More puzzles and Zootopia

I've been cranking out 1000 piece puzzles it seems.  Here are my recent completions:

This one is shiny and very pretty

I found a very difficult 1000 piece puzzle and have started it.  It will keep me occupied for quite some time!


We went and saw Zootopia as a family.  What a great movie!

At the theater before the movie starts

Dinner?

Manta Park & Thrift Store

A fun thing to do on Okinawa is to go to the park and play on the roller slide(s).  We haven't been to one yet as each time we go the weather caves in.  Today was a gorgeous day and we stopped by Manta Park when we were out and about.  Sadly, the roller slide was closed.  I'm not sure why it was closed but it was very disappointing to find it like that.  We will try another park another day.

View from below

View from the top of the slide

We went and checked out a thrift store.  Thrift stores are not very common and there are only a few on the island.  It was a very interesting walk through the store.  They sell the normal thrift store items: clothes, shoes, household items, toys, books, etc.  They also sell expensive figurines and vintage American items.  Our favorite section was the musical instrument section.  Caleb showed strong interest in a violin...I am going to try and find a teacher for him.  If I can find one then we will buy him the violin and he can start his lessons.  I didn't take a picture but there was a mini trumpet that looked amazing, an electronic clarinet, and an interesting looking keyboard/stringed instrument I've never seen before. 

They have the most interesting items when you go into stores.  This dinosaur met us when we were walking down the stairs from the parking on the 2nd floor. 

We also went to another Aeon Mall and bought gifts for family.  All malls have an arcade...something Caleb is learning to remember.  We stopped at the arcade and played a bit.  There were rows of claw machines...a big hit here.  You have toys, electronics, food, etc. to choose from.  I found one that was hilarious; a big stack of potato chips.  The arcade also has a lot of adult casino machines.  And of course, Caleb's favorite fighting arcade games.  And we found a Caleb look-alike when we were in the mall.   

The Fort

What do you do with all those moving boxes when you are done with them?

Why, you make a ginormous cardboard fort!

We spent a good part of Sunday making the fort.  Caleb choose all the locations for the cut-up boxes.  Jack and I worked on the cutting of the boxes...Caleb worked on taping them all together.  We built it in our second family room, which will be the guest bedroom once we have guests. 

The fort has an entrance/exit tunnel with door.  It has multiple viewports with the ability to close or open them. 

Caleb and I had a sleepover in the fort...so much fun!  We played Nintendo DS and watched movies on the portable DVD player.  Jack and Caleb will be having a sleepover in the fort next weekend.  The small Japanese futon with ottoman was Caleb's bed.  I had a cot sized blow up mattress. 

Eating Out

We went and ate at Tenkaippin, a ramen noodle restaurant.  It is very good.  I've eaten there before Jack and Caleb got to the island.  I was very excited to go again.  I got Miso with a side of chicken dumplings.  Jack and Caleb shared a meal...they got a different type of noodle but I don't remember the name of it.  They also tried green tea ice cream...wasn't the best.

Whale Watching

Humpback whales migrate to the warmer coastal waters for a few months each year to mate and give birth.  Okinawa is one of the places they tend to congregate to.  During the months of February and March, whale watching tours are very popular.  We decided to take such a tour and go see the humpback whales in person.  We booked the tour through the Kadena ITT (they offer busing and a tour guide/translator, along with the cost of the boat). 

It took us about half an hour to get to the port in Naha.  We boarded a little 2-decker boat and headed out to sea.  The weather was gorgeous; partly cloudy and in the 70s.  It took us 20-30 minutes to get to the area where the whales were.  We got to see multiple pods in the 2 1/2 hours we were out on the ocean.  In order to see the whales, you have to look for their plume.  Once you see their tails flip up and then down, you know that they are diving deep.  They can stay under the water for up to 30 minutes!  Out of the 2 1/2 hours we were on the ocean, we had about 10 minutes (combined) of whale watching.  The tour guide said it was a very good day and we were lucky to see so many pods. 

