Local Shopping Adventure

I like my adventures to be easy.  This week, I needed a few things that they sell off base, so I headed out for that.  I decided to try the store Max Value.  I had heard about it, and I could see the sign from the main road.  However, with the streets here, seeing does not mean you can actually find it!  I decided I was going to try though and I circled closer and closer till I finally found the right road.  Yay me!

Max Value is a grocery store.  They did have a delightful bread selection, but nothing new to try.  I grabbed several of the fat sliced bread squares and meandered around to see what else I might need.

Oooh!  Pre-made lunches!  No, not brave enough to try this.

Definitely not interested in fish. 

Spaghetti?!  No, not really what I was looking for, but amusing to see here. 

Ah, the candy aisle!   

Well, that's not what I tend to think of when I think of candy! 

And this is not what I tend to think of when I think "edible".  No tentacles for me, thank you! 

Now this I could live with.  

Sadly, I guessed wrong.  The green stuff was cucumber, not avocado, and the crab was significantly fishier than any I have had before, and the other 2 were fish.   Definitely not what I had hoped for.

These were rice balls.  I had heard good things about them and was excited to try.  

I started with the ones on the end.  They were pretty good.  Kind of a fried rice with chicken (I think) smooshed into a roll.  The center ones were bean which isn't bad. Then I tried the ones on the other end. 

Eeeewwww.  It was fish.

Trying something new

 I have been trying to get the kids to try some new things, and when I go out shopping off base, I look for things I think they will eat that are a little different.  I'm not that adventurous, so I am not selecting things like squid or tofu squares.  I pick stuff I think I might eat too.  Sometimes, it is tasty, and sometimes not so much!

I thought this one might have a filling, but it was just a plain bread thing.  Marian said it was good, kind of a muffin flavor.  Not spectacular, but good.  She asked for more.

A lavender bread item.  Ooooh! 

With a bean paste filling. 

It was not a hit.

Dan ate the rest of it and declared it to be edible, but not tasty.

Melon Pan is always a hit!  Who wouldn't like bread with sugar crystals sprinkled on top?!

Waiting for the bus

A Parade!

 Friday was the Homecoming Parade!  It was very exciting.  Well, if you were Delaney, it was.  She got to march with the Girl Scouts and was over the moon about it.  Even more fun..... one of our neighbors was our neighbor back in Nola and she'd brought tons of Mardi Gras beads and the Girl Scouts passed out beads, rather than candy.

Joshua also marched in the parade, with the band.  He had a good time playing his trumpet.  It was kind of funny as the band marched by, I could tell which kids had actually MARCHED in a band before.

They had a good time and it was a short, sweet event.

It's starting!

That's my boy in the red, the one with the trumpet. 

The different grades decorated their "floats" with different country (as in international countries, not country music) themes.  This was a Chinese take out box, which I found to be very clever and quite funny. 

My little Girl Scout! 

Catching them on the return side. 

Delaney had a great time! 

All the cute girls who marched with Delaney.

Churchy

This is what the church here looks like.  Sorry, crummy photo.  I'll try to get a better one.  It is right off the main(ish) road here, and has about 7 parking spots.  So, what happens when more than 7 families show up?  Well, there is an overflow area a block away with 6 more spots. 

 Or, you get this.  (The view from the front doors, looking out.) Folks squeeze in and park wherever they can and then no one can leave till they do.  Fortunately, there hasn't been a problem getting back out.  Of course, I love to chat after church, so it certainly isn't a problem for me to wait!

On Saturday, I went to the Temple!  It is a 3.5 hour drive.  This was our rest stop half way there.  So pretty.  Plenty of bathrooms, and I should have taken the camera for pictures of the signs there, but I didn't. 

Fukuoka Temple.  It is in the middle of the city and crazy to get to.  Narrow road to the parking area which is tiny and I'm pretty sure I would not be able to park in it without smashing some other cars.  So thank goodness I didn't drive, but got a ride!  

Me at the Temple!  Yay!

Fun at Kintai

 On Saturday, my friend Laura and her 2 girls took me and 3 of my girls over to the Kintai Bridge.  It is famous because it has been here since the 1600's and it is made entirely of wood.  No metal at all. It is a big attraction for folks around here (and not from around here.)  It isn't just the bridge though.  I mean, yes, there is the bridge, but across the street is a lot more stuff.  On Saturday, we did the lot more.

We let the girls play at the water, and took lots of pictures.  I hope you appreciate that I only posted 35 pictures, not the 102 I took!  The girls were fascinated with the very climb-able trees. They also wanted to pose with multiple things.  You may note that Callie has decided on a new pose for her pictures, and it has been taken up by the others as well.

After getting feet and pants wet on the river, there was a little snack.  Then we meandered across the street.  We visited the park and shrine areas. There were lots of interesting things to see.  There was a pond with some incredibly large carp.  Most of our snacks went to the fish.  They were a lot of fun!  We checked out the Pagoda and the girls thought it hysterically funny to pose on the steps.  They played at the playground.  They were cross that I wouldn't let them go into the temple there.  I wasn't sure what the proper protocol was.  They were quickly distracted when they saw some cats.

After chasing the cats, we went in search of ice cream.  We found a lovely place with a huge variety of flavors.  I was a little surprised that the girls chose green apple, and grape flavors.  I went with chocolate and it was quite chocolaty! They place also had chicken on a stick.  It was delicious!!

We had a great day exploring the stuff to see and do there.  The kids had fun and I enjoyed it immensely.   I'm not going to caption all the photos, so if you feel like it, you can take the 15 minutes check them out.