Fruit bats, muriatic acid and mini-vans, oh my!

Last night we were out in the parking lot and our first fruit bat came flying by. I can't let that go without the proper description so, again, after consulting Wikipedia I came up with this...

Don't let the name "fruit bat" fool you. Ordinarily, when you hear "fruit bat" you think tiny. Well, there's another name for this little cutie...it's called a "flying fox" or, more specifically...Ryukyu Flying Foxes of Kuchinoerabu. That should give you a pretty good idea about the size. Yep. He's a big 'un! They have wingspans of up to 35 inches. When it locates food, the flying fox "crashes" into foliage and grabs for it. It may also attempt to catch hold of small children with its hind feet, then swing them upside down — once attached and hanging, the fox draws food to its mouth with one of its hind feet or with the clawed thumbs at the top of its wings. After a bit of problem-solving I decided to super glue 5lb. weights in Jenna's sandals so the bats won't carry her off. Just a bit of dramatic license for the readers. Truthfully, Wikipedia says they catch hold of branches but...I thought that would be too boring.

I wish I would've had the camera last night. It was amazing! I mean what do you do when you see something coming at you the size of the Navy's newest strike fighter and it whizzes past your ear? Well...you gotta respect that.

Orientation today was LONG. The bus picked us up at 0600 and we got back at 1830. It was a 12 1/2 hour day. Unbearable. Painful. Torturous! So much so, I liken it to the pain one would feel when pouring muriatic acid directly on one's eyeballs. Anybody and Everybody spoke. Things would've gone faster had Nobody spoke. At least it was only one day.

Tomorrow we should have a...I can't say it...don't make me...ugh!...a MINI-VAN!! I'm going to be a MINI-VAN mama...two times over! We're looking at another one. If we get both of them it will be less than $4,000...total...for BOTH. Can't beat it! One is a Toyota Lucida and the other one is also something else you've never heard of. Tomorrow we also pick up our Japanese driver's licenses. We took the test yesterday and it was in Japanese! Boy was it tough reading all of those Kanjis! Nah...it was in English. It was easier than expected. Now, having passed the test, that makes us "professional drivers". Isn't that what those Formula One guys are? Could I drive one of them there fancy VEE-hickles now?

Housing...you'll like it...or else!!

Well, who in the world would've known we would be so welcomed into Okinawa? I mean, they really didn't have to go to all of that trouble for the fireworks display this past weekend!

Actually, this weekend was the 22th (and I REALLY mean 22 with a TH) Seaport Chatan Festival. Sometimes the Japanese get a little lost in translation. There were some dragon boat races on Sunday. I wish I could tell you how wonderful they were but...the races were one of the most boring things we've ever been to.

It appears that we live on Okinawa in Chatan (chah tawn) which is a village. There are 12 military installations on the island and Marines roam here freely. They are EVERYWHERE! The Naval Hospital is on Camp Lester which is probably where we'll end up with housing. On Thursday we're going to look at the unit. I don't know why. We pretty much have to take it. Just wait until I post pictures of this mansion. Whoo-ee! It's a bunker. Built to stand the test of time. Able to withstand typhoons. Guaranteed to cause clinical depression. But, more on that later!

Doctor fish? Oki Doki...

Today we stopped by this little spa where for $13.00 and 10 minutes of your time you can do this...

These little guys are Garra Rufa or "doctor fish".

The are found in Turkey in hot springs...not Arkansas.

They nibble off the dead skin cells on your feet.

Cleopatra was known to have used these fish to help keep her skin beautiful.

Let's talk ticklish.

If your feet are ticklish like mine, you're going to freak out in the beginning. After a few minutes it wasn't so bad...until they started going in between my toes.

The fish provide what is called an infrasonic massage.

So...how do my feet look?

You have to hand it to Wikipedia to give a great definition for such an odd activity!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_fish

Our 10th anniversary...could be worse...ary!

