Hibiscus in the rain

August 7th 2008

I won't normally be sharing straight photography on this blog, as it is meant to document our experiences here in Okinawa which are mostly taken with quickly capturing any and all memories in mind, rather than getting that perfect manual shot. (I have a separate blog as my creative outlet that I haven't updated in months)...but I just adore these shots of the hibiscus flowers out in the front of our house. I had a great opportunity to photograph them because it was raining off and on continuously, and I waited for the rain to create the pretty droplets I wanted, and then 2 minutes later as it dried up, I could go out and shoot the photo without worrying about my camera getting wet. Perfect huh? :o) These are still not with manual mode, I used the auto macro setting. They are also my first photos taken with a brand new camera, the Canon Rebel XSI (which is AMAZING and I highly recommend it) but I have since returned that camera, and am waiting patiently for a Canon 50D this winter.

Celebrating our second anniversary, in Naha City!

August 4th 2008


We had a lovely little 2nd anniversary celebration in Naha City. The Kokusai street market was lots of fun to check out, and very busy! Just as with Jusco...color is everywhere, people are everywhere, things are everywhere! It has the tendency to be overwhelming. I loved seeing all the little toys, especially the little mi-ja (I think they're called) dolls! I found a kimono-wearing Minnie Mouse cell phone trinket that I fell in love with. Mickey and Minnie, and all of Disney are very popular here in Okinawa!

Our anniversary dinner at Sam's Maui restaurant was just perfect! It took us over an hour to decide where to eat because there were endless places to choose from. Sam's Maui ended up being all we hoped for and more! The food was simply the all-time best we've ever had from any restaurant! Words can't express how delicious this food was. I can still taste the sirloin steak with lemon butter sauce ahhhhh! We both ordered the three course meal below with special tropical drinks, complete with sugar cane sticks and little parrots that delighted our hearts! The ruyuku glasses our drinks were served in, were also given to us as an anniversary present at the end of the meal!

Course 1

Starter: Tropical Dish -Meatballs with sweet tangy mustard
Appetizer: Shrimp Cocktail Supreme
Entree: Sirloin Steak Sam's Cut

All of Our Dinners are Served with Curry Soup from Our Big Cast Iron Pot,
Crisp Fresh Salad with Your Choice of Dressing, Island Seasonal Vegetables,
Potatoes and Either Garlic Bread, Steamed Rice or Garlic Rice.

We spent hours walking along Kokusai Street. It was fun-filled and romantic. There was so much to see and do, we left plenty of new experiences for next time! :)

I'll never forget the $65 taxi fare to and from Naha though! Thank goodness for our wheels which we now have in the form of a 1996 Toyota Ipsum.









A few from the point n' shoot (Jason's Camera)