My last day in Okinawa was (as usual) magnificent. I packed, finished messing with the Ipod playlists, and bought many last-minute gifts. The day was spent lazing around the seawall and eating sushi, and the night was Oki-typical. We searched for izakayas and eventually found one, drank strange brews and laughed at the craziness that was this summer. The usuals showed up at our house as Ryan was finishing tattoos before people left the island, and we started drinking. We continued drinking as we had an intoxicated romp to the nearest Familymart, grabbed true Oki-goodies and guffawed the whole way back. Somehow I cut my toe open on a piece of sheet metal in a parking garage trying to climb up a cement pole.. yeahh.. no comment. Everyone left and Matt and I sat up talking about how much we'll miss the damn place.
The next morning, we all gathered into the van and launched toward the airport. Ryan sent us off, and I basically passed back out again. This time on an airplane. Woke up in Osaka's airport, which is by the way built on recycled trash! Very cool. We had a long layover in which we got bomb-ass massages. The little Japanese girl that massaged me kept asking if it was hard enough, but I think she could've put her body weight into it to no avail. It was extremely pleasurable nonetheless, no innuendo neccessary. The next plane ride was the long one, the unmistakably crappy one. It was nice that this one went to Seattle instead of Atlanta. We left our stuff at the hotel and shot off into the city, which is gorgeous. Every twenty feet was a different odor: fresh Pacific seafood, incense, smoke from a restaurant, gnarly hippies, dogs, sharp cheeses, fresh-cut flowers, saltwater, gutterstank, French fries and fresh fruits/veggies... It was the best-smelling city I've ever been in. The locals were a strange breed too; as the majority have either piercings and black on, tie-dye and dreads, or marathon shirts and running shoes. I think I'd fit in with any of those crowds! I could totally picture myself wearing running clothes but learning some guitar riffs from a sensei hippy under a tree. (And thinking about what I want pierced, heh) We shopped around and visited a microbrewery, with some decent beer. It was better than any beer in Okinawa, I'll give them that. We ate at a fancy-shmancy French restaurant overlooking the water. It's been a hot minute since I've eaten escargot, and my salmon was fantastic! I'm fairly sure I'll live in Seattle for some part of my life in the future.
We got back to the hotel to reset our batteries, then woke up the next morning and took off again.
Today we actually met up with some of Holly's family at their home in hilly suburbia. We checked a waterfall out in the morning, then ate at a tasty Mexican place on the other side of the city. The waterfall was huge, I don't think I've ever been above a waterfall and felt the mist hit me. Meeting new stepfamily was great, and everyone seemed very interesting. Apparently I've only met the Republican side, and the people I'll meet in the redwoods are the 'liberal' side. It's a bit more difficult to understand than that, as several of them bartered for a long time instead of using money. One guy makes mandolins, another makes kayaks, and still another makes cabinets. It'll be strange to me, but I'm very excited.
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