Beaches, acoustic guitars and our favorite child

This past Saturday, our older 3 children were invited to a Church youth activity on the beach at Torii Station. We pulled into the parking lot, slowed to about 10 KMH, kicked them out the side door, sped away, and headed over to the play area and waterslide with our remaining (favorite) child.


Jake got his fill of sliding...



splashing...



and cherry slushing.



Mom and Dad got the added bonus of listening to these guys rock some 70's acoustic hits. Sweet!



Then we decided to explore the area and see what we could find to entertain ourselves while we waited. We pulled out the map and decided to start with Cape Zampa...



Where we found this awesome lighthouse. We walked into the little visitor center, and discovered that for 200 Yen, we could hike to the top. So we did...



And about here...I was asking myself what on earth we were thinking.



But I think the view was worth it.



I really wanted a picture of myself with the light in the background...but the catwalk around it was so narrow, no one could get out far enough to take the picture for me...so this is the best I could do.



We had to zoom in on this interesting looking playground. There are SO many really unique parks and play areas on Okinawa. Stuff I wouldn't have thought of...but there's definitely a lot of "play at your own risk" kind of stuff.



When traveling, Cliff and I enjoy looking at monuments and markers. You can learn a LOT about a place that way. We saw this one off in the distance and walked over to read the story. Unfortunately, it was all in Kanji...so we had to make up our own story. This guy is Cowabungasan. He was Japan's earliest known surfer. Here he is, pointing toward his beloved coast on the earliest known surfboard. Since it was carved from stone...you can imagine how successful it was. This is why we see him here on top of this monument, as opposed to say, on the IMAX screen.



Kanji and all...I think this sign gets its point across perfectly.



There was a small petting zoo nearby. The signs with elephants and zebras caught our attention. Turns out it was just ducks and goats. They're just as good, right?



We passed by this restaurant on our way back. I LOVE these Okinawan bonnets. I'm going to leave this island with one...and I'm going to have to eat here now, too. But for tonight, we felt under-dressed...so we headed back down the coast in search of something more casual.