tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1055122376527506982024-03-12T18:56:11.455-07:00Kirkbrides in San FranciscoDavid Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-55038620674998457752010-09-07T23:04:00.000-07:002010-09-08T15:03:11.074-07:00Strawberry Music Festival 2010<a href="http://www.strawberrymusic.com/home.aspx">The festival</a> runs from Thursday through Sunday; I figured I could take Thursday off from work for packing, and then we would pick Robert up from school and head straight out. Sure we might miss the opening acts on Thursday, but we'd certainly get there before dark and have time to begin the process of setting up camp, then go catch the final act or two. How quickly I forget what it's like to travel in the bay area!<br />
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We picked Robert up from school at 3:30 and hit the road:<br />
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Strawberry takes place at <a href="http://www.campmather.com/">Camp Mather</a>. Owned by San Francisco Parks & Recreation, Camp Mather is nestled deep in the Stanislaus National Forest, just beyond the Western edge of Yosemite National Park.<br />
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We figured it would take around 4 to 4.5 hours to get there from SF, although Google maps optimistically provided a travel time of 3.5 hours. It took us an hour to get to the bay bridge from Robert's school, and another hour to get through Oakland. By then it was time to feed Emi and eat some dinner. After dinner we got back on the road and attempted to high-tail it to camp, but when it was all said and done, we pulled up at the gate just before 10:00 pm.<br />
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The grounds are a mixed forest of pine, fir, sequoia, and oak, and there was no moon so it was quite dark. It seemed there were cars, RVs, and tents on every square inch of ground that wasn't marked as road. We got our wristbands from the gate attendant and asked about a "family camp" area. They kind of looked at us blankly and said "it's all family camp... just try and steer clear of areas with lights and folks pickin' if you want some quiet", which I did not find to be particularly helpful advice at the time.<br />
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The evening's entertainment had just ended, so we drove away slowly, along a dark dusty track dodging the folks who were leaving the main stage and heading back to their already-established camps. As it's a campground, the paths are winding and although we were given a map, we were soon a bit disoriented. My intention was to get toward the back of the campground because I figured it might be quieter, and I figured we might stand a better chance of finding a place to pitch our tent.<br />
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Most of the campground is taken up by people camping next to their vehicles, but eventually we found a spot at the back with walk-in camping where cars were parked in several rows, between 4 and 5 cars deep. There was just enough room for us to parallel park at the front, blocking two rows of cars. I was beyond caring whether this was OK, and decided that since we fit, we were going to take it. With the car parked, I took a short scouting trip and found an open, nearly-flat area between two other camps.<br />
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Robert and Emi snoozed in the car while Sarah and I set up camp. We were a bit envious of the <a href="http://www.rei.com/product/777764">REI Hobitat 6</a> tent that our friends Gerry and Cammy had at Hornings this year, so we purchased one for ourselves this summer; Strawberry was its inaugural run. I suppose that when you spend the money to buy a nice tent, what you're really paying for (aside from the ability to stand completely upright, even if you're 6'5"!) is the ability to pitch it quickly and without marital discord in the dark, even in the if you've never had it out of the bag before.<br />
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In the end, we got all of our gear stowed away and the beds made up, grabbed the kids, and we all settled right down for the night. It was pleasantly cool, but not so cold as to be uncomfortable.<br />
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Here is what we woke up to:<br />
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Yeah!<br />
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What you can't see in this picture is that there's a "No camping beyond this point" sign staked just to the left of Robert's play tent. We definitely found the back of camp... and yes, that is a plastic bag in the middle of the meadow. It got away from us just long enough to make a cameo appearance in this shot. *sigh*<br />
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Soon after taking this shot, we met some of our neighbors. Turns out we'd set up next to a group of 3 families that have been camping at Strawberry together for years. There were kids in the group ranging in age from 7 to 12, and Robert wasted no time in including himself in the mix.<br />
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We spent the morning at camp, taking in our surroundings and visiting with our neighbors about the festival: what to do, what to expect, social mores, etc. The Strawberry website suggests bringing musical instruments along to use at informal jam sessions throughout the camp, but I didn't realize that pretty much <b>everyone</b> would be participating. Through the camp I saw (and heard) folks with guitars, ukes, fiddles, banjos, mandolins, drums, lap guitars, stand-up basses (hauling a stand-up bass into the woods is extreme dedication!) and you could hear music being played throughout the campground all day and through most of the night, though at night, at least near our camp, it was quiet enough that it didn't interfere with our sleep. We'd brought earplugs just in case, but never needed to use them.<br />
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We did have a few close encounters with nature, including this little guy who we found on top of Robert's play-tent one morning:<br />
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Once we established our place, the whole Strawberry experience was just about perfect. We enjoyed lazy mornings at camp making breakfast, drinking coffee, and eventually meandering down to the main stage area<br />
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to claim a spot for the evening's entertainment. On Friday morning, there were free sign-ups for kid's fiddle lessons. Robert was quite enamored with this, so we signed him up. He was fairly broken up that he had to wait until the next day to get his lesson; all he could talk about for the next hour were violins! One lesson was enough for him though -- after 15 minutes or so he was past it and said that playing the violin was hard. We'll see if he comes around; I'd love to have a little fiddle player in the house.<br />
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Anyhow, after signing him up for the lesson we headed over to Birch Lake<br />
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to pass the heat of the day with some wading/swimming, and a whole lot of playing on the beach. There were a number of folk and kid-oriented acts playing at the Birch Lake Stage to keep us entertained throughout the day, and a variety of age-appropriate arts and craft projects for toddlers right up through teens. And there were a lot of kids! When the fellow at the gate told me the whole place was family camp, I guess I ought to have taken him at his word.<br />
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The entire campground and venue were consistently clean and organized. So organized in fact, that if you'd happened to have grabbed a bottle of beer for the walk to the venue, but hadn't quite managed to finish it by the time you'd arrived, the fellow at the gate checking wristbands would hand you a cup to pour your beer into since glass isn't allowed at the main stage. How's that for accommodating?<br />
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The porta-potties were regularly maintained, there was no unauthorized vending, and no hordes of scruffy tour kids. There were large bands of roving teenagers, but they all appeared to be attending the event with their parents, and as such were not getting up to too much mischief.<br />
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This festival was <b>exactly</b> what I had hoped it to be; I can't wait to head back next year! We spoke to a number of folks who said that the Spring festival (held over Memorial day weekend) is also great, but that the weather is less predictable. Camp Mather is at over 4500 feet elevation, so the Spring festival can be quite cold. Apparently last year's Spring festival featured four days of non-stop monsoon rain, and this year's Spring festival began with 6 inches of wet overnight snow that collapsed tents and canopies, and only partially melted over the rest of the festival, so we'll probably be giving the spring festival a miss, at least until our kiddos are a bit older:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/TIccRs_kn-I/AAAAAAAAAbs/LBps4g_rZbM/s1600/IMG_1260.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/TIccRs_kn-I/AAAAAAAAAbs/LBps4g_rZbM/s320/IMG_1260.JPG" /></a></div>David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-84129614132863222672009-09-30T15:15:00.000-07:002009-09-30T17:31:18.451-07:00NiijimaLast Mon, Tues, and Wed were public holidays in Japan. We took advantage of the long break to head down to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niijima">Niijima</a>, an island about 100 miles South of Tokyo to go camping. Our trip was delayed by several days because of a typhoon that was coming close to the island, so instead of arriving on Friday, we got there on Monday. Our original intention was also to take the hydrofoil ferry, and enjoy its 2.5 hour travel time. Due to high surf kicked up by the passing typhoon though, the hydrofoil service was canceled. In its place we took the normal passenger ferry, an adventure in itself.<br />
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We left Tokyo at 23:30 on Sunday evening and arrived at Niijima around 8:00 the next morning. There are very few seats on the ferry. Instead, you are issued a small tarp to lay down on the deck. Becase we were camping anyhow, we didn't bother w/ our small tarps and just lay down the ground cover for our tent. Here's a view from our boat-deck campsite:<br />
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You can see Robbie snoozing in his stroller; he spent about 1/2 the night there, then decided to come join us on our tarp. There were also blankets available to rent for about a dollar, so we got a couple of those and spread them out for extra padding. <br />
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All in all, we got a pretty good night's sleep and woke up rested and refreshed the next morning:<br />
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We eventually arrived, disembarked, and made our way across the island to the campground. The campground is a real gem. It's a few hundred yards from the ocean, has a field kitchen with running water and electricity, rudimentary shower facilities, proper bathrooms, and did I mention it's free? Yeah Niijima!<br />