I know. I know. Bad joke! It's July 25th...our 10th anniversary. I'm not exactly sure when we were supposed to recognize it with the time change and everything. There's nothing like having an anniversary dinner of spaghetti made in a tiny kitchenette. I'm not sure what we're going to be eating here in the room. Hopefully, we'll get a house sooner rather than later.

I'll have to post some pictures of the bathtub here. If you are an average-sized person and want to take a bath it would be perfect if you prefer your knees touching your chin. It's so small! The pipes look like an afterthought. We have a toilet named Toto. LOL Actually, the sink is too.

Soon after getting here we tried to work the remote controls for the air conditioners. I say 'air conditioners' because there is a unit in every room. It's not a window unit...just one on the wall. So, the problems begin shortly after picking up the remote. We fiddled around and set it to the perfect temperature. A few minutes later I realized it would've been the perfect temperature for ANTARCTICA. My interpretation of Kanji characters being what it is did not allow me to decipher them correctly. So, we had to deal with the heater for awhile.

Tomorrow I tackle the washing machine. There are 5 English words on it and one is SANYO. I have no idea how to run it. Maybe someone should start a pool to see what our clothes are going to look like the first time I wash them. :)

We made it!

It's Saturday, July 26th at 0630 here in Okinawa. If you're on the East coast it's 1740. Central time is 1640.

We're still working out the bugs with the time change. We were awake at 0430. Poor little Jenna slept from noon-1930, had dinner and was back in bed by 2100. She was up when we were this morning.

Anyone who watches Oprah knows she always asks her guests this question. "What do you know for sure?"

Well, here's what I know for sure...

1) The peephole in the door is WAY too low. Even I have to bend down to see out of it.

2) I can't read the Japanese Kanji characters on the A/C remotes or the washing machine.

3) The cabinets are way too high. I have to get on a chair to get in them. Low peephole. High cabinets. I don't get it.

4) The bathtub is the size of the bowl I had my cereal in this morning.

5) The mamasans will bustle through the door before you even know they're there.

6) A three bedroom, 1 bath lodge/motel room with kitchenette can be cleaned by two mamasans in less than 4 minutes FLAT! That is not an exaggeration.

7) And, my daughter is a clown. She's sitting on the couch saying, "Let's rock this clubhouse. Get to it!" and now..."I'm gonna rock this hotel!" I don't know where she gets this stuff. New material every day. Next thing I know she's going to be saying, "Thank you! I'll be here all week!"

A little sun...a little SeaWorld

Today we went to SeaWorld in San Diego. Now my visits to all SeaWorlds are complete! This was the last one I needed to go to. I've been to the ones in Orlando and San Antonio several times...now this one.

So, on the way to SeaWorld we stopped in Oceanside at Denny's for breakfast. Lonnie asked if they had a military discount. The cashier said there was no charge. There was a man in the restaurant who wished to remain anonymous that was picking up the checks for military members. Wow! That was so nice! And, the anonymity makes it intriguing.

It's off to bed for another early start in the morning. Tomorrow is the "big day". And, big in a lot of ways. It's a big move out of the country and it's a big trip...an entire day. It's also a BIG LONG WAY OVER THE OCEAN!! Whew! Tomorrow we cross the International Date Line.

We're off!

Yesterday we drove to Atlanta to spend the night. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 0730. We had to be there 90 minutes before to check in our SIX just-shy-of-70 lb. bags, the 3 of us and...the cat.

This morning found the 3 of us standing at the security checkpoint with Mom & Dad. After a tearful goodbye and a prayer for the road...or sky in our case...we were off. The flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles was about 4 1/2 hours.

We arrived in L.A. around 0900, picked up our bags and went to the curb so we could immediately get on the wrong hotel shuttle to drive us around a little piece of LAX. Fortunately, the driver was able to drop us at the right place. Who would've known there's more than one Sheraton so close to the airport!

Several hours later we met our friend, Kunwar (who was in the Navy when we were at Great Lakes) and his son, Ronak. We went to the Santa Monica Promenade and then drove up to Malibu. Later that evening we had some South Indian food and went to Venice Beach...more or less to check out the local um, colorful people.