WHOOP!

What a game!! Our beloved Aggies pulled off a great upset over tu...and then our coach quit. I'm not really surprised though. Too many scandals, not enough games won, etc etc. Why couldn't they have played like that all season?! I'm really glad they didn't "Coug Out" in the last quarter too (even though they tried) :)

Shuri Castle Performer

Here is a partial video of one of the dances outside Shuri Castle:

Naminoue Shrine

After the gardens we headed to a Shinto shrine. There is also a Buddist Temple there as well. To go into a Shinto shrine you first have to pass through one torii gate and then you come to a second. Between these two areas you are to clear your head to prepare for prayer. Our tour guide was telling us that in some Chinese Shinto shrines the area between these two torii gates could be miles.

This was the first torii gate:

and here was the second:
It is common in Japanese culture to come to a Shinto shrine during the celebration of a child's 3rd, 5th and 7th birthdays.
Before you can say your prayer you have to go to an area set up with ladels and water and purify yourself. You first pour water over your left hand and then your right. Some people then sip some water and then spit it out underneath. Afterwards, both Michael and I paid our 100 Yen to get our "written oracles". They were surprisingly good!!

Fukushuen Gardens

Just down the road from Kokusai Street were these beautiful gardens. It was a symbol of the trade bond between China and Okinawa. Best of all...it was free to go in and see everything! They have different areas so there is always something blooming.

This sculpture is of a famous poet who couldn't write unless he was drunk...thus there isn't a portrayal of him without some sort of sake glass or bottle:

These steps led up so you could see the whole area (in the picture above you can see where we're heading):
This was the top part:
There was a waterfall (seen in a few pictures above) coming down where we walked up and you could go down underneath it:
Getting lost in the maze of tunnels underneath the waterfall:

Shuri Castle

We finally got around in taking a tour of Shuri Castle in Naha, Okinawa. It was amazing! It is where the king ruled the island (and the castle was burned and rebuilt 4 times) and where present day heads of state have convened to conduct worldy affairs. I couldn't really tell you about all the history it has...come visit and we'll take the tour again!

This is one of the four outer gates to get to the main area:

This is where the king conducted his diplomatic relations:
You had to take your shoes off to go inside and they handed you little bags to put them in:
This is the king's chair:
This is the chair he sat in during ceremonies (such as a New Year's festival). The black grid on the red wall opens up to the courtyard below:
These are the actual ruins from the very last castle that was destroyed. In order to preserve them they built the new one above it:
Here is a mock setup of a New Year's ceremony:
There were traditional dancers outside performing (I have video and I'll upload it once I get everything else on here):
Me with one of the Shisa in front of the castle:
Afterwards we were given free reign on Kokusai Street (A gigantic shopping/eating district). This was our first time getting to go down here!

USMC Birthday Ball

These are the only pictures we have from the ball. Hopefully our professional pictures will turn out okay! This cake was huge:
This is Kelly with whom I worked with at Marine Chevrolet back in Jacksonville, NC (small world)

A Perfect PFT

I'm very proud of my husband and want to brag on him for a minute...
He received a max score of 300 on his PFT (physical fitness test) this morning! He ran his 3 miles in about 16 min 30 sec, did 20 pullups and 100 crunches!

We have the Marine Corps Ball tonight so I should have some pictures to put up soon. We're also having a barbecue on Sunday (since it is a 96 for Veteran's Day) with some friends and I'll try and take some pictures then too.