Homeward

Cherry Trees in Tokyo  

I know I’m nearing home. Waiting for our flight in  Dallas/Fort Worth airport, I can hear a Miami-bound Cuban shouting into his cellphone. As Patten said, he’s had the same experience when he’s flown, and it is vaguely comforting. I thought we’re the only Americans over 60 flying, but there is a couple of LDS missionaries here trying to get to Salt Lake City from their post in East Timor.

Okinawa airport was fairly full, Haneda airport less so. For our short flight from Okinawa to mainland Japan, I changed our seats to the two center in the middle section of four. My gamble paid off, and we had no seatmates, nor anyone in the row in front of us and only two people behind us. I wished it were the other way round, but can’t have everything. We are about the only people not wearing masks.

The bus for Narita airport had 5 riders, and the airport was almost empty. We had ¥10000 cash. Rather than exchanging it for dollars, I planned to do some souvenir shopping. As we walked through the few open stores, the sales staff were on us like hawks. I hope they are not on commission. Nothing called to me. We ended up going to the exchange shop.

Last Japanese-ish Meal:
Chicken with Aona Rice, Salmon Shashimi  

I changed our seats on our Dallas portion to a window and an aisle, figuring that gave us only one outside contact. Premium Economy was half full, but they still weren’t letting people jump up from steerage, as proved by the guy who tried twice to slip into the seat next to his friend sitting in front of us. The extremely polite flight attendants helped him back to his assigned seat each time. That put the damper on my trying to get to First Class.

They did serve us upgraded wine from business class.

Dinner in Dallas  

Even though Dallas/Fort Worth airport is empty, we still had slow times through security because Grant had left his ebook in his backpack. Always fine before, but it meant his carryon stuff had to be sent through X-ray again. The guy behind him was stopped for the same thing too? Is TSA is adding restrictions to keep themselves busy since no one is flying?

The potential seat changer had missed where to drop off luggage previously checked so he tried to carry his surfboard through security. No go. He seemed bewildered until I told him how to get back down stairs to where the airline staff was collecting through bags. He wandered that way. He and his buddy aren’t sitting at our gate waiting to go to Miami, so I guess at least one other plane is leaving DFW today, but there sure aren’t  many. This virus is killing us.

Miami  

I only wept slightly when I thought about how lucky we were to be able to visit our grandchildren these past two months. Remi grew from a newborn to a smiling baby who laughs when I play with him. Bella has consumed my heart. Counting yennies with her, singing Baby Shark, holding her hand.  All wonderful. Thank God we can see them by video and that they will soon be in the States. I’m making reservations for July.

Last Two Days

Spaulding was right: no matter how long or short a trip is, 3/4 of the way through, you’re ready to go home. I had that a couple of weeks ago, wanting to sleep in my own bed and see Annie. Now I wish we could stay longer, there is so much we haven’t seen.

It’s a moot point for us now. All the military have just been forbidden to go into restaurants, malls, or any indoor spaces, except for groceries and household necessities. Outdoors is okay, as long as we can keep the social distance of at least 6 feet. Today we drove over to Ikei Island, but Ryan was reluctant to go to any of the beaches there, because the parking lots and entrances are privately owned and were crowded with locals. We had rejected going to any beaches on the bases because we figured they would be crowded with Americans.

Akuna Beach 

Fortunately Akuna Beach, down gravel and dirt roads through sugar cane fields, was empty. Two young men drove up as we were offloading children, but the slight sprinkle must have discouraged them, as they looked at the water for a few minutes, then left. Not great shelling, mostly broken coral pieces, but with many, many little hermit crabs. Bella says she wants to hold one, then says no just as I go to place it in her palm. We repeat this over and over.

Lunch was convenience store bento boxes in our laps while we sat in a Lawson’s parking lot, and Mary nursed Remi. I told her I had planned to be eating an elegant bento box while riding on a Shinkansen bullet train, looking out at Mt. Fuji, rather than this. I wouldn’t trade these two months with our family for anything. We are so lucky.

