Okinawa: Catching up with the Moore's

Hey everybody! Haven't been writing much due to being extremely exhausted from an awesome time in Okinawa with our awesome hosts Cessily and David. We have been so blessed to have them take us everywhere, cook for us, and have fun with us!

Sunday we checked out American Village. You may wonder why we would go to a place that is like America when we are in Japan, but it really isn't like America at all. It is a village that has stores with lots of Japanese things. It was rainy because the typhoon was coming so we didn't stay long. We went to eat at a Ramen restaurant that was fantastic. Sadly we didn't get to eat on the floor like traditional Japanese do because they were busy which has been the case each place we have been. Hopefully we will get to before we leave. After lunch we went back to the house to enjoy a movie we rented while the typhoon was strongest. The power ended up going out so we played the card game Guillotine a few times and then Catch Phrase. The power came back on a after a little while, we ate yummy steak cooked by David, watched the movie, and went to bed.

Monday was a day of relaxation. Steve and I had to try out the massages here, so we both got an upper-body massage. I will say it was one of the best massages I have ever gotten! After that Cessily and I got pedicures. If you know me, then you know that I don't get pedicures because I'm so ticklish, but I had to get one here because they do the most detailed job on toes that I have ever seen. And it's all done by freehand! Cessily posted a pic of mine. I'm the one with the blueish background and flowers. Love them! The base paint is nail polish, but they use a different kind of paint (real paint) on the design so it lasts for a long time.

We went to the 100 Yen store and bought some cute things as well as some Japanese snacks. 100 Yen store is like our dollar store. They have everything and most everything is 100 Yen. At some point during the day we also went to a bakery called Fashion Candy which has yumminess inside!

So no judging on this next part! We went to onsen. It's a bath house. I was very wary of the idea of being naked with a bunch of women in a hot mineral bath, but I did it anyway. It was strange and I felt like I was in a commune (although I don't know too much about communes). I would not go again if I had the chance because I was way out of my comfort zone. I'm extremely modest so this was extremely weird, but it was an experience. Everyone must shower before getting in. They provide showers and soap/shampoo/conditioner. After your mineral bath you shower again rinsing off the mineral water slim and then you can either get ready for bed of for the day depending on the time you go. We didn't get to do the part where the fish eat the dead skin off your feet because it was closed, but I'm fine with that. I think Steve is a little disappointed in that. After going, I'm still wary of the idea of a communal bath. Forgot to mention: This is a normal thing in their culture. No one stares!

Today we went to base where they have awesome souvenirs. Then we went to Naha the huge city Oki. We walked along the street market that had lots of things Japanese tourists like. Lots of mainland Japanese come to Okinawa to vacation and want Okinawa to be their Hawaii. Hence the reason they have been trying to get the 7 (at least) U.S. military bases off the island. It's been a want of theirs for over twenty years. Any-who, we saw and awesome surf and skate shop where we bought Steve a towel robe for after surfing when it is cold. He is wearing it as I type this...haha.

Then we entered the fish market. I thought it would be a terrible smell that would make me gag, but it wasn't as bad as I thought. There were tons of colorful dead fish, live lobsters, crabs, etc. Steve got some extremely fresh sushi fish (not actually sushi yet) and ate it. He said it was the freshest fish he'd ever eaten. The market is fresh each day; in fact, we went before all the catch had come in for the day so we didn't get to see it all. I was OK with that. I HATE fish and I'm OK with that. :)

Well that about sums up the last 3 days. We have really enjoyed being here. Looks like we will try to leave Friday our time which is Thursday back home. Keep us in your prayers please for available flights and top pf the list status'.

As always, comment are welcome! Thanks for stoppin' by :)