Monday, December 02, 2013

Tokashiki Island -- Labor Day


Over Labor Day (yes! Labor Day! Yikes.), the fam took a trip to Tokashiki Island, with a bunch of other families from church.  We boarded a fun ferry, and off we went!


My glamorous friend, Megan, and her family came along, too. That's her little Fiona, Maeve, and Leif, on the ground in front of her. And Nuala at the railing. It was gorgeous out. 


Nice ferry hair.  A bunch of people got a bit seasick, and I started feeling it there at the end. Baaaarely pulled through. Thank you for your concern.


We docked, jumped in our cars and headed straight for one of the beautiful beaches! Because, you know, there are not enough beautiful beaches on Okinawa. 


Rijen (Megan's hubby) and Z head off to explore. And snorkel.


As do Bran and Nuala. And I do, too, because SOMEbody had to take pictures.


Crabs! The non-crotchy type.


Ahhhh....


The water in this area of the beach was slightly choppy. 


The twins and I climbed rocks while Z and Rijen made sure the water would be survivable.

"Hey, man... whaddaya think? Safe enough?"  
"Well, remember, you have a spare back on the beach..."
"Huh...yeah... well, they're already in the water..."
(note: the above is not the real conversation... the real conversation probably at least included a discussion about what would be served for dinner...)

Annnnd... back to the beach!


So... we stayed at a... hmmm.. kind of a .... how to describe this. It was more or less a student-retreat-hostel-y place?  It was all somewhat confusing. For our group, AND for the people running the place. We were in dorm-ish style rooms -- one big sleeping room per family, where we spread mats out and had little rice-filled pillows, and then a little bathroom. It was not fancy, but it was fun! Esp b/c we were there with a bunch of fun people. The kids had a blast with so many other kids... The food. We ate in a cafeteria, and there was a buffet line. I can't believe I didn't get a picture of it! There were little signs out telling you how much/many of a certain food you could have. There wasn't a whole lot to do on the island, except go to the beach! We arrived on a Saturday, and were there until Monday, so on Sunday we didn't really play at the beach... we did kinda quiet stuff... did some extra scripture reading and stuff like that, b/c there was no church for us there. 


This is the beach we went to on Sunday. Also beautiful. Surprise, surprise...


Now... to the right...


Back to the left... oh, hi, Nuala!


And, to the righ-- Nuala! ;)


Balancing N... Good thing there was not a cliff on the other side of the fence. I don't think... huh... Kidding! I keep track of my rascals, and the dangers that may be around them! (usually.)


Then Bran got pensive.


Hmmm.....


uhmHmmmmm.....


Ahhhhh...


Meanwhile, Drew was having a ball playing with Maeve's hair... Maeve enjoyed it, too! He'll be three in March. He's so cute. He's the littlest kiddo of the family we watched while their parents went to Thailand in February. And they just watched our little gang while we were in Bhutan last month... Our kids mesh well. So well, in fact, that Nuala and Kaden, their oldest, were engaged pretty much their whole kindergarten year. I think they both have cooled their jets a tad, at least officially, but I've been told they may indeed rekindle the engagement when they are older... ;)  Smart move, young ones, smart move. Keep those options open.


Here's Bran, with a couple of buddies, hiding in a mat closet. The kids really had such fun, roaming in packs, playing hide and seek and tag...


This is looking down on the common area of the dorm-like buildings... right before we left.  Our ferry was scheduled to leave in the afternoon, around 3 or 4 or so. However, there was a typhoon-esque storm moving in (I don't think it was officially a typhoon, but it was strong enough to stop the ferry services), so they moved up the ferry schedule and we sailed off at noon. AFTER buying anti-nausea medication, b/c we figured with how ill people were feeling on the way over, the way back might be worse, what with the stormy seas. Luckily, they worked.


After we packed up and left our dorm-stay-place, we had a little bit of time so headed to this fun park on the island. We liked the sign warning about the Habu snakes. Z said it doesn't really translate to an "infestation," more like this is their natural habitat and watch out for them. Also, that wooden climbing thing was really big and really cool.


And the view... wowsa.


And of course, your everyday (slightly longer than an "everyday" one) Japanese roller slide.



Nuala wanted to take a pic of me. Obviously someone said something very, VERY funny. My eyes DO get super squinty when I laugh... And when I smile. And when I'm angry. And if someone is really stinky. And also when I squint them.


Then it was back to the docks, to wait for the ferry. Heeeeere it comes...


Yay! We were all ready to get back... 


Bran Man and Leifsters, chillin' together. 


It was a good trip, it was.  This area of the world (like so many other areas!) is beautiful. I wish it wasn't so dang expensive for um... EVERYONE else... to fly out here!!!

6 comments:

Megan and Greg said...

Wow. Sooooo beautiful.

Tara said...

Holy moly it is beautiful there! It looks like y'all had so much fun, what a cool little hostel place! So glad they only had the non-crotchy type of crabs, thanks for making that clear :). You were making me laugh this whole post, you are such a good writer! I love all the pictures, You and Nuala look so pretty with short hair, and I love how super long Maeve's has gotten, she must like to keep it long to be different than y'all. And cute Bran, and Z, too, of course, I'm just so glad you finally posted! Those roller slides look so cool, too, I've never seen anything like that over here.

Sari said...

Man I'm really wanting to visit you guys I just might have to come alone!

Shannon said...

I love Maeve's ferry-hair. And the circle couch. And the sleeping arrangements. Oh and especially the rolling slide! Why don't we have those here?

pauline said...

All those pics are beautiful! I love the roller slide too, and it's so LONG. Finally, at the end, a few pics of you F! Your hair is growing and looks very nice. Love, Mom (Dad too) xox

katharine said...

I love reading your posts. You give such good details and fun pictures. It makes me feel like I know your family.