Ancestors’ Tombs 

I knew absolutely nothing about Okinawa, not that I know much more now, however, it has been interesting to see various areas and local structures, then reading about each on the internet. Certainly not as good as any of the guides we’ve had on tours, however, we’re making do. My impression is that this was a fishing and agrarian culture, with pottery and woodworking, but no metal. Very utilitarian.

Ryukyu Pottery 

Art and decoration don’t seem to be high priority, most of the pottery has the same fish or other shared design. I was surprised hibiscus on many pieces, but I looked it up, and it’s likely a native. It certainly grows everywhere. One shop did have some turquoise square trays with little stars, an homage to the beautiful water and the star sand, (actually exoskeletons of protista, Baclogypsina sphaerulata, which I hope to find in the ziplock of sand I’m bringing home.) The Ryukyu glass was born from necessity after World War II, when an Okinawan realized they could melt down broken Coke bottles from the military bases and blow new glasses. Beautiful, yet all the shops have the same style and colors.

Children’s Chairs 

Grant and I had visited a woodcraft shop downtown and loved the irregularly shaped tables made of slabs of wood split in two, then joined as mirror images, sort of like butterfly wings. Bigger than coffee tables, smaller than family dining tables. About $2,000. Fortunately we have our fabulous Amish-made dining table, or I would have tried to figure away to have one shipped. There were also children’s box chairs exactly like the ones my mother had made for each of us when my sisters and I were young. Besides using them as chairs, turning sideways as tables, and stacking as bookshelves, we sat in them on our cross-country trips so we were high enough to see out. The original car seats. A slower and gentler time.

Helping Bella See the Fish  

We didn’t interact very much with local people, partially due to our natural reluctance with having a newborn in the house, partially due to fear of the dang virus. Everyone was kind and generous.

Excuse the Mess 

Almost stereotypically polite. Old people, especially grandfathers, would touch Bella, rubbing her hair or patting her hand. One man, without asking, lifted her up to see the fish better at the mall’s aquarium. Mary said that was common. How will they react to any coronavirus personal space restrictions?

Lucky Me

I had my hair cut at the local barber shop in anticipation of our going home Monday and not being able to have it cut on the Key for many weeks. The shop specializes in military haircuts, old style, not the new relaxed regulations due to the coronavirus which allows longer lengths so the troops don’t have to visit the barber as often. I thought about just pointing to one of the pictures of a fade, but I was afraid it would put the female barber over the edge. The men had already refused to cut my hair when Grant had showed them my picture and asked. Grant had his hair cut the day before and claims his mustache trim was the most complete he’s ever had. As Mary saw on one of the coronavirus humor sites, no matter how bad it gets, cutting your own bangs is never a good idea. I knew there’d be a point where I’d ask Grant to give me a trim, and it wouldn’t be pretty.

Sense

Broken Pottery Sidewalk Decoration
(Shisa Heads Next To Wall)

I woke up and smelled the coffee, which made me happy because a loss of the sense of smell is now considered an indication of a case of Covid-19. I was also happy because Grant had made me a cup of coffee, a morning treat. We have decided to return to the States on the 30th as planned. Our respite from coronavirus here is over with several new cases now on the island among locals who have returned from Europe and tested positive. Seems like time to go home.

American Airlines is still flying and sent an email saying they’ve “relaxed their seating policy to enable customers to practice social distancing on board whenever possible.” Does that mean we can sit in first class if no one else is on board? I certainly plan to ask. I am also carrying wipes and hand sanitizer to clean our area and ourselves.

Even though President Trump is hoping Americans can spend Easter morning, April 12th, in crowded church services, we think it makes more sense to listen to the medical professionals and to practice self-isolation as long as we can stand it. Since we need to pack up our apartment to move to Windermere, we will have plenty to do. Rather than my going time after time to Total Wine for boxes like I did when I packed for Key Biscayne, I decided we would make one trip to U-haul and buy boxes. A cheap price to pay for safety. Then Grant realized we probably can buy them online and have them delivered. Even better.

