The Okinawan Rohrs

Monday, October 26, 2009

Cradle Mountain and lake Tasmania

G'Day folks.

Well our trip to Australia is over. It was a great time as always. You won't find too many cities like Melbourne at least in this hemisphere. Our time spent there was split between visiting animal parks, shopping and eating. As always the food, beer and wine were excellent. Gary made sure the supply was plentiful. Allie and Gary are great hosts and Lachlan is a handful of fun. Gary's family and friends joined us at various points during the trip making it a second home. The girls loved their cousin Lachlan's new puppy Mika. A tiny little Saint Bernard! Gorgeous animal with a sweet disposition. The only dog that would allow Lachlan to yell "dog! Dog!" then launch into a perfect rugby tackle. Lachlan has good form for a two year old. After Melbourne we ventured to Tasmania.

Tasmania, what can I say WOW! Absolutely a beautiful place. If I was to be an expat well ol'Tassie is on the top of the list. Definitely worth a second visit.

What? Not convinced. Ok, sure some think Tassie is the back woods, hicksville of Australia. Which by the way is very odd considering they have places like Alice Springs and Darwin. Anyway, Tasmania has mountains for climbing and some skiing (some only because they are anti development so no infrastructure but I could imagine the back country-TELE-HO!); the entire west side of the Island is virtually uninhabited and accessible only by foot, horse, 4x4 or hilo. I find that prospect very cool. Lots of trekking possibilities. Oh and did I mention the beer...mmmm. The Boags brewery tour in Launceston is an absolute must. If you like to sail or dive it appears to be a paradise for that too, particularly at Hobart. The kelp forest and large protected bays make it good for cold diving and day sailing. Hobart reminded me a lot of Monterey California. Including the Salamanca Market. A weekly street market resembling a flea/farmers market. Id o have to Tasmania has all these things but since we were travelling with four children 6 and under,and a pregnant Aunt Allison we (minus Allie and the kids) drank beer and wine while talking about all the cool things we could be doing! Oh well that is for the next trip Cheers!

Tamar River Skywalk

Ballarat Wildlife Park (scene of Carolyn's infamous kangaroo kicking incident; not to be outdone, Lachlan launched another perfect rugby tackle on a momma and her joey. The joey quickly scrambled back into mom's protective pouch! LOL!!)

(More photos to come.....)

Sunday, August 30, 2009

End of Summer and a short trip to Korea

Well, the end of the summer has been busy here. We have not been idle. Carolyn and Meghan have added T-Ball to their list of activities. Carolyn has proven to be a quick fielder and Meghan can swing a mean bat! The coaches are great; they really know how to get kids involved and keep them motivated. That is no easy task, particularly since the temps have been running in the 90's with high humidity. I was lucky to be home for the two games played so far and was able to assist the coaches a little. It was a lot of fun. Next Carolyn and Meghan will start piano. We will approach it the same way, keep it fun, see if they like it. Ella will be attending a pre-school three days a week and still hitting gymnastics.

As for work, well, I took a short two week trip to Pusan Korea. Nice place-fish lovers dream. Though some of the live catch could be nightmarish. I spent 90% of my time on the USS Blue Ridge the Flagship of the Pacific Fleet, the ship is in good shape despite its age, old for a warship at 39. Some of you may recognize the first class accommodations from the photos.

Erica and the ladies of the North Island Officers Spouses Club painted the town red on Friday belting out all the greatest hits and washing them down with a few Orions.

Carolyn all smiles after her first SOLO bike ride! All smiles minus the front tooth of course.

Victory root beer float at A&W.

Where's my root beer!

All better now.

Monday, August 24, 2009

End of Summer

Wow, its been a while since we've blogged. Ever since Karl has returned, we've been trying to make up for lost time, exploring the island and just reconnecting as a family. These are the last carefree days of summer. Only a few more days until school starts.

Ella demonstrates how to eat tacos in Asia

All in all it has been a very relaxing summer. The kids and I spent most days at the pool with swim lessons. The highlight was when both Carolyn and Meghan passed their swim test and can now swim in the pool unaccompanied!! We're very, very proud of them. They wasted no time putting those bands to good use. They have a blast attempting dives, cannon-balls, and various jumps from the diving board, while I watch nervously in the shallow end with Ella.

Camp Adventure swim lessons. Carolyn is in the Hello Kitty suit

We've explored a few of the local beaches: trash beach, Tori Station, Kadena Marina, Maeda to name a few. Odomari, affectionately referred to as Mama-san, on Ikei island is our favorite. It offers both a sandy beach and coral, something difficult to come by here. We all enjoy snorkeling there.

Entrance to beach, followed by Mama-san beach

Kadena Marina

Speaking of water activities, I recently received my scuba certification. I've absolutely fallen in love with scuba diving. It is one of the most peaceful things I've ever done; not to mention one of the most beautiful. I felt like I had stepped into a Jacques Cousteau documentary. Big bright coral teaming with brilliant fishing darting all around, sea turtles effortlessly gliding above as moral eels peer out of crevices watching you float by. What isn't there to love? I'm fascinated with nudibranchs. They are so colorful; bright blues, lavenders with yellow and black spots. If you look close enough, you can see them everywhere. Karl and I are hoping to dive the Kerama's the next weekend or two.

In the meantime, Karl is staying busy with work. He is currently in Korea for a two week exercise. He had hoped to go to the DMZ, but wasn't able to. Instead he spent his free time perusing knock-offs at the local markets and loosing his appetite watching live octopus being hawked for lunch. I'm looking forward to seeing and posting his pics. I'm really hoping he comes home with a knock-off Louis Vuitton. I know, wishful thinking!

Meghan and Carolyn have begun t-ball. Its pretty hilarious watching 5 and 6 year-olds trying to run the bases while holding bats, picking up the balls they just hit, or watching the ball roll past their feet (Meghan). Pics will be posted soon of our t-ballers! Carolyn starts 1st grade next week, followed by Meghan and Ella the following week. Wow, time really does fly by!