A full circle moment

On Sunday we spent the afternoon in Enoshima and Kamakura.


Enoshima Aquarium faces Sagami Bay and has amazing views of Mt. Fuji and Enoshima Island.
I have taken the boys to the Enoshima Aquarium in the past but Tim hadn't been there before. The boys were pretty excited to see all the animals when we got there. Mostly they were just happy to get out of the car and run around. The drive to Enoshima is around 40 minutes without traffic and it's a great place to go when the weather isn't cooperating. Today, it was gray and rainy.



Enoshima is also very popular for beach lovers and surfers. Around here, it's the closest Japan is going to get to California for us :)

After roaming around the aquarium a bit, we sat down for the dolphin show. The kids haven't enjoyed it in the past as much as they did today. Especially Arjun. He was really focused on watching the dolphins do flips in the air, of course while enjoying his yummy popcorn. I didn't know he liked popcorn? Huh. Note to self.

After the aquarium, we were ready for lunch in Kamakura.

Kamakura is just a few kilometers away from Enoshima, up the Kanagawa coast. In addition to having a beach, there are many historical monuments and shrines to visit, making Kamakura a very poplular tourist destination.

There is a really great Hawaiian restaurant that I wanted Tim to try so that's where we headed for lunch. The food was really yummy and as always, the boys enjoyed their curry rice :•)

Another special treat that Kamakura has to offer is Blue Seal Ice Cream. Blue Seal brings back some fond memories...


Blue Seal is a famous Okinawan ice cream company. Not only do they serve ice cream, but they sell some hot food as well, like Okinawan taco rice (so good!) and logo hats, bags, and t-shirts.

Tim and I had Blue Seal ice cream many years ago. Back in 2001-2002, Tim lived in Okinawa and was a GMO (general medical officer) on a marine base there. Tim raved about Blue Seal while he lived there and I had the opportunity to try it when I visited him in March of 2002. It was delicious! One of the most popular flavors is 'Ube', or sweet potato. It may sound weird to have a sweet potato-flavored ice cream, but it is actually very good!

Today, while sitting with Tim and the boys enjoying Blue Seal in Kamakura, I couldn't help but recall the memories of Okinawa so long ago, when Tim and I were dating and our future together was so uncertain. (I was in grad school in DC and he had many years in the Medical Core ahead of him...)

I haven't had Blue Seal since that night with Tim back in March 2002.

Now...seven years later, March 2009, we shared a scoop of Ube again. The experience was much sweeter though, because our two little boys were in tow.


I don't think I've had a full circle moment before.

But I have now.