Beautiful weather fun

 The last few days have been BEAUTIFUL...to the point that I almost forgot how miserable the heat and humidity have been for the past 2+ months. It is crazy for me to see people back home (in the states) wearing coats already because it feels like San Diego summer weather here now (aka perfect). We have been spending A LOT of time outside...love our little outdoor space at home where Rowan and I hang out every afternoon while we wait for Grant to get home. 

Rowan has been so fun the last few weeks. He laughs like crazy whenever we tickle him and loves playing "I'm gonna get you" with Grant. So fun to watch them play together.

I have realized that both Rowan and I are much happier when we get out during the day. I go a little crazy staying at home all day and he loves being outside. So Thursday morning, we jumped in the car and headed west to explore some new beaches. I had a general idea where I wanted to go, but didn't really know what to expect. We just drove until something caught my eye, then we'd get out and walk around for awhile and then head on to a new spot. The first place we came upon was a little national park with a fun little walking path with gorgeous views. Here we are in front of the rock that looks like an elephant's trunk.

 Next I pulled over at a rest stop area and walked a short little bit down to this beach. We were the only people on the entire beach, except for a bunch of hermit crabs :)

 And once we were done walking there, we headed even farther north to Nago Citizen Beach which I think is one of my favorites. It was at least a mile long and we walked the entire thing. Rowan fell asleep in the ergo while I beach combed for over an hour. 

These were some of my favorite shells from the day.

And after we finished combing, we bought some candy at the Family Mart and then laid out for a little while. Rowan did some pushups :)

While sitting on the beach, a Japanese couple came up with their 6-month old and "talked" with Rowan and I. They asked how old he was, had their baby sit next to him and then proceeded to take pictures of him with their baby. It was hilarious. People here are obsessed with babies and LOVE him, but this was the first time he was photographed :) Then, not 5 minutes later, 2 teenage girls came over to say hi to him, calling him "so cute" (it seems to be a phrase that every teenage girl here knows because we hear it every time we walk by a group of them). They asked if they could take a picture, so they each took turns taking a picture with me and Rowan. He's becoming a bit of a celebrity. He's going to be the cute white baby from the beach that these people saw on their vacation to Okinawa :)

This beach had great amenities, the parking lot was nice and close to the sand and there were vending machines and bathrooms. I walked in and though that it was the nicest looking beach bathroom I had ever seen. There were solid granite stalls and tile floors...and then I looked in the stall and saw these! My first encounter with squatter toilets. Luckily I have been training all my life for use of these :)

 Friday night, we took our new kayak out for its maiden voyage!

 The water was pretty choppy but it actually made it pretty fun. Brea watched Rowan since I wanted to make sure we were comfortable on the boat before we brought him along, but he will fit perfect in there with us. I'm so excited for some fun kayaking adventures!

 And finally today, after Grant and TJ's FMF class, we headed out to Yomitan to check out the village and explore some new beaches. There is a salt factory there and we tried some of the homemade salted caramel ice cream, it was delicious. This is Rowan's new face that he learned to make today.

 And once we got some energy from our ice cream, we headed out to take in the gorgeous views. Living in Oceanside really made me learn to love sunset. It makes me feel at home, and the sunset tonight did not disappoint. The rock formations add so much character to the views.

 Overlooking the coral farm. They farm coral here to help replenish the reefs.

 Brea and Rowan, my weekday adventure buddies. Baby Finlayson will join in on the fun in February :)

 And a few family photos which I was so excited to capture!

There are a few things I don't love about living on this island, but when I can experience all of these things in 3 days within 25 minutes of home, it makes all the inconveniences worth it. It's been a good few days!