Wrapping up 2019 in style

As much fun as we are having watching Ben's football team play, this season needs to end.  I know we are living on a sub-tropical island, but it is getting kind of chilly people!  The Bulldogs made it to the finals in their division against the number 1 team - the Yellow jackets!  The weather could not have been worse -  rainy, windy and chilly.  It was going to come down with whoever had the better running game for sure.  Unfortunately the Yellow Jackets prevailed, but we certainly didn't make it easy for them and only lost by one TD.  All in all Ben enjoyed his first season playing tackle football and that is what really matters in the end.

Before we even arrived on the island I was warned that I would be participating in the annual Christmas Tour of Homes and to bring all of my Christmas decorations.  That did not sit well with me because I had planned on bringing the bare minimum of decorations and really hoped to spend the holiday somewhere off Okinawa not decorating my concrete bunker with no easy way to affix anything to the walls or architectural features to decorate.  Basically I live in a long hallway.  Even though the USMC had lifted the weight restriction ban before we moved to Japan, we decided to leave our big pieces of furniture in the states.  This has been a blessing - the house isn't cluttered with furniture - and a curse - there is very little surface area to decorate.  The expectation for the Tour of Homes is to over-decorate the house for two tour groups (with multiple trees), provide a beverage and a traditional homemade treat and tell the groups about how we celebrate Christmas and any traditions we have.  That is a tall order let me tell you.  The first group was made of up both Japanese locals and Marine spouses.  Thankfully I had a wonderful interpreter Louanne who made even the most trivial of things sound "Christmasy"!  The second group was made up of marine spouses and friends of spouses.  Most of them were more interested in the size of my kitchen, refrigerator, and the screened-in-porch than any of our "traditions."  It actually ended up being fun, but it was a long night - we were engaged for a total of 5 hours!  Of course originally I had planned for the kids to help me, but  that did not happen.  I am super thankful two wonderful friends stepped in to help me keep the drinks and the treats flowing.  This event took place on the same night as Ben's middle school Christmas band concert.  Luckily, Jim was able to attend that concert and he got some video of our trombone player so I feel like I didn't miss it entirely.

It was also the night of Lucy's Soccer Banquet.  Lucy was able to attend that with friends but I felt badly that no one else attended.  Sorry Lucy!!  Lilly hid out in her room.  She said she was studying, but I feel pretty confident she was in there watching episodes of The Office on her computer.  

We missed out on the Thanksgiving Phuket trip with friends but Jim made up for it by planning a pre-Christmas trip.  We started out with the red eye from Okinawa to Bangkok.  Originally we had planned to spend the layover in a hotel, but by the time we traversed the airport, customs, and security it didn't make much sense so we just camped out at the airport.  Luckily the Starbucks was open.  Amazingly, this ended up being on the of the kids' favorite memories from the trip (all-nighter in the Bangkok airport, can't beat it!).   

I really thought the kids would be tired from the flight but as is usually the case, we hit the ground running.  We checked out the hotel and then got busy exploring Phuket.  We had gotten some recommendations from friends and family so we had a pretty good idea of things we wanted to check out.  First stop was a drive down to Surin beach for dinner.  Kids weren't super excited because it was kind of a hike, but by the end they were on board.  Especially when they got to feed some elephants on the way back to the hotel.  There are places you can bathe the elephants, but we ultimately decided not to do that.

The next day we decided to head south and check out the Big Buddha, which is a 148 foot tall Buddha that sits atop a Buddhist temple.  One of the cool things about Thailand are the amazing, ornate temples that seem to be everywhere.  But before we got there we had a tiny surprise for the kids.  The girls have been in "Lush" withdrawal since leaving the states.  For you individuals who haven't been brainwashed by the store Lush, consider yourself lucky. For everyone else, you know what I am talking about.  While doing some research for the trip I, on a whim, decided to see if there were any stores in Phuket.  Lilly had already found one in Bangkok and was highly irritated we weren't spending any time there outside the airport!  Jim and I concocted an urgent need to find a certain power cord and we pulled into the parking garage of a gorgeous brand new mall in the middle of Phuket City.  It was extremely hard to keep the girls from checking out the mall directory, but I think I managed fairly well.  