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Some of the campsites had picnic tables, but they were taken. We ended up next to a patch of trees for some shade, and a bunch of guys on a surf holiday from Australia. It is a large campground as you can see from the pic, but it was mostly empty when we were there, relatively quiet and peaceful. After setting up camp we found a bicycle rental place down the road, procured bikes for $10 / day, and hit the beach.<br />
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Robbie and I went straight down and got in the surf. The water was beautifully clear, azure blue, and a bit chilly, but not painfully so. The surf was high, so our fun consisted mostly of standing ankle-deep in the water until a wave came in. Then, at the last instant I would lift Robert up so he wouldn't be submerged. I'd laugh, he'd squeal; rinse and repeat.<br />
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If I'd remembered to take the camera out of my pocket before hand, we might actually have some pictures from the rest of of our trip, but alas, I did not.<br />
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There are 5 major beaches on the island, and we hit 2 of them. I guess we'll have to go back. There is also a Greco-Roman themed onsen (public bath) with 6 or 7 pools of varying degrees of scalding. This place also has proper shower facilities; an ideal place to take an evening dip after spending your day slathering yourself with sunscreen and getting covered in sand and salt. Did I mention that it's free too? Go Niijima!<br />
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One personal highlight from this trip for me was Sarah finding a Japanese fisherman's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass_float">glass float</a> washed up on shore. I've quite literally been beachcombing for an authentic one of these my entire life (whenever I go to the beach, anyhow). So now I guess I really can't get rid of her -- she'd probably take her float with her! ;-)<br />
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On Wednesday morning we broke camp and trekked back to the ferry. We caught it just after 11 am and were back in Tokyo around 6:30. Robert spent most of his time on the top deck, hanging on the railing and looking out at the passing islands, other ships, gulls, sea foam, jellyfish, etc. When we docked in Tokyo, he was not ready to be done with his boat ride and asked if we could sleep on the boat again.David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-5970121976791138732009-08-25T07:18:00.000-07:002009-08-25T15:16:41.205-07:00Climbing Mt FujiLast Friday I skipped out of work after lunch w/ several friends of mine from BGI. We hopped the Chuo line limited express train from Shinjuku to Otsuki, and got from there to Kawaguchiko on the Fujikyu line. We then transferred to a bus that took us to Mt Fuji's 5th station, and after a bit of time spent looking at the souvenir shops, we began our ascent:<br /><br />Here's a view from fairly early in our hike (when we still had a bit of light):<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SpP0dNpE1gI/AAAAAAAAAaU/gDx2C7DiiD8/s1600-h/DSCN1987.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SpP0dNpE1gI/AAAAAAAAAaU/gDx2C7DiiD8/s320/DSCN1987.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373907563098461698" /></a><br /><br />Here's a spot along the trail where folks deposit the bear bells & ribbons from the hiking poles they'd purchased at 5th station, and a few people also added some traditional offerings to the mountain:<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SpP0cdI4i-I/AAAAAAAAAaM/i5ZivHt3aE4/s1600-h/DSCN1986.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SpP0cdI4i-I/AAAAAAAAAaM/i5ZivHt3aE4/s320/DSCN1986.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373907550078536674" /></a><br /><br />Sunset:<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SpP0dsb7PDI/AAAAAAAAAac/SGsmVPxE3Sw/s1600-h/DSCN1993.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SpP0dsb7PDI/AAAAAAAAAac/SGsmVPxE3Sw/s320/DSCN1993.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373907571364805682" /></a><br /><br />During the first evening we hiked for several hours, from about 4:45 until about 7:30. I booked us spots at a hut called "Tori Iso" between 7th and 8th station. Somehow my reservations got lost, but as luck would have it, we added a native Japanese speaker to our group about a week before heading up, and she re-reserved our spots for us. Our lodgings included an all you can eat curry dinner, and a warm, dry, 5.5 ft long plank to lay on and try to sleep, just under the eaves on the hut's 3rd (and highest) tier of bunks.<br /><br />We ate and drank from about 8 until 9, then passed out until about 11pm at which point I was awakened by heavy rain lashing the roof mere inches from my head, and high winds howling through the eaves. The storm eventually passed, and I flirted with sleep until about 1am. Our group's alarms started going off then, and we got up prepared to resume our ascent. The hut's supervisor, however, told us that it was too windy and cold to make an ascent to the summit, but when we poked our heads out the door of our hut, we saw a constant stream of headlamps heading up the mountain. So after some debate, we disregarded his advice, pulled on our thermal underwear, and gave it a go. Just over 4 hours later, we'd reached the summit:<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SpP3yT4tkoI/AAAAAAAAAak/DwjYeBb0dGA/s1600-h/DSCN2009.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SpP3yT4tkoI/AAAAAAAAAak/DwjYeBb0dGA/s320/DSCN2009.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373911224086794882" /></a><br /><br />Here are Glen, Jim and I at the top:<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SpP4QlNwaeI/AAAAAAAAAas/Yr5vw2GvOPI/s1600-h/DSCN2015.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SpP4QlNwaeI/AAAAAAAAAas/Yr5vw2GvOPI/s320/DSCN2015.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373911744134539746" /></a><br /><br />After this picture was taken we found a warming hut, grabbed a round of coffees, downed steaming bowls of ramen, and wandered around for a little bit before meeting back up and beginning our descent.<br /><br />Turns out we took a wrong turn around 8th station (or, to be more accurate, we failed to take the correct turn) and we ended up at the Gotemba 5th station about 1/3 of the way around the mountain from where we expected to be! Unfazed (at 10:30 am), we ordered a round of beers to celebrate our conquering of the mountain and let Glen sort out how to get us back to Tokyo.<br /><br />Long story short, it took a different bus and train combo to get us back to Tokyo, but to Tokyo we returned, and a mighty good adventure we'd had too, all things considered.<br /><br />I've got some video footage that I will be splicing together over the new few days; I'll post it later in the week once I've had some time to get it all worked out.David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-6514980830619624712009-08-16T05:29:00.001-07:002009-08-16T05:44:11.914-07:00Dry IceDuring summer in Tokyo, if you buy frozen things at the supermarket, they put a bag of dry ice in amongst the frozen stuff to keep it cool on the way home. A nice touch, and as a bonus, there is dry ice to play with when you get home:<br /><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-9422f88f2cc07fe2 class=BLOG_video_class width=320 height=266 contentId="9422f88f2cc07fe2"></OBJECT>David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-23741277541063956652009-08-16T05:06:00.000-07:002009-08-16T17:13:11.753-07:00Distaster!Sorry for not updating in so long. I've discovered Facebook, and it is good.<br /><br />Perhaps disaster is a bit melodramatic -- tragedy, anyhow. Yesterday on my way to work I missed a shift on my bike... or rather my bike missed a shift, as I'm not entirely sure I should be taking the blame here... anyhow, my derailleur hanger (didn't even know what the heck a derailleur hanger was until yesterday) sheared off of my frame, sending the rear derailleur through the cassette. Of course the rear derailleur can not possibly fit through the cassette, but it deserves an A for its efforts in trying.<br /><br />Final tally: one broken derailleur hanger, one mangled rear derailleur pulley, one bent chain, one flat tire, and one frustrated bicycle commuter who was late for work!<br /><br />Here's a pic of the bicycle (yes, that is a plastic bag tied around the derailleur to keep it from bouncing on the pavement as I tried to coast along) and as I alluded to earlier, I got a flat tire too, so after a few blocks I couldn't even coast along the downhills. *sigh*<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sof4AtKdg4I/AAAAAAAAAZ0/eDyelg7aUOs/s1600-h/DSCN1968.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sof4AtKdg4I/AAAAAAAAAZ0/eDyelg7aUOs/s320/DSCN1968.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370533771669767042" /></a><br /><br />However, I did get a great picture of Robert this morning while I was taking stock of the situation. A future bicycle mechanic?<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sof4SSdKpjI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/1Ob1Eq02rEc/s1600-h/DSCN1973.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sof4SSdKpjI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/1Ob1Eq02rEc/s320/DSCN1973.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370534073738110514" /></a><br /><br />I stopped by a bike shop yesterday, shortly after the mishap. The gentleman behind the counter told me he could not fix the bike because it's a Bianchi-specific derailleur hanger, and he can not order them since he's not a Bianchi dealer. *sigh* so I went to the Bianchi shop in Naka-Meguro this morning to see about ordering the part. I got there at 10:51 am. Too bad they don't open till noon! I guess they spend their mornings riding their bikes or something? So my trusty companion and I went to the neighborhood park and discovered that summer is waning; the cicadas are starting to die off:<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sof5UOLFLQI/AAAAAAAAAaE/USmBddHNOsM/s1600-h/DSCN1977.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sof5UOLFLQI/AAAAAAAAAaE/USmBddHNOsM/s320/DSCN1977.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5370535206459878658" /></a><br /><br />After playing at the park, we returned to the Bianchi store at noon, only to discover that they don't think they can order my part because my bike, a Bianchi Axis, is not a model that is sold in Japan *sigh*, so I've spent this afternoon searching for derailleur hangers on the Internet with some amount of luck. However, I am going to have to pay $20 shipping for a $20 part. *sigh*. And that's just the hanger... I guess I'll be commuting on my shopping bike for the next few weeks while gathering all of the necessary components to effect the repairs.David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-83911389345393283392009-06-05T14:20:00.000-07:002009-06-05T15:22:21.923-07:00Rainy SeasonIf you talk to a Japanese person, they'll tell you that June is Tokyo's rainy season. During our first two Junes in Tokyo, it didn't seem to rain appreciably more in June than during other times of the year, so we'd begun thinking that "June rainy seaosn" was a bit of a myth. Not this year.