Cook Visit: Day 2

We started out Day 2 with church and brunch. We have brunch at the club on base, which Zac and I take advantage of every once in a while. It's so great - omelet station, crepe station, mimosas, salad bar, full breakfast layout, full lunch layout, sushi....etc. So we had to share it with the Cooks! The club, Tengan Castle, sits on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and fortunately it was a beautiful day which gave us a great view!

My camera fogged up a little when we first got out there

The Cook family

And the Cook Family

Then we headed north to Nago (the other larger city on the northern part of the island.) Our first stop was a glass blowing factory, somewhere Zac and I had discovered on our anniversary weekend. Ryukyu glass is definitely very popular on the island, and at this particular spot you can make your own glass. Zac opted out since he already made one, but Jeff, Veronica, and Holly all made a glass of their own. Veronica claimed that "hers would be the prettiest." She may have been right ;)...

Holly showing off her glass

Jeff blowing his glass.

Jeff shaping his glass

Veronica showing off her "prettiest" glass

We also spent a little while perusing the glass shop that was part of the factory. You could not imagine the intricate and crazy things that they make out of this glass! Not to mention the beautiful colors and varieties of regular glasses.

After glass blowing we headed up the road to Pineapple World. Yep, you guessed it, a theme park dedicated to...pineapples. It may have been the best $5 we ever spent. ;) When you first arrive you get in line for (for lack of better term) a pineapple-mobile in which you tour some of the pineapple fields and learn more than you could imagine about the types and life cycle of pineapples. 

Zac and I just as excited to be at Pineapple Park as the Pineapple guy.

This "music video" of sorts was playing the entire time we were in line. They sang and danced to a very repetitive jingle, and even taught the dance at the end of the video. "Da da da da da da da da Pineapp-oo" (that's how the Japanese pronounce "pineapple")

Getting in the "pineapple-mobiles"

I had some ice cream while in line...What kind? Pineapple, of course.

Lots of pineapples!

At the end of the tour, we got to sample pineapple wine and probably a hundred of other pineapple creations. Oh, and of course, we ate some pineapple. Deeeelish.

Veronica sampling some sweet pineapple wine.

There was also (very randomly) a "gallery" of seashells. Because obviously pineapples and seashells go hand in hand.

Zac playing around with some fun things in the Pineapple Park shop. 

After a fun-filled day in Nago, we headed south for dinner at En Okinawa. But that deserves a post of its own...