So before I go too far down the road of 52 ancestors, thought I'd better catch up my few readers (if any are left) on my life the last few years.  Let's see, since January of 2023...

Steve and I are still miraculously together.  We definitely have our ups and downs still but "for better or for worse" right?

Scott has been stationed in Korea these last few years.  He met a beautiful girl named Minju and they were married last fall in Korea.  We got to travel to Korea for the wedding.  They are now expecting twin girls.

Eric and Trina are still in Grand Rapids.  He is a nurse in the Cardiac Cath Lab at a local hospital.  Trina finally got her private pilot's license, and is now working on instrument rating certification.  Eventually she wants to become a commercial pilot.  They still have Winston, and brought home a brother for him, Duncan, in January.  Duncan was a rescue dog from a hoarding situation, so it's taken time.  They are both purebred dachshunds.

Oh, Scott's Marty?  He now lives with us again as Scott and Minju's landlord asked them to rehome him.  He was apparently too scary for the elderly Korean women in the complex.  (And if you know Marty, that is so not true!)  Thankfully Scott was coming back to the states for a training so he came home first with Marty.  Marty is almost 11 now so I think we'll probably be his home for the rest of his time on earth.  We couldn't see him being rehomed to strangers in Korea.

Our Max had quite a few health issues over the last years of his life.  He was stable, though, when we left for Korea last fall, so left him in a private home petsitter.  Not sure if it was not having us around or the natural progression of his issues, but he went downhill rapidly and we made that hard decision to send him over the rainbow bridge the day after we returned from Korea.   

It's nice to have a dog again with Marty here.

I was the caretaker for my mom as she continued her battle with dementia.  The last six months of her life, we had found a wonderful care place in Lowell and things settled down for her.  She passed a year ago in February.  Even though she had greatly pared down her possessions over the last few years, there was still a lot to deal with between her "stuff" and dealing with the financial and legal aspects of her estate.  That is all behind me now, except for some of her stuff still in our basement.  One of the really hard things about her death was that my older sister passed the day before mom.  We were expecting mom's death, not my sisters.

I'm still working as an urgent care registrar.  Planning to retire in August and start to have the time to accomplish the things I want to do.  One of those things being dealing with all my accumulated possessions that I don't need any more.  I don't want to leave that task for my kids.

I want to travel, too.  Planning on Korea this fall to see my new granddaughters, then after that we'll see.  One regret I have with Steve is that he doesn't really want to travel any more.   Especially with me.  So if I go, it'll probably be solo.  Or maybe a sister trip with Judy?  

Well, that's about it for an update.  

So a couple of years later...

It was a really slow day at work last week so one day I decided to see if I could still find my old blog.  I did and I read the entire blog over the course of the day.  I really wish I'd continued with the 52 ancestors thing, so  I decided to get the themes and start again.

Week 1's theme was "In the Beginning"

For me, the beginning was when I was about 15.  As I vaguely recall, there was a summer class at the school library on genealogy.  I was already a history buff, so what history would be more interesting than my own?  Talked to my dad's parents, who were local for me, and wrote a letter to my mom's mother in Indiana, and filled in the basic blanks going back a few generations.  Everything was done on paper back then, of course - no computers to help us out in so many ways as it is now.

I remember going into Madison, to the State Historical Society library, more than a few times to do research on microfilm and microfiche.  That helped fill in many of the blanks.  Eventually discovered I have more than a few Mayflower ancestors so that was quite interesting as well.

College came and my interest slowed down.  But eventually I met and married my husband and there was a whole new set of ancestors!  Not mine by birth, but they would belong to my eventual children.  As my husband is an only child, all of the records passed down thru generations were already in our hands, or in his parents possession.    

As time moved on, I would do research off and on.  Our early computer was useful for compiling family group sheets and other records more quickly than writing them by hand.

And then came the age of internet.  It is so much easier to do research and compile information now.  I have a membership to ancestry.com which has been immensely helpful.  

52 Ancestors - week 4 - education

 Just a note first - I missed week 3.  It was "out of place" and I just couldn't think of any ancestors that are out of place.  Closest I could come is my dad, whose ashes are (at least supposedly) in my stepmother's closet instead of buried with his parents as they should have been.  I digress....

This week, the topic is education.  Many directions that I could take this.  Education is important to me, as my career focus has been teaching.  The picture I chose was a typical picture for the early 20th century, all the students in a one-room schoolhouse lined up outside the building.  The posted picture is of my grandmother, Lillian Stilwell, and her siblings included in the class.  Schoolhouse unknown, somewhere in the Bartholomew or Jackson County, Indiana area.  I recently colorized the picture through ancestry.com, since of course color film had not yet been invented in the early 1900's.

Could I have taught in a one-room schoolhouse?  I would like to think so.  There would be a lot of organization necessary to meet the needs of a diverse group of students.  Anywhere from teaching the young ones to read to advanced learning for the older ones.

52 Ancestors - week 2 - Favorite Photo

 This week we are to choose a favorite photo.  I am enclosing two. The first is of my son, Scott Clayton Cooper (born 1985.) The second photo is of my husband's grand uncle, Arthur Emil Lindenman (1902 - 1983.)  

What puts these photos on my favorite list is the way that they look alike.  I have shown Uncle Art's picture to others, and they truly think that it is Scott.  Uncle Art is in his army uniform, and Scott is in his Air Force uniform. 

Genetics are amazing!

 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 1 - I'd Like to Meet

I was browsing Facebook and saw a post about #52 Ancestors.  Idea being you pick one of your ancestors each week and write a little more in depth about that person.  Weekly themes each week.  Sounds cool.  Going back to my old blog to post these.

Week 1 is "I'd Like to Meet."    The first ancestor that comes to mind is my great-grandmother, Ella Josephine Cox Stobo Brockman.  There are several parts of her life that I'd like to explore more.

First would be the circumstances of her birth.  From what I've been able to find, her adoptive mother may well have actually been her grandmother.  Ella was born in 1879, and was adopted by Ellen Cox Stobo and her husband, Thomas Stobo.  Ellen's oldest daughter, Henrietta Cox, died in 1884 and her will mentions the five year old girl, Ella, and part of Henrietta's estate went towards Ella's care and benefit.  I suspect that Henrietta was actually Ella's mother.  No records exist of a marriage for Henrietta, so perhaps the potential stigma of an out of wedlock child caused Ellen to adopt her own grandchild.  Not sure.  Maybe it'd be just as beneficial to meet Ellen or even Henrietta?

Second would be her life after she became a widow.  Ella married William Franklin Brockman in 1899 and they had three children.  One of those children was my grandfather, William Thomas "Tom" Brockman.  William Franklin died in 1918.  By 1921, Ella was named as the "other woman" in a lawsuit from the wife of a local businessman in her town.

From a contemporary newspaper article:  Margaret Crump charged that her husband Charley, a wealthy sportsman and air pilot, drove his airplane thru the skies more than convention permitted with Mrs. Ella Brockman, a wealthy widow and that he used the widow's cow pasture for a landing field.  At the same time, Mrs. Crump asked $25,000 alimony and $25,000 for alienation of affections from Mrs. Brockman.  

