This past weekend, I turned 25! Woohoo! I figured by now I’d probably start dreading birthdays, but getting older has been surprisingly enjoyable (aside from the crows feet that sneakily popped up around my eyes.) I was very pleased that my birthday fell on a Friday as well because it meant that I could *pretty much* get away with extending my special day all throughout the weekend... Can you really blame me?

This past Friday marked three years since I graduated from the University of Pittsburgh... Yikes! I’m not sure if I was inspired by the occasion or not, but Friday night Ben, a few friends and I hit several bars in town and *may* have partied like we were crazy college kids. And yes, If you are wondering I can now unfortunately verify that hangovers are approximately 7,000 times worse when you’re older. However, the countless mojitos, beers, and habu sake shots that we imbibed that night were absolutely worth the next day pain. It’s rare that Ben and I get to party like the young adults we are - because all of our peers on this island are literally pregnant or already parents - so we took this opportunity in stride! We definitely feel as though we miss out on the young adult “party scene” we would’ve enjoyed in the states but nights like these give us a little taste of what we’re missing back in Philly.

We all grew up well aware that with warmer Spring weather comes plenty of rain fall. “April showers bring May flowers” as they say, however when you live on a subtropical island “showers” are replaced by a seemingly never ending monsoon season. It’s been a nonstop mix of rain, clouds and thunderstorms for the past few weeks and even though I’ve lived through two other Okinawan Springs by now this one is driving me especially crazy.

Just when I think we’ve exhausted every Battle of Okinawa site on this island, another one comes out of the woodwork! CNN Travel wrote an article about its “Top Okinawa Tourist Sites” which included a Japanese Army Observation Post on hill 161.8 (named so because it’s 161.8 meters above sea level) located in the town of Nakagusuku. It had 360 degree views from the top and was somewhat of a challenge to access due to its steep ascent which was paved in jagged, sharp rocks.