Eight Years!

Ever since I heard about the Ai Cottage at Okuma, I wanted to rent it for our anniversary. This being the last anniversary we'd celebrate in Okinawa, I was really excited that we were able to reserve it (it's a private cottage for a couple… no kids). We dropped our kids off at the Heaton's, then headed up north to our first destination, Tadake Falls. 

The coolest part about the hike to the falls was that the trail is actually the river. So once we got to the trail head, we put on our booties and made our way through the water. 

Me at the trail head.

In some areas along the trail, the water got too deep for walking, so we climbed up onto boulders on the sides of the river, where there were ropes up to help guide us across the rocks. The hike was pretty pleasant until we were attacked by black horseflies- the big ones, which my Dad nicknamed "black willys" when I was a kid. Once the black willys came out, I turned into a raving lunatic trying to swat at them as they buzzed around my head. They seriously made me crazy, I regretted not having doused myself in bug spray.

We made it!

After enjoying a little swim around the falls, we decided to hike up to the top of the falls. BIG MISTAKE! Within a few minutes the black willys were all up in my business again, plus it was quite a bit more strenuous going up and down hills and stairs in the jungle. The real letdown was that we did it all for a pretty lame view. Oh well, at least we got some exercise.

View from the top of the falls.

After the falls we drove over to Okuma, where we were excited to check in and see our cottage. It was secluded from the rest of the buildings, so the package included a golf cart so we could zip around the grounds. This was one of Spencer's favorite parts for our stay :)

Spencer loved driving this baby around Okuma.

Our cottage.

Our private beach.

Although having a private beach was pretty awesome, it the beach was rocky and the water was kind of rough. But it was a peaceful place to lay out, talk, and listen to the waves.

Since we were kidless, this was our first time being able to rent gear from the beach house. First we did stand up paddle boards. Those were really fun, although we sure fell off a lot in the beginning! Then we got kayaks and paddled out to rock formations further out in the water. We spent a while swimming and talking afterward, then got out just before a windy rainstorm started. It was such a fun getaway, the perfect way to celebrate eight years of marriage.