The Big Buddha did not disappoint.  That thing is HUGE!! At the base there are several other statues of the Buddha in various poses where you can buy amulets and make donations to the maintenance of this site.  If the site of the Buddhas isn't enough of a reason to visit, you can also have a monkey encounter.  I personally like my monkeys a little further away, but the some people in our group (Lilly) wanted to get a closer view.  Everything we had read to date was that monkeys were to be avoided at all cost.  There are several monkey bites a year all resulting in a painful and extensive shot process.  That didn't seem to be enough of a deterrent for Lilly.  In fact there is a place in Phuket called Monkey hill where the monkeys apparently mob you for food and whatever else you happen to have on your person.  I think Lilly envisioned herself covered in monkeys.  Just the thought makes me shudder.    We thought this might be a good-enough encounter.  Off to the side of the big Buddha is another temple and a lookout point where you can take in the views of Kata and Kata Noi Bays.  It was there that the monkeys congregate. Mostly they ran up and down the rails but when one leaped on the back of the guy standing in front of us and actually attempted to bite him we beat a pretty fast retreat!  YIKES!!

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by a night market for dinner and to see if we could find anything we just couldn't live without.  This night market ended up being another highlight of the trip -- incredible, exotic and cheap food, plus lots of great music and people-watching.  This is a must-do for any visitors to Phuket -- the Sunday night market in old Phuket. 

The next day we headed south again to board a boat to check out nearby Phi Phi islands.  The charter was for a day of snorkeling/sightseeing/swimming with 25 more people than I would have liked on the boat.  

First up was snorkeling.  The water was warm and there were plenty of fish and sea urchins to see.  We had about a 1/2 an hour to explore the waters near the boat.  Next up was a visit to Monkey Bay/Beach, the difference being whether the tide was in (Bay) or out (Beach).  When we arrived it was Monkey Bay.  All the monkeys were perched up on the cliffs.  The guide went into the whole don't-touch-the-monkeys routine and then proceeded to tease the monkeys with a little game of cat and mouse.  We would drift close to the cliffs and then back away until finally the monkeys started diving into the water in an effort to get closer.  Once they caught sight of the snacks conveniently left near the stern of the boat, all self-control abandoned the monkeys and they boarded our boat.  It was like a scene out of any of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie.  One minute all the monkeys were in the water and the next the deck was crawling with them.

They pounced on the food and drinks like it was their job and then started looking for additional things to take.  This poor women unfortunately was too close to this guys exit and he momentarily stopped to catch his breath.  GROSS!!

We had lunch on Phi Phi and had about an hour to walk around the town.  Apparently Phi Phi has a bit of a reputation as a party place once the sun goes down.  During the day its main streets are filled with stalls all selling the exact same things.  Once you have gone past two or three stalls, save yourself from going further. Unless you wish to stop at one of the many tattoo stalls to get some ink work done (we passed).  I am not saying it isn't a pretty place, but the streets down by the water don't leave a great impression.

We did a bit more sightseeing and finally came to the last stop of the day.  Think of it as a poor man's Disney Castaway Cay.  The only legitimate reason we could think of stopping here would be if the boat was on fire.  There was a few "vendors" set up selling food truck style food and the same trinkets that were on Phi Phi. The idea was that we would get another snorkeling/swimming session in before heading back to Phuket.  However with the worsening weather conditions coupled with the fact the water was infested with jelly fish made that impossible.  The bright spot was that kids finally got to have their monkey encounter except it was with a diaper wearing lemur.  

The next day was going to be a lazy day at our awesome hotel.  We introduced the girls to $5 1 hour beach massages and drifted between pools and the beach.  It was glorious!  Maybe we should have done this routine for the whole trip.  All too soon we were back on the plane and headed back to Okinawa.  Those five days flew by!  

We usually take the week before Christmas to go somewhere and then get back to have only a day or two max before Christmas.  This year we have a whole week!  First up was to try and get a family photo to put on our Nuts and Bolts tag.  This is the only good one in the bunch and if you look at Yoshi closely you will see that he isn't in the Christmas spirit yet.  

