Monday, April 07, 2008

Farewells...

This is the last of our past dated BLOG updates...From here on out it'll be the latest & greatest from Okinawa.

Farewell can be defined as an acknowledgment at parting; a goodbye or the act of departing or taking leave. It is also the separation of two or more people; & well if any one of you reading this who knows us, there is well over two people that we had said goodbye too.

So on November 15th, we said good-bye to our friends and family to set off on our new adventures that awaited us in Okinawa. As some of you may know, from my Cousin Chris’ BLOG that it was also our (Tam & I) anniversary, our 6th for those who are keeping count. So while in the air we decided to make a toast & had our first chardonnay (by the way if you didn’t know on international flights it’s free, yes even in coach). The toast was awesome, but the chardonnay could have been better.

Any ways, we finally landed in Tokyo from Los Angeles on 16 Nov, at 3pm, Japan time, & we proceeded through customs. After customs we had to get our entire luggage (2 BIG suitcases, 1 sea bag, & Dominic’s car seat) and recheck it through our connecting carrier, Al Nippon Airlines. We get to the check-in counter only to discover that we left the car seat still at baggage claim. Poor Tam went back through customs to baggage claim & back through customs again to retrieve the missed luggage. What a sweet man I knew I married a good guy. Well we finally checked in & got settled at our gate & let Dominic watch his DVD player. I have never seen anyone so tired, but still interested in watching a movie. Dominic’s eyes were red because he kept rubbing them & he was worn out, but he stared none the less at the screen & watched his movie. Then he decided he wanted to get up and run around, total mood switch.
At about 5:50pm (Japan time) we boarded the bus that took us to our plane. We got settled in & both Dominic & I fell asleep. Not to bore you guys w/too many details we got checked into the hotel & settled into our room. We all slept & the set out for adventures around base the first couple of days here. Most already know that Tam & I met here in Okinawa (poor Karen thought he fell in love w/a Japanese girl when she heard my name).

It has been awesome to site see and reminisce about our old stomping grounds and most definitely be able to share them w/Dominic. In the 6 years since we last been here there have been a few changes on base; like buildings that weren’t here before (restaurants – Macaroni Grill & Captain D’s, oh & Cinnabon) or that are no longer here (the gas station by the exchange). There are also some pretty lame rules, i.e. curfews which I can understand for the junior personnel that are single and living in the barracks, but for those of us who are married (give us a break).

We met some pretty cool people (Tam’s sponsor & his family – who just happens to be from Baton Rouge & New Orleans). We all just went out to dinner last night at our old favorite restaurant the Dragons. We had dinner for less than $20 & that was for both Tam & myself (Dominic shared w/us). There was a lot of food and at a very cheap price. For the food we had last night that would’ve cost use $30-$40 easy in the states.

This past Friday we went for a walk off base, our first venture in 6 years. The hotel’s shuttle dropped us off at the Naval Hospital & we walked around town. We stopped inside a few stores, one we even call the Monkey Store, but it’s Okinawa’s version of Home Depot or Lowe’s. We even stopped inside Jusco, their version of an American Mall. On the second floor there’s a game room for little kids. Dominic got to ride rides which included his favorite ride the carousel, yes he road it twice.

Well guys, I do have BLOG entries for our trips to Florida & Louisiana, but want to post them w/pictures or slide shows, so please stay patient & we’ll post them. We just have to wait until we move into our place and are able to down load the pictures onto the computer, so far there are 500+ on the camera.

Until next time, please take care & may God bless; keeping everyone safely in the hollow of His hands.

Love you guys,
Nyoka, Tam & Dominic