Seriously? That's Sirius Radio?

I'm back from an overnight trip to the nation's heartland, Indianapolis. (I told you I've been traveling up a storm lately!) Because it was such a long drive, I had to rent a car - a big burly SUV, in fact. I hate SUVs with a passion, although this wasn't hard to drive. Luckily, my trip was a snap.

The best part was the Sirius Radio that came with the rental. I listened to Sonya Fitzpatrick, pet psychic, for almost the entire drive. It was AWESOME! Pet-owners would call in and Sonya would tap into the pet's brainwaves over the phone. (Just by hearing the pet's name and color.) Afterward, she'd report back: "Susie doesn't like the blue halter. Spot really enjoys his new dish. Sparky thinks your hair looked better when it was styled differently."

I was tempted to call in, but was afraid she actually was psychic. Daphne and Zoe would say: "Why does she keep leaving us all by ourselves? We love it when she leaves big piles of laundry sitting around her apartment. Can you tell her we want her to let us in the bathroom?" Embarrassing!

All I can say is thank goodness I quit being a vegetarian (all three days). I would've starved to death! I went to dinner with some guys last night and they picked a brewery. (It was basically guys who were in the AV Club in high school, so they like lots of meat. ) My veggie option would've been a big-ass bowl of mac and cheese. Blech. ('Cause my deep-fried salmon was so much healthier!)

My New Home

I've decided to move to Arizona. Last week, I was in Phoenix. It was absolutely beautiful and so incredibly warm. If I lived there, I'd never have to beat my car with an ice scraper hoping the ice would fall off. I'd drink margaritas every day and visit psychics. It'd be fabulous.

We stayed at the swanky Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa. My room was really nice - I had a balcony overlooking the gardens (except I almost got hit in the head by a bat - the flying ones, not the swinging ones.)

My only mishap was in the Fitness Center. I woke up at 5 a.m. rarin' to go. (Darn time zone changes!) I ran on the treadmill and lifted some weights, trying to (unsuccessfully) burn off the cheeseburger and fries I ate. Afterward, I showered in the women's locker room because they had all these fabulous body scrubs and hair products.

I cut my leg shaving. You would think after 21 years of shaving my legs, I could manage to do it without hitting a major artery, but sadly, you'd be thinking wrong. I'm in a hoity-toity spa locker room, dripping blood everywhere. It was so embarrassing!

After I stopped the blood, I was standing around in my towel because I wanted to use their lotion. My room came equipped with two conditioners - no lotion. An employee comes in and stands right in front of the mirror (and lotion) primping. I had to wait for her to leave because there's no way I'm putting on lotion in front of her. I'm not really a 'be naked in front of strangers' kind of girl and I suspected some part of the towel would fall if I tried to hold on to it AND put on the lotion. After 10 minutes she left - enough time for my leg to start bleeding again. It was all very traumatic.

Scary Door-Knocking!

Sorry I've been a big slacker - I spent the weekend in Indiana helping a political campaign by knocking on doors to remind people about voting in the upcoming primary.

I personally detest knocking on strangers' doors - it makes me feel like I'm going to throw up. I'd rather do almost anything else (except make cold calls over the phone.) When I was in school, I had to sell candy bars for band. I probably would have sold more had I gone door to door, but that wasn't ever going to happen.

I don't know what I thought the good residents of Pin Oak Hills in Mt. Olivet, West Virginia were going to do to my chubby permed-headed self, but I knew it wasn't going to be good. In fact, I think I usually ate more candy bars than I sold, which might have been why I was so dang chubby.

It's My Blog - I'll Give a Testimonial If I Want To

I feel strongly that Barack Obama is the only presidential candidate with the honesty, integrity and diplomacy we need to turn this country around. Let's face it, it sucks right now here - we're all poor, prices are rising, we're losing our homes, we're spending billions of dollars to keep Iraq afloat, jobs are going overseas - it's not pretty!

That's not a slam on the U.S. - I love this country, but I think there are different kinds of patriotism. It makes me mad when people question Senator Obama's patriotism because of that stupid flag pin thing. What's more patriotic than wanting everyone to come together as a nation and make this country as good as it possibly can be?

With a Knock-Knock Here...