Since the kids are out of school this week, we have been coming up with FFF (forced family fun) things to do with them.  Jim and I have done the "Stairway to Heaven" a few times as had Ben, but this was a first for the whole family.  They didn't hate it as much as they wanted to, but I am not sure if we will get them to do it again any time soon.  The stairway is 268 concrete steps that lead up the hill just outside Camp Foster to Plaza Housing.  There is a fence keeping you from entering Plaza Housing but apparently in years past it was a pedestrian pathway between the two.  Now it is mainly used as a leg workout with killer views at the top!  

Christmas Eve-Eve finds us hosting a party of Jim's work friends and neighbors. The girls also cranked out some Christmas cookies with Ben deciding to help with the decorating part.  

While not a cookie the girls made for us, this sad fellow was left over from a party Lilly co-hosted earlier in the break.  Someone needs to eat it and put it out of its misery.

It is finally Christmas Eve!! Seems like the month started a month and 1/2 ago and we still have a full week to go!  We decided to go to the family-friendly Christmas Eve service on Kadena.  I really wish there had been a better write up as to what this service would be like.  The description truly just said it was a family friendly candlelight service.  I was both those things true, but we missed having traditional Christmas carols.  We have struggled to find our church home here in Okinawa.  Hopefully 2020 finds us more settled in that regard. Just down from the chapel are a series of Tori gates in a park.  We have yet to see any actual Tori gates, so we thought it would make a pretty cool picture.

Right after the service we met our neighbors at the South East Botanical Gardens for their Illumination Tour.  This place during the daylight is a tranquil paradise where you can just wander through the lush vegetation or have an educational experience or an animal encounter (monkeys!) or create a work of art.  During the late fall through middle of February, it transforms at night to a dazzling light display featuring over 1.8 million lights!!  Before we started our tour of the lights we checked out the gift shop.  In addition to typical gift shop finds, the kids found a side room filled with hedgehogs, guinea pigs, snakes and bunnies!  Not sure why, but the kids were game.

The pictures truly do not do this place justice!! I kept marveling at the sheer number of lights.  Where do they store these things in the off season.  Do they stay up year round?  Who is in charge of keeping all the lights burning.  So many questions! Jim told me to quit over-thinking it and just enjoy the pretty lights.  

After the Botanical Garden light extravaganza we had dinner with our neighbors and went to bed!  Gone are the Christmas Eve's spent trying to stay awake until the kids go to bed so we can pull out the presents.  We know they won't wake up until at least 8:00am!  We have got time.  

Treats and the kid's letter to Santa with a sheet for his reply

It was almost 9:00 by the time we got them out of bed and that was after playing Christmas music and letting the enticing aroma of monkey bread waft through the house!!  Unfortunately there were some presents that got held up in the Post Office.  Even though we ordered them within the projected time line.  Oh well, this just stretches out the Christmas season a bit more!  We gathered everyone in front of the tree to attempt our annual PJ picture.  This is Yoshi's first Christmas and as you can tell he still hasn't found the Christmas spirit!!  

After all the planning that had gone into the whole month (parties, homes tour, trip) we decided that Christmas Dinner was going to be the Buffet at the O Club!  They do a wonderful job and we would be with other people instead of sitting in our house alone.  It was a no brainer.  After dinner we decided to go see the new Star Wars movie.  Somehow I got the times wrong and we rushed down to the theater only to be 2 hours early.  I knew if we went home there would be ZERO chance of getting them out again, so we headed down to a local shopping area to walk around.  That is the nice thing about holidays in another country.  It isn't generally a holiday they celebrate!  Christmas was just another Wednesday for them.  While we were walking around we saw a cat cafe and thought, why not!  

The place was super clean for the number of cats in that room.  $5 for 30 minutes and a drink!  Bargain!  The cats were pretty aloof - shocking right - but once we started playing with their toys they got animated.  Well except this guy.  He did not move the entire time we were in there.  