Getting ready to head out!

Family picture

About 1 1/2 hours into the tour Caleb got sea sick.  He felt a bit better after "feeding the fishes" but elected to stay in the back part of the boat with Jack.  Once we got back to land, he lost his paleness and was back to his usual self!

We got some great video of the whales.  Check out the video at: https://youtu.be/rhovBLLG0YI

Dragon Palace & Sushi

While I was away at work a few weeks ago, Jack and Caleb went to Dragon Palace.  While we were in the area, we decided to stop by so I could check it out.  What a fun place!  It is an arcade building; the arcade takes up two floors.  Inside the arcade area is a card store (sells card sleeves, cards for various games, etc.).  There is a range of arcades; from toddlers to adult.  The adult arcades (like slot machines) are on the edges of the arcade area.

Inside of Dragon Palace

Arcades!

Caleb showed me a Pokémon arcade game.  Seemed fun.  Though we had no idea what we were doing since we couldn't understand what the game was trying to tell us to do.

Japanese Pokémon game

Next to Dragon Palace was a sushi-go-round.  Jack had been before with some co-workers and he highly recommended it.  Caleb tried a type of fish (don't know what it was).  He also tried a yaka-tori chicken and octopus.  I wasn't a big fan of this restaurant and prefer the other sushi-go-round I've been to previously.  Another day I will take them to that one and see if Caleb likes the food more.

Trying seafood

Later, on the way home, we stopped by Dominos and decided to try a pizza.  The menu is very different than one in the states.  We tried the "American Special".  Jack and Caleb didn't mind it...I did not like it at all.

Delivery scooters

Most places have these or bicycles that deliver to your home

Pokemon Store

High on the to-visit-list for Caleb was the Pokémon Store.  Now, we are eagerly looking forward to visiting the Pokémon Center in Tokyo when we make our way up to the mainland.  For now, we wanted to check out the one and only Pokémon Store on Okinawa.  It was about a 40 minute drive to its location near Naha.  We were a bit shocked on how small the store was; however, it was still very exciting for Caleb.  He had a blast looking around.  Not as many card sleeves or cards that we were wanting to choose from.  It had a lot of stuffed animals.

The Pokémon Store is in a building with other stores.  We walked around and checked them out.  In a gourmet food store we found Habushu (alcohol with Habu snake in it).  According to Wikipedia, "The snake may be put on ice until it passes out, at which point it is gutted, bled and sewn up. When the habu is thawed and awakens, it will quickly die in an aggressive striking manner, which is what most producers look for. The manufacturer will then put the habu in an ethanol bath for a month to preserve it.  To continue the process, the habu is put in a 59% alcohol mix for 40 days and finally put in a 35% awamori mix to prepare for consumption. Removing the intestines of the snake, as in the second method, is thought to decrease the drink's particularly unpleasant smell."  I am 99% sure I will never try this beverage...

Habushu

Various sizes of Habushu to choose from

Close up view...you can see the fangs as it is in a "striking attack"

Caleb found a banana cake that he wanted to try.  He loved it!  It tastes like homemade banana bread.

This might be weird but I have been wanting to try McDonalds since I arrived here.  We decided to try it out today for lunch.  Absolutely delicious.  The sauce has a unique taste to it, nothing in the states compares to that taste.  I liked it a lot.  Plus the french-fries are made with delicious trans-fat oil...yum yum.

Love McDonalds

They do McDelivery here!

We checked out a shopping alley.  It had a lot of neat little shops in it.

While we were out and about we picked up the chair I've been wanting from Nitori.  It is sooooo comfortable.  We also selected the couch/bed that we will buy sometime in the next few months.  This will allow us to host a guest in our house. 

My new chair!  Matches our décor.

Last place we went was Don Quijote...had to show Jack and Caleb this store!  I picked up some local puzzles for me.  Also found the very popular coin bank!  Picked one up for me and one for my sister (she's been wanting one).  It's so much fun!