To help out Senator Obama, I faced my door-knocking fears and had such a great time. The other volunteers were all so incredibly warm and nice and inspiring to be around. I've been a bit of a politics junkie all my life, but I've never volunteered or donated for a campaign before so this was a new experience.

Most of the people I volunteered with were like me - first-time political volunteers, first-time political donors - we all felt compelled to do something for this candidate. The door-knocking was a little scary, but most people were nice (or pretended not to be home which is what I do when people knock on my door.)

It's not that I think Hillary is a bad candidate - she's better than John McCain. However, I think Barack Obama is the best candidate. The governor of Virginia stopped by our volunteer office to talk with us and he said it all comes down to a choice between better and best. I think he's right and Senator Obama is the best.

Okinawa Trip: There and Back Again

Somehow I've managed to get myself back home. I have to say I'm pretty impressed with myself - if I can travel halfway around the world and make it through two completely foreign airports all by myself, what can't I do? (Besides become Miss America, President or Queen of England...OK, so there's a long list!)

But seriously, there are a lot of people out there who don't do things by themselves or things that they're scared of. That's a crappy way to live! Sure, I was a bit scared - especially in the Tokyo Airport on my way over - but what you imagine is usually worse than what actually happens.

My trip back home was actually pretty uneventful. Well, I had two Tuesdays - I guess that's something that doesn't happen every day.

The First Tuesday -- Okinawa to Tokyo

Jen was back at school teaching the younguns the ways of the world, so Brian gave me a lift to the Okinawa Airport. We got me all checked in and had breakfast at the A&W Restaurant in the airport. (No more bean curd doughnuts!) I have never seen more A&W Restaurants in my life than I've seen in Okinawa. I think we have one near Columbus (chain restaurant champion of the world) and it's 20 minutes away.

I made it through security OK - except the check-out guy tried to hand me a pen and I had no idea what I was supposed to do with it so I kept shaking my head. I suspect he and the girl working with him got a few jollies out of this exchange because they were laughing - but it would be pretty unrealistic (not to mention rude of me) to travel to Japan knowing nothing of Japanese and expecting the natives to speak English. (Although I now know how to say 'good afternoon' and 'thank you' in Japanese - 'good morning,' 'good evening' and 'thank you very much' were too tricky.)

I sat by a fidgety Billy Bob Thornton lookalike on the way to Tokyo. All Nippon Airways is first-class - plush seats with footrests (although I might have been sitting in the fancy section), smiley flight attendants with snappy uniforms and adorable pink scarves, videos of takeoff and landing. It puts our airlines to shame! The only downfall of the trip was that the flight attendant walked around with a big box of Sokenbicha. Blech! She caught me staring at it (in horror) and started to give me a fill-up - but I shook my head. That stuff is NASTY.

Tokyo to Chicago

I had about two hours to kill in the Tokyo Airport - my flight took off at 4:20 p.m. It was really hot in the airport- didn't feel air conditioned. I kept trying to find a store to buy snack food - all I could find were duty free shops. What the heck is duty and why do I need to avoid it? I managed to get some snacks for the trip - including lunch, a rice ball wrapped in seaweed with some shrimp flavor. It was actually pretty good!

I upgraded my seat on the way back - it wasn't very expensive. I got way more legroom and was seated near the front of economy section. It was the best money I've ever spent - I basically had an entire row to myself! I was seated across from a couple of monks from Thailand. They were traveling to Chicago to teach meditation and they wore orange robes, wool socks with sandals and wool caps on their bald heads. (They got up a few times to use the bathroom and I almost saw what was UNDERNEATH their orange robes. Luckily I averted my eyes in time.)

They were so calm during the trip - no reading, no movie watching - I felt like an ADD-ridden freak. I watched Alvin and the Chipmunks on the plane. I also switched frequently between books, my personal DVD player and my mp3 player. Most of the time I sprawled across the seats and tried to nap. (Except some woman behind me kept hacking up a lung and I fretted about getting bird flu and bringing a pandemic to Ohio.)

Tuesday #2 -- Chicago to Detroit

We arrived at O'Hare 45 minutes early - at 1:30 p.m - which meant I had 1 hour and 45 minutes to catch my connecting flight to Detroit. Here's where the nightmare began. I made my way down to immigration where a man with muttonchops stamped my passport and asked me if the trip was worth the long flight. Then I waited for my bags...and waited...and waited. Mine were the last two off the belt - and we had about 100 people on that plane! I made my way to customs, which turned out to be really simple. A burly guy asked "Is that your customs sheet?", grabbed it and sent me on my way.