The court fight was to have developed over whether a couple could love in approved manner in the clouds while an airplane propeller drowned all conversation and prevented the driver from turning around and whispering into the lady's ear.  The divorce suit was withdrawn by both Mr. and Mrs. Crump before it went to trial.  The newspaper article claimed that it was the first airplane divorce suit in the United States.

Ella sounds like a very interesting lady and I would have loved to have met her.

Hi from Max - I sure miss my Grandma

Hi, this is Max.  It's been a long time since Mama has let me write on her blog, but here I am.  I'm getting older and don't have quite the energy that I used to, but I still have fun when I can.   Things have changed around here lately.  There was this lady that Mama and Daddy referred to as "Grandma" that came to live with us a while back.  She was really nice; she gave me treats, let me lick her dishes after she ate good stuff from them, and took me for LOTS of walks.   She let me come up on her bed when Mama would leave for work (and Mama works really long days!) and look out her window at all the deer and bunnies and squirrels.  She has a dog, too, only Missy just stays in one place and doesn't say anything.  Mama says it's because Missy is "stuffed."  Maybe she shouldn't eat so much then!

So last week her room started getting more crowded.  Lots of boxes and totes - I could tell something was up.  On Sunday, Mama and Daddy started carrying the boxes and totes out to the garage.  Daddy filled up his big blue trailer, and on Monday they pulled the trailer away and that was the last I saw of Grandma.

Mama says she lives in her own apartment again.  She has lots more room for all her stuff and is making lots of new friends.  The only bad thing is that dogs like me aren't allowed to come visit.  Mama says she'll take me over there and we can pick her up and go on an adventure like we did a couple of times this summer.   We still have to be a little careful of this virus thing that everybody talks about.  They even have to cover up their faces!  Glad I don't have to have my face covered up!

I sure miss my Grandma.

rediscovering an old friend

At work and between patients the other day.  Googled "RedhedMary" just for fun.  The link for my old blog came up, I'd pretty much forgotten about it.  It was way cool to go back to the beginning and read again about my two trips to Europe, my trip to Japan, and other fun things.  Also stuff that wasn't so fun but good reminders.

I'm thinking I may just start writing in the blog again.

Quick re-introduction:   I've been working at Spectrum Health's Beltline Integrated Care Center (hereafter in the blog known as the BICC) since 2017, registering Urgent Care patients.  These last six months have been quite the journey, though, as the world is in the midst of a pandemic due to the COVID-19 virus.  I can truthfully say that working in health care during a pandemic was NOT on my bucket list!

Steve retired a few years back, but is not taking retirement well, especially after the pandemic started.  He is the typical grumpy old man....

My stepdad died in July 2017, just after I started at Spectrum Health.  Hurricane Irma hit Florida that fall, and did quite the number on her trailer.  She eventually moved to Indiana, lived near Indianapolis for about a year, and then moved to Michigan to be near me.  She was living in a place called Pilgrim Manor, assisted living but at zero level of car (basically independent.)  When COVID hit, she was confined to her room as were the other residents.  When a new resident was admitted, COVID positive, after the lockdown began, she wanted out - who could blame her?  She moved in with Steve and I, and will move back into her own place next week, in a senior retirement apartment community.

Scott is still in the Air Force, after Japan he was back to Korea for a year, this time at Osan AB.  Then came a move to Lakenheath, England, where he was reunited with Marty and they have lived off base in Beck Row.

Eric and Trina were married in June, 2017, and are doing well (but no grandbabies yet...)   Eric is a critical care nurse for Spectrum Health at Blodgett Hospital, and Trina is still working part time at Pine Rest while studying for her Medical College Admission Test retake (MCAT.)

Max is 11 now, slowing down some but still a lively and loved companion to us both.

Pink Arrow IX

Yesterday, I was privileged to be part of Pink Arrow 9, the Lowell community's annual event to raise funds to support those on a cancer journey.  My participation was via representing Gilda's Club as their mascot, Sparkle the Dog.  My first stop was at the high school gym for their pep rally.  Ali, a new Gilda's staff member, spoke about Gilda's Club and I just made an appearance.  Introduced by Tommy & Brook from Star-105.  That was pretty cool...   Nice to watch all the goings-on as the student body got fired up for the game.

After the pep rally, I headed down the road to Meijer for a break, then returned to the stadium.  Hadn't been to a high school football game for many years, and this one was definitely over the top, in a good way.  Most of Lowell's restaurants had booths there, and you could buy just about any kind of food you wanted to eat.  Price of admission was a Pink Arrow T-Shirt, all proceeds going to the Pink Arrow fund which helps those in the Lowell community that are on a cancer journey, by meeting some of their financial needs.  The Pink Arrow fund also is a major supporter of Gilda's Club in Lowell, hence our support of Pink Arrow in return.   After wandering around for a while, waiting for other Gilda's staff to arrive, decided to go back to my car and just change in the parking lot, so my costume bags could just go in the car.

I'd put on everything but the "head" when a staff member finally came by on a golf cart.  They picked me up (after I put the head on) and we headed for the Gilda's booth.  I spent the next three hours "Sparkling" which meant that I was giving high fives, fist bumps, hugs, posing for pictures, and just generally being an ambassador for Gilda's Club and Pink Arrow.  I had a Pink Arrow shirt on over the costume, so it got pretty warm in there!  It's lots of fun being a mascot, even if I did get warm.  And just the incredible experience of being at Pink Arrow - they have each football player and cheerleader play in honor or memory of someone on a cancer journey, and there is a walk around the track (which surrounds the football field) with the players and honorees.   The entire stadium is a sea of pink shirts.  Just incredible.   I left at halftime, three hours is the longest I've ever stayed in the costume without a break and I was done, even though I was having a great time.

Sunday, September 4 - our 36 hour day

We woke up at 5 am in Tokyo so that we could check out by 5:45, giving Scott time to go get his car and get us on the road to Zama by 6 am.  Woke to steady rain which we were glad wasn't happening the prior two days.  Got on the road by 6 am as planned, and arrived at Camp Zama by about 7:30.  Filled up the car with gas on base, use the bathroom, then picked up Marty at the kennel.  He was really excited to see Scott, less excited to go back into his box for the trip to Narita.

Got to Narita in good time, didn't have to go back into the concrete underground jungle.  Our first stop was the animal quarantine office.  More paperwork, another exam, and then Marty was cleared to leave the country.  Then on to the Asiana check in desk where there was more paperwork, and Scott paying 300 yen with the taxes for Marty to be added to my ticket as excess baggage.  Scott was ok with that because he'd been quoted 2000 yen to ship him unaccompanied.  Judging by the friendly reception he got from all the female gate agents oohing and aahing over him, he was treated well on his trip.

Then on to security for us and a farewell to Scott.  We won't see him again until he comes back to Michigan for Eric's wedding next June...I'm very thankful we got this chance to visit with him here in Japan.  Scott made it back to Misawa after a 7 hour drive and two five hour energy drinks.... I'm sure it's very quiet around his house now without all his house guests and especially without Marty.

We shopped a bit in the duty free shops after security.  Got to try lots of expensive samples but only ended up buying some hokkaido melon flavored kit-kats.  Had to keep them under the duty-free seal until we were home which was probably a good thing.  They tasted good...