Currently, Miami-Dade’s beaches, parks, and boat ramps are closed, and the mayor has threatened to arrest anyone who doesn’t comply. The irony is that in less than a month, it will be hot enough that most of us would want to stay in the AC anyway. We just hope we are allowed to bike along Crandon Boulevard.

We certainly didn’t plan being together 24/7 when we contemplated how our lives would change when Grant retired. Our Marriage Enrichment group is meeting by Zoom next Wednesday. We will have lots to talk about by then.

Beaches and Birthday

Araha Beach with Bride in Background  

We’ve been spending time at the beach in anticipation of returning to the Key where all the beaches, boat ramps, and the state park are closed because of the virus. We walked over to Araha for some exercise, then spent the next day back at Sea Glass Beach.

Bella has turned into a great beach comber, willing to wade in deeper than her pants will stay dry.

Doorway of Lanterns  

At night we went to Murasaki Muri to the Ryukyu Lantern Festival. Besides hundreds of lanterns in the trees and across walkways, there were contest lanterns, some cute, some serious. Dancing pigs, historic castles, cartoon characters.

This evening the entertainment was hula dancers, including a group that danced to “Amazing Grace” being sung in Japanese, truly cross-cultural.

Hermit Crab Choosing New Home  

Today, we visited Sunabe Beach which has flat seaweed-covered rocks with shallow pools where we watched little Gobi-like fish dart around. Some were cleaning out their holes, then backing into them. In the sandy area farther out, I found quite a few cone shells which had hermit crabs in them. One was checking out a new house. I think it was cleaning the potential shell, then it lined up and slipped its body over to its new home. Certainly an easier and quicker move than we will have.

Sunabe Memorial

Fighter Ready To Land At Camp Kadena. 

At the corner of Sunabe is a bronze bas relief with a US soldier on one side and terrified people on the other to commemorate, if that is the word, the invasion of Okinawa in World War II and the 150,000 Okinawans killed. The caption read, in part, “Based on the experience and reality of the Battle of Okinawa, we will correctly convey the absurdity and cruelty of war to the next generation.” If only it were heard.

Overhear, fighter jets prepared to land at Camp Kadena.

Yakiniku Grill  

Mary’s birthday celebration was lunch at the Yakiniku restaurant she likes near Kadena base on 58. (Since the name is only in Japanese, that’s how they refer to it.) We had the all-you can-eat in 100 minutes for ¥1500. Using a tablet, we ordered the meat we wanted to the waitstaff to bring, them we grilled it on the in-table grill. Repeat, repeat, repeat. The aged Kobi beef was a hit. As a sop to nutrition, Grant ate bowls of kimchi, and Mary had a salad. Ryan and I had rice. Bella ate little hot dogs and corn.

At the end, we had vanilla, chocolate, and mint ice creams with little waffles. As if we needed more.

Happy Birthday 🎈🎂 

No dinner required tonight. But we did have a birthday toast with Summer Snow, the sparkling wine we bought at Pineapple Park. It tasted of pineapple without being cloying.

It is also Ryan’s father Tom’s birthday so Bella got to sing to him too via WhatsApp. He will have a birthday lunch with daughter Carly in Fort Myers, FL.

Birds

Being Turtles Crawling  

  After a false start because we had to turn around and go to Bella’s last soccer practice which Mary remembered a half hour into our trip, we made it to Triangle Pond, an acre of muddy, trash-strewn water next to what looked like a municipal bus maintenance lot in down town Naha, and the best birding I’ve seen in Okinawa. 

The birder I met on the ferry to Kumejima told me Triangle Pond was the place to see black-faced spoonbills, and he was right. Just as we walked over from the Family Mart where we parked, two flew in and landed, as did a gray heron which looks like our great blue. A third spoonbill joined them a few minutes later.

