Grammy and Papa's Awesome Adventure...

Well I just sent my parents off after a wonderful 17 day visit. I was sad to see them go. We sure crammed as much as possible into their visit! I will attempt to capture the madness with some pictures....
I know I shared some photos of their first day. We took it easy and went to get base passes and checked out Make Man store and Jusco. After a great night's sleep we headed out to the Botanical Gardens. This is such a pretty Garden with all sorts of tropical plants and flowers. Poor Kevin decided to read on the way to the garden and suffered from some pretty rough car sickness. After he was done throwing up, we had a great time:) Here are some fun pictures of the day....

Grammy and Andrew admire a pretty cool statue...

Papa climbs a palm tree!!!

Disgusting carp fighting each other for some morsels of fish food... Yuck

The third day of their visit we took my parents to Ryukyu Mura. You have all witnessed the infamous photo of my Dad taking his rightful place as the new King of the Ryukyus. Ryukyu Mura is a replica of an old Japanese farming village. There is a display of the old Okinawan dances as well as watching artisans weave and make pottery.
This is a picture of my favorite man on Okinawa. I do not know what it is about him... I just love him!!! (Look out Scott!!!)

Sam was chosen from the audience to throw a ball to the Shisa Dog....


After spending the morning at Ryukyu Mura, we headed over to Cape Zampa to see Okinawa's one light house...

A pretty view of Cape Zampa...

We also checked out Maeda Point which is a popular dive and snorkel spot here on Okinawa....

Day 4 took us to another tropical garden called Bios on the Hill. This was actually a first for us. We had never been to this place. My parents got to expericne first hand the shotty maps and how easy it is to get lost on Okinawa. We did find it after only turning around once!! VICTORY!!! Bios on the Hill has a really neat boat ride you can take as well as a TON of Orchids...

Andrew staying hydrated...

Grammy and Papa enjoying the garden....

After looking at a million different Orchids for several hours, we had a little mutiny with the picture taking....
Saturday was a down day with only a baseball game to watch. We used it to get ready for our big trip up north to Okuma. We left on Sunday after church and made a quick stop first at the ever popular Pineapple Park. Here is a hasty shot of the family in the beloved Pineapple car...

Mom and Dad samlping the Pineapple wine... Yum!

Later that day we headed out to Okuma and settled in for two days in this military resort. We had a great time riding jet skis, ocean kyaking, swimming and snorkling...


This one's for you Leon!!!

On our way home from Okuma we decided to drive to the Northern most point on Okinawa, Hedo Point. This is where the East CHina Sea meets the Pacific. BEAUTIFUL!!!




After we unpacked from our fun Okuma trip we took the next day and headed to the Ryukyu Glass Factory and the Ryukyu Laquerware factory. Kim and Marcia... If you are reading this, I want you to know that I did NOT get lost getting to the factory... drove straight to it!!! VICTORY!!!

Mom and Dad became very good at using "ohashi" (chopsticks) during their stay here on Okinawa...

The next day took us back up North to the Ocean Expo Park. We had a great time seeing all the awesome fish, the dolphin show, trying pineapple icecream (Yummy!!!) and visiting the Tropical Dream Garden. Now the boys hung in there at the aquarium pretty well, but the visit to the Dream Garden nearly did them in. At one point we heard Kevin state: "Tropical Dream Garden? Try Tropical Nightmare!!!" Lovely...






Again we took the weekend off for baseball and church. On Monday I took my mom with some of my freinds to Cocoks to have a cool pedicure and a great lunch. The next day we toured the ever popular Okinawa World. We had fun watching the dancers preform and eating more pineapple icecream. I have not downloaded pictures of the last couple days, so you will need to trust me when I say it was great:) The last day we went to the Naval Underground and the Peace Prayer park. It was a rather solemn day. Okinawa saw some of the fiercest fighting of WWII. One could not do anything but stand agast at the measures one will endure during times of hardship. Seeing these sights made me even more proud of the service my husband and many of my family members have chosen to undertake all for my freedom. I am truly grateful for the sacrifice.
What a wonderful visit with my parents. We are excited to know that he next time we see one another, we will be moving home to the States! We do miss our family, that is for sure! Thanks for taking the time to share our visit!!!

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