<br /><br />June came a bit early; it started raining during the last week of May, but since then, it's rained almost every day. It is pouring as I write this.<br /><br />Undaunted by the threat of rain, we went out last weekend to see Star Trek (without Robbie) and thoroughly enjoyed the film. It's well cast, and the plot does an excellent job of resetting the franchise, paving the way for the coming stream of new Star Trek movies. I can hardly wait!<br /><br />We went to the Shinagawa Outback for dinner (I wanted to go to a Singaporian restaurant but Sarah twisted my arm -- on my birthday, can you imagime?) and of course we took our umbrella because it was threatening rain. Unfortunately, because it wasn't actually raining when we left, we forgot about the umbrella. So on Sunday afternoon, I figured I'd take Robbie back with me to Shinagawa to pick up the umbrella.<br /><br />We went by bicycle, and I took a wrong turn but did not realize it for quite some time... I just kept pedaling, thinking "Shinagawa station has got to be just a little bit further up this road". But I'd actually turned onto the road just past the station, so as I continued to pedal I was getting further away from my intended destination. What should have been an hour's ride ended up being more like an hour and a half and Robert gave up on me at some point during the ride and fell asleep around 5pm for the dreaded late-afternoon nap. Epic fail.<br /><br />Anyhow, I wish I had some pictures to post, but for some reason we haven't been taking any. I'll remedy that over the coming week and post some soon.David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-36565171612514302492009-05-20T14:21:00.000-07:002009-05-20T15:25:31.258-07:00Back in TokyoIt appears that we returned from Thailand just in time to observe Tokyo's weather rise toward its steamy summer temperatures. Right now things are still relatively pleasant, but it's starting to get sticky, and I know it's just a matter of time until I'm wishing I were back in the US for the summer. We still have not settled on dates for a summer holiday though, nor even if we are going to head back at all. We may wait until the winter, and come back for a bit longer.<br /><br />While in Thailand, one afternoon we decided to beat the heat by heading to a "Children's Discovery Museum" that was actually a lot of fun for adults too. There were interactive displays dealing with muscles & bones, experiments that explored the nature of sound and air pressure, drums to bang on, and even a section dealing with other cultures including a kid-sized model of a traditional Japanese house, and a Native American teepee. Robbie's favorite though was a device that allowed you to be inside a bloody great soap bubble:<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/ShR4lUvTw4I/AAAAAAAAAZc/ay_pUotz6R4/s1600-h/DSCN1868.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/ShR4lUvTw4I/AAAAAAAAAZc/ay_pUotz6R4/s320/DSCN1868.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338024040958509954" /></a><br /><br />He made us trap him in many bubbles. They would inevitably pop, and he would quickly ask us for another. We also took a river boat tour and visited <A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wat_Arun">Wat Arun</A>:<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/ShR4lku0nbI/AAAAAAAAAZk/oM3A0PKGKkQ/s1600-h/DSCN1813.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/ShR4lku0nbI/AAAAAAAAAZk/oM3A0PKGKkQ/s320/DSCN1813.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338024045251435954" /></a><br /><br />One of the interesting things about this temple is that it was decorated mostly using broken porcelain that came to Thailand as ballast in Chinese ships. Here's a detail:<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/ShR4l0sYVHI/AAAAAAAAAZs/kf3k59acVBo/s1600-h/DSCN1815.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/ShR4l0sYVHI/AAAAAAAAAZs/kf3k59acVBo/s320/DSCN1815.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338024049536160882" /></a><br /><br />But like I said, we're back in Tokyo. Now we are getting excited for Star Trek. It comes out on the 29th here, so we've hired a sitter for the 30th and are going to have a date night. Yeah!David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-68647319785788214072009-05-08T08:29:00.000-07:002009-05-08T08:35:54.705-07:00Follow UpTwo things I meant to mention in my previous post:<br /><br />1) The elephant on the left hand side of the video really liked bananas, but not in the traditional "peel them and eat the fruit" sense.<br /><br />When the elephant was given a banana, he would peel it using his tusk, then eat the peel and throw the banana on his head. Not wanting to let food go to waste, the elephant on the right would then generally pick the banana up off of the ground and eat it.<br /><br />2) Robbie has his "yours" and "mine" confused at the moment. It's really cute when you're trying to take something from him and he runs away saying "No, it's yours. It's YOURS!" :-DDavid Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-64960780276776520772009-05-07T08:47:00.000-07:002009-05-08T08:29:11.379-07:00BangkokYour (ir)regularly scheduled "Kirkbrides in Tokyo" update comes to you this week from the Business Centre of the Royal Orchid Sheraton in Bangkok, where we are currently vacationing:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SgMHPS0I2pI/AAAAAAAAAZU/ynHxDdtelq4/s1600-h/DSCN1660.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SgMHPS0I2pI/AAAAAAAAAZU/ynHxDdtelq4/s320/DSCN1660.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333114343066753682" /></a><br /><br />We have been thoroughly enjoying our time here, and taking things fairly easy. Our M.O. consists of eating a leisurely breakfast, hitting a point of interest or two in the morning, catching lunch on the road, then heading back to the hotel around mid-afternoon for a dip in the pool:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SgMHPFgZrGI/AAAAAAAAAZM/LCEIf6buVQE/s1600-h/DSCN1663.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SgMHPFgZrGI/AAAAAAAAAZM/LCEIf6buVQE/s320/DSCN1663.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333114339494308962" /></a><br /><br />Then it's off to dinner. So far we've been eating mostly Thai (now there's a shocker!), but we've also taken time out for Chinese, and probably the best Indian food I've ever eaten. Here is Sarah at "Once Upon a Time" a touristy (but good) Thai food restaurant:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SgMHOLwX0CI/AAAAAAAAAY0/4vrj9rGGFos/s1600-h/DSCN1776.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SgMHOLwX0CI/AAAAAAAAAY0/4vrj9rGGFos/s320/DSCN1776.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333114323992039458" /></a><br /><br />Cabs in Bangkok are ridiculously cheap. It costs only 2 or 3 dollars to get across town... we took a cab in from the airport, it was about a 35 kilometer trip, and I think it cost around 10 dollars. Just remember to hail the cab -- if the cabbie hails you, chances are he's off meter and will try to take you for 2 or 3 times what the metered fare would be. You can negotiate your way down to almost the same price as the meter, but that only works if you know what the fare should be!<br /><br />Also, be sure to avoid <a href="http://iguide.travel/Bangkok/Getting_Around/By_tuk-tuk">Tuk-Tuks</a> and Wily Strangers. Tuk-tuks are used by the locals to get home from the grocery store, but if you as a tourist end up in a tuk-tuk, expect to have hours of your time wasted as you sit in traffic, heading from one gem shop to another, never quite making it to your intended destination. We have managed to steer clear of the tuk-tuks, but while en route to the emerald Buddha, we did have a run-in with a wily stranger.<br /><br />He was wearing a white shirt with a tie, standing near an armed guard at a service entrance to the palace grounds, and looking very official. Our stranger came out onto the sidewalk and regretted to inform us that the palace was not opening until 13:00 today (it was only 10:30). He then drew directions to some other sight-seeing locations on our tourist map and suggested we find a tuk-tuk to take us around to them to kill the time until the palace opened.<br /><br />As he was doing this, the tuk-tuk driver he was in cahoots with slowly pulled up alongside us on the sidewalk. We eventually shrugged him off and continued our walk around the perimeter of the palace. Thanks Marika! if it wasn't for your warning, we might have been taken in.<br /><br />We've spent the bulk of our "tourist time" checking out the local Wats<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SgMHO11uZSI/AAAAAAAAAZE/utCJCQI_494/s1600-h/DSCN1677.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SgMHO11uZSI/AAAAAAAAAZE/utCJCQI_494/s320/DSCN1677.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333114335288780066" /></a><br /><br />and markets, but we took time out on Tuesday to go to the zoo. Robert got to feed elephants, and i got it on video!<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzueTdDDaR5bxj7HzH7k5tuhuu_AeDUwKHkxEXhc9rdFWXs6Dcueom1wTJ7mL4Lr0-ZBsH2pnQABps-Q_jTIg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />We also took Robert to his first proper movie in a theatre: Monsters Vs Aliens 3D, and he _loved_ it. It was great to watch him discover 3D as well... during the first few minutes he was trying to reach out and touch everything, and he kept exclaiming about every little thing that he saw on the screen until he finally settled down and enjoyed the film. Did I mention it was on IMAX? And it only cost around $20 for the 3 of us? Yeah Thailand! ;-)David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-81357475470979395752009-04-29T06:08:00.000-07:002009-04-29T15:04:26.538-07:00AprilIt doesn't seem like it's been that long since I've updated the blog, but gosh, almost a month has slipped past. April has been nothing if not eventful. As I alluded to in my last post, the cherry blossoms hit full stride this month:<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sfhbf9tcYII/AAAAAAAAAXc/YgWJpSj5wCM/s1600-h/DSCN1474.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sfhbf9tcYII/AAAAAAAAAXc/YgWJpSj5wCM/s320/DSCN1474.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330110763692220546" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SfhXuJ8tEYI/AAAAAAAAAW4/UnMzt2pjuB4/s1600-h/DSCN1437.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330106609449111938" style="WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SfhXuJ8tEYI/AAAAAAAAAW4/UnMzt2pjuB4/s320/DSCN1437.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Robert and I went for a day hike in the woods to the West of Tokyo with a friend of mine from work and his daughter. This waterfall, and the scenic valley surrounding it were the highlights of the trip. We stopped here for lunch and Robert spent almost the entire time throwing rocks into the creek. He could hardly sit still long enough to take 2 bites of his sandwitch; I ended up saving it and feeding it to him on the way home.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SfhbgEXdqiI/AAAAAAAAAXk/zgR9BzvbOU8/s1600-h/DSCN1464.