I next had to re-check my bags and take a train from the international terminal to the domestic terminal. Of course, my terminal was the last stop on the train. I had to clear security for the 4th time that day. (In Japan, they don't make you take your shoes off. I'm just saying...) The security line was a million people long and the people working security were the rudest people on earth. Of course, after making it through security, they needed to handcheck my bag for some reason.

My flight was in a different concourse - so with 15 minutes before the flight took off, I had to sprint through the airport with my 500 pound carry-on bag. My gate was at the very far end of the next concourse, but luckily I made it on time. People, the moving sidewalks are not rides at DisneyWorld. Move your feet!

I was in the very last row of the plane - right next to the smelly bathroom. The flight attendant kept spraying air freshener - I think only bleach would've helped.

My parents picked me up at Detroit, helped me collect my belongings, and picked up a yummy steak and sweet potato dinner from Outback. I got to see my cats who apparently were into everything at my parents'. On Wednesday, I drove back to Columbus with all my bags and two yowling cats - good times!

I'm really glad to be back in a country with tall, fat people with bad skin. These are my peeps!

Okinawa Trip: My Last Day (Boo Hoo)

Ugh - I can't believe my vacation is almost over. It's so nice here - warm, slow-paced, relaxing with lots of cute military dudes running around. Oh well, I probably wouldn't enjoy typhoons or the rainy season all that much.

I started my last day with another two-mile run with Brian. It was a little more humid on Monday so I struggled a bit. I had trouble catching my breath. Afterward, we headed north again. The trouble with driving on Okinawa (aside from the 'you're driving on the wrong side of the road' thing) is that you can't go fast ANYWHERE. The max speed is about 35 or 40 mph so it takes forever to get around.

We stopped at a convenience mart for our standard beverage du jour (I went with the Mitsuya Cider - a delicious, sparkling drink. I'm definitely going to miss the drinks here!) Plus we picked up what we affectionately refer to as sugar cookie chocolate chip bread and a variety of snacks. I decided to try shrimp-flavored chips. Blech - they smelled like koi food. (Not bad tasting though.)

Our first stop was Cape Hedo - the northernmost point of Okinawa, where the China Sea and Pacific Ocean meet. It was very pretty - lots of cliffs and greenery and little coves. I had to use the bathroom here and they only had the troughs. Using those things takes some coordination. You have to balance while squatting and bracing yourself against the wall. Plus you have to make sure your pants are far enough away. I don't know how anyone can knowingly prefer the troughs when they know regular toilet seats exist. Particular the heated Japanese toilet seats!

After Cape Hedo, we went to Asumai, an ancient prayer site. You have to take a rickety bus up a curvy road to get to all the paths. You hike through the forest among these amazing rock formations and banyan trees. It was really awe-inspiring - some of the views were truly breathtaking - although it was a bit of a workout!

After that, we drove along the Pacific side of the island to a beautiful beach. The water and cliffs are so amazing. It's some of the best scenery I've ever seen. As we winded our way back down south, we stopped at Hiro's Coffee Farm. It was this cute off-the-road place where they make this fantastic coffee. They gave us some type of grass tea while we waited and they had these adorable hens running around. The owner's wife gave me a cookie to feed the chickens - they ate it right out of my hand!

We stopped at a Jusco store for more snacks (kind of a Wal-Mart) where we got these candies made of rice powder sweets that cause people to die every year because they don't chew them up. I was petrified.

For dinner, we ate at Krishna's, an Indian restaurant that served curry and the best naan I've ever had. After dinner, we sampled some of the local beverages. We're not supposed to drink off base because we're American (there's some crackdown on drinking here) so our bar was Brian and Jennifer's casa. We tried awamori - the Okinawa sake - and habu sake (a sake that has a dead poisonous habu snake sitting in the container) and a mango-flavored awamori. All disgusting! They tasted like licorice cough syrup.

Then we had some pocky coated in what we thought was chocolate mint. Nope - green tea. Foiled again!

I can't believe I have to leave this morning! I'm seriously bummed.

