Snorkels and Spears!

   This past weekend was the first lovely, sun shiny day for about two weeks. And what do you do on a sunny day when you live on a tropical island?......Go to the beach of course! There is a small strip of beach right down the road here on Camp Courtney where we live. It isn't a large beach but it sure is nice a relaxing, and it's right down the road from our apartment which is perfect for afternoon naps after the beach! Anyways, I loveeee seafood! Always have and always will. Sadly Nick isn't such a fan of fish, eating them that is. Now catching them, that's a different story! We haven't had a chance to go deep sea fishing yet, but Nick and his good friend suited up in their snorkel gear and went spear fishing at the beach! For Easter we got a new Pentax Adventure proof camera! It has a semi crush proof case and is cold proof and waterproof down to 45ft. It has more megapixels than a GoPro and lights around the lens for macro shots under water. Needless to say I was so excited to try it out! 

 

 Nick and Rick heading to catch some fish!!

 

 

Now I tried to keep up and take some pics, but I didn't strap my fins on for some silly reason so I could only snap one quick pic with our new camera before I had to head back.

 Underwater pics are surprisingly clear! I hate this word but.....Selfie!

 One of my favorites, I love the contrast of the water and the sky.

 

 Sea weed!

 Beautiful beach day with cool underwater pics! Next time I'll wear my fins and be prepared for a little more cardio. I hope everyone has a wonderful week!

IE Jima: Lily festival

The wonderful thing about Okinawa is all the surrounding islands are close by and they each have something interesting to offer. This past lovely Saturday morning, Nick reluctantly woke up and we hopped in the car with Jake and Mackenzie (http://www.bellblissblog.com/) and rode up to Nago to the ferry port. The ferry ride was about thirty minutes from Nago to IE Island and the weather was clear and the water so blue!

On the way to the lilies we stopped at a hibiscus garden!

 The flowers were literally as big as my face! The largest blooms I've ever see, with the most interesting colors!

 This is the gorgeous plant Mackenzie bought!

 This was my favorite, the shape of the petals were so round and different!

 The lovely lilies! The air smelled so clean and fresh, smelling like heaven!

 

 

 

My man on our biking adventure:)



 

 This reminds me so much of the mountain in King Kong, maybe next time we will hike it!

 We rented the bikes for just $10 a person for the day. I found this mode of travel was much more nostalgic than riding around in a bus or a rented car.

 JCrew Jake and Mackenzie!

 A nice little beach with a cabana and a swimming area located in a park right down from the ferry port:)

 Perfect view...and the oceans not bad too;)

The lookout we found on the other end of the island, a view truly right off of a postcard. IE island is a wonderful place to visit and I highly encourage renting the bikes:) What a great adventure! Can't wait for the next one! Will be trying out our new snorkels soon.

Ishigaki Island

April was FULL of exciting adventures around Okinawa and the outer Islands! For my birthday, Nick and my friend's hubby surprised us with a weekend trip to a resort about an hour flight south of Okinawa. Best husband award right?? The weather was still a little iffy, in that it was in the low 70's so we ended up doing a lot of relaxing and laying out. JUST what we needed to escape from long weeks of working (I thought living on an island meant lots of laying out and beach days, right????? NOPE! Not when you have a full time job!)

Anyways, Ishigaki......Gorgeous! The plane ride itself was magical.

 

The tip of Naha on the way to Ishigaki

My weekend date!

 

 

 Mine and Ken's matching jammies!!

 Room with a view:)

Went out exploring for breakfast and the walk was so refreshing. Can I just live like this forever??

 This A-Mazing egg and cheese bread at the Max Value...sadly we haven't found it at the one near the house, it is so light and fluffy.

 Walkway to the beach at the resort.

 Soaking up the sun!

 Mackenzie!

 Lovely sunset the night before we left

Soba noodles before the plane ride home.

I can't thank Nick enough for the crazy fun girls weekend with Mackenzie! These are the memories that will mean so much when are older with families. Ishigaki was a great way to spend my 25th birthday!