So, Japan...

The first few days have been pretty good．We arrived totally tired and took a bus to our hotel. The hotel is fine, and it is located in a pretty neat part of Tokyo. The sucky thing about the hotel has been its lack of internet, despite the promise of it in our room. The hotel`s partner across the street has internet, but it is super-slow and somewhat pricey (hence all the saved-up California posts below).　 On the other hand, we`ve not yet been trapped in the elevator, so I guess it all depends . . . And the area we are staying in is not exactly a backpacker `hood, so finding good, fast, cheap internet was not easy. But here we are!

And here are some pics from our first few days.

Truth in advertising, no?

This is among the more concise toilet control panels I`ve seen.

The first morning, we woke up at 3am. What to do but make for the fish market? And so we did. I`ve never seen such big fish – and so many of them. Seeing the fish auction was very cool. And since the fish are so fresh and most are flash-frozen, there`s really no smell at all (I had been a little worried about this). So, by 6am, we had toured the market, seen the bidding, and, yes, eaten sushi for breakfast (we had also eaten sushi for dinner the night before!). The sushi was AMAZING – I know `food from the sea` itsn`t everyone`s cup of tea, but if sushi is your thing, this is where you need to be. Seriously.

Tomorrow we move out of the hotel and for our house. There`s been a lot of excitement about the new train line (which just opened last weekend) to Tsukuba – today someone even told us it had wireless on it. So perhaps I`ll have to live-blog the train once (I also had great visions of live-blogging the flight to Japan, but our plane didn`t have the internets, so I was forced to watch several mediocre movies, including `The Interpreter,` `Fever Pitch,` `Sahara,` and `The First Wives Club.` Classics, all of them).

January

If you were to go to one of these places for a week in January, where (and where specifically) would you go?
The Philippines
Singapore
Malaysia
Hong Kong
Bangkok

San Diego

San Diego gets a little weirder every time I go back. For example, my dentist now commutes to work on a Segway. Also, my grandfather was OBSESSED with getting my brother, Mike, and me to all buy our clothes at COSTCO (Sixty-five v-neck sweaters? Yes!)

On the other hand, for the San Diego skeptics out there who have yet to see the light, San Diego remains lovely. We ran on the beach two mornings. I just love running on the beach at low tide, especially in the morning. So that was great. We watched the surfers. We also bodysurfed. The ocean is so nice. There’s nothing like diving under that first wave and coming up feeling refreshed.

Our family friends invited us over for some delicious outdoor meals. And they served the best chocolate cake ever (see pic in Mike`s post). This has been my favorite cake for as long as I can remember. Now, I know some may think they have had the best chocolate cake ever. But, really, you realize that you can’t all be right. Only a portion of said claimants can be correct. And those are the people that have tasted this cake. It is that good.



Mike and I also cooked an 88th birthday celebration lunch for my grandfather. We served olive tapenade, gazpacho, pesto pasta, and birthday cake made by Eric of East Bay Eats. The lunch came off reasonably successfully. My great-aunt Toni was also there, and she brought her friend Rumi, who is from Japan. Rumi and Mike chatted it up, and we may even look up Rumi’s sister in Japan.

Jeremy the Racer

I think you are a bad driver.

I am not impressed by the fact that you are an RV towing a trailer that presumably contains your race car, though it was nice of you to let us know that by decorating your trailer with some self-promoting information. That was good reading; I’ll be sure to go out and cheer for you now. ESPECIALLY since we spent an hour stuck behind you on a two lane-road through the high desert.

An hour? No, really. An hoooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuur.

Why? Well, I think it had something to do with the fact that every time there was a passing lane, you, the RV towing a trailer that had in it a car, pulled out to pass another RV or truck. You are, umm, not exactly speedy in such a set-up, so while you labored to pass that driver, we (the eighteen cars stuck behind you) stayed hot on your tail, hoping to get around you before the passing lane ended. And did we ever? Not exactly, but hey, we sure are glad you got on your way just a little faster. And I do mean a little.

Really, you’re doing a lot to promote your “sport.” Way to win the hearts and minds of non-racing fans.

Jagged Peaks

So, Mammoth was awesome.

Strangely, the first day we were there it rained. Not afternoon thunderstorms, but all-day rain. So, we stayed inside and read and hung out. Then, when it cleared in the early evening, we took a walk up to Warming Hut II. In the summer, though, they don’t hand out free hot chocolate. However, the condo manager did give us some trout he’d caught; Mike and Eric did a masterful job preparing them. Perhaps free edibles in Mammoth are sort of seasonal.

