A new year in Okinawa means the ever so anticipated flower season is upon us! That's right, when you live on a subtropical island you swap blizzards for blossoms during the winter. From January through May fields bursting with sun flowers, cosmos, lilies, irises and the ever so famous sakura aka cherry blossoms pop up all over Oki. This year I made it my mission to see them all since next winter might be a bit hectic with our move. At the beginning of our list the were the Cosmos fields and Sakura trees, the first blooms of the season.

The second half of our long weekend in Hong Kong was the part I had been anticipating the most. We were finally ready to tackle the Dragon's Back hike, nine kilometers of Hong Kong's most beautiful hiking trails and scenic views. Ben and I knew that this was a must-do on our Hong Kong itinerary early on, we love hiking and pretty much any outdoor activity plus it was clear that the views atop the Dragon's Back were to die for. There's a reason this trail was named the world's best urban hiking spot!

It's been just about a week since Ben and I got back from Hong Kong and truthfully we're both just finally recovering. This city was WILD, from the never ending stretches of bars to the mountainous streets that required escalators to navigate, Hong Kong was a true test of the body and spirit... And we were only there for four days!!!

Ben and I, like most adventures we get ourselves into, happened to randomly stumble upon Sueyoshi Park while we were aimlessly driving around Naha. Our initial plan in the city was to visit the only international cemetery in Okinawa (a cool site in and of it's self) but it took us just a few minutes to wander the cemetery grounds before we realized that we were 30 minutes down South without any other plans.

Is this not the sweetest thing you've ever seen?! Ben and his Marines each received care packages and thank you letters today from the students at Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School in Virginia Beach, VA. The letter reads: