It’s been great having him here and we’ve been so busy entertaining him that I haven’t made any posts yet! Actually, Stevie’s been doing the majority of the sight-seeing since he took the week off work and I was still home schooling Cannon.
On Sunday we took him to Maeda Flats to see the beautiful beaches that we have here on Okinawa. Because we went at low tide, we were able to walk out across the coral beach and peer down into the tidal pools to see brilliant blue fish, feather stars, mantis shrimp, sea urchins and sea cucumbers. It’s a great way to see the sea life when you can’t get in the water!
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| Yes, the water was still warm enough to walk in. |
On Monday Stevie took Charles to Kokusai Street to see the touristy, kitschy products that Okinawa offers plus the incredible fish and meat market.
On Tuesday, they went to Shuri Castle, the only castle that has been rebuilt after the bombings of the Battle of Okinawa. It’s an impressive sight with all the red and gold and dragons and finery.
On Wednesday they went to the Naval Underground museum and Okinawa World. The Naval Underground is an eerie place where the Japanese military hung out during the Battle of Okinawa. The tunnels were built by forced Okinawan civilian labor by hand and pick ax. The creepiest part is the room that is riddled with shrapnel from the suicidal grenades of the Japanese officers.
On Thursday we all headed up island to one of our favorite places – Okuma! We love this laid back family military resort for all its simple fun. The first thing we did was head to the go-carts for a friendly competitive race between the brothers. Their poor passengers (Emmy with Charles and Cannon with Stevie) could only hold on and scream.
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| It's a race between brothers! |
We had a big camp fire that night with hobo packets for dinner – apparently Charles and Stevie didn’t do much camping or boy scouting growing up so this was a new thing for them. On Friday we woke to clear skies and calm winds – two important conditions for the guys to go deep sea fishing! Yes, Thursday’s wind was howling but Friday was beautiful and after Cannon’s favorite breakfast in the restaurant, they headed out to try their hand at catching a mahi-mahi or tuna. Emmy and I enjoyed a mommy/daughter day while they were gone (including watching Sleeping Beauty!) and then met them at the beach as they returned. They had a great time and reeled in 2 good sized mahi mahi, 6 yellow fin tuna and one bonito! We enjoyed a little of the catch over the fire for dinner (along with beanie weenies!)
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| Ready to go! |
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| Beautiful mahi mahi. |
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| Uncle Charles teaching London how to fish. |
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| Proudly displaying part of the catch. |
After another big American breakfast (Okuma is one of the only places on island to go out for biscuits and gravy!), we headed off to see some more sights. I’ve heard a lot about a place called Sachi’s – it’s a
mainland Japanese antiques store and I thought they might have some cool stuff for Charles to see since Okinawa is quite different from mainland Japan. Turns out they didn’t, but it was still an interesting set up with a beautiful view.
We went on from there to the Aquarium, another family favorite. I never do get tired of seeing the whale sharks and rays swim around in a massive aquarium tanks. Apparently Charles was also impressed by the fish, but especially the rays.
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