Sunday, November 30

Our Second Thanksgiving

Today we celebrated a family Thanksgiving...and cooked our huge 26+ pound bird! The Turkey was excellent- even if it did take 6 hours to cook. It was a real workout pulling the turkey in and out of the oven- I recruited Mike's help when I flipped it over after the first hour.

The skin looks burnt, but it is just where the sugar in the sugar, mustard & bourbon marinade caramelized. We had all our favorites- mashed potatoes, rolls, peas and pearl onions in white sauce (my favorite!), cranberry sauce (which Matt grudgingly shared with the rest of us), and, of course, gravy and stuffing (Mike's only required dish). I did forget to cook the butternut squash- but we can cook that tomorrow and have with the leftovers. (At least I didn't forget it in the microwave or oven- I completely forgot to even start it!) Oh well, what's Thanksgiving without forgetting a dish??

Here Mike once again practices his carving skills...with an eager David awaiting the first taste of the turkey.

I did realize there were are lot of things I wish I would have brought with me...and a few things I thought I had but didn't. My turkey platter, my turkey cooking rack, more serving bowls...Cooking stuff is not easy to find here. Angie has promised to show me a local cooking store so I am looking forward to that! I had to borrow her springform pan for the pumpkin Cheesecake I made for Thursday's get together.

Today was and early day for the boy and I. We got up before 5 am to go down to the Exchange on Camp Foster. All weekend they were giving out $20 gift cards to the first 100 people in line. We went down on Black Friday- but at 4:30 am we were about 200th in line. We ended up staying even though we knew we wouldn't get any gift cards- they were having other give-a-ways too. We FROZE in line though! Felt like we were back in Anacortes! Very glad we had thought to take down a blanket- David and I huddled in that (Matt just went back to the van to warm up). Someone said it had dropped to 54 degrees- and there was a stiff wind blowing to cool it down even more. I know, 54 degrees does not sound cold- but for here it is freezing!

This morning was much better- it was much warmer and we were about 40th in line so all three of us received the $20 gift card when they opened at 8am. They were also giving out Scratcher Cards and Matt won a $25 gift card! He was very excited- David less so... David really couldn't complain though...he won 2 $5 gift cards on Friday. I just won a free haircut (about $7) and free french fries. Didn't do any shopping this morning- just went for the special give-aways. Friday morning we did finds some good deals...including a serving platter I could use for my Turkey. The big demand items were the 1 Terabyte external hard drive for $129 and the notebook computer for $349 (that was tempting even though we didn't need one!). Matt, of course, shopped for clothes...the Nike apparel was 40% off and he was looking for sweats (it is cool enough now we are all digging out our fleece and looking for warm stuff to wear).

One thing we all agreed on regarding Thanksgiving...it is all about the left overs!
Yummm! (and no cooking for several days- yea!!)

November 27, 2008

Our Thanksgiving

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving! We were invited to Peter and Melissa's house and were thrilled to have the opportunity to spend the day with friends.Peter and Melissa live just a few miles from us out on the Town. They are just steps away from the Seawall. This is the view from their front balcony. It was great to see their house- we haven't seen any of the off base housing before today. Melissa calls it a "pencil house"- very thin and tall. On the ground floor is a two car garage (drool!!) and a mud room. Up a flight of stairs to the living room/dining room/kitchen/bathroom. Up another flight of stairs to the master bedroom and a bedroom/den. Up yet another flight of stairs (yes, this house has LOTS of stairs!) which takes you to two more bedrooms. Definitely "Western Style Housing" verses a traditional Japanese house.

Mike had the honor of carving the turkeys. (yes, that's Matt being a goof in the back!)

Not sure how many people where there, but Peter and Melissa had lots of people coming and going all day. Everyone brought oh so much yummy food- especially Angie's mashed potatoes and Ray's gravy.

Lalon and Ray enjoyed the peach cobbler (with ice cream and whip cream, of course!)Joe (and Melissa too) was nice enough to take our picture before we left. As you can see, it was a bit breezy out! Really felt like fall today- cool, breezy and a bit of rain.

We still plan on having our own Turkey Day- I have a 26 pound bird in the fridge defrosting. (and it is taking it's taking its time doing so...think I may resort to a sink full of cool water to get it going...) The Commissary didn't have a whole lot of choices- either a 25-26 pound Butterball or a 14 pound off brand turkey. Well, if I'm going through the trouble of cooking a turkey, might as well make it big!
The boys are already planning on those turkey sandwiches with lots of cranberry sauce...

