Exploring the Island-Beach

It was GORGEOUS.  The water, the sky, just as I'd dreamed it would be.  In Monterey the Pacific was so cold you couldn't put a toe in it. Here, it was warm like bathwater. E woke up just in time to play for awhile.  I slathered both boys with sunscreen and then N got on his snorkle mask and swam out to the rocks with his friend.

 Headed to the beach on Okinawa's East side--Pacific Ocean.  The other side is the South China Sea.

All was well until about 25 minutes in. N went to get out of the water and said "Ow it stings!!!"  My friend and I arrived just in time to see the clear body and blue tentacles of a jellyfish. After scooping him out of the water and listening to him howl some more--I realized there was still a blue, thin tentacle attached.  I grabbed a banana leaf and pulled it off. After reading on the internet we determined the jelly was a Okinawan Box Jelly.  Not nice stuff either--really scary stuff if it was too big.  Which it wasn't.

 Showing me the red marks on his arm.

 I'm ok!  Brave kid;)

So we loaded all the kids up and went on down to Aeon, the closest Japanese grocery store.  My friend went in while I kept all the wet, gross kids in the car and she purchased some Japanese vinegar.  No small feat for a women who can't speak the language or read it!  Once we popped the bottle open and sniffed, we were sure it was the right stuff! We poured it over N's arm.  All was well!  NO ER trip necessary.  Which is good because what would have topped our record for going to the hospital just after moving. I think our current record is 1 week.  It still stands!

After that...Nathan decided to crash out. Jet lag and a jellyfish will get you every time.