Flashback Friday...Kids who are bored

Summer 2006. El Centro, CA. Blazing hot. Middle of nowhere. (That's what El Centro means in Spanish, you know. "The Center". Of nowhere.)

These kids were so very grateful to be out of the travel trailer and living in the relative palace of the 2 bedroom cabin.

Who cares if all 4 of them had to share a bedroom? At least there was room to do this:




















Oh, how I miss those simple days!

Cross Country Banquet

As I mentioned in a previous post, Patrick's Cross-Country season ended...so there was the obligatory awards banquet to attend. It was held at the Habu Pit (of Homecoming dance fame).


You can dress Troy up...but you can't take him out.



Here's Patrick hugging Coach Campbell after receiving his varsity letter...and his peer awards for "Sweatiest Athlete" and "Biggest Chu-Chu Fan". (Chu-Chus are Japanese "Otter Pops". They are very popular, and the coach sells them out of his classroom, along with other snacks. Apparently, Patrick is his best customer.) We're so proud!



Awww...Coach and Patrick.



Awww...Patrick and Brandon.



Awww...Patrick's whole family!

Congratulations, Patrick...we love you, man!

Okinawa World

We had a very nice 4 day weekend for Veterans' Day. We decided to spend day 2 at Okinawa World. It's kind of like Old Town in San Diego...or This is the Place Park in Salt Lake City. Only with snakes & caves instead of Mexican food & ghosts or quilting & buggy rides.


What a gorgeous little place, huh?



Our first stop was the cave. We heard it was good, but didn't really know what to expect.











Just like Disneyland...they gotta try and sell you the photo (which, of course, always works with me).



So this is what it looks like. There is no way to do it justice here.



We walked and walked and were thinking we were going to see an exit any time now. Instead, we found this "you are here" sign. We were about half way through the cave...which is 2.5 Kilometers long! That would have been nice info to have. Here's a fraction of the photos I took:









And then we saw these creepy things in the water near the end.






Then we had to ride up the world's longest escalator to get back out.



Then it was on to the Ryukyu village to watch some glass blowers and other traditional crafters.







Brewing being one of their crafts.



And this is what they brew. Habu sake. Yum.


Then we went shopping in the various stores...


Some Engrish for your enjoyment.



Love the Scottish/Okinawan hybrid tie.



Not so sure about the placemats. Hmmm.



Then it was off to the snake show, where each member of the audience was invited up for a free photo op with the python before the show. Cliff and Coree were yellow-bellied.



Then they proceeded to bring out various snakes onto this little stage, about 1 ft. high with about 1 ft. of Plexiglas between the snakes and the audience.



Then we got to have an up close encounter with a few of their snaky friends (with their mouths banded shut)...



And some other creepy crawlies...like this tree crab. It's a type of hermit crab...



on steroids.



Turtles and lizards living in harmony.



This little buddy is the cutest!



Then it was on to another photo op with the python's albino cousin. He charged a fee, though..."freak show" factor, I guess.



Then a just a little more shopping...



Before making our exit...



With a short detour to the vending machines.



Take us home, Lopez!

Flashback Friday...Little Smokey

Our next several flashbacks will take us back to the summer of 2006. We were living in a furnished 2 bedroom house on NAF El Centro, waiting for our house to be built. Back then, the base had a serious feral cat problem. A whole colony of them lived in the bushes in front of the commissary.

Whenever we shopped, Coree would peak through the branches to see if she could catch a glimpse of any of the kittens. There was one in particular which she felt confident she could get to. She even bought some cat treats with her own money in an effort to lure him to her.

One of the snowbirds who bagged groceries took this somehow as a sign that we actually wanted to make this cat our own. How on earth he came to this conclusion, we'll never know. At any rate, the next day we dropped by Cliff's work on the way home from the movie theater to find that this man had captured the kitten in a borrowed kennel and dropped off said kitten in Cliff's building. After we got over our initial indignation, we decided to let him stay with us on a trial basis. We were already cramped, but what's one more when you've been living the trailer trash lifestyle?


Look at those little faces! Coree named him Lil' Smokey.



And this is where the cat spent 90% of his time...on top of Coree. He was like an appendage.
BTW...I did NOT like those ears. He looks like a jackal.



Brownie was SO curious about this cat, she could hardly stand it...but he was having nothing to do with her.



We were taking turns playing with the pencil, trying to get the cat to get nearer to Brownie.



Then Cliff tried feeding them treats together, you know, hoping that breaking bread forges bonds in animals just like humans. Eventually Lil' Smokey figured out that Brownie wasn't going to eat him.



This cat just creeped me out! Look at those eyes and ears. He looks sort of alien like.



Coree just doted on him during the few weeks that he stayed with us. (Apparently, the bed isn't good enough...he needs her pillow AND his bed.)



Brownie would just settle for the bed!

Unfortunately, things didn't work out and we had to take Lil' Smokey to the Humane Society, where they assured us he'd get snatched up. The timing was all wrong. There was really no place we could keep his litter box in the temporary house that he could access it but Brownie couldn't...and Brownie didn't get the fact that it was a litter box...not her own Easy Bake Oven. This coupled with the fact that he had a real scratching problem (like carpets and furniture) made for a deal breaker.

At least he was saved from a life of foraging in the commissary dumpsters. Hopefully he was adopted by a family more suited to his style. Maybe some sci-fi fans?