Kyleigh's Day Out!

Last week our beautiful, amazing Kyleigh Bug turned 4 years old! The month of March always tends to be quite busy out here and scheduling a birthday party end up being almost impossible with scheduling conflicts and logistics issues. So we let Kyleigh play a Birthday Day Out! She requested a trip to Nago, which is on the northern end of the island for a trip to Pizza in the Sky and The Pineapple Park. Great choice bug! Recently Kris' command decided to give each Marine a special day of liberty for their birthdays and Kris had been holding on to his for a special occasion, so he took last Thursday off and surprised Kyleigh when she woke up. We didn't tell Kyleigh what we were planning but rather carried on with our normal Thursday morning routine and got ready for her morning gymnastics class. Kyleigh was so excited that Daddy was coming to watch her (he hasn't been able to go in quite a while so he was excited too). Of course, Kyleigh had a great day at class. She was wonderful in exercising her skills, listened to her Coach very well, and was a sweetheart to her classmates. Kris got to see some of the new things she had learned and skills she's improved on over the last few months and was very happy with her progress. After class was done she ran to Daddy bubbling over that he had seen her do so well. Now normally on Thursday's, when we are good in class and we listen to our coach, follow directions, stay out of trouble (which can be hard for this age some days), and we get along with our classmates I let Kyleigh pick our lunch spot (a nice treat for her, a break for Mom, and we can run errands without pit stopping back home for a bite to eat). Bug always request Burger King, "chicken and fri-fries and a chocolate milk" (very rarely does she defer from this routine). So Kyleigh anticipating lunch after her great day says "Daddy, I'm hungry as a hippo! Do you want to take me to Burger King?!" as we are walking back to the car. Kris, with out breaking stride, says "No" and Kyleigh was just taken aback. You could see her little wheels turning... "But, I was good, I did what I was supposed to! Mommy doesn't tell me 'No' when I'm good! What's going on here!" Kris picked her up and kept walking and very causally says "Why don't we go to Pizza in the Sky!" I was expecting PMO to show up at anytime with all the shrieking and screaming that escaped that little body! The cat was out of the bag, we were going for her birthday outing, Daddy didn't have to go to work, and the Pineapple Park was going to be great! We hopped the expressway and rolled on to Nago, Kyleigh napping on the way. Kris hadn't been to Pizza in the Sky and I had only been once so we were a little concerned about navigating but made it without problems.

Pizza in the Sky is such a cool place to eat. The view is wonderful and breath takingly expansive, overlooking Nago to the sea. It's traditional in Japanese style inside the actual restaurant with on the floor seating and shoes off before entering the dining area, or you can opt for a spot at one of a handful of picnic tables under a covered area right outside and enjoy the weather, and their "garden". The menu is not big and your variety is limited but what they do have is delightful. Your server brings out a menu printed on a paper fan one side Japanese, the other English. Drink selections are limited to coke, tea, a few delicious tropical juices, and water. They also offer a wonderful fresh salad with vinegar style dressing, served in the mass for your party to enjoy (I think it's supposed to serve about 4 but Kris and I pretty much cleared it away) and self serve at the table. Pizza choice is limited as well with a selection of 2 sizes (the larger was just enough for the 3 of us and Kris and I split the last slice). This isn't your New York Style pie! Be prepared to scratch your head if your looking for peperoni, because you won't find it on this Japanese style dish. This pizza is topped with a mild sausage, onion, pepper, ham, corn, cheese, and a light tomato sauce. Might not be the toppings you'd call in for on a weekend to your local pizza joint but Pizza in the Sky's pie won't disappoint! The 3 of us walked away with full and happy tummies, the delight of watching butterflies flutter in the flowers while we ate and took in the lovely surroundings, and a wallet that was only about 3,000 yen lighter. Satisfied with our meal it was time to press on down the narrow winding road back towards the Pineapple Park.