Black-faced Spoonbills  

 I identified 12 species, including Northern shovelers, coots, moorhens, black winged stilts, plovers, sandpipers, and snipes. Mary and I saw a ruddy breasted crake, a rail relative, taking a bath. We were about to leave when a Common Kingfisher, (yes, that’s its name), flew out from under the bridge, hovered, swooped down and caught a fish, then landed on a dead branch quite close to us. Grant called it a Goliath hummingbird from the way its iridescent turquoise back and brick-colored breast feathers shimmed in the sun.

This almost, but only almost, makes me want to carry a camera and huge telephoto lens so I could take great pictures. Fortunately, I’m too cheap.

Ryan couldn’t come with us, because he and his squadron are now quarantined for the rest of 14 days since they came back from the Philippines. For the first ten days, there was no quarantine order, so they went to work, restaurants, etc. Now they are confined to quarters. I’m not feeling safer from our leadership’s command of the situation. For the pilots and maintenance personnel, it’s sitting around, probably watching TV or playing video games. For Ryan, it’s telemedicine so he’s still working the whole time, just on the phone rather than going to the clinic.

Because everything not essential is shut down in Florida, our UU congregation has gone to video conferencing for all activities. Grant met with his men’s group 8:00 Thursday morning, 7:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time. Our covenant group had a coffee klatch to try out the new format at 9:00 AM EDT which worked really well even though it meant we were participating at 10:00 PM Okinawa time. Sunday service was a little more difficult at 11:30 PM, but I managed to stay awake, then left the meeting before hospitality, i.e., chat room, started. I think in the long run, this will be the way we conduct committee meetings, saving gas and time. Convenient for us, and better for the environment. At last something good from this terror.

Decisions

Heart Beach  

On Monday, we stopped by Heart Rock beach where, if you’re at exactly the right angle, the two rocks line up to form a heart. Mary drove down to the closest parking lot and paid ¥300 (currently about $3) so we would only had to climb down about 20 feet of treacherous rock steps to get to the beach which she with Remi and Grant wisely opted not to do. Good decision.

Ours was the only car in that parking lot, and the other lots were mostly empty.  Still there was a steady stream of people hiking down to the little beach and taking cute pictures as only the Japanese can do. Mary said she read that often there is a line to get to take selfies. Bella was more interested in looking for shells or sea glass than having her picture taken there. I agree.

Black Pig Soba and Sea Grapes  

Lunch was at the nearest open restaurant, Island Food Processing Station, an unpromising name in a small, dilapidated building, but the black pig soba was delicious. Okinawan black pig, Aguu, is a native pig that they claim has less fat, less cholesterol, and more glutamic acid then regular, i.e., white pork. It’s supposed to be a good source of collagen, which goodness knows I need all I can get. Nothing like hanging around small children to make my wrinkles stand out.

Oh, To Have Some Collagen  

On the drive home, we discussed the dang virus and its ramifications. Our inclination was stay the whole 90 days we are allowed to, then assess the situation. We are in the vulnerable age range, and it seems like all of America is shutting down. Okinawa does not have any new cases.

Our roomie Kelsi, now on the mend, had been in bed with chills and fever.

Nurse Annie  

 Some of her trouble breathing may have been due to Annie. Kelsi tested negative for flu, pneumonia, and strep. Could not get tested for coronavirus. Even though it would be more than 14 days since she fell ill when we got home, Key Biscayne does not seem like a hospitable place right now. Even the beaches are closed. We’ve decided to shelter in place as the new phrase is.

Now Kelsi has decided to return to Boston this Sunday. Her job in south Florida is done, and her university is calling all its students back. Patten and Ryann can come get Annie, who will have to stay in a large dog crate in his studio so Bobby, his pit, doesn’t accidentally eat her, and William, who can either stay with Annie, or get his own crate. Plus any of my plants that survived Kelsi’s illness.

I thought things were fairly settled, however Grant brought up the point that we won’t have travel health insurance after March 30th. Theoretically our High Deductible Part F Medicare Gap policy is supposed to be good abroad. However, the State Department told Americans abroad to come home now or plan to stay indefinitely. On to American Airlines website to see about tickets.