Once on the plane, we sat on the tarmac for 45 minutes.  Unsure of the delay, but we finally took off and had a pleasant flight to Incheon.  We were served a meal in a box along the way, not remembering exactly what it was.

Got to Incheon.  I had been debating whether or not to leave the terminal to go caching while we were on layover.  I think if I'd been by myself I would have.  But leaving Steve with all the luggage, and having him fall asleep...no.  Spent an uneventful layover there.  Had a nice conversation with a young Korean-American man and got to talk about Gilda's Club with him for a while, among other topics.  Bought a pretzel from the Auntie Anne's store, paid in US dollars and got change in Korean won...so have a bit of a souvenir.  Will probably pass them on to Scott when he gets back to Korea.

On to our 13 hour flight back to Chicago.  Long, uneventful, didn't get a whole lot of sleep but what I did get was thanks to the pillow, footrest, and eye mask.  Served a meal not too long after take off, chose the Korean option again which was Sisimbop this time.  This was beef bulgogi and rice, wrapped in lettuce leaves.  There was some sort of a bean paste that I was supposed to add as well but opted out of that.

After that it was pretty much lights out for the majority of the flight - literally - as the flight attendants made sure that all the shades were closed and the lights were dimmed, left enough so you could see to get to the bathroom, etc.  Slippers on the plane as well as toothbrushes and tiny tubes of toothpaste, little tubes of mouthwash, combs, were all available in the bathrooms (except for the slippers that were at our seats.)  I have a few new travel toothbrushes now...

Lights were turned back on over the Dakotas and we were served another meal.  Not sure whether you want to call it breakfast (if you based it on when we left) or dinner (by US standards) but it tasted good.  I chose the chicken and pasta this time as the second meal coming over had been fish and rice.  It was that again so glad I chose the chicken and pasta.  Not too long after that, we were landing in Chicago.

I had downloaded an app before leaving that was from customs and promised to cut the time in line.  Well, it didn't work out so we waited in a very long line to get through customs.  We sure wouldn't have made the connection to the flight to Grand Rapids!  This line literally went down three different hallways, took us about 45 minutes to get to the front then there were a few other lines before we actually saw a customs agent.  No questions for me but Steve was asked why he had been in Japan.

Finally we were allowed to enter the US officially, then on to baggage claim and Marty.  He survived the trip amazingly well, had not even messed in his box in almost 24 hours.  Once we had him, we had to go through one more stop to get him cleared.  The officer asked if he was in good health and up to date on shots.  We answered yes and he was cleared to enter.  Didn't even look at his papers.  So much easier than leaving Japan with him.

Finally - out into the waiting area.  Didn't see Eric and Trina right away, but saw the signs for the animal relief area so I was going to head that way while Steve looked for them and then joined us.  We caught up to Eric and Trina soon after so we all headed for the relief area together.  Got there and realized that the box was zip tied shut in about 4 places (had been done after we'd dropped him off, we didn't do it...) and a few minutes of confusion before I remembered that I had a small clippers in my luggage.  Soon had him out and he peed like a racehorse, imagine that!  Then off to where Eric had parked my car and we were headed home.

Stopped at an oasis along the tollway for a pit stop then back on the road.  With all the delays at the airport, it was 2:20 am Monday when we arrived home, 7 hours after we'd landed in Chicago.  Made for a very long day!

This has been a wonderful trip for me.  Got to see a new part of the world that has been a part of our oldest son's world for the last two years.  New culture, new experiences.

Steve was less than thrilled overall - seeing Scott was good for him, but he says he'll never leave the US again.  His choice.  We'll see.  Passports expire next year.

Now that I've rediscovered my blog, hope to be writing in it more often.  It was great to go back and read posts from years past.

Saturday, September 3 - Meiji-jingu temple, Shibuya, Tokyo Tower, Imperial Gardens

A long day, tiring but fun.  We walked more than 7 miles today, according to my fitbit.  I believe it.

Started out at Denny's again for breakfast.  I decided to be a bit more adventurous today and chose the Japanese sides with my eggs - miso soup and rice.  Tasty!  Back to Kameido station where today's first stop would be the Meiji-jingu temple.

The torii gate was a short walk from the train station and we were soon on a beautiful shady walk with more temple buildings.  One interesting sight was 100 barrels of sake wrapped in decorative straw stacked along the walk.  I was also able to gather the information for a virtual cache while along the way - though the area that it brought us to was closed, the information sign, thankfully in English as well as Japanese, was outside the closed area.

Once we arrived at the main temple area, we were fortunate enough to witness a wedding processional coming from the temple.  The bride and groom as well as many of the participants, were in traditional Japanese wedding kimonos.  Bonus!   Finally remembered that I had a Laughfest smile with me so took a few pictures with it, not only here but at the Tokyo Tower.

After the Meiji-jingu temple, we headed to Shibuya station where we wanted to see Shibuya crossing, one of the world's most busy intersections.  An incredible amount of people coming from 5 different directions.  It was a spectator sport for me, but Scott and Steve went into it just to take pictures.  After watching the crossing for a while, we found the memorial statue for Hachi the dog, and also tried to find the nearby cache.  Too many people at GZ for me to search.  Got some beverages out of the vending machines.  I finally tried Pocari Sweat - that's its name - which was sort of like gatorade but with more of a grapefruit taste.

Headed next to the Roppongi area where the main Hard Rock Cafe was located.  Apparently the one we went to last night had the actual location printed on the glasses and not just "Tokyo" which is what Scott wanted.  So while he walked down the street to get his glass, we hung out at the nearby Wendy's and had a snack/lunch.

When Scott returned, we decided that Tokyo Tower was within walking distance so off we went.  Nice walk.  One interesting thing we saw was a roller coaster track on top of a building.  Scott found out that the roller coaster had been built but there was never permission given for the ride to operate so there it sits.

Got to Tokyo Tower and Steve did not want to go up.  He sat in the lobby while Scott and I went up to the first observation level.  Great views of the city, and glass floors in several places so we could look straight down.  We decided not to go up to the top observation level as it would just be the same views.  Did some gift shop shopping and soon headed back to Steve.

Headed to the nearest train station to get us to the Imperial Gardens, our last planned stop of the day, and discovered another temple along the way.  Zojoji Temple was nice.  One interesting part was seeing a tree that President Bush (the 1st one) planted while he visited the temple many years ago.  A healthy, thriving tree today.

Headed to the imperial gardens area from the train that brought us there.  Got there with less than 45 minutes to spare before it closed.  Free admission but they had us take tickets which were slabs of plastic that we had to turn back in at the gate when we left.  We took a quick walk from the gate we entered, through part of the gardens, and back out another gate.  Were able to see part of the moat surrounding the castle, and some pretty areas.  Overall consensus was that we weren't all that impressed though.  Maybe because we felt a bit rushed and didn't get to see everything.  Probably the prettiest part was the bridge to the gate where we exited.   There was a cache near that gate which I was able to find.  As it was looking like my last cache opportunity, I dropped one of my own trackables.  Will be taking quite a few home, perhaps I shouldn't have taken quite so many on the trip but it was hard to say no to friends.  At least they've been able to "travel" that far...

