Farewell USS Nashville!

September 30 2009: A fond Farewell to the USS Nashville LPD 13. After 39 years in service, this ship was decommissioned today. This was Shane's first duty station, so it will always hold a place in our hearts. Shane will miss climbing the mast to repair the radar! (his most favorite job, especially on the open sea....not joking, he loves it.)
A link to the local news station in Norfolk for more on the ceremonies.
http://www.wavy.com/dpp/military/military_wavy_norfolk_USSNashvilledecommissioned_20090930

And links about the history of this ship!
http://www.nashville.navy.mil/Site%20Pages/Namesake.aspx

http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4200&tid=600&ct=4

http://www.nashville.navy.mil/site%20pages/crest.aspx

September 29 2009

September 29 2009: Not a lot going on this last week. Rode my bike into base and stopped to take this picture. This particular house has no yard (a lot of the homes have no grass, but usually some bushes) but obviously the homeowner likes to garden. The plants have been blooming for the longest time, since around June.

I took a friend to the "Grand Hotel" (the place with the crazy fish). She hadn't been there before, so introduced her to the feeding frenzy, and took a walk around. There were some new topiaries. Still don't know what the frogman is about. But here he is up close...and below from farther away.

Below: OH! The Horrors! Went to the beach....yuck, some sort of jellyfish creatures had washed up on shore. This one was somewhat intact....I have no idea what type of jellyfish they are, or if indeed they are a jellyfish....I'm not to inclined to look that up. I'll research all sorts of things..but I draw the line here....shudder. (and yes there is a story behind my absolute repulsion to jellyfish, but that will be for another day, when there is really nothing else to write about)

Ok, lets leave the nastiness behind us and look at the beautiful Pacific Ocean. We are at the same area where Andi can go swimming, but on the other side of the jetty. So no more big "jacks" to break the waves before they come in. The sand is more of a black sand, some of it very soft, other parts with bigger grains, almost pebble size. The waves looked like they would be a lot of fun to play in (with the exception of the horrible creatures that lurk in there) but there is a terrible rip tide in this area....so opted to just get our feets wet. Well, Shane and I did, Andi was afraid of being sucked in, so stayed up above the water line.

Below: A pattern left in the sand after high tide.

And, of course, you can't go to the beach without finding treasures. Below is what we found at the Cape when we saw the wild horses. They're sea urchins...some more dried out than others. It took us awhile to figure out what they were, but once we found the one with the spines still on it, then it made sense.

Below: These are from Miss Veedol Beach this last weekend. I guess those were sea snails, or maybe hermit crab shells. They are fairly good sized, a friend of mine found one about twice as large...my snails just get EVERYWHERE don't they!

Oh, and a sand dollar. Andi was disappointed that she hadn't found it herself. Shane had never seen one "in the wild" before...only in stores. So, Andi has new motivation for going to the beach.

But Shane found the big treasure at the Cape....fishing floats! These are a treasure...they are made of glass. Glass floats aren't used as much anymore. Today most of the fish net floats are made of plastic. Those were found in great abundance. I saw some houses in the seaside villages that had painted the floats to look like cartoon characters, or painted flower designs on them.

Ah well, will have to see what more visits to the beach bring. I brought Andi's metal detector with us, so our next beach outing we'll bring it with us. Of course, we will have to be careful of unexploded ordnance....though I don't think Northern Japan was bombed quiet as much as the southern area...still we'll be careful!

Kandachime Horses Cape Shiriya

September 20 2009: Ok! We are finally out and about to be tourists! It's been awhile....our goal today was the Kandachime Horses, as seen in a postcard above.
But first the travelers guide as to what we are going to see: This is "located on the tip of the Shimokita Peninsulas about 3 hours North of Misawa. The "wild" horses have been bred for more than 200 years. The Kandachime have been crossbred with the Tanabu and French Breton breeds. In 1995 the numbers had dwindled to 9, a preservation program began and by 2003 the herd was 27. They are able to tolerate northern Japan's brutal winters, have great stamina and exist on a simple diet. "Kandachime" literally means "to stand in the cold."

"Mind the bicyclist Richard!" (as proclaimed by Hyacinth Bucket, Keeping up Appearance's" We stared out. Our roads vary a bit to wide enough to pass a bicyclist with no problems, to wide enough, but really out to wait for oncoming traffic to clear. (which at times can take awhile, but traffic is patient)

We took a coastal road. This is an inlet area with a little makeshift marina.

Oh my! The roads really do get narrow in places. At this point we are a mountain side....note the mirror on the right side of the roadway (might be hard to see). Used to see if there is anything coming the other direction as the corners are tight! The road got even narrower after this, as we entered a little seaside village....luckily not a lot of traffic out as we barreled our way around in our typical lost fashion.

We arrived at our destination...only took about 3 hours, like the directions said....and not even one argument....we saved that for the way back....even then it was just arm waving about which direction a road was really running.....I really need a digital compass....