Hiking Hiji Falls

Okinawa Woodpecker 

Still fairly cool and really windy but clear skies so we gave Hiji Falls another chance. Right at the beginning of our trek we spotted 2 Okinawa woodpeckers, a bird endemic to this island’s forest. Then the law of diminishing returns kicked in. We walked and walked. No other birds, especially the Yanbaru kuina, or Okinawa rail, another endemic, which is supposed to take frequent baths, then spend time preening. There were lots of pools along the stream but no bathing birds. An hour later, at the suspension bridge, Ryan saw two Ryukyu robins, which I missed. We kept on climbing  up and down steps along the stream, and beginning to wonder if it were worth it.

Grant at Top of Stairs  

At three quarters of the way, there was a really steep set of steps that made us question our resolve. Then in for a penny, in for a pound kicked in.

Ryan and Bella at Hiji Falls  

Thank goodness there was a beautiful waterfall at the end. I would have been irritated if it were just walking along the rocky stream the whole way.

Squirrel Monkey Fern  

The way back was a little better. My scanning pools with my binoculars paid off with a prawn sighting, and I spotted an eel/siren swimming that stayed in view long enough for us all to see. Ryan saw a fish, and I saw two robins, maybe the same ones he did. Mary and Grant showed us a gray wagtail hopping at water's edge, eating bugs. No rare beetles, turtles, or ruddy kingfishers. But beautiful plants, much like North Carolina woods with what I call tree ferns, known here as squirrel monkey ferns, thrown in.

By the time we were back, about 4 hours total, Ryan’s FitBit said he’d climbed 65 flights of stairs. My phone app only showed 27, so I’m going with his data. True, he did walk back and forth while waiting for the rest of us to catch up. Grant’s only showed 10 flights. Wh have the same phone and walked the same path. One wonders.

Bella Pointing at a Really Flat Snail  

Bella was a trooper, walking at least half way, then riding on Ryan’s shoulders when the steps got too steep. Mary, in sandals, carried Remi in the sling. The route is supposed to take 40 minutes each way. Considering we had a two-year-old and two elderly flatlanders, I think we made pretty good time.

Pineapple Park and Pi Day

Pineapple Park Cart 

It was rainy and windy, so we decided not to go to Hiji Falls. Mary suggested we visit Pineapple Park instead. What a wonderful place. Like an old Florida tourist stop, the park is a mixture of Kawaii, the Japanese idea of cuteness, and a botanical garden. 

From the parking lot, we took a yellow pineapple tram that drove us through pineapple fields to the entrance, where we got in our own electric pineapple cart that followed an in-ground track through the shade houses, all the time hearing the “Pa-pa-pa-pa-pineapple” theme song. Several places along the ride we were instructed to look to our left, then 1-2-3, smile for a picture which were already printed for us to buy when we got to the end of the line.After having a pineapple cream filled eclair and a pineapple popsicle, we strolled through two-story shade houses filled with anthurium, bromeliads, ferns, trees, palms, and place after place where we could setup our cameras for a selfie with a kawaii background. 

At the end was the gift store with pineapple cake, pineapple pie, pineapple wine, candy, cookies, vinegar, with samples of everything. We bought a pie in honor of National Pi Day and 2 bottles of wine, one pineapple and one sparkling shikuwasha, the Okinawa citrus. Bella had a pineapple soft ice cream cone. 

It reminded me of Busch Gardens when we would go in the 1960’s. After taking the factory tour, my father and mother would get their free samples of beer, and we would go see the bird show. I think that’s where we saw a cockatoo riding a bike on a wire. Today all the bird shows focus on education which is probably better for the birds but far less entertaining. I definitely remember a poor parrot that had plucked out all its feathers because it was depressed after its owner had died. The bird keepers were distressed but didn’t have a solution. Today there probably are bird anti-anxiety meds. 