Headed back to Kameido and started thinking about dinner.  Steve wanted to eat at McDonalds.  I rebelled - we are in Japan and I'm getting tired of American fast food.  Compromised - Steve got his McDonald's and Scott and I picked up food from a nearby Japanese takeout place.  Not sure what I got but it had rice and beef and onions.  It was good.  Took it back to the hotel.

By now we were accumulating quite a bit of trash at the hotel.  We knew that there was not daily maid service at the hotel and were ok with that.  Nobody going into our room during the day.  But what we didn't realize is that we were expected to sort and haul our own trash.

This is what we had to sort into:

• burnable trash
• plastic recyclables
• cans
• non burnable trash

There were bins for each, located around the corner and down the street, next to the hotel's parking area.  I was a good girl and took care of it, even though it wasn't what I was used to.  Ended up doing Scott's the next morning as well.  He'd sorted it but was going to take it back home.  But while we were waiting for him to bring the car I took his over as well.  Scott has to sort his like that at home, too, so he's used to it.   The Japanese take their trash seriously, I guess.

We are packed and ready to roll in the morning.  Everything fits into the suitcase but it's going to be heavy...thought about checking it but it's not packed for that.  Oh well.

Friday, September 2 - Tokyo - Sensoji Temple and Ueno Park

Started our morning with an almost American breakfast at Denny's  near the train station.  Thankfully Scott's phone got us there as I was turned around when we started and could have sworn we were going the wrong way!

I say "almost" as there were similarities.  The menu was in Japanese, of course, but there were pictures.  We could choose a main dish, we all chose scrambled eggs which came with a sausage, a strip of bacon, and a salad.  Then to choose an side - we all chose pancakes which were smaller and thicker than at home - with a small jug of syrup.  Then a beverage.  Steve chose coffee, of course, and Scott and I had orange juice.  So almost American.  Less than $20 for all three of us to have a nice meal.

Then on to Kameido station to head into Tokyo proper (the hotel was in Kato ward.)  We soon learned that you need to wait to buy your ticket until just before the gate you want to leave by.  We have several tickets that were no good because we bought them too soon. Lesson learned.

Our first stop was the Sensoji temple, in the Asakusa area.  Very popular area.  The streets leading to the temple area are lined with all kinds of shops selling souvenirs and other Japanese goods.  We started at the Kaminarimon gate and found a cache there first.  It was hidden in the structure of an information sign, very cool placement and it was big enough for some of my bigger travelers.  I wish I'd crammed a few more in there as I only was able to drop one more during the trip.

We shopped our way up the street, buying some small souvenirs along the way - pens, shot glasses, etc.  The bonus was that all the shops had cooler air - the humidity was high and the temps got up to 88 degrees today.

On to the temple - magnificent!  Very traditional, very Japanese.  Lots of Japanese women in kimonos here, must be a tradition for them to wear them to this temple.  The only disappointment was that the famous 5 story pagoda here was covered up for repairs.

While in this area, I was able to try shaved ice.  That bowl was huge!  Was a good thirst quencher and the shop was cooler than the outside, too.  I've been a bit indulgent with myself but my clothes aren't getting tight so think the exercise and the food are cancelling each other out.  (Had actually lost two pounds from my last dr. visit by the time I went to the doctor the following Wednesday...)

We discussed heading for the Skytree Tower.  Steve didn't want to go up, I was ambivalent, mainly due to the cost, and Scott claimed it didn't matter to him either way.  I think that he did want to go but didn't want to leave dad at the bottom alone.  I felt kind of bad - He's in Tokyo and he has to experience it with his fuddy-duddy parents...

We then decided to head for Ueno Park next.  As we arrived and started walking around, there was a performance going on.  We couldn't get close enough to see much of the performance, but were able to see the large floats surrounding the performance area.  Must have been a parade before the performance.  Very nice!  Wandered over by the zoo but nobody really wanted to pay to see the zoo.  There was another 5 story pagoda here but it was within the zoo.  We next visited a nearby temple from which we were able to see most of the 5 story pagoda anyway.

Next to the National Museum of Nature and Science.  Eric and Trina had visited it and recommended it.  Much of it was mystifying to me as there weren't always English translations.  One cool thing though, in the nature part, was a display of preserved dogs.  Took a picture and then later discovered that the white dog was the actual famous "Hachi" from the movie of the same name.  Hachi accompanied his owner to the train station (Shibuya) each day and waited for him.  One day, the owner died while at work.  Hachi waited for his owner for the rest of Hachi's life.  There is a statue honoring him at Shibuya station which we hope to see tomorrow.

By now it was time to eat so we headed to the Hard Rock Cafe nearby as Scott wanted to visit there.  He had said he would pay for it as it was a bit out of our usual price range, but Steve insisted on paying.  Later Steve found out the bill was the equivalent of $100 for three of us.  But Scott IS doing a lot for us on this trip.  Nice dinner though, and I got to keep the glass...

Dusk by now so headed back toward the hotel.  Busy time to be on public transportation in Tokyo!  We were standing wall-to-wall people much of the way.  Made it back, and searched for the cache that was next to the hotel while Scott checked on his car.  No luck on the cache but the car was just fine.  Chilled out for a while, then went to the Lawson for snacks and drinks.  Hung out for a while longer, planned out our Saturday, and that was that.

Thursday, September 1 - Road trip to Tokyo!

Road trip to Tokyo today - leaving Misawa.  I've really enjoyed getting to know Scott's "hometown" area this week - interesting area and a great introduction to Japanese culture.

We were on our way by 6 am, knowing we had an approximately 8 hour road trip ahead of us and needing to be at Camp Zama by 5 pm to drop Marty at the military kennel there.  Marty was not the happiest of travelers as he spent the trip in his box.  There just was not room for him in the back seat where he is accustomed to be.  He of course got out and had a nice walk at each of the rest areas we stopped at.

We took the toll road down to Tokyo.  Getting a bit used to everything being on the "wrong" side but it's still a bit strange sometimes.  We stopped at three different rest areas along the way.  They were nicer than most of our rest areas back home.  There were the usual toilet facilities, of course - with those wonderful Japanese toilets - but also there were lots of vending machines, restaurant facilities, and gift shops.   Caches at just about every one as well.  I was able to find the cache at the first stop we were at, but had to DNF the second, and the third was not along the route that I thought we were taking so if there was a cache there, I didn't know about it.  The toll roads in Japan are expensive - it cost the equivalent of $150 to drive all the way down.

Arrived at Camp Zama about 3 pm, Scott checked us into base, and we got Marty squared away at the kennel.  He was not a happy camper!  While we were on base, we took advantage of cheaper on base gas, and had subway for dinner so Steve could get some American food.