After the first day, the weather steadily improved, and we did some great hikes. It never rained again on us, and the residual clouds did keep things cool. Sadly, we never were able to do my favorite hike, which has a long part on an exposed ridgeline, because of the menacing clouds. Finally, on the last day it was hot enough to swim in a lake (I swam in the lake in the next-to-last picture below; on the day before, my aunt and cousin swam in the lake just above said picture).

Isn’t it just gorgeous?

We also met my aunt’s family up there – along with their funny dog. I hadn’t seen them in a while, so that was fun. Their dog is very sweet, although he does have some behavior issues (no pictures of those!) that my aunt characterized as “not about sex, just domination.” Good to know, good to know.

Another strange thing about this Mammoth trip in addition to the rainy day was that there were several cross-country teams from southern California training up there – both high school and college level. You’d see them running around town and running on the trails. Who knew that Mammoth had become such a Mecca for such things?

Fish for Breakfast

We have arrived in Tokyo! We got in safely last night, and this morning we went to Tsukiji Fish Market and ate fish for breakfast. We have pictures that we will post later, but for now I will just post some of the things I wrote abour our adventures in CA.

California

Our California trip has been wonderful. Here are some highlights:

1. Going bodysurfing with Eric of East Bay Eats, Kate, and some Kate's old friends in huge San Diego waves

2. Eating Harriet's chocolate cake
3. Learning to play Dance Dance Revolution

4. Hiking in the Sierra Nevadas


5. Getting to know Kate's grandparents, and coming to understand the origins of the phrase "if mummy can't do it, it can't be done"

6. Stuffing trout with Eric of East Bay Eats

7. Catching up with old friends Jon Knoll and Chris McCune

8. Starting a backpacking trip with Jake and his family

Miracle of miracles, wonder of wonders

We actually got our entire security deposit back!
(Though I am not really counting on them to give us a good reference when we return to the US)

Talk about new-found wealth . . .

The Road to Anywhere: Exit 101

I-75 stretches from Northern Michigan all the way to Florida. There is actually a billboard in Florida that advertises the Christmas store in Frankenmuth, MI.

Today I drove on I-75 in order to visit an old friend in Flint, MI (one of my few friends who has remained in Michigan). She took me to a nice restaurant overlooking the Flint farmers' market. A part of my Flint tour included "the run-down buildings from Roger and Me."

As I drove out to visit my friend, I passed Exit 101, for Grange Hall road in Ortonville, Michigan. I figured that I must have gotten off at that exist at least 30 times in my life, first a camper at Camp Maas and later as a counselor. I remember the old directions that used to come with the camp literature-looking like a mimeograph of a photocopy-which included the famous reference to "the second Perriville Road." And certainly I remember the camp itself: the waterfront, the trails connecting villages and activity centers, the sounds of children and their counselors yelling village cheers, the smells of cabins and lodges.

It is strange to think that, had I followed my immediate instinct to get off at Exit 101 and drive the familiar road to camp, I would no longer recognize any campers or counselors, and I (as a strange adult) would almost certainly not be allowed into the camp at all. Unlike expressways, people cannot exist in multiple places at the same time; we must make choices. And even though I am happy with the choices that I have made, I may always feel a little disoriented as I pass Exit 101.

Michigan, I apologize

I need to take back all the sly (and not-so-sly) comments I have ever made about Michigan.

I was wrong and I admit it.

Well, really it was a levels-of-analysis problem. As it turns out, everything I said about Michigan is still true. But it really only applies to Detroit (see the nyt on this, too).

Northern (or northerly, since I really didn’t get to see northern Michigan since I never made it to the Upper Peninsula) Michigan is beautiful. I mean it.

Mike’s family took me to a cabin owned by friends of theirs.

It was so gorgeous. First, this was a serious real cabin in the woods (not condo masquerading as cabin, a marketing trick of which I am sometimes guilty). There was a wooden ceiling and floor. At night, you could count the wooden beams overhead as you fell asleep.

Second, there was a creek like thirty feet away from the cabin, down a gently slopping lawn.

It seemed a crime to be there and not to do something on the creek, like canoe or float on an inner tube. Saving something for next time, I guess . . .

As you can see from the pictures, this is some serious woods. Not like the woods I grew up loving where the trees are piney-er , further apart, and have bigger trunks. Here, the trees are more varied, denser, and there’s a distinct understory of brush. Different, but lovely. And the stars at night!

We also took in some of the local sights:

And we even saw the elusive paper towel spirit (often observed, rarely photographed). The spirit’s singsong voice said: “oh, honey, you’ll go . . .”

We also went to Mackinaw Island (an island lying between the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan). Here are some facts about the island: we reached it via ferry boat, no cars are allowed on the island, and the local specialty is fudge. As you can tell, this was my kind of place! The island was a little crowded with fellow travelers, but it was beautiful. Below are some scenes from the day:

See, it really is beautiful!

