Naha Beach Side Hotel

... it in my previous entry) was the original name of the Okinawan archipelago (it used to be known as the Ryukyu Kingdom which was a tributary state of Imperial China). Although commercial in almost all respects, this village was a very beautiful place to visit. We even saw numerous examples of the local poisonous snake (the "Habu") as well as a mongoose. Unfortunately there was no mongoose/snake fight today! I did get to feed a large number of carp as well as a couple of very ...

... have supper there and were greeted by two Russian women who had moved here from Vladivostok to start this restaurant. Okinawa is definitely a very strange place to open a Russian restaurant. Given the difference in weather between Vladivostok and Okinawa, I can see though why these women learned Japanese and made the switch. We had the full course Russian meal consisting of -- what else -- borscht and pyrogies! It was just like being back in Saskatchewan! <br><br>

... it became very clear that our stay here on Okinawa will be a hot and humid one. The weather conditions are pleasant though and we are clearly enjoying this a lot more than than the current conditions on the Canadian Prairies. <br><br>Naha is a typical large Japanese city but it is evident that Okinawa is one of the poorer prefectures in the country. I had read about this in my travel research. If I had not read ...

... did all of our shopping in fast forward. On our way home, we stopped at the military exchange, the small American-style mall on base. My mom and I went inside to buy silk robes, like the one Julia gave me for Christmas. We also got books for our respective plane rides, and then went to dinner at Macaroni Grill nearby. It was absolutely delicious, and Riley was very funny. While Julia packed at home, my mom and I took Riley ...

... handled this very gracefully and eventually ended up running back and forth through it in her diaper screaming. If only we'd just skipped all the museum stuff and brought her right to the fountain!<br><br>FOr dinner we tried Obbligato, a Mexican restaurant as imagined by the Japanese. It was pretty good; I got chimichangas for the first time and they reminded me of eggrolls. We also had a pitcher of margaritas, so a good time was had. <br>

On Friday, I woke up on the couch at around 6 am when Riley woke up, but was way too tired to get up, so I went back to sleep. My mom tried to rouse me to watch Riley's last swim lesson, and later to go work out, but it was impossible. When I finally did wake up, the sky had turned ominous, but it didn't matter because our only scheduled event was pedicures. Julia had booked us appointments at Cocok's (pronounced Coco's), where we were to get foot massages as well. I was nervous ...

... restaurant). We sat on low benches with our shoes off. I had chicken yakatori with rice, and I tried edamame. You will be shocked to know that I enjoyed it and would potentially order it again.<br><br>After dinner we headed back to Julia and Stu's house on the base, which is very nice. I more or less collapsed onto my bed (the couch). It was very nice knowing that my fast-paced travel schedule would be slowing down a bit in Okinawa.<br>

So, I thought that April was busy. May was our first month on our own with Trevor deployed. Though I hate to explore without him. We (me and the kids) needed some distractions. I signed Ava up for a gymnastics class and a ballet class. Of course I forgot my camera most classes I did get a few pictures. The kids made some nice presents for me for Mother's Day, thanks to their provider Jen! We made a trip to my schools' Luau and the kids ...

It was late here when our flight arrived. I was sad because I really wanted to see the island from above. Kurts new boss meet us at the luggage claim, he is super nice. He remindes me of this guy I knew in Seattle, patrik. Really nice guy.<br>Kids were AMAZING on both flights and it went by a lot faster than I thought it would. Our Hotel is really cool! It's a japanese style hotel and it's also an apartment style hotel as well. It has three bedrooms, a ...

... was reestablished after the war. It is actually a tradition that dates way back to the Ryukyu kingdom -17th century. It was originally preformed by the north and south in a "battle" style that was suppose to bring peace, good harvest and luck to the side that won. Now, after the war it is performed as a symbol of peace and it is suppose to bring everyone good luck. This rope is hand-made by the way and it is about 6 feet in diameter ...