Then to navigate the roads to get into Tokyo and our hotel.  They were crazy!  I kept my nose in my tablet and read quite a lot of the time so I wouldn't get freaked out.  I think Steve described it best, I'll quote from his facebook post:

We made it to Tokyo from Misawa . Trying to get to the hotel with a GPS , 8 hours of concrete jungle , then the road dove under an apartment building and spiralled down underground to a "Y" split , then spiralled down more to a underground expressway and then didn't see the light of day for another 15 minutes , the GPS doesn't work underground and signs are in Japanese , of course. After crossing the same large body of water twice + more concrete jungle , we made it to the hotel which has no parking. My son scoured the local area to park his "large car" ( a '03 Subaru Forester RHD ). Did I mention Tokyo metropolitan area has 38 million people , 16,000 people per square mile density ( I'm used to 2 people per 3 acres of woods ) ; apartment buildings are crammed together for many , many miles . But Scott got us here and is keeping our sightseeing on a even keel with the local trains and all, he understands enough Japanese to get by. Have only seen 1 GoldWing on the expressway on the way down , lots of scooters with people that must have a death wish in this burg. It's NUTS here !

As Steve said, we made it to the hotel eventually, and Scott was able to find parking a few blocks away for the equivalent of $11 per day.  Not bad at all for a big city.  Scott is on the 4th floor, and we are on the 5th.  There is a courtyard in the middle so we can see his room from the elevators.  Our room is small by US standards but not bad by Japanese ones.  The bed is big enough for both of us, there is a desk, a small couch, and a small bathroom.  Wi-fi and air conditioning.  It will be fine for three nights.

As we'd had a late lunch and it was dark by the time we were settled in, we went to the Lawson convenience store right across the street from the hotel.  Scott and I got onigiri and Steve found a sandwich that he liked.  Hung out for a while, planned out what we wanted to do on each day, and then called it a night.

Tomorrow we explore Tokyo!

Wednesday, August 31 - Oirase Gorge

Day 1 post-typhoon.  Took Marty for his usual morning walk and surveyed the damage in the neighborhood.  Really very little.  Scott's antenna is bent over sideways, there's a strange trashcan in his yard, there are lots of leaves, little apples, and a few branches down but overall the area weathered the storm nicely.  A big to-do over not so much.  Suppose it could have been much worse.

Marty had an 8:30 am appointment at the base vet clinic for a health check that he needed before leaving Japan.  He checked out well and we received the paperwork we needed.  Back to Scott's to get Steve, and then we all (even Marty) left for Oirase Gorge.  This was one of the places I really wanted to visit in the area, and we probably would have all gone together if not for the rainy weather while we were all here.   Because of all the rain yesterday with the typhoon, the water was running fast which made for prettier waterfalls!

We started at a rest area where there was parking, then hiked about 4 km down the trail.  Beautiful all around - waterfalls, scenic bridges, trees.  A bit muddy in spots on the trail, occasionally we took to the nearby road instead.  At our agreed upon turn around point, we started back to where we'd parked the car.  We decided to continue down the road by car, stopping where we saw waterfalls.  The waterfalls farther into the gorge were even more beautiful than the ones we'd hiked past.  We ended up at Lake Towada which was big.  Went into a store and bought some Towada apple drops.  Hard candy, I brought them to work and keep them at my desk and have one or two each day.  They are lasting lots longer that way!  Also found another manhole cover.  The guys are teasing me a bit about them but I think they're cool!

I did have one cache in the GPSr for Lake Towada, which showed up as half a mile away.  Of course that was "as the crow flies" and it took longer than that to get close.  Unfortunately, the road leading to GZ was closed so we couldn't get to the cache.  Another missed opportunity.  

Drove back down the same road we had taken through the gorge and headed back to Misawa, about an hour and a half's drive away.  Some last minute prep, washing clothes, packing, as we are leaving for Tokyo in the morning.  Supper at home and an early night for all.

Cataract update

Things are coming along well in the aftermath of my first cataract surgery.  Went back for a post-op check on Wednesday morning.  They removed the shield and gently cleaned away all the accumulated gunk around my eye.  Then some testing - they determined that my vision is now 20/25 in that eye, where it was 20/40 with glasses before the surgery.  The interesting thing is in the contrast between the two eyes.  Looking out with only the left (still has a cataract) it's fuzzy and faded.  Cover the left, and look only with the right - everything is bright again and pretty clear.  Amazing.  And the eye is still recovering.  I have another follow up appointment next Monday, where there should be more improvement.

Still under restrictions - don't get water in it, so no hot tubbing or swimming for 3 weeks (darn!) and no lifting over 25#.  That means not Marty!  We figure that the pulling he does on the leash when he is excited probably exerts about as much pressure as lifting him so I am keeping my walking of him at a minimum.  Ideally I shouldn't at all, but tell that to Marty first thing in the morning when Steve is still sleeping!  I'm also to keep out of dusty and dirty places for five days - so apparently most geocaching is out as well.   Drops are a constant (seemingly) - two different drops four times per day, and a third drop in the  morning as well.

Went back to work yesterday after being cleared to drive.  I have this really "cool" pair of wrap around sunglasses that I am supposed to wear outside so wore those instead of my glasses and did ok on the roads.  I'm not sure I'd want to take on a long road trip yet, but on the familiar roads to work I did ok.  Started out my work day in Lowell, with a Pink Arrow assembly at the middle school.  Sparkle made an appearance, and I felt like a rock star with all the middle school kids chanting "Sparkle, Sparkle, Sparkle...."    Then off to work.

The drive home was a bit more interesting.  Before surgery, night driving was becoming a challenge with lights having an aura of sorts surrounding them.  Last night, the right eye didn't have that aura any more but it was more of a long line of light coming both ways off the middle.  I'm hoping that is a temporary thing because if it's permanent, it's almost more disconcerting than what it was like before.  Will have to see how it goes.

The shield is still a part of my sleeping attire for the next week.  Last night, I didn't think about the tape so much so ended up covering most of the holes.  Figured that wasn't so much of a problem for just night as I should be sleeping anyway.  Got a good night's sleep for a change, not always easy with two dogs sharing my bed!

Typhoon Lionrock - Tuesday, August 30

Typhoon Day!  Obviously we survived to tell the tale.

The day started out windy and rainy.  You could tell that something was brewing.  TCCOR 2 when we woke up.  (Tropical Cyclone Condition of Readiness - meaning damaging winds imminent within 12 hours.)

We figured that we had some time to see the Misawa Aviation and Science Museum, since the storm wasn't expected until later in the afternoon.   While we were headed to the museum, Scott received a phone call that we were now in TCCOR 1, and he thought at the time the person said the storm would be starting by 1 pm.  Later found out that was only the time that nonessential personnel were dismissed to go home.  So we figured we had about two hours to spend at the museum before we really needed to be back home.

Once at the museum, we walked around outside first, and saw all the planes on display.  Looks like there were some that you could normally climb steps and look inside, but those stairways were all closed off due to the winds and approaching storm.  After checking out the planes, we went inside and first visited the gift shop, looking for that t-shirt.  Steve finally found one:  in his size, with Misawa AB on it, and he liked it.  Finally the search was over...

Headed for the ticket machines next and then into the museum.  Nice airplanes on display inside as well - a replica of Miss Veedol, which was the first non-stop transpacific airplane (Misawa to Washington state) as well as one of the first Japanese planes flown in the country, at least in this area I think.  There was also a passenger commuter plane, I think from the 1960s, that you could walk through.   Some other planes as well.  Then we went on to the science part of the museum.