Star Wars was great!  I really enjoyed it.  I really wish we had done a marathon of all the movies just so we could have the whole sequence fresh in our minds, but all in all I thought it was a fitting end to those stories.  I know there will be more Star War movies and some characters will continue on, but I was still disappointed in a few of the "endings".  

The day after Christmas we got the kids up and out of the house to enjoy some more of what Okinawa has to offer.  We decided to take them down to Okinawa World which according to the literature provided is a "touristy theme park about Okinawan culture." The park's main attractions are a massive natural cave, a craft village and a snake museum.

Before we arrived at Okinawa World however we stopped to do the Indy Jones hike.  I am not sure if that is really what it is called but that is what all the Americans over here call it.  There were lots of caves and rock walkthroughs and a giant "nest" structure.  It isn't the best marked trail either that or we just aren't as observant as others.  There is also a castle ruin that you can check out to boot!  Kids were on the fence as to whether it was worth doing.  I guess if an actual boulder had chased us down then they would have a better rating.

OK, off to Okinawa World!!  As state earlier there is a massive cave!  The Gyokusendo Cave (5 kilometers or 3.1 miles) is the longest of the many caves in southern Okinawa and the second longest cave in the entire country. 850 meters of the cave are open to the public and feature spectacular stalactites and stalagmites. Ben had been to Kartchners Caverns in AZ as a field trip so he was comparing this experience to that.  Apparently in his mind, Kartchner's is better.   The rest of us were duly impressed.
  

The craft or Kingdom village is a replica of a traditional Ryukyu village with various workshops where you can see/purchase/try to create traditional Okinawa crafts such as weaving, dyeing, paper making, pottery, sugar cone processing, making musical instruments and glass blowing.  Most of the signage is not in English so much of what we were looking at was not really explained but it was interesting nonetheless.  There is also a Habu Park where there are shows involving not only the infamous poisonous snake but also other animals.  We did not go to a show however, the timing of the shows didn't work out for us. 

One thing we did get to do was the fish pedicures.  Jim, Ben and Lucy decided to do it.  Lilly and I passed.  Basically the tiny fish are starved to the point that they will eat the dead skin off your feet.  GROSS!!  I am not saying Jim has a lot of calluses on his feet, but the majority of the fish were surrounding his feet.  

There are still a few days left in the month/year/decade so we are going to go for it!  We had been holding off visiting some of the bigger draws on the island in hopes that we would have visitors.  Chances of that happening are not good, so we aren't holding back anymore!  First up - the Churaumi Aquarium!  It used to be the largest Aquarium in the world way back in 2002 when it was built.  However it is now a still respectable 10th. While the inside tanks have the standard aquarium exhibits the addition to the whale sharks and manta rays was awesome.  There are also several outdoor tanks housing sea turtle and manatee exhibits and a dolphin show.  We missed the beginning of the dolphin show, but watched a few minutes of it from the sidewalk.  We could really only see when the dolphins and false killer whales were jumping. The sea turtle and manatee exhibits were heart breaking!!  The tiny tanks those animals were housed in were devoid of anything stimulating or any natural habitat.  I am sure those poor animals were bored out of their minds.   

The marine garden eels were the hit of the day for the kids!

Afterward we headed over to a restaurant called Pizza in the Sky.  It had been recommended by a friend and it did NOT disappoint!  Pretty much the only things on the menu was pizza and salad so we went with the pizza and salad.  Yummy! 

Instead of driving back home, we decided to check out the local Marriott resort.  When we walked in the lobby there was a couple of craft tables set up and the kids decided they wanted to get creative.  Lucy and Ben painted Shisa dogs and Lilly chose a whale shark.  Jim and I chose to go have a drink in the lounge.  

We got home fairly early the next day and set about taking down the Christmas decorations which is never as fun as putting them up.  The Officer Club was having a Roaring 20's New Year's Eve Celebration so Jim and I got dressed up and headed over there.  The kids elected to stay home and watch movies and the Australian New Years Even countdown on TV.  It was a great evening!  Here is to a new year and a new decade!  I have a feeling 2020 is going to be just as busy!