Discovery Flight

It isn't too often that I call myself a winner.  But this time I'M A WINNER!
Remember the pottery class post, when I mentioned that we won it through a drawing that I entered weeks before at the community center...?  That day, I entered about 10 drawings; just passing the time.  I didn't really know what they were for, but thought hey!  I never win anything...may as well give it a shot.  Well, I won again!
This time it was for a flight around the island called the Discovery Flight!
How awesome! I WON!  Yeeeeehhaaaaa!!

So this afternoon, we went to the Aero Club on Kadena and met our flight instructor Asst. Chief Pilot Lance Dale who led us out to a Cessna 172, 4 seater for our flight around the island.  It just so happened that it was a beautiful and clear day!
Here is what we saw:

 

 Our views from 1,000 ft.

 This is where we live!  The large green space right on the coast is the field where we take Cinder to run everyday!  The beach on the left is Nirai beach.  we live just inland through the fields of Yomitan.

 Zampa Point.  You can see the white lighthouse on the tip.  This is one of our favorite spots.

 

I can't believe how clear some of these pictures turned out!

 Can you believe this water?  Seeing it from the sky was really amazing.  Can't wait to scuba dive here.

 Mountains! There are a lot of mountains on Okinawa. We haven't been to the northern part of the island, but now we know a little of what to expect.  The tallest mountain on the island is 1600 ft.

 

This is Ina island just off the Western coast of Okinawa.  Gorgeous contrast against the deep ocean.

 

Our pilot told us some pretty cool facts about Okinawa.  The island is not volcanic but actually limestone.  It is quite literally the top of a submerged limestone mountain that was once completely underwater until the top poked its head out of the ocean and Okinawa was born.  The widest part of the island is 18 miles across, the narrowest is 2 miles across, and 70 miles from top to bottom.  Okinawa also includes 160 smaller surrounding islands.

About 500 humpback breed in waters off the Bonin Islands and Okinawa every year.  Didn't see a tail during the flight...but we may need to take a boat out for whale watching.  Maybe they have a drawing contest for that!