There were lots of interactive exhibits.  Most had explanations in English as well as Japanese which really helped.  Some of the interactive exhibits were limited to persons between a certain weight and height range, that Steve and Scott were both too tall and above weight for.  I had fun simulating walking on the moon, among other things.   On the second floor, there were lots of science experiments that were interesting as well as a large display of model airplanes.

We were done a little after noon and headed on home.  Back at Scott's, we actually parked the car in the garage and took the lawn furniture into the garage as well.  Spent a quiet afternoon watching the storm intensify and watching movies.   By 5 pm or so we were in the middle of our (Steve's and mine anyway) first typhoon.  Not something that had been on our bucket list for this trip, but it is what it is.   Good thing we'd changed the date of the geocaching event - it originally was to be held on Tuesday night!

Cooked dinner at home - garlic lime chicken and veggies.  Scott had most of the spices needed and I had the recipe on my tablet.  Scott did not have measuring spoons that I could find though, so I guesstimated on seasoning portions.  Good dinner by all accounts.  Nice to cook for my boy even though I was on vacation.

The storm was pretty much a big to-do over not much.  It was pretty much over by 9 pm.  We thought it was just the eye, but it never really intensified again after that.  Damage the next morning seemed to be limited to a few trees down on base, lots of branches down all over, and Scott's antenna on top of the house was bent over sideways.  He never uses it so not a big deal for him.

One more day in Misawa and then we are headed down to Tokyo.

Look Like A Pirate Day, Part 1

Interrupting my trip blogs as today was the day of my first cataract surgery.  I've had cataracts for years, and this summer I was referred to a cataract surgeon as they were getting noticeably worse.  The surgeon agreed that it was time to take care of them.  Since flying for several weeks after surgery was not advised, the surgery was planned for September, after the trip.

Today was right eye day.  With a 7:15 am arrival time at the surgery center, I was up and getting ready by 6.  Steve was already up by then as he got to eat breakfast....

Arrived a few minutes early, then realized that I'd forgotten my picture ID.  Thankfully they already had it on file, so not a problem.  Signed paperwork then was called back to prep a few minutes later.  Drops, forms, drops, blood pressure, drops, IV, drops, oxygen prongs.  Lots of drops!  Then after a few minutes wait, off I went to the surgical room.  I remember some of what was done but not much, thanks to the magic of versed.  It only took about 15 minutes, so they say.  I was soon back in the original cubicle with Steve joining me.  After a cup of juice and some peanut butter crackers, it was time to go.  Start to finish within two hours.

So now I'm home, taking it easy today.  I have a metal shield over my eye, hence the "look like a pirate" jokes.  What I didn't expect was that there would not be a bandage under that, and there are holes in the shield, so I can see if I want to.  I'm keeping it closed much of the time as it's more comfortable that way.  Lots of eye watering which is bugging me.  But the shield stays on until I see the doctor for the post op check tomorrow morning.  Probably a good thing as it's reminding me to leave it alone.

Not supposed to lift over 25 # or over exert myself in similar ways, so walking Marty is out for a few days.  Giving my arms a rest!   Not cleared to drive until at least after the post op visit, hopefully tomorrow I'll get the green light for that.  I have tomorrow off from work and guess I'll take advantage of that.  Back on Thursday.

Results?  Hopefully good.

Monday, August 29 - The nines market, Aomori, and the Big Buddha

A quiet morning in Misawa, settling into the routine of taking Marty for his morning walk in the neighborhood.  The days of taking Max outside in my pajamas are probably over...

After Scott and Steve got up, we got ready and then went into Misawa for the nines market.  It is an outdoor farmers/flea market that is only held on days that have a 9 in them.  Scott had never heard about it.  I'd heard about it while researching Misawa, and we had also found a cache at the site the day before.  There was light rain, so even though much of the market was under cover, the turnout of vendors was pretty light.  I did buy two secondhand shirts for 100 yen each.

Then on to our main destination:  Aomori.  About an hour and a half's drive west, through the mountains again.  Several tunnels made the drive interesting.  Our destination was Seiryu-ji Temple, home of the Big Buddha.

Seiryu-ji is a relatively new Buddhist temple founded in 1982.  There were several areas that we visited before getting to the Big Buddha.

• Kondo (main hall) - this is the center of the temple ground and various ceremonies are held here.  It is made of natural Japanese cypress produced in Aomori prefecture.  
• Five-Storied Pagoda - 120 feet high, it is the highest wooden pagoda north of Kyoto.  The central pillar hangs from the top, which helps a pagoda stay resistant to earthquakes.
• Jizo Bosatsu and pinwheels - the pinwheels are for unborn children.  Their mothers come and pray to their unborn children, offering the pinwheels along with candles and incense, sweets, stuffed animals, and clothes in hope of consoling their souls.  Jizo Bosatsu, standing on the edge of the slope, is the guardian deity of deceased children.
• Bokeyoke Kannon - it is a deity for older people who are beginning to forget things.
• Showa Daibutsu (Showa Great Buddha).  The "big" attraction.  It was built partly as a symbolic gesture to express gratitude and pray for war dead.  The second floor of the inside is a room for consoling the souls of war dead.  The guide expresses that "when we look up at the sacred Daibutsu with a backdrop of a natural halo of trees, we are wrapped in ineffable peace and tranquility

After the Big Buddha, we continued on the path back toward the beginning.  We saw:

• Ichigan Kannon - Ichigan means One Wish.  (Hmmm, then what would Michigan mean?)
• Fudo Myooh - he severs people's bad thoughts with his sword
• Kobo-Daishi - the founder of the Shingon sect of Buddhism.
• Pond, modeled after Shikoku.  It has sand from each of the 88 temples where Daishi once trained himself.  Each footmark shaped plate holds the sand from one temple.  It is suggested that you follow the footsteps of Daishi by stepping on the plates one by one, chanting his honorific name (we didn't.)

Very interesting temple, made more interesting by the excellent English guide that we were given.  We actually could figure out what each area symbolized.  

After leaving the temple, it was still pretty early in the day.  Scott wasn't as familiar with Aomori, the capital city of the prefecture.  I had some caches earmarked just in case, and one was at a temple in the downtown area of the city.  That's where we headed next.  Utoh Shrine was smaller than Seiryu-ji, of course.  Interesting to see the older structures juxtaposed with the modern offices and building surrounding it.  Walked around and enjoyed the beauty.  As far as the cache - everything was missing except for the obvious lid of the cache, still attached magnetically to the structure it was hidden on (just outside the temple.)  Others had logged it as a find so I did, too.

Looked for and found a new manhole cover, and then stopped at McDonalds for some lunch.  That was an experience.  There was a picture menu - Steve and Scott ordered Big Mac combo meals.  I wanted a cheeseburger and they said I couldn't get that as a combo meal so I wanted a small fries.  Something in the communication got garbled because they brought an extra jumbo family size package of fries out to me.  Cost 500 yen, too.  We managed most of them.  

McDonalds is where we found the fanciest bathrooms yet, surprising for a fast food place.  Deluxe functions including the noise covering function and the deodorizing function.  