Okinawa Trip: Day of Rest

Yesterday, we headed out for more castle ruin viewing. I'm a geek, I know, but for some reason, I love looking at crumbling, moss-covered stones from the 17th century! The architecture is so interesting too - very different from most castles I've ever seen. The castle was up on a high hill so the view was phenomenal. You could see the China Sea and the Pacific Ocean at the same time.

After the castle, we headed to Comprehensive Park in Okinawa City. It was really cool - it had all these running trails and a soccer stadium. You could rent paddle boats, walk along the beach or play on the playground. There was even an outdoor water park. One of the running trails had fitness stations where you could stop and do exercises so it was a circuitish workout. I tried the monkey bars - couldn't even move from one bar to another. I used to hang upside down from those things! (I guess being 8 inches taller and 100 lbs heavier makes a difference.)

A Feeding Frenzy

We went to the park specifically to feed koi. I was trying to feed them at the YYY resort and having no luck. A military guys was there with his family (of course, it was his 5 year old feeding the koi) and he asked if I'd been to Comprehensive Park. Of course I hadn't, so he said: "Well go there. The koi are as long as your arms and they're ALWAYS hungry."

Intrigued, we stopped. He wasn't joking! The koi were HUGE. When we stood by the edge of the water, we kept seeing ripples as giant fish swam toward us. It was like Jaws. As we walked the path and bridge crossing the pond, they followed us. They were the most disgusting things I've ever seen. Hundreds of giant slimy fish bodies climbing over each other to get to the food - big mouths opening and closing. You could throw the food directly in their mouths. I tried to pet one, but that didn't go over very well. It caused a bit of a ruckus.

Pig Intestines, Really?

For lunch, we tried a little hole-in-the-wall soba shop along the sea wall. I was a little nervous - the meat options were pig feet and pig intestines and pork ribs. We all ordered the soba with pork ribs and fried egg. It was delicious. The pork was amazingly tender and so yummy. Unfortunately, I was not aware that you were supposed to eat the fat, so I chopsticked all the meat off the fat. (Yeah, try eating what was basically noodle soup with chopsticks! Yikes!) Sadly, I was supposed to eat the fat - but all I had left was fat and broth. I couldn't do it - I tried, but blech. I just accepted being rude and wasteful.

We vegged out the rest of the day - movies, ice cream, Wii and pizza!

Okinawa Trip: Saturday Shopping!

Yesterday morning, we dropped Brian's parents off at the airport. It's amazing how friendly and helpful the Okinawa people are with foreigners navigating their way to the ticket counter. When I entered Japan, they had to rescan my purse. The scanner guy actually apologized to me. When leaving Detroit, the scanner lady yelled at me because I left my DVD player in the bag. She said: "Don't let it happen again." (Of course, the signs only say to remove laptops, nothing about DVD players.)

We ate breakfast at the airport. I picked up what looked like a massive doughnut filled with something sinful like pudding or jelly. Instead, it was filled with purple bean curd. It wasn't bad, but not what I expected. I'm guessing Krispy Kreme won't offer bean curd-filled doughnuts anytime soon.

We spent most of the day shopping on Kokosai Street. This time, I was ready to buy, and buy I did. I hope everything fits in my bags and the American baggage handlers don't break anything. One time they left my toothbrush hanging out of my bag, which completely grossed me out when I saw it dragging on the conveyor belt.

My Kimono!

I bought a kimono! I really wanted one, because when in Japan, one must buy a kimono. We were in these itty bitty alley shops where NO ONE spoke any English. I pointed at the kimonos and lifted my hand above my head so she knew I wanted one my size.

The very crafty lady (she was 5 feet tall and had to be in her 70s or 80s) had one on me in a flash and then tied it all up with the cords and obi (sash) that go with it. Of course, I'm looking at myself in the mirror thinking I looked pretty dang cute, so I had to buy it. She used a calculator to tell me the price for everything. Although she actually gave me a 1000 yen discount, the sweetheart! (1000 yen is about $10.)

Sushi - woo hoo!

We went to a fun sushi restaurant for dinner and sampled an insane amount of food. We had to take our shoes off and sit on the floor for the meal, which was pretty fun.

I had tuna and eel sushi. The eel was incredibly delicious - it melted in my mouth. I also got my favorite- spicy tuna roll- and a yummy salad with raw fish on it! What a great idea - salad AND raw fish! We also ate little fried cheese filled doughnuts and shrimp tempura and pizza on nan bread.

