Thursday, July 23, 2009

Jellyfish

Joey and I went back to Churaumi Aquarium on Sunday! I know, I know, we go there a lot. But we had annual passes and wanted to use them up one more time before they expired. And it was a good thing we went because we've never saw the manatees!

Anyway, look at all the pretty jellyfish!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Solar Eclipse 2009

Today was the the longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting up to six and a half minutes, and from Okinawa, we were able to view it at 92% obscuration! Pretty cool, huh? I think so too, but unfortunately, I sort of missed it!

I heard a lot of talk about people getting special glasses to view to eclipse, because duh, you don't want to stare directly into the sun. I figured I'd save my money, take pictures with my camera, and see it through the pictures. Wrong! How was I supposed to know? I didn't know what to expect!

Through the special sun filter glasses, you were able to see the actual eclipse! Instead, I got this picture:

I did see the outer ring though!


A friend and I drove to the park, set down a blanket, sat, and waited, and waited, and waited thinking we were going to see full-on darkness. Nope! The sky did get somewhat dark, as if it were going to rain soon though.

Joey, on the other hand, was able to see the eclipse! He was at work and the guys used their welder's helmets to view the eclipse. He tried taking a picture with his phone through the helmet, prior to the eclipse, and this is what he got:

They also tried to see the reflection through a puddle on the ground or through water in a bucket. Don't know if those worked out well since he didn't get any pictures.

However, the Commander was there and did his magic! He held up a piece of cardboard with a pencil sized hole in the middle ...


... and reflected the sun's image on a white piece of paper on the ground. You see that tiny crescent reflection? That's the eclipse!


Those are our images of the eclipse. Not much, but it'll do!

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Wheel What?

Joey and I had another word bet. This time: wheel barrow vs. wheel barrel.

I won - it's wheel barrow.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Shuri Castle

Joey and I went to Shuri Castle. It was hot, but it was fun - the castle, not the heat!

Here's a mini background on the castle: The castle is the palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom, which has been built and rebuilt three or four times since the 14th Century. It was destroyed during the Battle of Okinawa in 1945, but reconstructed in 1992.

Shortly after Joe snapped this picture - trying to get a shot of the gate, all the locals started to crowd the two guys on the left. They made a huge commotion and took pictures of them. He probably was famous, but for all we know, he could have just had a "kick me" sign on his back.

View from the top.

The castle was much, much smaller than I expected. And half of it was under construction.


I have no idea what we're posing in front of. But everyone else was doing it!


A synthetic replica of of the King's crown for formal occasions.

We grabbed lunch at a place called Pizza House right outside Camp Kinser. It was not a plain ol' pizza house - in fact, much fancier and a little pricey. Their pizza wasn't even their specialty, it was steak and lobster. What caught us more off guard was that they served crispy pata, chicken canton, adobo, and pan de sal.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

America Fest and 4th of July Theme Party

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July because we sure did!

Friday night we went to America Fest - a festival on Kadena celebrating 4th of July weekend. We got our funnel cake and turkey legs - still doesn't compare to Del Mar Fair food, but it filled the void! We also got to see the Lt. Dan Band! Ya know, Lt. Dan (Gary Sinise) from Forrest Gump.

We went back to America Fest on Saturday because Joey was volunteering at his squadron's booth. That was a long 5 hours!

Our strawberry (sauce) funnel cake. It wasn't the same as the Mexican funnel cake at the Del Mar Fair.

Our turkey legs! Had to wait in line for 30 minutes, but it was worth it.

Lt. Dan Band (from Forrest Gump)! Gary Sinise is in the blue shirt playing the guitar.

After volunteering, we rushed home to get ready for a themed 4th of July party at a friend's house. Try to guess the theme from the pictures - see the pictures for hints! Kudos to anyone (who wasn't at the party) who guesses right!

Leopard tablecloth, flowers in a water jug, pigs in a blanket, Easy Cheese (cheese in a spray can), pork rinds, chips and dip, crackers, 'nana pudding, and etc.

I dressed up as a pregnant lady with a baby on the hip, night gown, black leggings, a robe, house slippers, long red nails, big hair, hair rollers, and a lot of make-up. Joey dressed in his work boots, jeans, cut-off shirt, mullet hair, and an "I Love Beer" trucker hat with a 12-pack of beer.

The girls - with big hair and tons of make-up.

The guys - cut-off shirts, cut-off pants/jeans, and mullets.

Can anyone guess the theme?

Thursday, July 2, 2009

One Year in Oki


I didn't realize it yesterday, but today marks one year and one day since I arrived in Okinawa! Where did the time go?

Can't believe it's been a year already and I'm still loving every minute of it ... minus the spiders!