Busch Gardens added more and more animals and became the Dark Continent. I never understood how the penguins fit into the theme. Their pool was around the bottom of the escalator we took to begin the tour. One year, our dog Bootsie jumped out of the car window and ran through the animals for quite a while before come back. My mother was sure she’d be killed by an ostrich kick; I’m pretty sure my father was hoping so. The next year, there was a double fence around the area. We always wondered if Bootsie helped that into being. 

Turban Shell Operculum  

At the restaurant that evening, there was a line of volleyball-sized turban shells on a shelf  and some odd rocklike things. I sent pictures to family and friends to identify. My friend Jane figured out they were the operculum of the turbans. My new beach combing goal.  

Music

Every morning at 8:00, we hear the Star Spangled Banner over loudspeakers from Camp Foster. At noon and 5:00 PM, loudspeakers around town play music to notify everyone of the time. Like factory whistles, but more interesting. It seems to happen all over the island, because when we drove back from Azalea Park, we heard Edelweiss as we drove through a small town. I am intrigued by the choices of pieces, especially that one, because it was the played on the 55th anniversary of Sound of Music, which we watched again that evening.

I originally saw SofM in a Miami movie theater when it first came out. For some reason, I had ridden over with a high school friend, Mickie, to meet up with some of her friends, I believe Civil Air Patrol cadets. Since she was in CAP, and I wasn’t, I can’t imagine why I went. A question for when I see her at our girlfriends’ reunion in the fall.

SofM was the first  in our Clara-movie series. She was probably six, visiting us, and missing her parents. I tried to get her weeping stopped by singing “These Are a Few of My Favorite Things”. She had never heard of it. We rented the movie, and she was fascinated. I rented Mary Poppins for the next night,  and I had Grant start it while I went to a Finance Committee meeting.

When I got home, Clara grabbed my hand and insisted I watch the actress. “Look at her face! Look at her face! She was in the movie last night!”

I realized Clara hadn’t seen movies with people acting. She, like most children her age, had only watched animated cartoons.  This began our retrospective. Next was Princess Diaries to continue our Julie Andrews theme, (I decided to skip Victor, Victoria.) We went on to Some Like it Hot, A League of Their Own, etc. Especially fun is watching original movies and remakes, then discussing which we like better.

Tsunami Water Level Sign

 Who chooses the songs to be played over the loudspeakers? They are always Western music, usually secular, and old saws. The loudspeakers occasionally make announcements in Japanese, which seem almost like commercials. Mary said during election season, she thought they might be political ads. I assume if there were a tsunami, the loudspeakers would sound the alarm, since there are signs around town telling us the level of tsunami we are safe from. At Araha Beach, the announcements are repeated in English, and are admonitions to be considerate of other beach-goers: share tables if needed, pick up your trash, keep your dog under control, etc.

All the grocery stores play Japanese music at levels loud enough to make me want to hurry through my shopping which I think would be the opposite of what they would want. Out in the malls, it’s back to English songs, including It’s A Small World which I first heard at the 1964-65 World Fair in New York. I know most people cringe when they hear that song, and they ridicule the ride at Disney World, but it is nostalgic for me.

I loved the World Fair. On our way to the Canadian Maritime provinces, we stayed outside of New York City with the Sweets, former Naples neighbors, and rode the train into the fair. I was amazed by all the pavilions but my favorite was the Vatican’s exhibit that displayed Michelangelo’s Pietà. Never had I seen anything so beautiful and so incredible. I still cannot understand how artists can make marble turn into flesh and fabric. I bought the official Fair charm, a flattened sterling sliver globe that rotated on its axis, but I think it was on the charm bracelet I lost at Mount Rushmore. TBD

Mr. Sweet was a photographer for Evinrude Motors, which used travelogues to promote their outboards. It must have been at one of his children’s birthday parties where he show us his film of gooney birds (albatross) living and landing on an island in the Pacific. The premise was that they will sit on anything as eggs, so the crew had great fun putting odd objects in their nests; and, although albatross are graceful flyers, spending most of their lives soaring over the ocean, when they land, they flop and roll. Put to music, it was one of the silliest and funniest movies we’d ever seen. I just looked at EBay, and I could buy a copy for $75. Since I don’t have a 35mm projector, I’ll have to pass.