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SfhbgEXdqiI/AAAAAAAAAXk/zgR9BzvbOU8/s320/DSCN1464.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330110765479078434" /></a><br /><br />Robert did exceptionally well on the hike. My colleague started out the day by ribbing me because I didn't have a toddler backpack, but he quieted down after 45 minutes of hiking w/ his daughter on his back while Robert spent most of his time running ahead of us on the trail and whacking each of the trees along the trail with a stick he'd picked up. In fact, Robert walked almost the whole way up the hill we were climbing, and really only asked to be be carried for a while on the way back down.<br /><br />Now as you may know, flowering cherry trees are native to Japan, and during our hike we came across several of the trees in their native form, "yama-zakura" or "mountain cherry" blooming near the trail:<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SfhbgXn4Z8I/AAAAAAAAAXs/Ml2ZWuCbHVs/s1600-h/DSCN1447.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SfhbgXn4Z8I/AAAAAAAAAXs/Ml2ZWuCbHVs/s320/DSCN1447.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330110770648213442" /></a><br /><br />Just as the blossoms were beginning to wane in Tokyo, Sarah's brother Seth and his wife Abigail arrived for a visit. We took the opportunity to play tourist, and stayed at a Ryokan (traditional Japanese hot-spring hotel) in Hakone where the cherries were still in full force:<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SfhdpmwoR2I/AAAAAAAAAX8/kh9igFQFqsc/s1600-h/DSCN1511.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SfhdpmwoR2I/AAAAAAAAAX8/kh9igFQFqsc/s320/DSCN1511.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330113128353515362" /></a><br /><br />We also went to Kamakura and caught a parade down the town's main street. There were a number of marching bands; here was my favorite:<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sfhdp15S5hI/AAAAAAAAAYE/2gjsKlaRXos/s1600-h/DSCN1548.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sfhdp15S5hI/AAAAAAAAAYE/2gjsKlaRXos/s320/DSCN1548.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330113132416394770" /></a><br /><br />Robbie got into the act by pretending to play trumpet. I tried to explain to him that he should be pretending to play the trombone, but he just wouldn't listen. Kids! ;-)<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SfhdqIncQRI/AAAAAAAAAYM/H-wCa-Q3kzg/s1600-h/DSCN1551.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SfhdqIncQRI/AAAAAAAAAYM/H-wCa-Q3kzg/s320/DSCN1551.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330113137441784082" /></a><br /><br />Sarah, Seth, Abi, and Robbie also spent one day at Disney Sea while I worked. To protest the fact that I couldn't go, I am refusing to post any of the great pictures that Sarah took. I guess you'll have to look for them on Flickr.<br /><br />At school this month, Robbie's class went to the Shirokanedai fire station:<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sfhdpad2YtI/AAAAAAAAAX0/KolvQLqwhAs/s1600-h/DSCN1488.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sfhdpad2YtI/AAAAAAAAAX0/KolvQLqwhAs/s320/DSCN1488.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330113125053522642" /></a><br /><br />Robert got to sit in the engine's driver seat. He had such a good time playing fireman that he did not want to get out of the engine when his turn was up -- there were tears.<br /><br />And finally, last weekend we went down to Yokosuka to visit our friends Meredith, Eddie. The naval base has more of the look of a a college campus than a military complex; there are loads of cherry trees, abundant grass and flat open spaces, playgrounds, water parks, shopping, restaurants, and a deepwater port to boot! The aircraft carrier <a href="http://gw.ffc.navy.mil/">George Washington</A> was in port, along with several destroyers, a cruiser, a couple of Japanese submarines:<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SfhjEDinmII/AAAAAAAAAYk/MrEPTxgl5DY/s1600-h/DSCN1649.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SfhjEDinmII/AAAAAAAAAYk/MrEPTxgl5DY/s320/DSCN1649.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330119080314116226" /></a><br /><br />and possibly the most inviting warning sign this side of "Wet Paint":<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SfhiLrVZO3I/AAAAAAAAAYc/KytSDM9lcpk/s1600-h/DSCN1651.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SfhiLrVZO3I/AAAAAAAAAYc/KytSDM9lcpk/s320/DSCN1651.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330118111743523698" /></a><br /><br />Must ... not ... touch ... pipe ... ... but is it actually hot right now? ... Nope. Whew.<br /><br />And to close, Robert and I have been enjoying the pond in Himonya koen. Ducks, geese, turtles, and fish (not to mention a variety of insects) inhabit the pond; most of the time Robert is content to enjoy the scenery, but toward the end of our most recent trip, he wanted to try his hand at rowing:<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sfhh8M5FUmI/AAAAAAAAAYU/TFt6pAKBgsY/s1600-h/DSCN1637.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sfhh8M5FUmI/AAAAAAAAAYU/TFt6pAKBgsY/s320/DSCN1637.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330117845873676898" /></a>David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-40894069609486807242009-04-03T15:00:00.000-07:002009-04-03T19:42:19.277-07:00PicturesHere are some recent pictures from around the house and city. This is the only picture I managed to take of hanami up in Ueno -- the trees in this photo were only beginning to burst forth, but other trees were in more advanced states of bloom elsewhere in the park:<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SdaILqhyKJI/AAAAAAAAAVg/PcJbGtYJqAY/s1600-h/DSCN1417.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SdaILqhyKJI/AAAAAAAAAVg/PcJbGtYJqAY/s320/DSCN1417.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320589743760746642" /></a><br /><br />I finally reinstalled the software to pull pictures off of our phones, so here's a dump of some of our best phone photos. First stop, Ikea. In Japan, Ikea has carts for rolling your trays of food around, and glasses of wine to go with lunch!<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sda88HuSgCI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/g79DWYUCWv0/s1600-h/Photo-0010.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sda88HuSgCI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/g79DWYUCWv0/s320/Photo-0010.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320647750836191266" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sda9OGLmddI/AAAAAAAAAWY/ZPVExAeFnr8/s1600-h/Photo-0011.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sda9OGLmddI/AAAAAAAAAWY/ZPVExAeFnr8/s320/Photo-0011.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320648059659908562" /></a><br /><br />Here's a picture of Robbie riding a pony at Himonya Koen:<br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sda87x3PjhI/AAAAAAAAAWI/oGP2vFmtYdw/s1600-h/Photo-0013.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sda87x3PjhI/AAAAAAAAAWI/oGP2vFmtYdw/s320/Photo-0013.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320647744968166930" /></a><br /><br />$3 Strawberries... that's $3 each, $27 for the box:<br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sda874Lgs3I/AAAAAAAAAWA/oQdukmMDClU/s1600-h/Photo-0008.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sda874Lgs3I/AAAAAAAAAWA/oQdukmMDClU/s320/Photo-0008.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320647746663789426" /></a><br /><br />A subway sign asking foreigners to refrain from annoying other passengers by talking on their mobile phones:<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sda874m-2nI/AAAAAAAAAV4/wzlhAWnoTWE/s1600-h/Photo-0004.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sda874m-2nI/AAAAAAAAAV4/wzlhAWnoTWE/s320/Photo-0004.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320647746779011698" /></a><br /><br />Mt Fuji as seen from my office window (it's that little white smudge on the horizon):<br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sda87u3vNuI/AAAAAAAAAVw/oWak4sIWSwE/s1600-h/Photo-0002.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/Sda87u3vNuI/AAAAAAAAAVw/oWak4sIWSwE/s320/Photo-0002.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320647744164935394" /></a><br /><br />And to close, at some point Robert discovered that our couch and chair have removable cushions. Since then, at least once a day, they all get taken off of their respective pieces of furniture, thrown on the floor, and jumped on. He also discovered (with a bit of assistance) that cushions make excellent forts:<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SdaIL2kZguI/AAAAAAAAAVo/IrFit4cIlBI/s1600-h/DSCN1424.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SdaIL2kZguI/AAAAAAAAAVo/IrFit4cIlBI/s320/DSCN1424.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320589746992939746" /></a>David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-68382231670082688232009-03-27T14:50:00.000-07:002009-04-03T14:43:35.208-07:00HanamiIt's high time for <A href="http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3050.html">Hanami</A> (flower viewing) in and around Tokyo, and we are enjoying the season. <br /><br />Unfortunately though, the weather has turned a bit cold. On Thurday morning while heading out on our bicycles, I to work and Sarah and Robbie to his school, a few bits of white floated down from the sky. We had a few seconds of confusion when we weren't sure whether they were cherry blossoms or snowflakes, but after a moment it was clear that we were pedaling through a snow flurry.<br /><br />Last year we went to Shinjuku Gyoen for hanami and had a really good time, but we wanted to try something new this year. We met up with a couple of friends from work in Ueno to experience rowdier (by Japanese standards) hanami.<br /><br />As a bonus, the major avenue of cherry trees in Ueno is right next to the zoo, so we started the day there, then found a nice place to lay down our tarp under a cherry tree. Our spot was near some playground equipment too, so Robbie had a bit more to entertain him than just cherry blossoms.<br /><br />While we ate, drank, and enjoyed the view, Robbie ran around and played with the random Japanese couples who were cavorting on the various pieces of playground equipment and had a very good time. So much so that when we decided to pack it up and head back to the train, he did not want to leave!<br /><br />We brought easy-to-pack food such as cheese, bread, crackers, etc., but the group next to us were more experienced hanami enthusiasts; they were making curry on a well-worn portable propane stove. After a while, they brought over a small pot of curry and offered it to us. It was delicious!