Moving and Michigan

So the last week or so has been very eventful.

We’ve moved out of our compartment in Seattle. Most of our furniture is going to our good friend Turan, who is moving into his own place after several years of living in shared housing. Our extra clothes and furnishings all went into storage. We used those pod-like things. In one sense, this was great because, hey, they bring the thing to you. In another sense this was bad because you realize that all that is protecting your stuff from marauding bands of brigands are several sheets of plywood and a master lock. I didn’t sleep very well the first night that our stuff was in the containers.

Of course, moving is really two miserable jobs: the packing up of your old place AND the cleaning out of your old place. Mike and I forgot to save old clothes, so a quick trip to Fred Meyer later, we were equipped in matching outfits, the pants courtesy of the Linda Evans petite line. Also, they were on sale. And the print was called “samurai.” How could I not buy?

So we bleached and swept and scrubbed and mopped and vacuumed. Mike was mostly in charge of the bleach, harkening back to his days in high school chemistry:

I should also add that, yes, Mike and I went to get lunch dressed like this. And, yes, people looked at us. On the other hand, Seattle is the city of UTILIKILTS, so whatever floats your boat . . .

Major thanks go to my Wellesley friend Jen who came to help us. Now that is sisterhood!

SYL also came to help us. She was like the cleaning closer. Without her, we might still be there.

No word yet on our security deposit. The total we could be out is $300. Any bets on how much we’ll lose?

We then went to Scott and Meredith’s for a few days. They are awesome hosts – perhaps because they haven’t truly had a chance to look at the state of their guest room [while I am writing this from Michigan, our Japan-bound stuff, sorted into various piles, is still with them].

We had a great anniversary dinner with them at Ray’s. Really, there is nothing like Seattle in the summer, especially when you are watching the sun set behind the Olympics.

We are now in Michigan. Really, it’s late and I have a lot to say, so I’ll end here and pick up on the Michigan part tomorrow.

Goodbye Rob

One of the strange things about leaving a city for a year is that we know that the Seattle we are leaving is quite different from the Seattle that we will return to. Many of our friends are Ph.D. students who expect to soon finish their degrees and take jobs in other cities.

Last night I said my goodbye to my friend Rob. Rob will leave Seattle on Thursday for a postdoc at University of Kentucky. When I was a first year graduate student Rob unsuccessfully spearheaded an effort to haze me, and we have been friends ever since.

Kate actually stayed with Rob when she visited UW as a potential graduate student, and we all attended a pub quiz together. Rob still maintains that he introduced Kate and me, although we are less sure. We will definitely miss the guy.

Below is a picture of us watching the Detroit Tigers lose.

Rob Farley and Mike at last night's Tigers/Mariners Game (The Tigers lost). 

Camping in WA

We spent the weekend camping with our congregation. We were just north of Roslyn, Washington. This is the part of the Cascades that (theoretically) has more sun than the Seattle side. Except it was POURING when we arrived on Friday. A serious amount of rain fell as we sent up the tent and a nice puddle formed in the bottom of the tent.

Then (thankfully!), the sun came out. In an attempt to dry out the tent, I broke every rule of tent ownership: I left the door open, I placed it in direct sun without the fly, and I turned it upside down in the dirt (all the better to dry the floor, my lovelies). These things did dry out the tent, and we went on to have an extremely lovely weekend.

We hiked in an old-growth forest and we ate a lot of s’mores. I also swam in a very cold creek. At night there were soooo many stars – they were amazing. Living in Seattle, you forget about the stars. . . . And the trees were so tall, the sky so blue. I love the mountains. I can’t wait to get back to my mountains, the Sierras.

Pictures from the trip are posted below

camping 3 

camping 2 

camping 1 

Welcome!

I like that we are the only blog listed in Tsukuba. Even more, I like that Tsukuba is pronounced like “SCUBA.” That is awesome. I want to blow bubbles each time I say the word.

Actually, we aren’t in Tsukuba (or SCUBA) yet. We’re still in Seattle packing up the apartment. I’m still teaching summer school and Mike is still prepping for Japan. So, really nothing to report at all.

Next weekend we go camping with our congregation, so that should at least yield some good stories!

Soon, we leave for the vacation 1-2 punch: Detroit plus San Diego. We’ll be in Detroit from Aug. 3 – 14th, and San Diego from the 14 -25th. So, come one, come all. I’ll be taking a short Chicago side-trip from Detroit, and we are contemplating another side-trip from San Diego. I really wanted to go camping here, but all the sites are full. So, we’ll see . . .