Okinawa Take 2

What an amazing trip!  And Okinawa is truly an amazing place.  We left there nine years ago and weren't ever sure we'd go back.  Honestly, I wasn't sure I'd ever want to go back for fear of having a break down from all the emotional trauma I went through as I grieved for my mom and Lindsey while we lived there.  But time heals all wounds and we were all giddy with excitement about this once-in-a-lifetime trip.  Landon was especially thrilled to experience Japan since he always gets asked about it because he was born there.  Now he can actually tell people how great it is.  We arrived at about 10pm and felt the humidity instantly so we knew we were home.  We stayed with the Frank's who used to live just down the street from us before.  They are the greatest family and were so kind to host us.

After an 11 hour flight with endless movies and free meals

Ethan playing in the play area at what felt like 1am while we had a 3 hour layover

Landon got the cutest kids meal on the flight.  The meticulousness and "cutsie" way they serve food is unparalleled.  And Landon refused to eat any of it.

Japanese bathrooms are the best!  The toilets play music and make sounds to cover up any noise, and the stalls are equipped with little booster for kids so they don't crawl under the doors and into nearby stalls while their moms are occupied.  Genius!

The worst part of traveling is waiting around for the 3-hour flight to Oki from Mainland.  Randy and Marcus were out cold while I watched Ethan and Landon run around like wild monkeys.  We arrived in Oki and went straight to bed.

Day 1 started with a ferry ride to Tokashiki Island in the Keramas.  It's a tiny island about forty-five minutes from Okinawa.  The weather was rainy and windy so we knew it would be a bumpy ride, and it was!  Marcus and I were trying to sleep while listening to sounds of people dashing to the nearby bathrooms, throwing up in barf bags, and doors to the deck constantly opening and closing as people searched for fresh air.  It was hilarious!

The "ferry of death" behind us.

taking the shuttle through the tiny village with a population of 1,000 people

Overlooking turtle bay and our hotel

We arrived to our little Japanese resort and the boys were skeptical.  They weren't used to the cement buildings and the rundown look of things but that's just the island way.  Plus it's tsunami friendly.   We wasted no time hitting the beach.  We reunited with the Blair's (the only Oki friends we haven't crossed paths with in nine years) and the Stinchfield's who were there for spring break just like us.  All the kids began to play and hang out just like the good old days only this time they are much older and we have better gadgets.  The drone and the Go-Pro footage really helped document the beauty and paddle boarding around the bay to spy on sea turtles was just cool.

See that little head on the ground?

Landon was fearless

It was cloudy but not too cold, especially for us Seattlites

Day 2 the sun came out and we enjoyed Turtle Bay and then drove around the tip of the island to a secret little beach with incredible snorkeling.  Luckily our friends had a ton of gear and most of the adults went scuba diving.  The teenagers took off snorkeling together without an adult and swam through huge schools of fish, saw sea snakes, anemones with clown fish, and everything.  I finally got my turn to snorkel and all was well with the world.  Seeing such natural beauty always makes me think of God's goodness.

Marcus and I looking for sea turtles while the drone hovered nearby

I look lazy.

Marcus with half a shirt

Secret Beach

Randy

Snorkeling with my friends

Me!

We made our kids recreate the photo taken 9 years ago.  All the same kids, just a lot bigger!

Me sinking in the sand.  Randy never felt so tall!

Our hotel

We filled every seat of that shuttle with just our group

After a day at the beach, we packed up and went back to Camp Foster, the base the Frank's live on.  The adults went out for dinner while we dropped the kids off at Round 1, a 5 story building with arcades and every activity you can think of to make it a teenager's paradise.  Dinner at Coco Curry wasn't the most delicious Japanese meal I'd been waiting 9 years for but better than the creepy alternative we tried that looked like a haunted house with a Japanese guy dressed in a sailor suit serving drinks at the bar...but we laughed until we cried and enjoyed being together while Randy tried to stay awake.  The jet lag hit him much worse than it did for me.

The Balls, Blairs, Franks, Stinchfields - Together Again!