<br /><br />By the end of the afternoon, my colleague Ian was being proposed to by one of the ladies from the curry tarp -- evidently she had been married twice to Japanese men, but it had never worked out. It didn't seem to matter to that she didn't speak any English, and Ian doesn't speak much Japanese, she was telling him to be in Yokohama on the 30th for the wedding. At least that's what we think she was telling him. Anyhow, Ian stayed away from Yokohama at the end of March.David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-36368146277400792732009-03-16T06:42:00.000-07:002009-03-16T15:15:43.000-07:00A Departure From Your Regularly Scheduled ProgrammingWhile in Nagano a couple of weeks ago, we missed the bus from the monkey onsen back to town by seconds, and had to wait for an hour to catch the next one. Eddie and Meredith both have 32gb iPod touches, and Eddie helped me pass the time by showing me what I've been missing in popular music over the last few years... specifically this, my new anthem:<br /><br /><A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xEzGIuY7kw">White and Nerdy</A>.<br /><br />as well as "Don't Download This Song" with a brilliant animated video by <A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Plympton">Bill Plympton</A>:<br /><br /><A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz-grdpKVqg">Don't Download This Song</A>.<br /><br />And, since I don't have access to much in the way of American media I've found myself listening to a number of podcasts. Here are some of my favorites:<br /><br />The best science podcast on the web, the CBC's <A href="http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/podcast.html">Quirks and Quarks</A> with Bob McDonald.<br /><br />The best personal finance podcast: <a href="http://marketplace.publicradio.org/RSS/">Marketplace Money</A>.<br /><br /><A HREF="http://www.sparkletack.com/">Sparkletack</A> is a podcast dedicated to informing listeners about the colorful history of San Francisco and the bay area. The format of this podcast has recently changed from an in-depth look at a particular person or topic, to a somewhat less interesting weekly overview of the upcoming week's notable historical happenings, but there is an extensive archive of stories that I am still working my way through.<br /><br />Best humorous podcast, the venerable <A HREF="http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast/podcast_detail.php?siteId=9911203">Car Talk</A>.<br /><br />I also look forward to new audio articles from <A href="http://public-xml.feedroom.com/public_rss/economist_feeds.html?&hvar=http%3A%2F%2Faudiovideo.economist.com%2F">The Economist</A> each weekend.<br /><br />Please use the comments section to tell me about your favorite podcasts or blogs I ought to be reading. Thanks!David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-75897041501274431482009-03-07T13:57:00.000-08:002009-03-07T19:18:16.966-08:00Back to the presentIn the middle of January we took another day-trip to Kamakura... this time we had our fortunes told for the new year at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gu Shrine using the Bokuzei (卜筮) method, the Japanese equivalent of <A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kau_Cim">Kau cim</A>. I drew #50: Dai-Kichi, or "great blessing" and Sarah drew #19: Sue Kichi, or "minor blessing". Considering the available fortunes range from "great blessing" to "great curse", I think 2009 is going to be an excellent year. It certainly has been so far.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SbLxHl0E8NI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/BF0yfVh0ISA/s1600-h/DSCN1303.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SbLxHl0E8NI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/BF0yfVh0ISA/s320/DSCN1303.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310572023335153874" /></a><br /><br />Toward the beginning of February we went to the Uneo zoo. Robbie got to pet an Owl:<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SbLxA9K_EPI/AAAAAAAAAUI/UaRFR8zi-Ac/s1600-h/DSCN1319.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SbLxA9K_EPI/AAAAAAAAAUI/UaRFR8zi-Ac/s320/DSCN1319.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310571909346169074" /></a><br /><br />And we waited for the penguins to start <A href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366548/plotsummary">dancing</A>, but to no avail:<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SbLxAWoBWmI/AAAAAAAAAUA/YLvr_QpoqLU/s1600-h/DSCN1322.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SbLxAWoBWmI/AAAAAAAAAUA/YLvr_QpoqLU/s320/DSCN1322.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310571898998970978" /></a><br /><br />Last weekend we took the Shinkansen up to Nagano. Nagano is nestled in a valley in the middle of the Japanese Alps. The mountains that you can see in this picture are the lower range; the higher range (where the '98 winter games alpine events were held) are behind me.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SbLw_5FlicI/AAAAAAAAAT4/vBrwVzSSksM/s1600-h/DSCN1340.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SbLw_5FlicI/AAAAAAAAAT4/vBrwVzSSksM/s320/DSCN1340.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310571891069913538" /></a><br /><br />Nagano is a large apple growing region, thus the omiyage that I brought back to my colleagues at the office was in the form of individually wrapped small apple turnovers. Unless the shopkeeper is handing out samples, purchasing omiyage always involves a bit of uncertainty, but this time I chose wisely and the treats were delicious. Enough about omiyage though, let's talk about snow monkeys!<br /><br />The monkey onsen is in Jidokudani (lit. "Hell Valley"), a national park about 45 minutes by bus from Nagano Station. The hike in was just short of 2 kilometers along a trail carved out of a steep hillside with a creek running at its bottom. One of the interesting things about the hike in was that there are a number of points where you can see steaming seeps of water entering the creek.<br /><br />At a convenient point where we could get down to it, we stuck our fingers in and although the water was chilly, it was nowhere near as cold as glacial run-off should be.<br /><br />After climbing a set of steep and uneven (but paved) stairs, we arrived at the entrance gate to the monkey onsen. While climbing the stairs, we got our first view of the monkeys. They were on the other side of the stream, chasing each other up and down the hill. We paid our 500 yen and entered, walked around a couple of corners, and there were monkeys everywhere.<br /><br />While researching the trip, I read that sometimes, especially in the summer, the troop moves out of the low country near the onsen and up into the hills; in the winter though, they're generally around. They were definitely present on the day we visited. There were monkeys on fence posts, monkeys sitting in trees, monkeys walking in the snow along the path down to the onsen, monkeys frolicking on the rocks down by the creek, and others just monkeying around.<br /><br />There is a strictly observed "no feeding the monkeys" policy, so unlike many other places in Asia, these monkeys do not beg. They basically pay no mind to people whatsoever and just go about their business. <br /><br />I counted 21 monkeys in this picture, but I may have missed a couple:<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SbMWhDukRbI/AAAAAAAAAUY/5m8JQppkhj4/s1600-h/DSCN1356.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SbMWhDukRbI/AAAAAAAAAUY/5m8JQppkhj4/s320/DSCN1356.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310613142792062386" /></a><br /><br />There were not so many monkeys in the bath when we were there, but that's all right. Judging from the <A href="http://www.jigokudani-yaenkoen.co.jp/livecam/monkey/index.htm">live cam</A> the best time to see a bath full of monkeys is first thing in the morning. For 7 people, including 3 children under 3, we were just glad to be able to make the trip at all -- timing the trip for peak bath time was beyond us:<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SbLw_Z01mVI/AAAAAAAAATw/z3AKQrznO0g/s1600-h/DSCN1375.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SbLw_Z01mVI/AAAAAAAAATw/z3AKQrznO0g/s320/DSCN1375.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310571882678163794" /></a><br /><br />So the trip to the monkey onsen took up the majority of our Saturday, though we did have a nice traditional Japanese dinner on Saturday night. On Sunday we wandered around downtown Nagano and took some pictures, including this one of the medal presentation stand for the '98 Olympics:<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SbLw-9FHmCI/AAAAAAAAATo/h5KH7SDPr5k/s1600-h/DSCN1385.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SbLw-9FHmCI/AAAAAAAAATo/h5KH7SDPr5k/s320/DSCN1385.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310571874961823778" /></a><br /><br />We also went to check out <A href="http://www.interculturaljapan.com/wordpress/2006/11/zenkoji-temple-nagano/">Zenkouji</A>, a Buddhist temple and the 2nd largest wooden structure in Japan. We were fairly tired and hungry at this point though, so we basically just walked around the temple and then began slowly meandering back toward the train station while looking for lunch. We found a great Chinese-style ramen shop, and then a park to let the kiddos do some running around. After the park we headed back to the station, and home.David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-38331023108973807112009-03-06T06:16:00.000-08:002009-03-06T13:23:51.516-08:00Kamakura, Ueno, & Nagano, oh my!Well, it took a while, but we finally found a new baby sitter. Her name is Jenny and she's great. I got her number from a cousin of hers (not sure if they're really cousins) that we used once when we were still staying at Oakwood. We were not overly impressed with Jenny's cousin, but as I said, Jenny's really good so we are looking forward to a few more evenings out between now and the end of our stay.<br /><br />Our first break from Robbie was on a Friday evening in late January. We went to go see a band, The Presidents of the United States of America, who happened to be playing a show across the street from my office! Unbelievable, eh? They delivered a solid performance, but it was _far_ too short. Now following Phish, String Cheese Incident, Keller Williams, Yonder Mountain String Band, et. al., will definitely spoil you for going to see more hmmm... "focused" acts, but PUSA was a bit ridiculous. They came on at 6:00 and quit at 7:00. Sharp. They disappeared for about 2 minutes, then came back on and did a 23 minute encore.<br /><br />Yes, that's right, the show was over at 7:25... and the tickets cost about $67 each! Grrr... but putting things in perspective, since all of PUSA's songs are 2-3 around minutes long, we got to hear about 35 songs plus a bit of banter, and their playing really was solid. As an added bonus I suppose, since the show was so short, Sarah and I ended up going out afterward and enjoying some peaceful and quiet time together over cups of Tulley's coffee and ice cream. Yum!<br /><br />Our next foray into the realm of babysitter was a couple of weeks back when we went to go see <A href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0959337/plotsummary">Revolutionary Lane</A>... not so much of a date movie as it turns out. However we finished up the night at Outback for some good ol' American food that more than made up for our movie selection.<br /><br />Hmmm... I guess I haven't really talked about Kamakura, Ueno or Nagano yet. My bad -- instead, here's a gratuitous pic of Robbie:<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SbE0XNZ3BLI/AAAAAAAAATg/Hi2RMX6QCFM/s1600-h/DSCN1317.