Weekend Adventures

I currently have a temporary roommate, Deb Mullen, who arrived in Oki last Sunday.  She's going to be moving into her own place next week and we've been sharing housing in the interim.  She will be working with me at the naval hospital as well.   Anyway, my weekend adventures were scaled back some due to the situation - she needs to get acclimated to the temperature of a south pacific island.  I started the day by myself with what was intended to be a quick stroll to the market....and then I dicovered stores here don't open early like they do at home.  I ended up at Sunset beach where, by 9:00 AM, families were arriving to strike out their patch of sandy beach.  It turned out to be a GORGEOUS sunny (translation: HOT) day.  Later in the morning I ventured out to the infamous Gate 2 Street....an area they warn about in Newcomer's Orientation!  Its definitely not a place for the faint of heart - and most of the establishments (bars and tattoo shops!) don't open until sometime after 2 in the afternoon, due to the fact they are open until who knows what time in the morning.  If you're wondering what time last call is here, it's when the last person in the place orders a drink OR the owner decides he's ready to call it a night.  I didn't take any pictures here - mostly because there is no way to adequately convey the atmosphere......I will be back sometime though because I have a connection to a DJ at one of the bars there...now I just need to work up enough nerve to go there after dark!  It was still early in the afternoon so not much going on today..... 

After scoping out Gate 2 street, I made my way to the top of the hill and passed a place to eat I had heard good reviews on.  It was funny to realize I was in the Japanese version of a Chipotle......

Yummy -just like at home!

The burrito add-ins are all in English, with Japanese subtitles!  The staff all spoke fairly good English too although it was a bit strange to hear them say Pico de Gallo!  I wonder if they know what it means?

 After lunch, I crossed the street to try and get a picture of the view from the top of the hill across Camp Foster and out to the harbor.  It's difficult to see just how gorgeous the view is from this spot.  The new Naval hospital will be located up high and the patient rooms will have a view of the bay - that should speed any patient's recovery!

The scary looking buildings in the foreground are some of the original housing units - they are gradually being demolished and updated housing units built.  Since these are likely from the 50's....might be a health hazzard in the destruction....a little asbestos and lead never hurts, right?

I finished the day with my co-worker/roommate and I driving to a place I found this morning called Depot Island....it has something of a Cabo San Lucas feel to the place - lots of little shops and lots of restautrants on the second floor

This is one of the many entrances into Depot Island - very new, clean and nice shops....although after a while I realized the stores are all "typical" tourist shops - overpriced and not exactly "local" goods

I think this is the newest addition to the complex - the parking lot was completely filled when we came back at 7 PM in the evening - this picture was from 8:30 in the morning.  It's within walking distance so if I come back and have a drink, I can always walk home.