Update on My Nasty McDonald's Drink

We stopped at another McDonald's so I could find out the name of the disgusting fish/seaweed/coffee grounds drink. It was Sokenbicha, a tea made by Coca Cola. It supposedly is for health and beauty conscious women - I can't imagine how it would make you beautiful unless you put it on your face. It's apparently some type of unsweetened green tea, which would explain my revulsion. I'm not a huge fan of green tea - I think it tastes like grass.

Okinawa Trip: Lazy Days

Poor Jen had to get fingerprinted on Thursday (stupid Ohio!) so we stayed close to base. We spent the morning shopping in a little plaza - including the $100 yen store (like our $1 store.) I saw a bedraggled stray cat and wanted to rescue him, but sadly there was nothing I could do.

After shopping, we went to a little restaurant right by the sea wall. It was an all-you-can-eat curry buffet and we sat overlooking the ocean. There were tons of surf shops nearby, but I have yet to see anyone surfing.

We spent the afternoon hanging out - needed a low-key day after all the craziness. It was Brian's mom's birthday so we fancied ourselves up and went to Sam's By The Sea for dinner, a steak and seafood restaurant. I had the mahi mahi, caught straight from Okinawan waters, and a banana daiquiri. They also serve this incredible pineapple butter for bread.

The picture is of the shrimp cocktail appetizer - it had dry ice in it so all this crazy fog surrounded it. Plus, it was the best dang shrimp I've ever had in my life!

I'm glad I'm skipping my diet even though I've probably gained a gazilion pounds - not that I could understand any of the nutritional information or anything.

Friday: Up North Again

Yesterday, Brian and I ran two miles again. Yes, he's still amazed that I run as slow as I do, but at least I'm running! After that, we drove to the northern end of Okinawa to check out some of the beaches. The water is way too cold to swim, but the beaches are perfect for shell collecting!

We went to the gorgeous Okuma beach on a military resort. It felt very Dirty Dancing 'esque with little cabins all over the place. The water was aqua and so clear.

The military accommodations are a little sparse - small concrete buildings right by the ocean, a few little wooden cabins, a basketball court and lots of recreational equipment. Jen says there's no air conditioning and you have to bring your own sheets! What's funny is the JAL Private Resort is right next door - it's where the Japanese people go. Three crystal-clear pools, pristine cabins overlooking the ocean, umbrellas sitting up in the sand - a little bit of a different vacation opportunity!

I think I'm allergic to the sun because I keep getting huge red bumps on my arms when I spend time outside. It's very fetching

Corn, corn, corn, corn

We had a late lunch at Pizza in the Sky (Pizza Kajinho). It's this fun restaurant way up high (hence the sky) that serves pizza and salad. You have no say what pizza or salad you get - it's whatever they feel like making that day. Our pizza included onions, green peppers, some spicy hot dog-like meat and corn. Apparently, they put corn on everything in Okinawa. It was actually pretty tasty on pizza, much to my surprise.

The picture is of me and Jen and the English menu. We just pointed at what we wanted! Really, I don't know how I would've survived international travel if I hadn't been able to point.

In Okinawa (and I'm assuming Japan) it's considered rude to ask for special orders (like no mayo or no cheese). You eat what you're given. It's also considered rude and wasteful to leave food on your plate, so you have to eat everything. That meant we had to eat both large pizzas - I've never been so full in my life!

We did a little more souvenir shopping and headed back to Jen and Brian's, where we collapsed in a heap. Sadly we were too full from pizza to eat a real dinner so we had Cheesecake Factory cheesecake for dinner. I'm not going to complain about that - yum!

Okinawa Trip: Two Days of R&R

On Tuesday, we drove to the northern end of Okinawa to take a ferry to Ie Island. For some reason, you have to back into spaces here (something I'm very bad at!) so poor Brian had to drive backwards onto a ferry! I was impressed - I would have ended up in the water.

The further north we are, the harder it is to communicate. Around the bases, more people speak English and many signs are in Japanese and English. Up north, not so much. We tried to find a restaurant when we got to the island, but couldn't find one to save our lives. We ended up getting lunch at the FamilyMart (a convenience store chain).

