Niagara Falls

Dustin had another business trip. This time he was in Rochester, NY. We decided that I would fly up with the girls at the end of the week and we would make it into a little vacation. 

I headed to the airport with the girls on Thursday and met Dustin in NY. This was the first time the girls had both flown together and they were great on the flight.  Getting into the airport with 2 carseats, the stroller, and our bag and carry-on was the hardest part of the entire trip.

As soon as Dustin was finished on Friday we made the 1.5 hour drive to Niagara Falls. We walked around the American side for a bit.

The girls spotted a gray squirrel! In our part of the country squirrels are brown.

On the American side we could get pretty close to the falls.

 Olivia checking it out

 

Grace had fun trying to catch the falling leaves. She really got to see how leaves change colors and fall off of the tree in the fall.

 

Then we found the bridge and walked to Canada.

 

Our first stop once in Canada was the Hershey store. I think this was Grace's favorite store ever! 

 They picked out some candy as a souvenir.

 

From Canada you could see the entire waterfall! It was really pretty and I think it was probably a great time to be there because we got to see the fall colors as well.

After we saw everything we wanted to see it was time to hit the road.

A trip to Nago

Yesterday we had plans to visit a park. Grace has been wanting to go to a park so bad! So I told her that we would wait for a pretty day when her Daddy was off work so he could have fun too. We were only planning on going to a park that is semi-close to the house but Dustin mentioned the Pineapple Park so we decided to venture out a bit further. I found a park up in Nago to check out so we decided to go! The drive to the park was really pretty.

{Dustin & Grace enjoying the scenic view}

{Driving to the park}

{another scenic view}

{City of Nago}

We found the park but, unfortunately, most of the things that were for kids Grace's age were blocked by tree branches that had fallen during the typhoon. I think the park was actually closed because there was a rope blocking off one side of the stairs and a cone with a note on it but since we couldn't read the note we went on to the park. There was a roll-y slide that Grace really enjoyed and then she wanted Dustin to climb up on this place structure with her.

After a little time at the park we decided to head back to the car to check out a little more of the area.

{view of Nago and the ocean and mountains}

It was almost lunch time so we decided to head to a barbecue place that we passed several times while my Mom was visiting. Johnny's Burgers and Ribs. It looked pretty American!

Dustin had a burger, I had tacos, and Grace had taco rice. It wasn't bad. I found it weird that they put ketchup on my tacos (I don't like ketchup on ANYTHING!), Dustin said the burger tasted similar to meatloaf, and Grace loved the taco rice!

Finally, we headed to our last destination - The Pineapple Park. I think this was our FIFTH time there! It is probably Dustin's favorite tourist attraction on island so we really wanted to go one more time before we leave here.

{Our last visit to the Pineapple Park}

{The Pineapple Cart}

{Grace wanted to be held but soon she was trying to drive!}

{rows and rows of pineapple}

{The word pineapple stands for pine and apple}

{The Pineapple Path}

And then, of course, we enjoyed sampling all of the pineapple treats - cookies, chocolates, jelly, juice, cake, and lots more!

Whale Watching

We ended up being able to go whale watching yesterday. On Friday we were not to sure if we would be able to go or not because the weather has been quite rainy lately. We had two calls from the tour company telling us "bad weather" and "baby" and "cancel" then finally someone else who spoke just a little more English called and said they would tell us at the port if it would be OK to take a baby. It turned out to be a really nice day!

We got to the port early and were told where to park. Then we had to write our names on a waiver then told to wait. As it turns out, the lady didn't speak any English and that was the only thing she knew to tell us. So we waited while everyone else went to get on the boat until someone who spoke more English could try and translate.

{our boat in the background}

We had a short ride out to the place where the whales were. The waves were pretty big and the boat was rocking a LOT. While we were just watching we pretty much had to hold onto the boat all of the time. We saw several whales - more than I thought we would!

There were about 10 boats in this area watching for whales. They would get so close to each other too!

