Hikes

Had a little hike the other day, and somehow I managed to get a picture taken during this thing. Usually I fade into the background on pictures like this but here I am, right up front with a casual, "Am I really doing this?" look on my face.

Bachelor again

So Mary and Terra left today for Louisiana to go to her friend Jessica's wedding. I am super excited for them. I hope they have a great time. I think the faire is in town? Anyway, it will be good for them and hopefully they get a chance to relax and spend time with family.
Meanwhile, I am going to clean house, brew beer, and be a bachelor for a week or so. I have a checklist of things to do and everything.

Drumming time!

Philippines and Halloween

Finally home after another trip to the Philippines, it was a hell of a long trip. Not sure why it felt so long, but a month was grueling. I didn't go out much considering I've been before. But I did go out and get a giant Margarita with a few other guys from the Battalion. Well, I actually didn't get the giant glass, but I got a pitcher. Which was the same size. I made a pretty valiant effort but I didn't finish. I'm sure the next day would have been far worse if I had.

My pitcher of Margarita. It took about 7 shakers to fill. There were so many people shaking drinks they were having to hand out shakers to customers at the bar.

I swear that most of that was ice. I did finish a lot.

Here is walking street, pretty much the Philippines version of Bourbon street, but with more depressing poverty and possibly slavery.

Typhoon damage. I have no idea how I slept through this.

These giant mimosa trees are enormous, very pretty in the summer when they bloom. Sad to see them laid low.

Halloween party! Terra liked the giant pumpkin.

Terra trying her hand at bobbing for apples. She kept going for the stems, but didn't have much luck.

Time for Dad to get in there. Yes that is a stylish yellow duckie feetie pajamas I am wearing. Not pictured: My Pooh bear hat.

They had people passing out candy from their cars, doing "Trunk or Treat" which was great since I was worried Terra wouldn't get a chance to go trick or treat this year.

She was a polite little girl, and only took like one or two pieces of candy per car. 

Electronic drums were a huge hit.

She went back several times.

These two had awesome Ren-Faire costumes.

These are obviously not good doctors.

Face full of BBQ, can't say no to that.

Crap!

Well this doesn't look too good, we're supposed to fly out on Tuesday. I really REALLY hope Francisco doesn't mess with my travel plans.

FINALLY!

I think it finally happened! Fall has come to Okinawa! It comes so quickly; one week it will be upper 90's with heat index even higher, the next week it will be upper 80's, and then finally 70's. Its such a drastic change from summer that even though it's 74 I feel like I want a jacket. I don't know where the humidity goes but compared to summer months the fall and winter months are much drier, also making it feel colder here. I am SO excited!
During the summer months we keep our thick dark curtains closed at all times to keep the sun out. Since our house is SO poorly insulated and drafts are everywhere the small wall mounted AC units have a very hard time keeping up. Keeping the sun out helps manage the temp a little bit. Now that it is fall the curtains are open wide (in fact I took them off to wash them. Boy, I should have done this last Fall too!) to let the sunlight in. No more bat cave for us.

In other news:
Paul surprised us and came home early! He rang the doorbell on Sunday evening, right before I put Terra to bed. What a great surprise! Monday and Tuesday he had off now he's back to work, but at least he'll be coming home tonight!

Next Tuesday Terra and I will be flying back to Louisiana. I am so excited! My best friend is getting married to a wonderful man. I am so thankful I get to be there to share in their happy day. I am also happy that the State Fair will be in town during our short trip, I haven't been since I was a teenager. Terra is also looking forward to going to "Super Silly Fun Land."

After just over a week in Louisiana the two of us fly back here, about two weeks later the three of us are off to Taiwan. I'm really looking forward to that trip. New cultures and adventures are always a wonderful experience.

We plan on spending Christmas here, it will be our first one on Okinawa. We're going to decorate our house as much as we can. Paper chains, snowflakes, lights, ornaments! Hopefully we can find a spot for a tree. All the classic Christmas movies, cookies for Santa, and I'm saving up toilet paper rolls so maybe we can make some poppers! Oh, maybe we can make a Christmas pudding. Wassail, Drink Ale!

Double Whammy

Fitow has come and gone. The wind settled down enough today where we were able to make a run to the commissary to pick up some essentials. Who's ready for round two?

Fitow

So it looks like we'll be getting our first typhoon this season if Fitow stays on course. There have been other typhoons in our area but this will be the first to hit us directly this season. I was looking forward to having a typhoon-free year but I am grateful we haven't had the same amount as last year. Time to prepare!

For those of you who are a bit rusty on their South Pacific geography, Okinawa is the larger island located in the circle marked for Sat 3am.