With non-Americans now being prevented from entering the US for 30 days if they have visited most of any part of Europe, perhaps we should have It’s A Small World played over loudspeakers once a day to remind us how connected we are.

Beaches

I love walking on the beach. Yesterday we drove north on the Okinawa Expressway to Sea Glass Beach on the Pacific coast near Toyohara. It was the first time Mary had driven this route or more than 60kmh since she’s live here, but we wanted to get to the beach before the rain moved in. Surface streets are more interesting but slow going.

Bella at Sea Glass Beach  

The Pacific beaches have some little clams; almost no plastic which I assume is caught in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, the Texas-sized collection of trash floating in the ocean; rocks; and sea glass. I haven’t seen sea glass in ages which I attribute to all those plastic bottles floating around rather than the beer and liquor bottles everyone used to throw into the ocean.

The beach was covered in clear and brown sea glass with just a little green. Mary hoped to find a marble like other people have claimed. I can’t imagine a piece of glass being shaped into a sphere. Maybe one of the thousands of containers that fall off ships each year had marbles, and they were tossed up on shore. For several years we attended the Seabean Symposium in Cocoa Beach, FL. One of the experts was US oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer, who tracks currents using debris from containers. Most famous were the LEGOs which went down in the Atlantic and were found for years along European and Florida coasts. Other newsworthy cargos were plastic ducks/turtles/beavers making their way through the Arctic Ocean and thousand of athletic shoes washing up in Alaska. I always keep my eyes out for LEGOs and toys, sneakers not so much.

Crab With Little Squid  

When we found a piece of glass with sharp edges, we pitched it back into the waves to have another go. No one swims at this beach so I didn’t worry about anyone getting cut. Mary spotted a little plastic box floating right at the water’s edge. I caught it and opened it, and I don’t know who was more surprised, me or the crab inside. I put the box back in the waves in case the little squid also inside was still alive. If not, the crab has lunch.

It didn’t take long for us to collect as much sea glass as we were interested in. I may try to drill holes in several pieces so I can hang them as light catchers. More likely I’ll keep a few pieces and put them in the glass bowl with the mangrove seeds I’m growing at home.

I prefer looking for shells. The wind has been blowing out of the northwest, so if the weather isn’t too bad tomorrow, we will get up early and drive north, this time to one of the East China Sea beaches on the west coast and see what the waves have washed in.

Obsessed

As Covid-19 sweeps the world, I’m obsessed that washing our hands seems about all we can do. So far, Okinawa only has 3 cases, and we are unlikely to cross paths with them. Doesn’t mean I can’t worry about every little cough we have. Or how we are going to get home without encountering diseased-filled droplets at the Tokyo airports. Or if we are going to get home if the airlines start canceling flights. Or...

While I obsess, we continue to go out and about, washing our hands and slathering on the little hand sanitizer we have. Mary was able to buy one-bottle-per-customers at the Exchange; I have a couple of travel sized bottles. After that, soap is our only friend. Plus not touching our faces. Small comfort from the experts.

“Beware of Rails Popping Out” 

We drove two hours north to see the azaleas, but the park was closed which their website didn’t mention. The young man at the information desk said we could drive through the area, however we couldn’t get out and walk to where we could see banks of azaleas. Meh. Since we were near Yanbaru National Park, we decided to drive on in hopes of seeing an Okinawa rail, (Gallirallus okinawae), an almost-flightless chicken-sized bird only discovered in 1978.

Since Okinawa has been inhabited for at least 10,000 years, I doubt no one knew about the rail. It’s probably like the whale sharks congregating off Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. Scientists had been studying other types of sharks along the coast for several years when, in about 2008, one of the locals asked why they didn’t they come when all the whale sharks were there? The locals had known about them all along, but it was breaking news to the rest of us.

