July 4th Fun

July 4th! A beautiful day ahead... a full day of family fun and adventure! (I sounded like Clark Griswold there for a second...) First stop, Nago Pineapple Park!


The first thing you do (after posing in front of the giant pineapple) is load your party up on one of these pineapple golf carts and "drive" through the gardens. You can't see it in the photo, but the cart has a giant pineapple on top.


Noah LOVED getting to "drive" the cart. It really was great. Of course, the whole thing is automatic, but we wouldn't dare tell Noah. He was so happy and so very proud of himself!


And yes, they really do grow pineapples here... all different sizes... even some tiny ornamental ones that are so cute.


After the "drive," you enter straight into the (surprise!) gift shop! Souvenirs and trinkets of every kind! Then there was a kind of seashell museum of sorts... lots and lots of seashells on display. I really have no idea what seashells have to do with pineapple, but they were pretty. It's kind of like the indoor "mini" zoo that's near our house that's also an egg farm and a cream puff bakery...but I digress...

Anyway, after the seashell rooms come the tasting rooms... not seashell tasting -- I'm back to pineapple. Please try to keep up. First up, a view of the winery and samples of pineapple wines. Then come pineapple vinegars, pineapple jams and jellies, pineapple cakes, pineapple cookies, pickled pineapple (which, I'm sorry to say, tasted much like fish for some reason...), dried pineapple, pineapple chocolate, pineapple ice cream ... are you understanding what I'm saying? There were pineapple bath and body products like "Pineapple-Charcoal Soap" (not for tasting, of course). Not to mention, stuffed toy pineapples and pineapple figurines. (I bought a miniature pineapple golf cart for my shadow box to remember our trip.) Oh yeah, and for the purists like myself, there was actually diced fresh pineapple for sampling. My personal fave!!!!


We had a great time, spent some money, and enjoyed the ocean view as we headed off to our next stop...



The Ryogujo Butterfly Gardens.


You guessed it! Butterflies!!!


They love bright colors, and we really weren't wearing any that day. But this one found the bag of wipes in the stroller.



The most predominate variety was this... the Paper Kite Butterfly (AKA Rice Paper Butterfly).








I had joked with Noah before we went in about the butterflies possibly landing on his head or his arm or maybe even his nose. Little did I know that this thought would be a point of concern for him. He walked through much of the garden with his hand over his nose to make sure no butterfly would land on it.




I love my family!

Shisa water fountain on the grounds of Ocean Expo park. This is near where we sat and enjoyed ice cream following the presentation at the planetarium.


Noah enjoying his Beniimo ice cream... his choice... he loves it...



When should we tell him that a beniimo is a purple sweet potato...



I'm not tellin' him... YOU tell him...


Lovely view of one of the surrounding islands from Ocean Expo Park...


A full day of fun!!! And you would have thought that some people would've slept the whole way back home... but you'd have thought wrong. ;)

Kokusai Street

Kokusai Street... You can shop 'til you drop here... literally. And it's not just a street... as in one street. There's the main street, sure, but then there are all these sort of alleys that branch out in all directions. If you're directionally challenged, take your GPS 'cause you can easily get turned around in this labyrinth of shops. Oh, and take your wallet. With money in it. A lot of money. Or a credit card, if you're into that sort of thing. It kinda reminds me of a cross between the 16th Street Mall in Denver and Pike Place Market in Seattle... except... really, it's not like either of those places...


We started off at Starbucks, 'cause... well... it's Starbucks. I know you can go to Starbucks any ol' time, but I try to make it a policy to go whenever I see one. There's for sure a clean potty and a refreshing beverage awaiting.




The sweetest barista ever treated Noah to a complimentary chocolate milk. Good to the last drop and so refreshing for my sweaty little guy. Devin had a delicious bitter dark chocolate frappuccino thing, and I chose a Matcha/Green Tea frappuccino which was my favorite shade of green and quite tasty.



Emerie is pumped and ready to shop!


A pig in a Ryukyu red lotus hat... of course.


There's so much to see here, I doubt if you could cover all the real estate in just one day. There's the Starbucks, of course, and the McDonald's... of course. Then there's a great Birkenstock shop that I'd like to get back to, an awesome Coach outlet, and several other recognizable stores. But when you venture off into the covered alley ways, there's oh so much more. Bingata, Ryukyu glassware and laquerware, my favorite sugar cane dyed fabrics, smelly foods, unrecognizable eats, fresh fruits, sundresses, t-shirts... you name it, it's here. Everything from tacky souvenirs and stuff that looks like it's from someone's yard sale... to beautiful handcrafted textiles and Okinawan crafts.


Pineapple everywhere! And passion fruit, mangoes, bananas...



If it has Snoopy on it, I'm a sucker for it. 200 yen for this trinket...


Noah digs for his treasure... It was a tiny china plate with Snoopy and Woodstock on it. Hilarious! Sorry, no picture...


And of course I loved these little Snoopy dressed as Eisa dancer figurines... The Okinawans love Snoopy! He's everywhere!



A cute little shisa with chopsticks...

A blurry photo of one of my new favorite shops with bright, colorful textiles, wall hangings, and purses... loved it!


McDonald's are plentiful.


As are beniimo treats... I had to get Devin to pose with this beniimo tarte. They're pretty tasty, but I prefer the ice cream.


And then I zoomed in and realized there was this guy behind Devin. Love it.


Emerie's exhausted.


I'm sure this was our first of many visits to the colorful Kokusai Street.


Last stop... lunch.

Tempting as it sounded, I did not choose the "Ishigaki Beef Guts Set." I went for bibimbap instead. Pretty tasty... and never pass up on gyoza.

Lost in Translation

Some things just don't translate well. Here are a few favorite examples...


OK... it's kind of hard to read, but the middle section says, "Gargle... Not for Drinking." What?!? If it's water not safe for drinking, I sure don't want to put it in my mouth to gargle with it. Or is it a mouthwash water fountain? I'm just not sure about this one...



If you can figure this one out, let me know...




Ummm... OK...




Got it.


I love that this gum is gentle. I look for that in a gum... as well as chewy-ness... I think a good gum oughta be chewy.




I ate the cake that came in this box. It was indeed fresh and sweet, but fashionable?




Huh?


Pardon?



Excuse me?



Say again?





I thought this was the loveliest lovely little lovely shirt! Lovely!!!



Can't read this one, can ya? This is a sign posted at one of the area beaches. I hope you can zoom in on this and check it out, but if not, here are a couple of my favorites:

"All accidents and accidents, etc. in facilities that originate in the blame of the self become user's responsibility."

and

"Do not disarrange the discipline order, and do not do the act of troubling others." (I think I'll start saying that to Noah and Emerie when they're acting up!"




I love some sushi! But tell me, why on earth would I want sushi from Los Angeles when I'm right here in JAPAN!?!?!? This is not a selling point for me. But it is funny.




This one seems clear enough.



This one says, "If play of the sightseeing got tired, please come to SEGA!" Um... wha?

I could go on and on... I love this stuff!!! And, lest anyone think I'm making fun of Japanese language or the Okinawan people, believe me, I'm not. It can be just as hilarious when translating from English. Just ask my sweet Korean friend for whom Devin tried to translate a Bible verse. Philippians 3:10 had never been so amusing!