SUP the Hija river

Paddle boarding the Hija River is something I have wanted to do for over 2 years! This river has enormous carp flags strung across it during May to celebrate Children's Day (I wish we could have paddled it during May but we were too busy vacationing ;) It opens up into the East China Sea, is full of mangroves and seems to be calm most of the time. Monday the 4th seemed like the perfect morning to check it out!

I was a little bit nervous how Boden would do because he hasn't been on in awhile and he's gotten super crazy and does not like to sit still. He wasn't perfect but actually did better than I anticipated so it was still a really fun experience. Rowan did GREAT except he kept wanting to get off and swim...which we let him do once we hit the ocean water which seems cleaner :) 

Boden totally lounged for a few minutes, it was adorable.

Paddling through the mangroves, Rowan spotted a turtle on a rock and a bunch of crabs. He wanted to lay down like this so he could see everything in the water :) He also loved dragging his foot in the water as they went.

This bridge is so fun with the vibrant color contrast with the sky and water. Both kids were excited as we got to go under it.

We paddled pretty slowly and took in the sights. I don't know exactly how long it took us but probably 45 mins and then we reached the ocean where we found a tiny beach and some tide pools and played for another hour.

I traded kids with Grant at the end for a little while so I could paddle a little more care free without worrying my kid would jump off the board ;) And of course...Boden didn't fall off the entire river trip with me, but did fall off with Grant at the end. Luckily the life jacket worked perfectly :) He actually didn't seem too upset about it.

Love the Okinawa coral rock formations

There were lots of little fish swimming around which were fun to look at. Even Boden noticed them and pointed and got excited to see them. Rowan collected hermit crabs (he's finally not too scared to hold them again) and we just swam and floated in the PERFECT water temperature water. Perfect morning! 

We rounded out our Independence Day with a BBQ with friends which was fun and delicious. All in all a wonderful holiday weekend! Love being stationed with the marines and getting 4 day weekends (and not having to coordinate my work schedule with Grant's finally!)