Favorite Random Pics

This is when Shannon and Olivia came home from the hospital... And this is Olivia on the day I left. She was three and a half weeks old. She looks so much bigger in her car seat!This is a restaurant in a tree. I just had to have a picture!This is a purple sweet potato. The flavor of ice cream that is made from it is called ube (oobay) and tastes a bit like caramel. I'd sure like to be able to buy them here. They're delish!This snail has a beautiful shell. It's length, as in the picture was about as long as my open hand. It's crawling by a trash can lid. And I've been told that they're poisonous. Beauty, in this case, really is only skin (or rather, shell) deep! HAHA!!
Little Miss Isabel.This happy bunch of bricks is lined up outside the home of Sara and Matt Mattes.Isabel, with Daddy and Grandpa wrapped around her little fingers!
Isabel and Grandpa.An Okinawan elf.Tombs dot the hillsides of Okinawa, in honor of their ancestors.

The Tee Room

There is a golf course on base where there is this very nice little restaurant called the Tee Room (cute, huh?) Before my flight out, Shannon and the girls and I went to breakfast with Sara and her boys.

Kadena Beach

Shannon took us all down to kadena beach for my last day on Okinawa. There was a little hut where a guy played music over a loudspeaker and Kyle and Isabel danced to it.This rock was so intrigueing to me. I wished I could swim over to explore thos stairs and what they led to, and I might have, if not for jellyfish.Can you see the wavy rainbow in the middle of those clouds? The picture does not do it justice, but it was beautiful. I've never seen anything like it!

An Oki Produce Market Place

By-the-way, the term "Oki" is used here as a legitimate and acceptable nickname and is not a term of disrespect.

Familiar Food

Food is part of the experience when visiting a foriegn country and it has been for me too on a small scale. I tried many types of Japanese foods while in Hawaii and I really didn't care for most of it. I don't know if that's the reason so much "American" food is available here or if it's because people just want something familiar, or maybe the Japanese really like it (but I don't really think so), or none of the above, but I was surprised at how many of our fast food restaurants are here.
This Subway is actually in the food court on base, along with Taco Bell, Anthony's Pizza and Popeye's and not available to the civilian population as a whole.

I'm not into Starbuck's but they're here, too.

Beautiful Okinawan Homes

This home is a national treasure called "The Old House". It was owned by the Nakamura family, who had a high position working for the king at Nakagusuku Castle. Apartments can be found above most businesses due to a growing population and limited land. It is common to see large patios with a place to hang clothes out to dry.Some of the base housing is especially beautiful because of Japanese roofing, even though they are built of concrete to protect them from typhoons. The roofing is terracotta red and white ceramic tile. It's easier to see the the color on the building behind the house! This is the Mattes home. It used to belong to a doctor and is lovely inside and out. I love the sliding doors made of beautiful heavy duty paper.The tiny drawer under the stove is the only oven they have. The dishwasher is also very small, about 2/3 the size of an American dishwasher. Even the bathroom sink is less than half-size. This home has a western-style toilet with a tall water tank.