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SbE0XNZ3BLI/AAAAAAAAATg/Hi2RMX6QCFM/s320/DSCN1317.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310083008986285234" /></a><br /><br />What you can't see in this picture is that I am also wearing a pair of similarly silly glasses. And yes, that was intentional.<br /><br />Note the igloo tent in the back ground. We got it at Ikea sometime early this year and Robert is absolutely in love with it. He goes in, tucks himself under a blanket, and looks at books. The tent is sitting on a round rug in front of our living room's window-wall, and it's got a bunch of pillows that he's moved inside as well. I figure Robbie must be naturally predisposed toward appreciating one of my favorite activities: camping. I can not wait until he's old enough to take out into the wild. In the meantime, a buddy of mine from work has just purchased a car and we're looking forward to heading out for day hikes with he and his daughter Kiyera in the spring.<br /><br />Next time I'll get to Kamakura, Ueno and Nagano, I promise.David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-20037000712224858102009-02-26T13:29:00.000-08:002009-02-26T13:55:29.914-08:00Playing Catch UpAfter returning from Omak, we built a snowman:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SacLPemhdwI/AAAAAAAAAS0/ge_WnB3HxRA/s1600-h/DSCN1216.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SacLPemhdwI/AAAAAAAAAS0/ge_WnB3HxRA/s320/DSCN1216.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307223046420002562" /></a><br /><br />Visited the elk feeding station near White Pass:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SacLaQ9MGSI/AAAAAAAAAS8/xHCx7xvRAr8/s1600-h/DSCN1230.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SacLaQ9MGSI/AAAAAAAAAS8/xHCx7xvRAr8/s320/DSCN1230.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307223231735535906" /></a><br /><br />Visited relatives in Pasco, my folks in Lacey, and my aunt and grandfather outside of Portland:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SacMPikaxRI/AAAAAAAAATE/WFEPpM9696U/s1600-h/DSCN1243.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SacMPikaxRI/AAAAAAAAATE/WFEPpM9696U/s320/DSCN1243.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307224146996544786" /></a><br /><br />Then we went to the beach with friends. We flew kites:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SacNkJ-C_kI/AAAAAAAAATU/bNxKoCQ26q8/s1600-h/DSCN1259.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SacNkJ-C_kI/AAAAAAAAATU/bNxKoCQ26q8/s320/DSCN1259.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307225600682032706" /></a><br /><br />and it snowed. A lot:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SacNjyJXYQI/AAAAAAAAATM/0DPCeadI4yo/s1600-h/DSCN1283.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SacNjyJXYQI/AAAAAAAAATM/0DPCeadI4yo/s320/DSCN1283.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307225594287055106" /></a><br /><br />After the snow began to melt, we lost power and were forced to play cribbage by candle light. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of that. We returned to Lacey for several more days after the beach, then we high tailed it back to Tokyo.<br /><br />As a quick preview of the next installment, our friends from WSU Meredith and Eddie recently moved to Yokosuka, a city about 45 minutes South of Tokyo by train. We have done a couple of day trips with them to Kamakura and the Ueno Zoo... but this weekend we're heading up to Nagano to do some sightseeing and visit the <A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jigokudani_hotspring_in_Nagano_Japan_001.jpg">Snow Monkeys</A>!David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-11074182997681781672009-02-14T15:24:00.000-08:002009-02-24T05:36:34.364-08:00Tag of fourthsOk, the last few weeks have been a blur. I've been busy with work, but that's not much of an excuse. The larger issue has been with my PC. I've been engaged in a long and incredibly frustrating battle with Vista, raid drivers, and a pair of 1.5TB drives that will not format. But enough about that. Instead of catching you up on all of the interesting goings-on in our life since we left Omak, I'm going to latch on to a fun idea that I got from reading Gerry Cammy Reed & Spring's blog. The idea is simple: go into your photos folder, open the 4th folder, open the 4th folder within, and keep going until you run out of folders. Locate the 4th picture in this folder, post it, and put a bit of context around it. Without further ado, I give you:<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SZdVlfDN3-I/AAAAAAAAASs/SOarwXYA6w8/s1600-h/DC0018M.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SZdVlfDN3-I/AAAAAAAAASs/SOarwXYA6w8/s320/DC0018M.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5302801188730560482" /></a><br /><br />This photo came from my "ETRL" folder, a cache of pictures related to my part-time job at WSU's Engineering, Teaching & Research Laboratory. The fellow on the treadmill is Chris T., a friend & colleague of mine from school who also lived near us when we were in Kenmore. What's strange about this photo is how little I remember about this day. ETRL was basically a media lab; we produced content for online university courses, as well as online/virtual components to traditional courses. For the most part, we digitized lectures and used Flash animation to create interactive examples, tutorials and the like.<br /><br />Between my first and second senior years at WSU, I spent the summer in Pullman working full time at ETRL and taking a couple of classes. The head of our lab, Jane B., the gal in the white lab coat, was working on her PhD in exercise physiology. I can only assume that we were co-opted into assisting her with an experiment. What I failed to mention earlier is that Chris, the man on the treadmill, was our systems admin and I think it's fair to say that "systems admin" and "treadmill" don't appear in the same sentance very often! If I remember correctly, he was elected to be the man on the treadmill because he ran track in high school. I'm at the right of the picture controlling the speed and incline on the machine while a couple of other members of the ETRL crew look on.<br /><br />That's about it. Remember to tune in next week when I catch you up on what we've been up to since that snowy trip from Omak to Yakima. Some quick highlights: Lacey, WA, Pacific Beach Winter Wonderland, Ueno Zoo, Yokosuka Japan.David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-90557415701829254632008-12-26T22:41:00.000-08:002008-12-27T00:12:50.176-08:00Visiting Our E. Washington KinPerhaps it's because we're on vacation and don't have any particular schedule to keep, but the confluence of arctic air and moisture-laden storms off the Pacific that have kept Washington State swaddled in a blanket of white since we arrived have been a real treat for us. On Monday it warmed up to around 20, so I took Robbie to Randal Park. He had a great time in the snow, but he still did not want to wear his mittens!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SVXTae9jDsI/AAAAAAAAAR8/JXEa6DBQaUc/s1600-h/DSCN1167.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SVXTae9jDsI/AAAAAAAAAR8/JXEa6DBQaUc/s320/DSCN1167.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284362189730418370" /></a><br /><br />On Tuesday we travelled from Yakima down to Pasco to visit my father's family. We had a very nice visit, and a tasty dinner at <a href="http://www.cousinstricities.com/">Cousins</a>, but I did not take enough pictures! Here is one I did take; Robert with his great-grandmother Ardery:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SVXTawhEufI/AAAAAAAAASE/_-IKWgMuj5E/s1600-h/DSCN1169.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SVXTawhEufI/AAAAAAAAASE/_-IKWgMuj5E/s320/DSCN1169.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284362194442828274" /></a><br /><br />There was around 6" of snow in Pasco. Not quite as much as many other parts of the state, but quite a lot for Pasco. On Wednesday, we headed North to Omak to spend Christmas with Sarah's mother's family. The drive was uneventful, but Omak brought a return to frigid temperatures.<br /><br />Here are a couple pictures I took of Robert shortly after our arrival:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SVXTbbuL8JI/AAAAAAAAASM/kfgRTbmcQ54/s1600-h/DSCN1174.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SVXTbbuL8JI/AAAAAAAAASM/kfgRTbmcQ54/s320/DSCN1174.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284362206040551570" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SVXTbs66xHI/AAAAAAAAASU/b_x_8Hj0xh4/s1600-h/DSCN1175.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SVXTbs66xHI/AAAAAAAAASU/b_x_8Hj0xh4/s320/DSCN1175.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284362210657354866" /></a><br /><br />We all enjoyed our stay in Omak. Our activities could easily be broken down into three categories: over-eating, napping/sleeping, and reading/playing board games. Robbie's aunt Abi and uncle Seth arrived shortly after we did; Robbie likes most people, but he really took a shining to his aunt. He spent most of his time either in her arms, on her lap, or hanging on her leg. I think Sarah rather enjoyed the break. ;-)<br /><br />This morning we woke up to a temperature of -5 (that's -21 Celsius if you're keeping track). After it warmed up a bit, Earl and I took Robbie out to see the farm. He found the tractor:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SVXTcEdfOfI/AAAAAAAAASc/uvY95XeW20o/s1600-h/DSCN1200.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SVXTcEdfOfI/AAAAAAAAASc/uvY95XeW20o/s320/DSCN1200.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284362216976366066" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SVXTyv4dlUI/AAAAAAAAASk/U2XQ3bqAmHQ/s1600-h/DSCN1206.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SVXTyv4dlUI/AAAAAAAAASk/U2XQ3bqAmHQ/s320/DSCN1206.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5284362606589351234" /></a><br /><br />Please note that Robbie finally decided that it was OK to wear his mittens. Yeah! And to close out the post, here's a short clip of our drive South of Leahy, WA:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyC5jWmQjOldCnuk7hetxhIvwB_3p46hxyzXO0JPcKu14UoJQJ6D9KJf3aaqHZGlaDnunHqsqqLtglC3UsRuA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />I could have edited the clip down from 59 seconds, but I wanted to you a nice sense of what the drive back to Yakima was like. All 3+ hours of it. Really though, it was a good time, especially once Robert woke up from his nap and went "Uh oh ... ngh, ngh ... Stuck!" while straining in his car-seat. Shortly thereafter we had our first family sing-along, and it proved quite entertaining. Robbie's repertoire is a bit limited at the moment, but we'll soon flesh it out. We're heading to Lacey on Sunday, probably via White pass, so we should have plenty of time to practice.David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-91015054413024740722008-12-22T11:35:00.000-08:002008-12-22T20:05:17.341-08:00Chilling in YakimaThis morning it was 3 degrees out:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SU_yDnBMbtI/AAAAAAAAARs/N-9m7Fo4E4A/s1600-h/DSCN1164.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SU_yDnBMbtI/AAAAAAAAARs/N-9m7Fo4E4A/s320/DSCN1164.