I got sushi and Japanese yogurt, which is a little thicker than ours. I'm not usually one for grocery store sushi, but figured I'm safe in Japan. Jen got some kind of rice/ fish thing and Brian and his parents ate peanut butter & jelly. Japanese peanut butter is very strange - it almost has a caramel consistency.

After lunch, we climbed to the top of Gusukuyama, a 172 meter high mountain (hill?). (see above right)I'm not sure how high that is in feet, but it worked my quad muscles like crazy!


YYY? Just Because...

After turning into big, giant sweatballs, we checked into our adorable cottage at the YYY Resort. It was so cute - you couldn't wear shoes inside so there were five sets of slippers waiting for us at the front door. We each got our own folding couch bed.

We played ground golf (a cross between croquet and miniature golf) and walked on the beach. The ocean was beautiful - really blue waters - but it wasn't a good swimming beach. Too much coral! I checked out the hotel's bath house. It had a fabulous hot tub where you could sit overlooking the ocean. It's a clothing-optional bath house, but being a prudish American, I kept my swimsuit on. And seriously, compared to the Japanese women, I'm a giant.

We were pretty tired so ate dinner at the bar. I got to try the Okinawa brewed Orion beer - loved it! I hope they serve it back in the States. They serve beer EVERYWHERE here - but the drinking and driving rules are really strict. The legal limit is low, so one beer can put you in drunk driving status. If you even ride in a car with someone who is drunk, you could pay thousands of dollars in fines AND get jail time.


Wednesday: YYY, Sharks and Mickey-D's


Once again I woke up super early, so I started the morning by walking down to the ocean and reading a book on the beach. At high tide, the ocean comes up really far so there were only a couple of feet of beach to sit on! We ate at the hotel's breakfast buffet, which served American and Japanese breakfast.

The Japanese version of American pancakes is not so good. They also served chicken nuggets - maybe they think that's what we eat! I had some miso soup and a really interesting dish with cabbage and some type of protein. I also had a disgusting lightly poached egg sitting in some cold soy/misoish sauce.

After breakfast, we drove all over the island - visiting the Ernie Pyle monument (everyone was shocked I didn't know who Ernie Pyle was!), a habu snake breeding center that only had one habu snake and a bunch of pickled habu eggs, a gorgeous ocean overview, and a cave with a rock that makes women have babies if you lift it up. Jen and I both picked it up - I figured if it works I'd at least have to meet a nice man or get really drunk. Either way, good times!

We caught the ferry back to Okinawa and headed for the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. It was the best aquarium ever. They have a whole section devoted to poisonous creatures you can accidentally run into in Japan - and what to do if you get stung/bitten/stabbed. Most of the exhibited animals were local so I've never seen them before - I think they even had one of those pufferfish!

The best part were the whale sharks. They were as big as two cars and we got to watch them eat. They just open their mouths and suck in everything around them - kind of a whale/shark hybrid. We ate lunch at the Aquarium where I got to try the famed Okinawan taco rice (a taco served on rice) and sweet potato ice cream. You wouldn't think sweet potato ice cream would be good, but it was!

Japanese McDonalds!

On the way home, we stopped at a McDonald's. I was so excited to try a Japanese McDonald's! To order, we used the English menu, which meant we pointed at pictures and the sizes we wanted. The portions are significantly smaller than American sizes.

I ordered the ultra-yummy Ebi Filet-O, which is a Filet 'o Fish made of shrimp. I also experienced the disgusting Japanese item ever. I forget the name, but it was some kind of iced tea that tasted like fish or seaweed or miso or moldy coffee grounds or dirty dishwater or a combo of all.

We also tried a warm Triple Chocolate Pie - which was a McDonald's Apple Pie with chocolate instead of apple. Nothing in Japan is as sweet as it is back home - it makes for some interesting desserts!

Okinawa Trip: Queen for a Day

I started yesterday morning with a 2-mile run. I think Brian was pleasantly surprised by how slow I was - although I'm more impressed that I ran on my vacation! There were a couple of paratroopers out running - and boy, can they book it! I guess I'd want them to be in great shape if they were coming to rescue me, so it makes sense.

After that, we headed to the Shurijo Castle, (see above right)the ancient residence of the Ryukyu royal family who used to rule Okinawa before it was part of Japan. We dressed up in crazy kimonos and got our pictures taken. (see below left) I only included the photo of me since Brian's parents have no way of contacting me to say "Get our photo off your blog, you crazy broad!"

