Chris and Kelly's Okinawa Adventures: February 2012

Monday, February 20, 2012

Home (October 2011)

I know it's not really part of our Okinawan adventures, but we had a lot of fun at home... so this deserves a post too! Chris and I went to the AAO in Boston to get some CE, and then on to Detroit, the U.P. and Akron for some family time. We had a packed schedule!

First, Boston. Chris went a little bit early for the military optometry part of the conference, and then I arrived a few days later. Chris got to check out the USS Constitution and walk around Boston.

I also got to see some of my friends too!! :)

Jill & Jeff

Meh meh. Ivy tatters...

Tina, Ivy and I also did some walking around one afternoon to enjoy the nice fall day. We had been sitting in class for WAY too many hours :)

So this really deserves its own post in my mind... it should be labeled: Mischief by Ivy and Kelly

After leaving Boston, we headed to Detroit to see my family and to see Chris run the Detroit Marathon. What Chris didn't know, was that his entire family was also coming to Detroit to see him run the marathon...and to celebrate his birthday! They were going to surprise him at the airport. I had been planning with his family for weeks. I was SO nervous on the plane to Detroit that I could barely contain myself. Here's an exact conversation Chris and I had on the plane... Kelly: "So what are you most excited for when we get home?" (Hoping he would say 'family'). Chris: "Chipotle".
SO, we got to Detroit and when we walked down to the baggage claim, his entire family was there!!! He said it was one of the best surprises ever :)

The next day was the marathon, and not only was Chris running, but also our friends Hugh, Dylan and Tracy!

The cheerleaders...

The sisters... workin' the corner

After the race, we enjoyed some time with our family and friends at our house in Dearborn.

A couple days later, we drove up the U.P. with my grandparents to visit my mom and Dennis. This is the first time Chris had been to the U.P.!! Big moment :) We had a great time there too.

From there, the trip continued on to Ohio to visit some more with Chris' family and also to see more of our friends! One morning, we had great weather to head out to the Towpath for a walk. We both miss fall SO much!

Visit to our wedding place :)

I headed back to MI for a couple days and got to spend a little more time with the fam before heading back to Oki. I wish I had more photos for this trip...all of these make the trip look so lax...but really, we saw SO many of our family and friends and I don't have pictures of most of it!!! We really enjoyed our time at home and it made us miss SO many of you :)

Oh, yeah. One more thing. So when Chris' family asked me what to get Chris for his birthday, naturally running stuff comes to mind. And as you may notice, Chris really isn't into all of the new fad running clothes, but he does need to change his shoes often... So ladies, if you think you have a shoe problem, check out this guy's collection :)

Okinawa from an Airplane

Chris and I were back in the states for a couple weeks during October, and I snapped this shot on the way out of Oki...

The Naha Tug of War (October 2011)

The Naha Tug of War is the biggest tug of war in the world! You and 15,000+ of your closest friends tug on a piece of rope for 30 minutes... a little crazy... yes, indeed! In Okinawa, the tug of war is supposed to be a contest between the East and West side of the island, and whoever wins has won themselves good fortune/luck for the year. I guess it ends in a tie most years :) The main road (58) on Okinawa is completely shut down in the capital city of Naha for a couple hours for this event...

This year, I went to the Tug of War with my friends, Nicole and Jill. We also ran into our friends Julie and Orlando as well! Chris was back in the states. We thought parking may be a little crazy, so we decided to park a few kilometers away and take the monorail down to the event.

The monorail station

Dressed up as the Ryukyu Kings

The start of the tug of war!

All hands ready to go!

<--Nicole ^Jill -->Me

Random Guy... he was really into it :)

Must.

Pull.

Harder!

Well, after 30 minutes of complete madness, sweating and pulling, it was another tie this year. After the tug, many people take pieces of the rope home with them for good luck for the coming year.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

Rainbows (October 2011)

From our balcony... one of the perks of living on a semi-tropical island! :)

Tokashiki （とかしき）Island (September 2011)

Over Labor Day weekend, we planned a trip with a few of our friends (Jessie, Brian and Steve) to Tokashiki Island. This time, we made ferry reservations and decided to stay overnight!

One we arrived in Tokashiki, we were picked up by the 'hotel' shuttle. The hotel was a diving rental place with a kitchen and a dining room downstairs, and 4 tatami mat sleeping rooms, a bathroom and a sweet balcony upstairs.

Picnic tables on the balcony-great for our packed lunch!

Sleeping arrangements

The air conditioner ran on 100yen coins

The first day we went out on a boat and got our snorkel & dive on. Snorkel for me & Brian; dive for Chris, Jessie and Steve.

Trumpet fish

I think fish are funny...

...make up your own caption :)

Can you find the giraffe fish?

After snorkeling/diving, we wandered around and took some pics. We also made a new friend, Jess, who was also staying at our hotel. We all hung out for the rest of the evening and utilized those great picnic tables for some drinks!