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282707031756402386" /></a><br /><br />For those of you who are Fahrenheit challenged, that's -16 degrees celsius. Why did we leave Japan again? Actually we've been having a fabulous time here in Yakima.<br /><br />We landed in Seattle at 8:30 on Saturday morning:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SU_yEuMlsRI/AAAAAAAAAR0/R6dyI8H18vE/s1600-h/DSCN1158.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SU_yEuMlsRI/AAAAAAAAAR0/R6dyI8H18vE/s320/DSCN1158.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282707050863112466" /></a><br /><br />and Sarah's brother Seth picked us up. Thanks Seth! We ate lunch with him, then high-tailed it across the pass just ahead of the storm. It was 10 degrees as we arrived Yakima and the snow began falling in fine dry flakes. By morning, we had several inches of powder.<br /><br />We were all a bit jetlagged on Sunday:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SU_yDaV1V4I/AAAAAAAAARk/ngWHC0uE768/s1600-h/DSCN1160.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SU_yDaV1V4I/AAAAAAAAARk/ngWHC0uE768/s320/DSCN1160.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5282707028353308546" /></a><br /><br />but today everyone seems to be more-or-less adjusted.<br /><br />Tomorrow we are going to head down to Pasco to visit my relatives down there, then we head up to Omak on Wednesday for Christmas with Sarah's grandparents. They've got a bit more than a foot of snow up there, but it's a bit closer to freezing there too, so maybe Robbie will be more interested in playing outside.<br /><br />We'll head back to Yakima on Saturday, then it's over to Lacey on Sunday.David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-89012658712289458912008-12-05T07:02:00.000-08:002008-12-12T14:52:52.141-08:00... そして私達は東京に戻った(... and then we returned to Tokyo)So I promised an e-mail from nice relaxing Honolulu. Sorry to dissapoint... it seems I overestimated blogging's appeal compared to sleeping, playing on the beach, swimming in the ocean, and just generally goofing around in the fantastic weather we had last week. We did not spend much time indoors.<br /><br />We started off the week by taking in the Honolulu zoo on Monday morning. The facilities are a bit old, but the animals seemed to be well cared for. Here is Robert showing off his new Crocs in front of the Sloth. <A HREF="http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=_8z5gJXDeiM">The Sloth</A> is what looks more-or-less like a shaggy branch almost directly above Robert's head:<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/STo6VgtPp2I/AAAAAAAAAQ8/NSVSSkfCV8M/s1600-h/DSCN1106.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/STo6VgtPp2I/AAAAAAAAAQ8/NSVSSkfCV8M/s320/DSCN1106.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276594054649325410" /></a><br /><br />The next day we did the Honolulu Aquarium. This was not a particularly large aquarium, but it was very good; lots of large salt-water tanks, colorful reef fish and live coral. I don't have any pictures, but it was a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours.<br /><br />Here is the obligatory beach picture. This is the interior of the sand castle I built for Robert. There were turrets, but Robert played Godzilla, smashing them down just about as quickly as I could put them up! The little boy on our the right in the picture was building a sand-castle near us, but it kept getting swept away. After a while he asked me if he could help with ours.<br /><br />Who am I to say no?<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/STo9svBaQGI/AAAAAAAAARc/acGI2MWtIk0/s1600-h/DSCN1121.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/STo9svBaQGI/AAAAAAAAARc/acGI2MWtIk0/s320/DSCN1121.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276597752163876962" /></a><br /><br />My folks arrived mid-week and we shared a Thanksgiving buffet:<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/STo6VwPoxPI/AAAAAAAAARE/xe5qcC8vbnI/s1600-h/DSCN1133.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/STo6VwPoxPI/AAAAAAAAARE/xe5qcC8vbnI/s320/DSCN1133.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276594058820109554" /></a><br /><br />I purchased a ukulele while Robert played with some other traditional Hawaiian musical instruments:<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/STo6WLLyvzI/AAAAAAAAARM/wPDtpLqiBuE/s1600-h/DSCN1137.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/STo6WLLyvzI/AAAAAAAAARM/wPDtpLqiBuE/s320/DSCN1137.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276594066051743538" /></a><br /><br />Then it was off to the WSU vs. University of Hawaii football game. The Cougs did not put in a good performance, and it rained off an on for the whole game, so I don't have any pictures. But in closing, here we are, goofing off at the airport waiting for our flight back:<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/STo6WuaT3EI/AAAAAAAAARU/uKUwc_KP2js/s1600-h/DSCN1155.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/STo6WuaT3EI/AAAAAAAAARU/uKUwc_KP2js/s320/DSCN1155.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276594075507874882" /></a>David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-72489158614425401022008-11-22T06:11:00.000-08:002008-11-25T16:34:52.600-08:00Sea Paradise: The Yokohama AquariumLast weekend we headed down to Yokohama to go visit Sea Paradise with a friend of mine from work and his family. The little digital camera I packed was woefully inadequate for taking pictures of the jumping dolphins, porpoises, and beluga whales during the Marine Mammal show, however I did catch a good picture of a Walrus doing its Macauly Culkin impression:<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SSgZgoIXsQI/AAAAAAAAAQk/HNyL7scKiJM/s1600-h/DSCN1060.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SSgZgoIXsQI/AAAAAAAAAQk/HNyL7scKiJM/s320/DSCN1060.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271491412156199170" /></a><br /><br />Sarah and Robert preparing to enjoy the show:<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SSgZhYoybaI/AAAAAAAAAQs/oL8EfgUmUYI/s1600-h/DSCN1056.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SSgZhYoybaI/AAAAAAAAAQs/oL8EfgUmUYI/s320/DSCN1056.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271491425177071010" /></a><br /><br />A 3-story tank:<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SSgZgEWh6FI/AAAAAAAAAQc/bUXT2qQM0wM/s1600-h/DSCN1078.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SSgZgEWh6FI/AAAAAAAAAQc/bUXT2qQM0wM/s320/DSCN1078.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271491402551912530" /></a><br /><br />And what aquarium would be complete without a snack stand in the form of a San Francisco cable-car? Interestingly, the poster you can see in the window at the end of the car informed me that the F-line train running from Fisherman's Wharf, up Market Street to Castro has only been in service since 1995. Who knew?<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SSgZh2HBBWI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/VIMVZYOOK9M/s1600-h/DSCN1092.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SSgZh2HBBWI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/VIMVZYOOK9M/s320/DSCN1092.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271491433088484706" /></a><br /><br />Anyhow, I know this is kind of a short post, but we're heading to Waikiki tomorrow for a week's vacation so there are a few last-minute details to finish up. The itinerary we've got planned looks something like this:<br /><br /><blockquote><br /><strong>Sunday</strong>: lay on the beach & play in the water.<br /><strong>Monday</strong>: lay on the beach & play in the water.<br /><strong>Tuesday</strong>: lay on the beach & play in the water.<br /><strong>Wednesday</strong>: lay on the beach & play in the water.<br /><strong>Thursday</strong>: lay on the beach, play in the water, and eat Turkey.<br /><strong>Friday</strong>: lay on the beach & play in the water.<br /><strong>Saturday</strong>: lay on the beach, play in the water, and watch the Cougs lose.<br /><strong>Sunday</strong>: lay on the beach, play in the water, and head back home.<br /></blockquote><br /><br />My folks are flying in on Wednesday and staying at the hotel next-door. We're staying at the Sheraton Princess Kaiulani across the street from the beach -- much more economical than staying on the beach.<br /><br />I'll post again once we've arrived and gotten ourselves situated.David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-5595960531192486402008-11-11T07:32:00.000-08:002008-11-12T12:59:15.975-08:00More Language Fun!Ok, so I know I just posted, but this really couldn't wait. The Japanese language is rife with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onomatopoeia">onomatopoeic</a> phrases, one of which is 'Shyua', 'Shyua', for the sound you make while brushing your teeth. Robert is very familiar with this phrase; one of his morning cartoons features the "Shyua Shyua" song.<br /><br />Robert also attends pre-school several days each week. One of his closest friends at the school is another boy named Kenzo. Kenzo is Belgian by heritage, his folks are from the French speaking part of Belgium (not to be confused with the Flemish speaking part of Belgium -- they aren't really on speaking terms), so Kenzo gets mostly French at home. Kenzo is also just learning to talk, and the reports we get from Robert's teachers basically say that Kenzo and Robert spend all day talking in a language that only they can understand.<br /><br />While "Shyua Shyua" is the Japanese sound for toothbrushing, "Amagake" is the official term for brushing your teeth (or so I've gathered from Robert's show). So the other night I gave Robert his bath, got him dressed for bed, turned to him and said "Amagake?", and he looked at me and responded "Le Shyua!" before running into the bathroom for his toothbrush.David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-11120703867948901512008-11-09T00:34:00.001-08:002008-11-11T07:24:23.951-08:00Robert's First SentanceFirst things first; it's been rainy here, so we did not get up to much mischief this weekend. Sarah and Robbie slept in 'till well past 9:00 this (Sunday) morning, so I decided to make a good old-fashioned brunch of fruit, waffles, & bacon. Robert came upstairs while I was cooking the bacon and as soon as he smelled it began excitedly jumping up and down in the kitchen next to me shouting "Bacon! Bacon!" and as he ran into the living room to make sure mama knew what we were getting for breakfast, he exclaimed "I Love Bacon!" -- his first complete sentence. I have never been so sure he was my son, nor so proud. :-D<br /><br />Although we stuck pretty close to home, we did make it to Shibuya to purchase a fake(!) Christmas tree. I never thought I'd see the day when we didn't have a real tree, but as we have yet to see a true Christmas tree, we figured a false tree is better than no tree at all.<br /><br />While shopping, I came across a couple of things that I thought were worth sharing. It's taken me 3 days to get these pictures off of my mobile phone, but at long last, I have finally managed it. Here they are. Enjoy:<br /><br />First, spray-bottle covers:<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SRmYyerHN8I/AAAAAAAAAQM/kANTHfXI1Hc/s1600-h/Photo-0012.