After seeing the whales for about an hour it was time to come back to land. It was another fun day!

I think we are going to head over to the zoo in about an hour for some more fun!

I am going to try and get some videos on here but that is a different camera and different computer. The video camera software isn't Mac compatible so I have to dig the HP out.

Getting back to a routine...

We have enjoyed having my parents here for the past few weeks (my Mom was here 3 weeks and my Dad for 10 days). Grace really enjoyed having her Grandma and Grandpa here to play with her and spoil her rotten! I think we did more in the short time my Dad was here than we have done since we have been on this beautiful island. Grace took most of her naps in her carseat while we were driving from one place to another.

We started out by going to Okinawa World and Peace Prayer Park the first day. Day 2 we drove to a few other islands and saw some castle ruins. During the week while Dustin was working we did quite a bit of shopping and ventured to a few places like Shuri Castle and the Japanese Naval Underground. We had lunch at the Tea House, which is a neat little restaurant overlooking the golf course and flight line, a couple times and went to a Japanese Teppanyaki restaurant once.

The last weekend my parents were here was a 4-day for Dustin so we stayed busy! Friday we went to a beach so we could have family pictures taken for our Christmas cards then we headed up north. We stopped at Maeda point to see the wonderful scenery on our way to the Busena Resort Underwater Observatory. Grace loved it! We walked out to a building that had a winding staircase that took you underwater and there were several look-out windows where we could watch lots of pretty fish. Afterwards, we kept driving and went to the Pineapple park. This was our 4th time going and it is always a treat. Who doesn't love eating pineapple??

On Saturday we went to Naha and shopped at Kokusai street. We parked at the Jusco (shopping mall with free parking) and rode the monorail to one end of the street and took off walking. We bought Grace a cute little dress and we got some ice cream at Blue Seal. I have a new favorite - Caramel Machiato! On our way home we stopped by a flightline fest and saw lots of helicopters and airplanes. Grace got to ride a train and visit the duck pond and she even won a couple toys!

Sunday was a little more relaxing but busy nonetheless. Since Grace loved watching the fish so much at the underwater observatory we bought her a fish tank! We picked it up on Saturday morning and then on Sunday my parents cleaned it up and showed us how to set it all up. After it was all ready we went to a pet store that is only about 5 minutes from our house and bought 4 little fish! They now have names - Mickey, Minnie, Tom, and Jerry. That afternoon we went to the 100 Yen Plaza near our house, then we went to the lighthouse on Cape Zanpa, and finally we went to dinner.

Monday might have been the longest but most exciting day. We drove up to Okuma (military recreation area) and went on a snorkel trip. Grace was not too fond of the life jacket she had to wear but she loved swimming in the ocean! Afterwards, we got back in the car and drove to the northern most part of the island - Cape Hedo. And then we went on a trail through some bushes and rocks to see a panoramic view. I don't think we will be doing that again! We decided to take the scenic route (aka: the longest route) back home. I think it took us over 3 hours! We have been that way twice and I hope there is never a 3rd. There is not a bathroom for the first 2 hours of the drive. I think this was discovered both times we took this route.

So now we are back to trying to get back into our routine. Grace is missing her grandparents pretty bad I think. She has been super clingy and won't let us out of her reach. I even had to lay down with her for her nap this afternoon and she would wake up if I even turned so I wasn't looking at her.

Anyways, here are some pictures from the last few weeks that my Mom took.

One evening we were able to watch fireworks from our balcony!

So cool!!

The Lighthouse

at Cape Zanpa

Cape Zanpa - it was very windy and the sun was right in our eyes

After her swim

She didn't want to get out!

The life jacket wasn't too comfy

Excited!!

The duck pond

On our way to the underwater observatory

Grace and Dustin at Okinawa World with the Shisa Dog

I left Grace at home with her Grandma. When I left she was napping. When I came home she had ate yogurt, made a big mess, and just HAD to go swimming to get clean :-)

She got a bunch of balls to put in her pool!