The Cottages at Oura Wan Beach

This past weekend, Joe and I went on a bit of a scouting adventure. We headed up to the Cottages at Oura Wan Beach for the weekend, on Camp Schwab, the northernmost military base.

We heard the cottages were nice and were thinking that they might be a great northern 'base' for visitors. We are so excited to take people up to the Aquarium , Hedo Point, Pineapple Park, Hiji Falls and the Orion Brewery. However, it's a long drive from Awase, and I don't think we want to do it multiple times! So, Joe and I thought that the Cottages might work as a northern starting point.

On a side note, we'll post pictures of the beach soon. I just wanted to share the cottage with our upcoming guests!

We were in the Reef Cabin.

They have cute little porches with a grill. You can hear the crash of the ocean from here. And almost see them! When you first walk in, there's a spacious family room area, complete with kitchen table.

We've also got a pretty decent kitchen!On the way to the bedroom, large bathroom.And one large bedroom (that will be used for our guests; Joe and I will stay on the pull-out)
We were quite impressed with the convenience, cleanliness and coziness of the cottage. Joe and I had a relaxing weekend walking on the beach, reading and playing games!

Land of the Rising Sun

One of my favorite things to do in Okinawa is watch the sunrise, because we have a view that surpasses anything I've been able to enjoy on any random morning from my own home. I thought you might enjoy an attempt to share in photographs some small measure of what it looks like.

One thing that is incredibly apparent is how well you can see a change in the position of sunrise from summer to winter. This first picture was taken in early September.













This second one was taken just yesterday, as the Colts were getting ready to spank the Ravens. The difference is even more dramatic than these two pictures show, not only because you get a greater sense of space when you see it with your own eyes but also because these two points are not at the extremes. I have pictures of the sunrise in December at a point further to the right (South) than this one, but aren't worth posting because they were grainy and poorly taken. I would likewise expect to see the sun move further North in June or July than it was in September.













Another side note about those first two photos: note the difference in the clouds! They really are representative photos of their seasons. In the summer almost every day was characterized by small, wispy clouds and a mostly sunny sky. Now we get a lot of grey, even if we are blessed with sixty-degree weather. That morning was a truly beautiful sunrise, the sun getting a rare chance to really shine out through a small slit at the horizon. It made for some absolutely stunning colors that my wimpy camera just can't capture.

This next series was an attempt to educate myself on differing exposure times and their effects in photography. I took the same image (this is, as you can no doubt tell, the same pre-Colts sunrise seen above) at six different exposures. I have my favorite of the six, but I am curious as to which one you like. If you have a moment, vote on yours to the right. If you have a few moments and this interests you, comment on why you picked the one you did after this post. As you evaluate them, I hope you enjoy a little taste of an Okinawan sunrise!

Picture A: 1/20 sec.


















Picture B: 1/50 sec.


















Picture C: 1/100 sec.


















Picture D: 1/320 sec.


















Picture E: 1/1000 sec.


















Picture F: 1/2000 sec.

Uma no suke!

We've been on-island for six months, two weeks, and three days and finally we've had okonomiyaki! I asked a good friend and dental school classmate what one Japanese food we should be sure to try, and this was it. After checking it out, we understand why.


Okonomiyaki is roughly translated "as you like it pancake." The basic batter is fairly standard, with egg, cabbage, and some other stuff that we're honestly not sure of yet. (We have to figure this out, once you get the ingredients the making of it is pretty straightforward.) The fun part comes in when you add whatever you like to it - Lindsay had squid, I had pork, you can add any combination of proteins and vegetables. It's kindof like a Japanese casserole but lightly fried instead of baked, the ultimate Japanese comfort food.

Like any pancake, you get to flip it!

And when it's all done, you glaze and cover it with a couple of fantastic sauces!

They had a ... jar? of Awamori right next to us, more for decoration than anything else.

Net result: fantastic! We will be hunting down this food again.

Full Rainbow

Recently, while having dinner Joe and I looked out or window and saw....

It really was a bright, full rainbow coming out of Nakagusuku Bay. The pictures don't even do it justice.

Upon closer inspection, we figured out that it was a full rainbow! I've never seen one of those before. It was too large to fit into one picture, so the best we have are these two split photos.