In any case, we didn’t see a rail. Not a surprise, there’s under 1000, and they live in the dense forest or marsh. It was drizzling enough that taking a walk to look for one didn’t appeal to us.

Tired From Sliding. 

Pottery Drying In Sun

Yesterday after Bella’s story hour at the library and time on the playground, we visited Yomitan Pottery Village which had less than a dozen visitors. We enjoy the lack of crowds, however I wonder how long these artists can go without tourists. Their big festival last weekend was cancelled. So was South By Southwest in Austin as were the cherry blossom festivals in Tokyo, and the Ultra Music Festival in Miami, which will not be missed by our neighbors on Key Biscayne who lobbied against it for the get-go.  

 

Catching Fish

Today we walked over to feed fish and found several little boys who where having big times capturing fish, crabs, and shrimp in their nets. The boys were quite proud of their captures. Schools in Japan are closed as a virus precaution, which has been a real burden on parents. On the other hand, evidently because everyone is washing their hands and being extra careful about coughs, there are fewer cases of regular flu. We gave our extra bread to the boys and walked home before the rain came.

Bella and I made a yogurt cake for afternoon snack.

If Only Not One Drop

New Acquaintance  

We decided to have a beer at Okinawa Brewing Company in American Village, an outdoor mall about 2 1/2 miles away. Since the alcohol rule in Japan is “not one drop”, if we drove over, and Mary had a beer, we would have to leave the car and walk home. Seemed like a plan. Until the rain started. It wasn’t supposed to last long, so we had another round while Bella played with Tony, a corpsman who plans to attend med school after his tour is done.

The Japanese are so strict with their no drinking and driving policy, and they are equally strict about no handheld screens while driving. BUT, it is okay to watch TV shows or movies while driving as long as the phone or tablet is in a holder. On Kumejima the hotel worker was watching a game show as she drove us to the weaving co-op.

I checked to see if it were the game show Grant’s coworker Brett was on a few years ago. Each week two teams competed in a crazy task like running through a slime -filled obstacle course. The winning team got a prize, and the loosing team got a chore to complete and lost a member. I thought the chores, like making chopsticks from bamboo they cut, harvesting kelp for seaweed dishes, or raking a Zen garden under a monk’s guidance, were a lot more interesting than the prizes, especially after the prize was dinner at a high priced restaurant that used monkeys as waitstaff. I don’t like monkeys on a good day; I certainly don’t want one bringing me my dinner.

Week after week Brett was on the winning team. We were thrilled for him, but oh my goodness, those shows were painful to watch. Each week I secretly rooted for him to lose. Sadly, he made it to the finals but didn’t win, which meant we had to watch the entire season.

Back to walking home. Of course the rain started up again when we were about half way home. Mary and I had our rain jackets, but Grant didn’t, and he got soaked when he had to walk back and find Bella’s jacket that had fallen off while she rode in the stroller. Fortunately the weather has been warm, so we were just wet and not cold.

Walking to American Village  

The next morning was sunny and clear. We were going to walk back and pick up the car. But we diddled and diddled. We’ve been watching cupcake cooking shows, and I had promised Bella we would make cupcakes, which, as a competent 2-year-old, she remembered. Cupcakes baked, laundry done, more diddling. Then we needed lunch. All the time, Remi was cluster feeding in anticipation of his 6-week growth spurt and not agreeing to be held by anyone but Mary. we finally headed out, now with ominous grey clouds over by American Village. Then rain when we were again about half way there. Fortunately we were just a block from an Aeon, grocery/department store.

Once the rain tapered off, with Remi tucked in a front-carrier, Mary and I left Grant to shop with sleeping Bella while we walked to the car. We could have taken a taxi. They are everywhere and not hellaciously expensive, but after being accustomed to ride-share, I avoid cabs if possible. Ride-shares are illegal in Japan, so it’s shank’s mare if I don’t want to taxi.

We made it to the car, put an unhappy Remi in the car seat, and picked up Grant, Bella, and the groceries. A lot of work for a couple of beers.