As We Give Our Blessings

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!


We give our THANKS for our Loving and Supporting Families- we love you all!

We give our THANKS for all of our giving and generous friends....we don't know what we would do without each and every one of you.

So many people who hold such special places in our hearts.
We have much to be Thankful for- Today and Everyday.

May your Thanksgiving be filled with Family, Friends, Love and Blessings (and lots of good things to eat!).

I Guess Some Things DO Change!!

We are all jumping for joy!!
Gas Prices Finally Falling...

Well, the word is out, and spreading FAST!
AAFES has announced that starting November 28th (Black Friday) our gas prices will drop from $4.06 a gallon to $2.433 a gallon! YES!!!

Here is the announcement from AAFES:

Gas prices fall Friday in Japan / Okinawa

OKINAWA – Motorists will pay less at the gas pumps in Japan and on Okinawa when AAFES service stations open on Black Friday, historically the busiest shopping day of the year. Midgrade unleaded gas will sell for $2.433 per gallon, due to a reduction in cost AAFES pays for fuel through the Defense Energy Support Center .

DESC, the most economical fuel supplier available to AAFES in Japan and on Okinawa , will lower their wholesale cost beginning Dec. 1, and AAFES is happy to pass along the savings to customers a few days early.


May it be a long time before we see these costs again...

Putt-Putt Golf

A Challenging 18 Holes

For weeks we have been eying the miniature golf course on Kadena saying "We have got to give that a try sometime".

After spending the morning at Forest Adventure Park, we had to back at Kadena for Matt to have is first session of "Behind the Wheel" Driver's Ed. Since we had an hour or two to kill, David, Mike and I decided to hit the golf course...putt putt style!

It's a cute little course just behind the Schilling Center and next to the Commissary and Exchange. Best of all, it's free of charge! You just have to go in and check out the putters and golf balls.

David tries to line up a challenging put. I think all three of us managed to get our ball stuck underneath the rhino on our first attempt (or two or three) at this hole.

That is one hungry gator! Too bad it is so hard to "feed" it! I showed the most "skill" (translation- "luck") on this hole...I think it only took me two tries to successfully shoot the gut...This was fun to keep trying tho..we got a lot of laughs from this hole.
This was another difficult hole...you have to hit it just hard enough for the ball to stop under the canon and drop into the little ravine which will run the ball down to where the hole is. If you it the ball too hard, it goes past and it's even harder to make it from the other direction.

For a "Kids" course, this thing was very challenging....



These flowers were in the middle of the course, and are all over the island. I love the way they look before the flowers open all the way- and the contrast between the the spikes and flowers.

Forest Adventure Park

Just Zippin' Along, Having a Blast!
November 22, 2008

Today we went to Forest Adventure Park- WHAT A BLAST!!

For those of you locally who have not yet tired Forest Adventure- YOU HAVE TO GO!! We had soooo much fun...even me, who is NOT thrilled about jumping off of things.

So, those of you who aren't on Okinawa, are asking yourself, "What is Forest Adventure Land"?

Well, it is pretty much just what it says...an Adventure (with a capital "A"), in a forest. This Adventure involves an outdoor park full of zip lines, rope bridges, a Tarzan swing, hiking paths...all kinds of fun stuff! It is located only about 20-25 minutes from our house, near Maeda Point (where we did our qualifying dives).

You check in at a small office right across the street from the beach at Maeda Port. This is where you pay and sign all the waivers- and your last chance at an "American" restroom. From there they load you up in their shuttle vans and drive you up to the actual park.

Now, I must say, this was the first adventure! After turning off the main road, we went off through the sugar cane fields....and these drivers were flying along these narrow twisty roads like you could not believe! With the 7 foot high sugar cane along the roads and hairpin turns, you could not see anything. I think the drivers know where the other drivers were so they could fly up with no regard for oncoming traffic. Didn't really feel unsafe... but visions of "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" come to mind... Drivers were very nice- we where running back to our van to grab a few things, and the van chased us down to drive us there and back. Very sweet...and after realizing how far away the lot where Mike had to park, I was glad for the ride!


