Anne visited and we survived the end of the world!

Well, here we are on May 23, 2011, still living happily on earth. (Or is it hell now?) Clearly, all of the tornadoes and hurricanes and other extreme weather events are symptoms of the end of the world. They couldn't possibly have anything to do with Global Warming, could they? If only we could raise millions of dollars for the environment like religious organizations do.

Anne (Nate's sister) came to visit us and we had a great time! Anne did a lot of shopping, snorkeling, and even tried to eat all kinds of Japanese food. Nate and Anne went to the aquarium, where Anne blended in with the crowd by giving the peace sign for a photo. I think Anne's favorite part of the trip was snorkeling, once she got past walking out to the reef.



We went to the pet shop, where we saw these chipmunks for sale. Yes, chipmunks, for the bargain price of 9800 yen each (~$120). We also went to the Underground Japanese Naval Headquarters from WWII. Okinawa was the sight of the last battle of WWII and there were many underground tunnels and caves where military and civilians found refuge from the fighting. The museum reminded us of the futility of war, where so many innocent people die and not much is solved. The colorful papers on the wall in the photo are origami cranes for all of the victims that died in these tunnels.



Kris had the opportunity to collect in Oura Bay again. Francois, the sea cucumber researcher had room on his boat, so I went to get some more amphipods. On the dive I found a really cute baby cuttlefish and Takuma was very excited about the sea cucumbers he collected!