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SRmYyerHN8I/AAAAAAAAAQM/kANTHfXI1Hc/s320/Photo-0012.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267409232181278658" /></a><br /><br />If you get one of these babies for Christmas, well, you saw it here first.<br /><br />Next up, if you've ever been out to the coast to dig razor clams, then you know what a fashion parade it can be. While cold weather gear is nice to have, and waterproofing is de rigueur, the perfect pair of high-heeled galoshes can really take your outfit to the next level:<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SRmYyxZqeWI/AAAAAAAAAQU/RWLnfzW8KTA/s1600-h/Photo-0013.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SRmYyxZqeWI/AAAAAAAAAQU/RWLnfzW8KTA/s320/Photo-0013.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267409237208365410" /></a><br /><br />Last but not least, here is a picture from this summer that's been living on my camera for far too long. This gigantic octopus is located between Ebisu station and my office at Prime Square Tower. There are some other playgrounds closer to home, but none of them attempt to tackle the oversized sea creature meme quite like this one:<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SRmYxnQ8v6I/AAAAAAAAAQE/IgFn6mexzog/s1600-h/Photo-0009.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SRmYxnQ8v6I/AAAAAAAAAQE/IgFn6mexzog/s320/Photo-0009.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5267409217307590562" /></a>David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-56749375161959495282008-10-31T17:55:00.000-07:002008-10-31T18:18:46.138-07:00Tokyo DisneylandSarah, Robbie and I were supposed to head to Thailand last week, but work and expensive airline tickets conspired to keep us a bit closer to home. Instead of Thailand, we visited Tokyo Disneyland last Thursday.<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SQutSB5i0gI/AAAAAAAAAPs/MqXUi0qpXT0/s1600-h/DSCN1013.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SQutSB5i0gI/AAAAAAAAAPs/MqXUi0qpXT0/s320/DSCN1013.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263491114771599874" /></a><br /><br />Disneyland was celebrating Halloween, and the whole park was done up in theme: cobwebs, ghosts, and pumpkins abounded, not even the resident marching band was spared: <br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SQutS0oYVVI/AAAAAAAAAP0/_JM8_WJlhdk/s1600-h/DSCN1016.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SQutS0oYVVI/AAAAAAAAAP0/_JM8_WJlhdk/s320/DSCN1016.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263491128389817682" /></a><br /><br />The band was really excellent. They (of course) played mostly themes from various Disney movies but the arragements were excellent, and the sound was tight. Robert had a great time watching and listsening to them -- so much so that he did not want to leave until they were through with their performance. We even caught them again in the afternoon on our way out because he seemed to enjoy it so much. I think we've got a future band nerd in the making -- not that he ever had much choice in the matter.<br /><br />We rode a couple of rides, watched a halloween-themed parade, rode another couple of rides, ate some tasty food and rode a few more rides. Even on a Thursday the threat of rain in the forecast, the lines for the major attractions were 2+ hours long. Luckily for us, Robert didn't care about riding the "big" rides, (and probably was not tall enough for them anyhow) so we enjoyed riding some of the smaller attactions -- besides, the lines for those were only between 1/2 hour and 45 minutes long. <br /><br />Right about the time Robert was winding down and heading toward a nap, the clouds opened up and it started pouring down rain. At this point we decided to take our leave of Disneyland, so we hopped the train back home. Door to door, the trip to Disneyland was not quite an hour, so it's definitely something we will do again. The world's only Disney Sea is also here in Tokyo. We will check it out before long too.<br /><br />On Saturday we headed to the Ueno Zoo and visited the animals. On the way there, we ran into George Clooney -- or rather we ran into a billboard of George parking his Honda. Only in Japan. I can't decide whether the item in his hand is a remote ignition for the vehicle, or whether the car is a prop in some elaborate casino heist and he's got a hand-held detinator, ready to blow it to smithereens.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SQutTYw3xnI/AAAAAAAAAP8/8Z7GfdVzLiM/s1600-h/DSCN1032.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SQutTYw3xnI/AAAAAAAAAP8/8Z7GfdVzLiM/s320/DSCN1032.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5263491138089109106" /></a><br /><br />In either case, he appears to be trying to get some distance between himself and the vehicle in a big hurry.David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-105512237652750698.post-41867160542458176972008-10-22T08:33:00.000-07:002008-10-22T09:34:25.638-07:00Hakone RevisitedMarika Bell came to visit from Singapore last week. We took the opportunity to play a bit of tour guide, went with her up to Hakone, over to Kamakura and around Tokyo.<br /><br />I took Friday off from work and we headed up to Hakone on the Odakyu RomanceCar -- a limited express service to Hakone-Yumoto. Robert enjoyed watching the scenery out the window, and we bought him a package of cookie/crackers from the food-cart lady when she came by. Once in Hakone-Yumoto we transferred to the Hakone-Tozan line and switchbacked our way up the side of Mt. Hakone.<br /><br />We stayed at the Fujiya Hotel in Miyanoshita, but in their Ryokan-style annex, rather than the main hotel -- tatami floors & futons for sleeping are a pleasant switch-up from Western style, and the room was great with plenty of space. After dropping our things at the hotel, we hopped the train to the Hakone Open Air Museum where Sarah and Marika enjoyed a relaxing foot soak in the museum's onsen:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SP9KskIQHhI/AAAAAAAAAOk/bWNwIsfADH8/s1600-h/DSCN0941.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SP9KskIQHhI/AAAAAAAAAOk/bWNwIsfADH8/s320/DSCN0941.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260005019265015314" /></a><br /><br />while I enjoyed some art:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SP9KtjvTEtI/AAAAAAAAAOs/3T-2xfOpGUc/s1600-h/DSCN0938.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SP9KtjvTEtI/AAAAAAAAAOs/3T-2xfOpGUc/s320/DSCN0938.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260005036340220626" /></a><br /><br />and some more art:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SP9KuCBJy-I/AAAAAAAAAO0/KYW37Tqxlfo/s1600-h/DSCN0939.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SP9KuCBJy-I/AAAAAAAAAO0/KYW37Tqxlfo/s320/DSCN0939.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260005044468173794" /></a><br /><br />The next morning we completed the classic "round course" through the Hakone region, taking the train to Gora, transferring to a cable-car that took us up a steep incline to Sounzan where we transferred to a gondola. We had read that if you can get onto the gondola early in the day, you are often rewarded with spectacular views of Mt. Fuji. We made it to the Gondola around 10, but unfortunately for us, we were in the clouds and could see nothing but about 20 feed of cable off either end of the gondola. I guess we'll have to go back!<br /><br />The first gondola ride came to an end at a place called Owakudani. There is a sulfer works there, and a lot of geothermal activity. The main tourist attraction at this stop is "kuroi tamago" or black egg. These are eggs that have been hard-boiled in the sulfur rich hot-spring water, turning their shells black:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SP9KvUXY2CI/AAAAAAAAAPE/-5ANucCufZw/s1600-h/DSCN0958.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SP9KvUXY2CI/AAAAAAAAAPE/-5ANucCufZw/s320/DSCN0958.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260005066573142050" /></a><br /><br />The area where the eggs are hard-boiled is a bit of a hike up a hill from the gondola station, but well worth the trip. For the infirm (or unmotivated), there is a little gondola system going up the side of the mountain with just enough payload to bring down a few dozen freshly boiled eggs at a time, so you can purchase them without the workout. However, we made it up to the top to get the fresh stuff:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SP9KuqBWdfI/AAAAAAAAAO8/USWbP9hFwE4/s1600-h/DSCN0956.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SP9KuqBWdfI/AAAAAAAAAO8/USWbP9hFwE4/s320/DSCN0956.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260005055206422002" /></a><br /><br />After eating our black eggs, we got back on the gondola and headed down to lake Ashi, but not before Robert displayed that he is not afraid of heights:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SP9RGv5NV7I/AAAAAAAAAPM/zqgQnmqvVzs/s1600-h/DSCN0962.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SP9RGv5NV7I/AAAAAAAAAPM/zqgQnmqvVzs/s320/DSCN0962.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260012066169509810" /></a><br /><br />We ate lunch at a restaurant in Togendai while waiting for a pirate ship to come and ferry us down the length of the lake. Yes, I really did mean pirate ship:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SP9RHHzUzVI/AAAAAAAAAPU/J0wuRF7F_vU/s1600-h/DSCN0963.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SP9RHHzUzVI/AAAAAAAAAPU/J0wuRF7F_vU/s320/DSCN0963.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260012072587283794" /></a><br /><br />After the pirate ship dropped us off, we visited a reconstruction of the Edo Checkpoint that existed along the Tokaido highway during Japan's Shogun period, then we hopped a bus back to Hakone-Yumoto and the RomanceCar to Tokyo.<br /><br />Remember the cookie/crackers that I mentioned we bought for Robert on the trip to Hakone? So did he. When the snack-cart lady came by, he was out of his seat in a flash and over to her cart, pulling the box of cookies out of the side while she helped another passenger. It was so adorable that we couldn't not buy them for him.<br /><br />Monday was "physical fitness day", a national holiday, so Marika and I went to see Daibatsu while Sarah stayed home w/ Robbie. He had preschool though, so mostly Sarah had a day to herself. I have a few pictures of the trip to Kamakura, but nothing that can top these pictures from our living room, so I will close with them.<br /><br />Come on fingers, I know you can do this!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SP9RHQ7mipI/AAAAAAAAAPc/aZYtN19e1IQ/s1600-h/DSCN1007.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SP9RHQ7mipI/AAAAAAAAAPc/aZYtN19e1IQ/s320/DSCN1007.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260012075037919890" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SP9RHkCJlUI/AAAAAAAAAPk/DCYUzReHods/s1600-h/DSCN1009.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QC6YDxOxTBM/SP9RHkCJlUI/AAAAAAAAAPk/DCYUzReHods/s320/DSCN1009.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5260012080165655874" /></a>David Kirkbridehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01167794453630013574noreply@blogger.com1