Butterflies, flying dolphins & pineapples

Spring Break fun

Red hats to put on and attract the butterflies

Flying Dolphins...we made it to the show, finally

This is a false killer whale and was huge

I love this one. It looks like they are jet aircraft with the water drops like trailing exhaust

If the dolphins are fighter jets, the whale is a heavy

Two's in

 

 

This is the jungle and beach at the aquarium

Family Totem

We're explaining to our daughter that this is the kind of whale she saw. They really are giants.

Our oldest boy's favorite animal is the orange crab, and we just happened to see some.

 

A quick stop at the pineapple park to grab some ice cream and show off our cool kids.

 

Baby camoflage

 

Our daughter has definitely acclimated

It has been cloudy and overcast a lot, so when the sun comes out and the ocean is beautiful, we are so grateful for time off, blue sea, and our time on this island.

Iwoto (Formerly Iwo Jima)

I had the opportunity to go to Iwoto, what was called Iwo Jima during WWII, on a Professional Military Education trip. It was a sobering and amazing experience.

There were helmets, guns, and flame throwers among the left over equipment.
As you can see this is the propeller of an Army Air Corps B-29.

This is an entrance to some of the incredibly long and interconnected tunnels that were dug throughout the island. We took our flashlights and hiked a half mile through them, careful to follow the rope, so as to not get lost in the many forks and tunnels that branched off.
This is our group with Mount Suribachi in the distance.



The sand is black and full of metal, making it impossible for the landing Marines to use their metal detectors to locate mines. They had to go slowly, prodding with a stick to locate and remove them.
This centipede was huge. The bag of beef jerky is there for perspective.
This is the Japanese memorial.
This is the US memorial, on the same spot where the US flag was raised atop Mount Suribachi.

Iwo Jima literally means sulfur island, and it smelled like it.
Where so many lost their lives.

Helicopter Ride

This past week my sweet husband arranged for me to go on a helicopter ride with the rescue squadron for spouse orientation day. We got to go up for 20 minutes and had an amazing tour of the island. I thought I would share just a couple of the pictures from my amazing day.




First I got to get on the blue bus. Now to the rest of you this may seem silly, however, I have many a memory of saying goodbye to my husband before putting him on a blue bus. Today I got to ride the blue bus.
I was lucky enough to get the seat on the end giving me the best view. The view was so good I was the only spouse that got to see a whale swimming below.



As they hovered for a moment as part of their checklist, I was hit with a wave of excitement that I was about to get on this thing and actually go up.


Yep, I love where I live. I told you the view was great.
These are just a few shots I got from the air.



We got to land on top of this mountain in the middle of the jungle.
So it would seem that it is the responsibility of this crew member to lean out the window of the aircraft while we are flying so that I become nervous. Ok, so I am sure it is for another purpose besides making me nervous but I have no idea what it is.









Ok, so I wasn't on the helicopter when I took this shot but it is one of my favorites. Yes, I actually teared up when I saw the position of these two airplanes on display and if you know me and my family then you understand why.
Yea spouse's day.