Ah, the Nago Pineapple Park! Admission is not that much at all (I believe it was 700 yen for the 3 of us - Kyleigh being free of course) and there is quite a bit to see. Kyleigh's priority was going on "the Pineapple ride" but allowed us to stop off for a few quick pics by the fountain. Next we got our tickets and after saying hello to the "Pineapple Girl" (Pineapple Man and Pineapple girl are folks dressed up in a huge smiling pineapple costume and Kyleigh absolutely adores them)and of course pausing for a pic we hopped into our pineapple car and took our audio tour of the park. This time we got to hear the English version of the audio so we actually learned quite a bit about the different types of palms and pineapples grown here and around the world. The highlight of Kyleigh's ride was driving the car! After the ride was over we ventured into the sea shell gallery and looked at the beautiful collection they have at the park. I love the murals painted at the entrance and exit! Before exiting the gallery you can browse a very small gift shop of sea shell items and take home what you like, including some pretty jewelry (which I did not partake of this trip). We skipped over the shopping and went out and down a short walk way of exhibits related to the trade of pineapples and production of pineapple products into, what I think is everyone's favorite part of the visit, the sampling area! First up, products from the Nago Pineapple Winery. Pineapple wine is interesting if you've never had it (I had some when we first got here and think I prefer Duplin myself - you can take the girl out of Carolina....). In the next room you get into the other products, flowing down in a precession as you pass by the workers who offer you a sampling of practically every product they sale. First, fresh juice, followed by cakes, pineapple chocolates (Kris and Kyleigh's favorite sample), pineapple covered in chocolates, more cakes, pies, cookies, cookies covered in pineapple chocolate, dried fruits, and pineapple beauty products like perfume and pineapple charcoal soap. And that's the half way point! Next your off into a little fruit stand area where you can sample fresh sliced pineapple and delicious oranges, followed by a more traditional style shop that offers samplings of other treats and more traditional Japanese food items. There you can purchase t-shirts and trinkets and anything you picked up along your sampling trip that you just had to take home for later (like our box of pineapple chocolate). Once you exit this area you can stop off for a sampling of soba or stop by the ice cream stand for a sweet treat from Blue Seal or a cone of fresh pineapple ice cream (the best way to beat the Okinawan heat!)

From here we took a very short walk up the road to Tropical Kingdom or what is sometimes called "Fruit Land". It's a beautiful little park (kind of like a huge green house) sure to delight the gardener or botanist in you (if there is one). I personally really enjoyed strolling around looking at the different kinds of plants and tropical fruits growing. Kyleigh was having a "jungle adventure" and was excited to explore. Within the complex there is also a butterfly house and aviary. Supposedly, butterflies are attracted to red, and I was excited as I happened to be wearing a red tank top. I was sure that I would be swarmed, but that turned out not to be the case. These "Paper Kite" Butterflies or Idea leuconoe, were particularly attracted to Kris and wouldn't stop swarming him. Kyleigh enjoyed the spectacle of Daddy being covered by butterflies but was not so happy when they tried landing on her! The locals passing through also found the sight of my big American husband standing still with dainty little nymphs floating about his head, landing on his ears, neck, arms, chest, and any available exposed area of skin, quite amusing too! Once we rescued Kris from the assault we retreated out and carried on to the aviary. There were a small variety of beautifully colored tropical birds housed there and Kris was feeling quite comfortable with him self, now extracted from his tiny admirers, and decided to purchase a cup of food for the birds. He got the cup in his and immediately had 3 Rainbow Lorikeets on him vesting for some of the tasty nectar inside the cup.. The first cup went quickly and we all had so much fun feeding the Loris that we end up buying two more and sat and watched them have some sunflower seeds from a communal feeder. Other residents included a scarlet ibis, toucan, and a lovely pair of macaws. We walked through a partition and saw some of the wonderfully beautiful local fruit bats, an owl, and a crane. From there we followed the pathway around the inside of the park, stopping to see small Koi ponds, baby bananas, huge flowers, and some interesting looking plants. Nearing the exit we feed the resident goats which Kyleigh loved and she spent a few minutes petting and cooing over the little baby goats. We headed back towards the Pineapple Park (and the car) and stopped off for that pineapple ice cream and a quick cool down before taking off again. Kyleigh opted for some cookies and cream ice cream and Kris, having had just a few too many samples of the pineapple chocolate, decided to have a few bites of ours (and yes we did share with him). It was a wonderful way to spend Kyleigh's last day as a 3 year old!