conversation and atmosphere made it a wonderful night!

Both of us in front of the beach area:

the traditional Ryukyu drums:
and these little kids dressed as the Shisa dogs were my favorite :)
here they are out of the costumes: This was the entrance to the festival:
Here's a cute video of the Shisa dogs chasing some little kids - too cute!

Happy Fourth of July...

From my toes :)