We started for home, and the rain had pretty much stopped by then.  There was a full double rainbow stretching across the road - wonderful!  In the pictures you can see a faint third rainbow, too.  

A quiet evening at Scott's.  Our meal at McDonald's was late enough that we just snacked in the evening.  We are starting to hear reports that a typhoon is headed toward the area.  The base is in TCCOR 3 which means that damaging winds are predicted within 48 hours. 

Sunday, August 28 - Hachinohe and Geocaching

An early morning for everyone today as Eric and Trina's Shinkansen for Tokyo left Hachinohe at 9:05 am.  We loaded the car and made it to the train station with 15 minutes to spare.  Goodbyes are always hard - it was nice to spend three full days with the entire family though.  They made it home safely (as I'm writing this two weeks later...) with a layover in New York City that was longer than anticipated.  Once in Cleveland, they had to pick up their car at the hotel where they'd left it for park & fly, and then drive back to Grand Rapids.  Made for a very long day for them.

Once we said goodbye, our next stop was a bathroom.  Unfortunately, the only bathroom stall open in the women's room was a slit toilet.  Porcelain but a large slit in the floor with places to put your feet on either side.  It was a situation where I didn't feel I could wait to see if the other toilet was a western toilet, so went in the stall, took my pants completely off, and did what I needed to.  The complete opposite of the fancy Japanese toilets!  TMI I know but it was what it was.

After that, I wanted to get the geocache that was at the train station.  We walked outside only for me to realize that it was outside the opposite entrance....so went back through the station, and after a short search I finally could say that I'd found a geocache in Japan!  It was a round metal container that was magnetic on the bottom, about 4" wide and 2" deep.  It was stuck to the bottom of a Japan postal box.  After signing the log and leaving some trackables, we walked around the shopping area near the train station for a little while.  We went into a store that had lots of different apple-themed gifts, mostly food related, as Aomori prefecture is known for their apples.  I bought some apple candy to bring home as gifts.  Steve was still looking for that elusive t-shirt, still no luck.  Also looked in the general area for another manhole cover but didn't see any that weren't just general run-of-the-mill ones.

Hadn't really done a lot of research on what there was to do in Hachinohe, but Scott was somewhat familiar with the area, so we first went to the Hachinohe Fish Market.  Steve was a little reluctant to go because he'd had a bad experience with rotting fish at a fish market in Boston once.  We made a quick tour, and though there was a definite fishy smell, we didn't see any rotting fish.  Some very unusual fish there, though we didn't buy anything.

Next stop was the Kushihiki Hachiman Shrine.  This is the shrine that Scott visited when he first arrived in Misawa, while on the mandatory "get-acquainted" tour of the area.  Another nice shrine set in a wooded area with cedar trees that are hundreds of years old.  The shrine dates back to the year 1166 with the present location being built in 1222.  I can't pretend that I understand very much about these shrines but they are beautiful to visit and we are respectful as we tour them.

After leaving the shrine, we next went to the Lapia Mall, still in Hachinohe.  It was a typical Japanese mall, with department and food stores.  Notable to me was a kimono store selling high end elaborate kimonos, new of course, for the equivalent of 500 USD plus.  A big difference from my summer secondhand kimono at $15.  I also enjoyed the equivalent of a dollar store, wanted to spend more time there but Scott and Steve wanted to move on.

We stopped at the Big Boy in Hachinohe as Steve wanted to eat at the Japanese equivalent of one of his favorite restaurants back home.  Once there, we had to wait - Sunday mornings are the same at restaurants everywhere, I guess....  While waiting, we looked over the menu.  Steve wasn't too happy with the menu choices, not understanding much of it of course, and we decided we would go ahead and head back to Misawa instead of eating there.

Went on base when we got back to Misawa, and had lunch at Burger King.  Gotta love all this American fast food we are eating while in JAPAN...grr.  Whatever.  Went back to the commissary again to take another look at the tshirts without any more luck, then back to Scott's.

Steve stayed back with Marty, watching movies, while Scott took me out geocaching.  It was a good fit as he played Pokemon Go while I was geocaching.  Ran into a snag at first as the coordinates on my GPSr were in degrees, minutes, seconds, and the ones on his phone weren't.  Couldn't figure out how to convert them, but thankfully I'd printed a geocaching map of Misawa so he could pretty much figure out the general area, and once we got in the general area my GPSr led me to Ground Zero (for the most part anyway.)

First stop for a cache ended up as a DNF - the parking area where we needed to be was closed for an event.  We tried going down a nearby path and got close but there was 250 feet of impossible bushwhacking between where we were and the cache.  Oh well.  The 2nd and 3rd caches were at small parks in town, we found them both.  This brought Scott to a couple of areas that he wasn't aware of.  Next we were downtown, to a cache on a train that we didn't find.  Next, we were searching for the Misawa Public Library, where a mystery cache that was missing was located.  I had been given permission to replace it, and had brought a nano cache from home to do just that.  This was the last weekend of the summer geocaching adventure, in which you were supposed to find a mystery cache.  Well, this was the only mystery cache in the area and I'm glad I was given permission to replace it and therefore count it as a "find."  Scott was a little disappointed that nobody was around as he wanted to practice saying "Where is the library?" in Japanese since he knew that phrase.

Next, we headed up to the Misawa Public Airport to find the cache that I had used as ground zero for my geocaching event that was to be held that evening.  It was a small park across the street from the airport.  Tree branches down all around (and this was before the typhoon), no lighting, and I realized that it would be dark by the time 6:30 rolled around.  Great planning on my part.  Not.  But I didn't know the area well and thought a travel bug hotel would be a good place to also have an event.  The cache description said there was a little pavilion which helped.  We found the cache and Scott retrieved it for me since it was up in the rafters of the pavilion.  Squeezed four travel bugs into it and then we went on to do a few more caches in the area.  Really trying to drop off as many travel bugs as I can since I brought way too many of them.  Just couldn't say no to my friends who wanted their bugs to travel..

Stopped at a Circle K convenience store for drinks and snacks.  Scott bought some onigiri, which is a rice cake with meat filling, wrapped in seaweed.  I stuck to a drink.  Then we headed back to the airport, waited in the car for a bit, then headed to the event.  The event was small but good.  Two pairs of adults with their sons, both scouting families from Scott's troop, attended.  One set were experienced cachers, the other set were newbies that had never been caching but were interested.  There was also another cacher that came, also American military but not connected with the troop.  They took some of the travel bugs but I still had quite a few left.  I ended up taking about half of them back to the US with me after finding a few places in Tokyo later in the trip for others.

Home to Steve and Marty after the event.  Marty apparently whined for Scott for quite a while.  Pizza at Scott's then an early bedtime for all.

Saturday, August 27 - Cape Shiriya and Osorezan

A beautiful day in northern Japan!  The sun was shining and we had a wonderful day of exploring.