The castle was definitely one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. There are a lot of Chinese influences to the architecture, and the history was fascinating. Everything was so colorful - and different from Western castles.

For dinner, we went to a restaurant where you grill your own meat at the table. There's a grill with coals right in the middle of the table. They bring platters of seasoned raw meat that you cook to your liking. We had lamb, sirloin, chicken, sausage, ribs (off the bone), and spicy sausage. We avoided pork belly, squid, large intestines, chicken gizzards and trotters (whatever those are.) I also had the best salad ever - a Japanese sesame salad with seaweed and a really yummy sesame/peanuty dressing.

Today, we're headed for an overnight stay at the YYY resort on Ie Island. Woo hoo!

Okinawa Trip: Having a Fantabulous Time!

It's 6 a.m. and no one is up but me. I swear I have some defect in my brain that has me sleepy by 10 p.m. and wide awake by 6 a.m. I've decided to write whenever possible so I'll have a journal of my travels. No way to upload pictures here - I'll add some when I get back to the states.

I'm having a great time! The weather is fantastic - in the 70's. It's really humid so you feel like you're walking in a big vat of cotton candy. I've given up straightening my hair - I look like a poodle!

Saturday: Shopping!

On my first day here, I went shopping with Brian and his parents on Kokusai Street in downtown Naha. (Poor Jennifer had to grade papers!) It was a bunch of open air shops and restaurants that sell clothing, snacks and Okniawan crafts.

I feel so foreign. All the women are ultra chic with their super skinny jeans and black leggings with long T-shirts. They put together the most bizarre color and pattern combinations and it looks absolutely perfect! And of course their skin and hair is beautiful - no need for botox here.

Not many people speak English - I ordered coffee by pointing at the menu and pointing outside to indicate I wanted a to-go cup. The other tricky thing is chopsticks. Many restaurants don't even offer regular silverware. I'm AWFUL with chopsticks - can't get them to work at all. I think that's why people are so skinny here. It takes a long time to eat!

Many stores have signs with English words (and T-shirts with English phrases) that make no sense whatsoever. There was a shirt for sale that said "Please Be You Tender Again Kiss Back." There are vending machines all over the place - and some even dispense hot coffee - but not many trash cans. Recycling is mandatory so you have to be careful where you put your trash.

We ate lunch at Sam's Anchor Inn, which was a teppen-yaki restaurant. We had an appetizer of pickled vegetables and curry soup. The chef cooked beef and stir-fried vegetables right at the table - and even juggled butter!

After we got back, I napped (jet lag!) and Jennifer came back for a little bit so we could go to dinner. We were all pooped, so went to the Macaroni Grill on base.


Sunday: History Lessons

Yesterday, we took a base-sponsored bus tour exploring historical sites from the Battle of Okinawa (a big battle location in World War II.) I'm a bit of a history/ museum geek, so I found it fascinating. I learned a great deal about the history of the island and the Okinawan culture.

In the morning, we went to Hacksaw Ridge (an area of significant fighting during WW II) (see above left), the Japanese Underground Naval Headquarters (see below left), where the Japanese navy stayed and the generals committed suicide at the end of the war (the men were short! I almost hit my head in the tunnels and I'm 5'7"!) and Sugar Loaf Hill (another battle location.)

We had a lunch buffet at the Port Hotel. They had a delicious cold noodle dish with wasabi and some kind of sauce and the tempura was fab, of course. Not so fond of the green tea ice cream. The toilet seats in the hotel were heated!

After lunch we went to Peace Memorial Park (see below center), a memorial to American, Japanese, Okinawan and Korean soldiers who died in the Battle of Okinawa. They also have a museum dedicated to peace. It was beautiful - the momuments and greenery and displays.

For dinner, we went to the Seaside Inn (a seafood restaurant located on base) and sat overlooking the water to watch the sunset. Absolutely gorgeous - except for the creepy fish. If you dropped your bread in the water, a bunch of creepy gray fish would eat it!

Brian and I are supposed to go running this morning - two miles, yikes!

Okinawa Trip: And the Traveler Arrives!

It's 4 a.m. and my body is wide awake, all screwed up from time changes and traveling halfway across the world. I thought I'd kill some time writing about my travels.

