First Blog of the Decade
Things can get hectic over the holiday seasons in Okinawa, Japan.
And, I've been busy (mostly) procrastinating, as far as writing goes.
Maybe, that'll change with a brand new decade to work in. We'll have to wait and see.
In case you haven't heard, 2020 is the Year of the Rat. It's a Chinese Zodiac thing.
The greeting above was borrowed from the Chinese Zodiac Organization.
Visit them to learn all about Rat People, in case you married or, are dating one.
You could research your animal sign and learn lots about yourself, too.
It sure beats talking to a psychiatrist, I'm sure. And, I save a lot of money that way.
New Years Day Sunrise Photography
Forget about Christmas, all the shopping, gift-giving, eating and drinking that was done.
That was a long time ago and, we're into the month of January 2020 already.
New Year's Eve I behaved. Only one bar was visited and, I consumed just one beer.
My alarm was set to wake up at 0430 but, I automatically got up at 0330 AM.
Someone was coming to pick me up, at the office, 0530 to go shoot cameras.
Sunrise wouldn't be the pink, orange, grey and red scene I hoped to see.
Clouds on the horizon pretty much discouraged all the folks waiting for sunrise.
We hung in there and, this is the scene Mother Nature gave us to welcome the New Year.
Four islands off Okinawa's east coast are visible out there. They are the Yokatsu Islands.
Pictured are Henza, Hamahiga, Miyagi, and Ikei Islands. See More Here.
Departing Our Mountaintop Location
We were the last visitors to head down off the special location for photographers.
From there various parts of this island were visited and, I took over 125 more photos.
Being busy, sleep-deprived, and having other things to do, I just downloaded the camera.
When things slow down to a crawl around here, the rest of the images will be processed.
It's customary for families to gather on New Year's day and celebrate together.
Plenty of grandchildren were there, we had lots of food and drinks and I was ready to leave.
Wait There's Something We Have for You!
In case you can't read Japanese, here's a quick translation:
Grandpa Mike Happy Birthday
My birthday is January 2d and, yes, I was born in the Year of the Rat.
There were some gifts presented to me and everyone sang the Happy Birthday song.
One Last Surprise
This morning I discovered (through Facebook) my story about Handugwa was re-published.
This article was first published by Stars and Stripes a few years ago.
They revived it for the New Year's 2020 edition and, didn't inform me but, that's alright.
Maybe, this will inspire me to start doing some travel writing again.
So far, I'm having a Happy New Year and hope you are, too!
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