Okinawa...
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| Boats in a small harbor |
...tropical island in the midst of the Sea of China...
...southerly vacation destination of mainland Chinese...
...birthplace of a fantastic person (Ms. Cadena herself!)...
...last hurrah for two travel-crazy friends and my last out-of-country trip before flying home!
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| I have always had a thing for palm trees |
And was it ever some relaxing trip!!! First of all, I want to announce/apologize that this blog post will, in a sense, double as my application for a photography position at Travel + Leisure Magazine. Not that I'm that talented, but it was just TOO EASY to take great pictures of fabulous sights on the island. (Side note: if you think the pics are crap, move on to another blog, please:) ).
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| Ahhhhh.... |
Second, I want to admit that this is actually a relatively difficult blog entry to write, simply because the trip was so fabulously relaxing.
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| An Okinawan beach with concrete "jacks" for typhoons |
We drove,
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| Cadena mans the wheel on the right side...she's the only one with the int'l license...must work on that! |
we saw sand and secret beaches (thanks, Martha!) and pokey islands out in the water,
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| Tide was out |
we basked in sunshine, and dipped our toes in bath-like water,
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| Tide pools |
we took photos (obvs!),
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| Martha taking pictures |
we ate sushi (YAY!!!!) (we also ate too many power bars and too much trail mix, but budget-eating is not the stuff of T+L, so I will not go into detail here!),
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| I didn't take pics of the best sushi ever, so here's the closest thing I "pic'd" of food...an empty crab shell |
we read books (I personally started 4 on this trip - Adult ADD?? perhaps...),
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| We also read lots of Engrish:) |
we spent time with good/new friends,
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| Martha and Cadena over the menu at Jacapo's |
we explored the crazy-biggest base I have ever seen (and spent a little money in their BX, not gonna lie),
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| The sea wall |
we drank coffee and walked and explored on our own schedules,
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Look at the cream in my coffee!
we visited the end of the island, with all its jutting, rocky cliffs and bellowing surf, at sunset, |
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| At the edge |
and I, personally, felt the utmost gratitude for so many things. After a tumultuous year, I was able to stand on the end of a country, look up at the pinky-blue sky and thank God for my life, for its crazy-adventurous tilt-a-whirl of a year, for its opportunity and for its adversity and its pleasure in the little things. It was an epiphany, self-actualization, and the end of a transition all wrapped up in one perfect sunset. And even on the verge of another move and the start of something else, I was able to look back on the last 7.5 months and feel joy in them.
For that, I thank you, Okinawa - a place I may never have visited but for living in South Korea with a good friend who just had to get there this year (Happy Birthday, again:) ), and my healthy sense of adventure, of course.
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| Life is good at the beach! |
Here's the
full album - I warn you, lots of sand and water pics!:)
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