CCCCOOOOOLLLLLLDDDDD

Last thing we expected to experience while here in Okinawa was frigid temperatures.  We hit a cold snap a few days ago...a very miserable cold few days.  The humidity here makes the cold reach deep into your bones.  No sunshine, endless rain, and a bitterly cold wind.  Then the sleet fell...  According to JMA, sleet is considered snowfall.  Thus, we ended up experiencing the first ever recorded "snowfall" on the island of Okinawa. 

One plus of such dreary weather was seeing a rainbow after the cold started letting up and the sun came out.  It only lasted a few minutes...but it was gorgeous!

A rainbow as seen from our backyard

I love how the Okinawan's handle construction sites.  They care strongly about safety.  There are these construction lights that actually make sense and get your attention.  I'll have to try and video a construction site in the future to show ya'll.  In addition, they man their construction sites with people waving flags.  Driving the other day we came across a fake person waving at us to be cautious with lights.  His arm swung around.  It had a light on its hand and one on its head.  Super awesome!

It's the fake construction worker.  It swings it arm around.  A blinking light is located on the hand and on the head.

Caleb is enjoying his metal Captain America shield that Tim made for him.  It looks better than the real thing, in my opinion.  The battle damage brings character to it.

Puzzles

In my spare time prior to Jack and Caleb's arrival to the island, I had started to work on puzzles.  I really enjoy them!  I was able to finish three before they got here.  I'm working on another one right now.  I'm looking forward to getting some local puzzles during our time here.  Seems the Okinawans really enjoy puzzles too (find them in most stores).

Thomas Kinkade 1000 piece puzzles

gorgeous puzzle of the Great Sand Dunes - 500 pieces

My First Work Trip

I went off island for my first work trip as a Flight Nurse.  I had the honor of transporting patients from Okinawa to Hawaii, Hawaii to Guam, and Guam to Okinawa.  It ended up being a big loop around!  I had different patients on each leg of the trip.  What a rewarding experience it was to help others get to the medical facilities they needed to, in a safe manner.  I sure do love my job!  The one downside is being separated from Jack and Caleb.  It's always tough being apart.  Plus we don't get to share adventures with each other.  This definitely does not stop us from going out and experiencing things when we are separated though! 

Looking from the galley towards the aft of the KC-135
(a PAX (passenger) in the hammock)
A few ambulatory patients in the seats (yes, the seats sit backwards)
Fellow crew members can be seen in the back

My first trip as a Flight Nurse


 

I ended up being in Hawaii for a few days and got to try paddle boarding for free.  What an amazing and fun activity to do!  I ended up going back in the afternoon and paddle boarding again because I didn't want to do anything else.  We are now eagerly looking forward to when we can try paddle boarding in Okinawa (way too cold right now). 

Sunrise in Hawaii

Getting my paddle board into the water

Getting ready to head into the water

Paddle boarding is so much fun

Gorgeous water in Hawaii

I got to see MAGIC! in a free live concert.  Spent most of the concert out on the water paddle boarding and listening to their music.  Perfect combo!  The members of MAGIC! were staying in my same hotel a few doors down...I had seen them getting breakfast earlier in the morning :)

Watching MAGIC! in concert (I just finished paddle boarding and joined my group)

 

Guam was an interesting experience...I like Hawaii a lot more.  I'm sure I'll get to spend more trips in Guam so hopefully I get to experience a bit more of the good side of Guam next time.  I don't like telling negative stories, so I'll just leave my Guam experience in the past.

Not sure "I love Guam"

I sure was happy when I got home though!  My guys picked me up and took me to Chili's.  I hadn't eaten in over 24 hours (except some mini M&M's and a handful of Goldfish).  I devoured my Chili's food quickly!  Nice to be able to tell each other the stories of what we had experienced during our time apart.


During my absence Jack and Caleb went to Dragon Palace in American Village and played arcades for over 4 hours!  They had a blast!  The rest of their time was spent at school and work. 

Caleb at the arcade