Detroit to Chicago

I traveled with a group of bratty high school students from Germany, all wearing the skinniest jeans known to mankind. And in case you ever want to try Quizno's breakfast sandwiches, don't!


Chicago to Tokyo

I made it with 20 minutes to catch my flight to Tokyo, which was (of course) boarding in another concourse. I ran through the airport to catch the flight, which ended up leaving an hour late. This time I traveled with a group of well-behaved high school girls from Japan, who all wore uniforms complete with knee socks and neckties. Somehow each uniform looked different - that's how hip they were!

On the flight, I sat by a non-uniformed hip-looking girl from Japan who never got up once during the 13 hour flight. She just stared straight ahead listening to an iPod. I, on the other hand, had rampant ADD. I went to the bathroom 5 times out of boredom, read 1.75 books and watched 3.5 movies (August Rush wasn't very good.) and one TV show.

Of course, I never sit by hot men on flights. I was stuck across the aisle from a blustery guy with a bad toupee who kept complaining about how they ran out of chicken before they got to us in the back. And he kept asking for two meals and five drinks at a time! Plus, he frequently got up and bent over in the aisle. I'd turn my head to get a face full of droopy khaki-clad backside. He was the only person on the entire plane who kept his window shades open, so the light shown right in my eyes. Ugh!

The only excitement on the flight was the food, which broke up the monotony - we got pretzels and beef and Ramon noodles and vegetarian lasagna.


The Tokyo Airport

I made it to Tokyo with about an hour before my next flight to Okinawa. When I got to the part where they clear our passports and fingerprint us, there were 75 people in line! I was in line with the most beautiful Asian women on earth. They must have been from Korea or China because they were in the foreign line with me. They all had rosy cheeks and glowing skin and perfectly straight hair - and the skinniest jeans on earth. I had blackheads and sweatpants and frizz.

I cut it so close, a lady had to get my bags off the cart for me and help me rush through customs, warning me that I only had 5 minutes to check in. Frantic, I went to the check-in area where there were hundreds of video cameras waiting - it looked like the Japanese paparazzi. I'm sure they weren't expecting a frantic-looking, blackhead-covered American wearing sweatpants who was almost in tears because she couldn't figure out where to go. I finally made it to the All Nippon Airways check-in counter and got checked in. Plenty of time! The 5 minutes was a fib.

Tokyo to Okinawa

I slept through most of the 3-hour flight to Okinawa. The flight attendants were very glamorous with matching pink neck scarves and black skirt suits. They walked around carrying a carton of Tropicana instead of water to refill our glasses. Apparently they don't do water on Japanese flights. A video kept popping up on the screen with self massages and exercises we should be doing. When we landed, an on-the-outside-of-the-plane camera actually showed us touching the ground!

The Okinawa airport was beautiful - orchids everywhere. I love the bathrooms (or toilets as the signs called them.) There were a couple of scary trough thingies I avoided. The American-style toilets had buttons! I pushed one and water came spurting out, like a bidet. I took me a few minutes to figure out how to turn it off. Another button played music (in case you're bashful!)

OK - I'm sleepy again. Off to bed!

Off to Japan - EEK!

Tomorrow's the big day! At 11-something in the morning, I begin 18 hours of flying fun - headed from Detroit to Chicago to Tokyo to Okinawa.

I'm excited - and also scared to death. I've never been overseas and I don't speak anything that remotely sounds like Japanese. I'm hoping if I bat my eyes a lot and point at things, I'll get by. (Hey, it works for blondes! Tee hee!)

I'm also planning on bringing a copy of Karate Kid 2, which was supposed to be on Okinawa (but may actually have been filmed in Pennsylvania for all I know.) I want to act out all the scenes in it!

The flight is going to be brutal - I'm leaving at 11 a.m. on Thursday and arriving at 8 p.m. on Friday, so I lose an entire day. (The weird thing is I leave at 11 a.m. on a Tuesday and get back at 6 p.m. on a Tuesday so I eventually pick up the time again.) Luckily, I get free alcohol on the flight - so here's to not remembering a thing!

I'm not sure what our schedule will be like - I may have time to post pictures here and there or I may chuck it all until I get back. I really can think of nothing better to do with my time than spend 10 days on an island (and air force base - so, cute men in shorts!) And who doesn't like sushi and sake?

Wish me luck -and if you don't hear from me after the 18th, contact the Embassy!