Byodo-In & Boogie Boarding

This morning Shey, Bailey, and I went to the Byodo-In temple just for a visit. It is this gorgeous Japanese Buddhist temple hidden at the foot of the mountain... and it really is amazing! It was a rainy morning which I think definitely added to the experience.

Before entering the temple, you’re supposed to ring the bell. We then visited this cute little gazebo thing before entering the temple.

The temple was cool inside, with a very large Buddha statue. I didn’t take a picture so you will just have to go there and see it!

We were getting eaten by bugs but we so enjoyed our time walking around that peaceful place and admiring the fish and other cute creatures. Also, aren’t Shey and I getting really good at posing like ducks?

For lunch Bailey went with Dillon to get poke and Shey and I went for burgers at Seven Brothers. Shey and I also tried to rent paddleboards from the school but that really didn’t go well. I didn’t realize how huge paddleboards are! No matter what we did we couldn’t even fit one in her car. So, boogie boards it was!

We picked up the boys and the four of us headed to the beach. That beach had some crazy waves! I’ve never been life jacket-less in the ocean where I couldn’t touch the bottom. It was very exciting! I am awful at boogie boarding but I had fun trying! I boogie boarded right over Shey at one point which was scary but funny, and almost accidentally did it again but decided to flip over at the last second which ended with my nose full of sea water and my swimsuit full of sand. We all were wiped out by the waves a couple of times, but we had tons of fun!

Again, Bailey enjoyed playing in the sand. He built a small castle but soon decided to use the medium in a different way.

Boogie boarding works up an appetite, so even though we had dinner plans for later in the evening, we decided that some pie from Ted’s Bakery was in order. I ate some coconut pumpkin pie and it was delicious! I also enjoyed their mural. Shey and I created a series of images depicting surfing, swimming, and diving.

The evening ended with some tasty Thai food for dinner. We actually met up with our friend Hollywood who was in China with us, so that was cool! It was fun to catch up with him since it’s been so long. 

We are so tired but we are loving every minute of this trip. Bailey and I travel a fair amount, but rarely ever do we vacation. I feel like there is a big difference! Vacation consists of leisure and relaxation, and usually we have so much to do and see that not much relaxation happens on our trips. This time, though, we’ve mostly just been with our friends so we haven’t had to do any planning! And we’ve taken it slow. Though there’s tons to do here, we’ve just picked our priorities and have spent the rest of the time resting and just hanging out. It’s been exactly what we've needed!