Beach party with the newcomers

Two days after everyone got together at Kinkai, we four southerners--Gavin, Rose, Joe, and I--drove up to Miuda, the beach way up by Joey's place. We got there in the late afternoon, and by the time we bought all the barbecue supplies and got to the beach, the sun was setting. We got the coals lit, and scrambled around the beach in the dark looking for driftwood for a bonfire. Joey made excellent burgers, and we enjoyed the gorgeous summer weather.

We four woke up Sunday morning and went to the beach. Joey had stayed at Miuda with a friend the night before--they had stayed up to watch the sunrise before coming back to crash at his place--so he stayed in bed. We got to Miuda right as Kim arrived, having gotten a ride from one of her neighbors. Miuda was packed, with easily the most people I've seen at any beach on Tsushima, ever. While there were a fair number of Korean tourists, there were actually a lot of Japanese families, too, which surprised me more.

The water was just about the temperature of a hot bath, which Kim just couldn't wrap her mind around. There's a small island a good ways off from the beach. If you look closely, you can see a mound-looking thing on top of the rock. Mitch and Joey went out for a closer look last year, and realized it's a nest for the kites we have on the island. While Gavin and I did some snorkeling, and Kim and Rose walked around the beach, Joe decided to swim out to the island. If there isn't a fairway involved, I'm not very good at estimating distances, but I'd guess it's a good half-mile out there.

When he was about halfway there, Joey showed up. Joey and Gavin decided to swim out there, too, and I decided to give it a go. A little ways out, I ate a wave, and that sort of took the wind out of my sails. I'm not really sure I could've made it out there, with as out of shape as I am. Anyway, they all made it, did some exploring, and came back. Joe found a flag on the island and brought it back. It looks much more like a Chinese flag than a Japanese one. Hmm...