Weekend Happenings

It was a typical hot and humid weekend in Okinawa. I started out the weekend by hanging out on Araha Beach - my favorite beach (so far). The beach was nearly empty early in the weekend, so I had prime beach estate, although I'm sure the beach filled up as the weekend went on with the rising temperatures.

Saturday evening, I joined my travel-weary friends, Perry and Jenn, who had recently returned from the states, for the first annual Torri Beach Jazz Festival. Although I'm not much of a jazz fan, I thought it was a great event (although, it was really, really crowded). It was held right on the beach, which is beautiful and scenic. People just brought lawn chairs and blankets and enjoyed the music, the food from local vendors (lots of Orion and teriyaki chicken), and drank wine - there was a wine tasting, but the tickets were sold out by the time we arrived (next year, it's a must!). My favorite part was when they mixed the jazz music with some Okinawan drumming - a very cool mix!

Tonight I was out on my porch reading and was able to catch this shot right before the sun went down. Beautiful!!