We were dropped off (pretty much in the middle of a field of sugar cane and pineapple plants in the middle of no where) and followed the signs to "Wipe Out Lodge". They were already getting in the Holiday Spirit and a employee full of smiles was handing out candy canes.The employees then harnessed us up. They make sure those things are on nice and SNUG! The smaller ladies would actually brace themselves and pull for all they were worth. Still, they were not uncomfortable...although I was glad for the relatively cool weather today. I think the gals had it easier then the guys...the guys really had things squeezed and pushed with those harnesses.

After everyone was harnessed up, we were led down to a "mini course" for a safety/How-to brief. We were shown how to clip on, climb the ladders, walk across a line and try small zip line. Our Tour Guide here was showing us how the safety clip is used.


Mike clipping on both clips. The first one to go on is the larger blue one. This is the one which actually slides along the cable. The second, red one, is the safety line. It is clipped on to something at all times- even while climbing the ladders or nets. The clips go on in opposite direction- just in case you grab them, you would only open one clip, not them both (but you are never supposed to touch the clips once they are on, or cables- for obvious reasons.
Here I go- I always knew I could walk a "fine line"!


Let's see...which clip comes off first?? Oh yeah, the red safety clip! Safety First...

As soon as the guide saw we know how to do everything, we were free to go! The first zip line is a nice long one- right over a forest ravine! Matt was the first to go through his safety check so he was off and Zipping first.



This one on the left was a LONG zip line- one of my favorites. I am standing at the end here- you can see the group of people WAAAYYY on the other side waiting to come across. Best advice I can give you- go before you think too much about it! The other zip line was towards the end...and you picked up some serious speed on this one.



These net bridges were fun- and very bouncy!

































Here goes David- right through the tree tops!
Amazing feeling to be gliding (zipping) over the tress across the jungle. That amazing feeling lasts until you get about 2/3's of the way across and you start worrying about landing...













Getting to the start of the zip lines there are wooden ladders, cargo nets, or peg ladders to climb.

















Some of the zip lines were right next to one another- others were a bit of a hike. Here Mike is hoofing it to catch up to the rest of the group. It was quite an uphill jaunt between these zip lines...fortunately this was about the half way point and there was a cooler with ice cold sodas- orange, grape or tea (one per person, please!) What a nice touch. Very relaxing to sit at a picnic table in the middle of the jungle and enjoy an icy drink.At the end of the course is a huge assortment of obstacles. To the left, front, is the landing net from the Tarzan swing, to the right of that is a swinging bridge over to a ladder. Up the ladder to the rope bridge. From the Rope bridge you can either take the rings across (Matt is in the red going across), or the wooden platform bridge. Then up another ladder to the platform for the last zip line.

The start of it is the "Tarzan Swing"...this was the one I was dreading! You climb a couple ladders to get to the top of a very tall platform. After clipping in and grabbing hold...you launch yourself off the platform, free fall until the line catches and swings you into a huge cargo net. I am NOT a fan of jumping off of things...or even climbing down. I will go up anything...it's the coming Down that always gets me! So here I am standing at the top of a VERY tall tower on a small platform...nowhere to go but down. Hummm...the thought of climbing back down the ladder crossed my mind...but with a herd of Boy Scouts cheering me on I said a quick prayer and stepped off. I'm not sure if I was screaming out loud, but I was certainly screaming on the inside! It is over amazingly quickly- and is incredibly fun! The first second of free fall is terrifying- but it is over so quickly you ALMOST forget about it. Although I loved it, I'm not sure it will be any easier to do again!














Here is Tarzan Mike...
Mike, David and I all actually bounced off the net when we hit. Mike was able to keep his feet hooked. David and I had to swing back into the net.




Here is Matt hanging out- watching and laughing at us during the Tarzan Swing. I have few pictures of him since I went off with the rest of the scouts and we didn't see much of him. Only zip line we were able to watch him do was the very first one.



The rings were tough too- took a lot of control so the rings didn't flip all over.

This bridge was harder than it looked. Each time you stepped, the step swung forward, making for a long reach. Not too bad after you get the hang of it.












Here is David contemplating his pending departure on the zip line.







This is the last zip line on the course. I took this photo as I was zipping down- Mike is standing on the platform watching and waiting for his turn.The view from the last zip line tower is amazing. You can see across the turquoise shallows and brillent blue waters to the Zampa Lighthouse and north across the fields and hills.