Everyone got in the car and we headed north toward the NE tip of the main island and Cape Shiriya.  It was about a two hour drive away, a nice drive.  A bit crowded in the back seat but nothing unmanageable.   We got to the cape and soon saw what we'd come to see.  Horses.  "Wild" horses.  Lots of them!  This herd stays within the confines of the park but is not otherwise managed.  They are deemed "wild" but they were tame enough to let people get up close and personal with them.  We brought carrots which made us instant friends to them.  The combination of horses and the background of the nearby lighthouse and the Pacific Ocean was magnificent.  We all enjoyed the visit, but I think Trina enjoyed it the most.  She spent quite a bit of time picking burrs out of several of the horses's manes.   Scott, Steve, and I headed toward the lighthouse and it was open for visits.  Scott said that it hadn't been open when he'd visited shortly after coming to Misawa.   We climbed the 128 steps and had a great view of the ocean and of the horses, too.  Came back down about the time that Eric and Trina finally made their way to the lighthouse.  While we waited for them, we visited a nearby snack area where I bought a set of pink chopsticks with horses on them.  We all bought drinks out of the vending machines - there are vending machines everywhere!  Most of them sell hot and cold beverages but we also saw (while on the entire trip) machines that sold noodles, eggs, cigarettes, and rice.

When Eric and Trina joined us, we went over to the rocky shore near the lighthouse.  Scott and Eric climbed the rocks for a bit while Steve watched and Trina and I did a little beach combing for shells.  Soon it was time to move on and we walked back to the car and headed down the road.

There was a geocache a half mile down the road, and Scott said we could stop for it.  It would be my first chance to cache in Japan.  We found a place to pull over that had somewhat of a trail leading into the woods, and the cache was about 350 feet away.  There was some standing water but nothing we couldn't handle.  Scott started down the trail with me while the others stayed at the car.  I was about 200 feet away from ground zero when Scott called me back to the car after the others had called to him.  Seems a Japanese conservation officer didn't like the fact that we were walking back into the woods....so my first cache was a DNF before I could even get to it.  I was in no way shape or form prepared to explain geocaching in Japanese so we just minded what we were told and went on down the road, out of the park.

Our next destination was Osorezan, otherwise known as the "Gates of Hell."  To get there, we took a very nice mountain road complete with switchbacks.  Just the kind of road we like to ride the motorcycles on.  Soon, we arrived at our destination.  Osorezan is one of the three holiest sites in Japan, founded in the ninth century by a Japanese Buddhist priest, En'nin.

At the center of the sacred area of Osorezan is Lake Usori, and next to it is a large tract covered with white sand.  Surrounding them are eight peaks, and in the central area there are 108 ponds of boiling water and mud, which correspond with the 108 worldly desires and the hells linked to each of them.

To me, this was a very similar landscape to Yellowstone National Park.  Similar sulfur smells, too.  We paid our 500 yen each to enter the temple, Osorezan Bodaiji, and walked respectfully around the temple area where we were allowed.  Once we'd seen that area, we were free to walk around the pathways and see all the shrines, statues, and sacred areas.  The path led us to Lake Usori, and then eventually back to the beginning.  We thought about having a meal at the teahouse, but it was already closed.  We did a little souvenir shopping, and then bought more drinks out of the vending machines to tide us over until we could find something else.  This was Steve's first experience buying HOT coffee in a can.

We had talked about driving further west on the peninsula to find the area where snow monkeys hung out, but realized we would not have much time in which to do so as it would be dark before we arrived there.  Darkness fell by 6 pm while we were there, earlier than we are used to at home.  So we reluctantly started heading back for Scott's home.

We did make one more stop along the way, and that was at an observatory on top of a mountain where we had a great view of the city below, as well as the coastline.  Then back down the road we went.  Once we were through the mountain area and headed south towards Misawa, Steve decided he wanted to drive.  He had obtained an international drivers license before leaving so it was legal for him to drive in Japan - and he did pretty well overall, though Scott as the front passenger admitted to a few anxious moments when dad was a little closer to the middle than he perhaps should have been.  Kudos to Steve for giving it a try though!

Dark by the time we arrived back in Misawa.  We were all getting pretty hungry, Trina and I especially.  Stopped at a sushi place for dinner where we sat at a table with an electronic screen, next to a conveyor belt which was circulating various sushi pieces around.  You could also order from the electronic screen, and the sushi that you ordered would come on the belt on a different plate so you knew it was what you ordered.  The other plates were color coded so the restaurant would know how much you'd eaten by the plates that you had used.  I did try sushi for the first (and probably last) time - two pieces of tuna roll from a plate of Scott's.  I survived.  There is a great sequence of pictures that Scott took of me while I was eating the first piece, three were published on my facebook page.  I also had burger cheese sushi (a mini cheeseburger on rice instead of a bun) and some other cooked sushi type things.  Interesting meal!

Back to Scott's where Steve went to bed and the boys, Trina, and I played a long game of Monopoly.  I eventually gave up my stuff to Scott when he had lost everything as I was too tired to stay awake any longer.  We all have to get up early tomorrow to get Eric and Trina to the train station in Hachinohe as they will be heading for home.  They came a week before we did as Trina starts back to school next Monday.

Friday, August 26 - rainy day shopping; I buy a (secondhand) kimono!

Today was a rainy, drizzly day.  Woke up 5ish again, did some tablet work in bed then got up and went for a walk with Marty.  Got a picture of the Japanese manhole cover right on Scott's street.  I had heard the manhole covers in Japan were interesting and varied - my first of (I hope) many pictures of them while I'm here.

When everyone else woke up, we had breakfast and made our rain plans.  First went to base so we could use the ATM.  I tried my 5/3 card this time and it worked!  Not sure what's going on with Steve's but at least we have a reasonable amount of yen now.   Headed to a souvenir store off base, searching for t-shirts and shot glasses for Steve.  He did find a shot glass but still no t-shirt.  I ended up buying a set of chopsticks.  Our next stops were Japanese stores, mostly just for the fun of it.  First was a home-improvement type store called Homac.  Interesting to see all the Japanese home goods and building supplies.  I bought a plastic storage container that I will use for a cache back home, since I have a "My Favorite Foreign Caches" series going. Will have to add one for Japan!

Next stop was Universe, a local grocery chain.   Found kit-kats in both green tea and dark chocolate, as well as other snack foods that were unique to us because they were Japanese.  Bought some other snack foods just to try them, and for thank you gifts for my volunteers in Noogieland.

Back to Scott's after our shopping trip, hung out for a while and had lunch.  Next, we went on a trip to Towada, a nearby town that had a secondhand kimono store.  We arrived at the store, and Trina and I were both fitted with nice summer kimonos.  Secondhand, they cost us the equivalent of $15 each.  They showed us how to put them on (though I'll have to google how to do it now since I don't remember much about it...) and took pictures of us all.  Quite the unique experience.  They spoke no English, we got by with the few words of Japanese that Scott knows and also with his translator app on his phone.   A great way to spend a rainy afternoon.  Ended up having to leave mine at Scott's, to be mailed with the box of Marty's things that we couldn't fit in the suitcase.

Also scored my second manhole cover picture - this one was in color, had horses on it. Beautiful.

Back to Misawa and dinner at Thunder Ramen.  This was a little ramen shop in town that Scott, Eric, and Trina had already visited and they wanted to share with us.  Steve finally found something he liked and I enjoyed my ramen as well.  Fell asleep on the couch at Scott's about 9 pm and that made for an early night for me.