Anyway, on the above map, if you click to enlarge it.....look at the right side for route 338, down towards the bottom is an airplane for Misawa Airport. We follwed 338 up, then a few jaunts to get to the Cape. I'm not sure what the gnome icon is. We passed that on our way there...will have to remember that for another trip, could be interesting.

Shane...King of the World? This part of the ocean is on the West side of the lighthouse. As far as I can tell, it's all the Northern Pacific Ocean in this area. I thought perhaps that on the West side of the lighthouse might be a different name, but not as far as I can tell....

More Ocean, west side of the lighthouse.

Ocean, on the East side of the lighthouse....looks remarkably the same.

We went beach combing for quiet a while. There was a lot of trash on these beaches, due to the currents. Found lots of neat things. Even found 2 glass fishing floats! Lots of neat shells, and this "impression" of an angel fish.

Andi and Shane spent lots of time climbing out on the rocks to find tidal pools. Never mind the signs that said not to go on the rocks due to the waves crashing in...oh well, my little law breakers had a great time and stayed safe.

Oh yes, there I am....Shane wonders why there are never any pictures of me....I asked him "who is taking the pictures" oh. So, he took one to prove I really was there.

The lighthouse. Didn't get to go in it. We walked around, but didn't see anyone else going in, so not sure if there are tours to the top or not.

We are on the East side of the lighthouse. By this point we were finally back in the car driving around the tourist loop. Kind of in the spot where the horse shows up on the map. The horses actually do wander up to the lighthouse as well....it is a large area they have to romp in. At this point we had been here for several hours. Saw many "signs" of horses, but no actual horses. So were ready to call it a good day anyway (due to all the treasures we had found beach combing). We went around a corner......and viola.....!

There were only about 4 other people there, and a total of 6 horses. But now I know why they are called "wild" with quotes......they interact with so many people, that you can walk up and pet them. Several stood still while Shane picked burs out from around their hooves. Andi had a great time petting them. A young colt was a bit curious about her shirt...a tie-dye and kept sniffing at it. When a young man in a wheelchair came up the embankment, that colt then went to him....curious about his mode of transportation, no doubt.

Definitely not a Thoroughbred! Rather stocky....and wide! Not sure how many hand high they are. But Shane, who is 6'2" stood taller than they 6 we saw....head to head wise.....I know you measure by hand to shoulder... but it gives you an idea.

I know Shane appears a little shorter than this horse....but he is standing down hill. Andi had a great time visiting with them. Actually, I did to......I do enjoy horses, just not being ON them.

This one went by herself across the road when more people started showing up. She appeared bigger bellied than the rest of them, so one could only assume that she might be pregnant. They are a hardy looking lot!

Definitely a trip well worth taking! Hope to make many more back up there, with more stops at villages and towns to see what experiences they might offer.

September 15 2009

Well, goodness, the week has slipped by rather quickly! Didn't get out for as many walks as I wanted. Wish I could blame it on rain, but it was mainly due to my own lack of motivation. Did get one good walk in though.
Those of you familiar with the blog know of "the little shack". Here it is again with the cosmos in full bloom. The yard is very well kept and groomed. Shane and I speculate that this man has probably lived in this his whole life, and has served him well.

Above (and below) is a yard that I frequently pass in the car. I pass it on one of my walking tours as well. On this day I finally remembered the camera. It is a rather large lot and is mainly topiary trees. Tree trimming is a very meticulous undertaking here. First there are the yards, where it is a work of art. But even when the city trims the trees that line the streets it is done with great care. No large cherry picker truck with mechanical saws at the end of unwieldy handles.....no, this is careful, planned trimming. There usually is a cherry picker truck, but that's just to raise the tree trimmer up to the high branches. For the most part they use hand pruners and saws to cut away the branches. And that is only after great consideration as to which branch needs to be trimmed.

Above: A cute little fire hydrant. I have learned that the 3rd character down represents fire, as well as Tuesday (not sure how they are related...)

The next few pictures are of the ongoing construction on our road. The road leading into the subdivision is still dirt. Which I love...it slows people down...naturally made speed bumps. But alas, all good things come to an end. At the moment the drainage is being installed. In this area, gutters are very serious business. After these are all done, they will be enclosed. (there are gutters that are actually trenches, just wide enough to accept your car tire and not let you out)

Anyway the crews are just as meticulous about road work as they are about tree trimming. Though I can't help but realize that it is job security at its best. They are also very polite and accommodating. School has started since construction began. The crew quickly figured out what time the children come home (right smack through the middle of construction) and halt construction for about 20-30 minutes every day at the same time. This way they have the quickest path home (though some days they have to detour through another subdivision) without the worries of being run over by a backhoe.

Well, now it is off to find things to start and not finish!

Dragonflies

September 7 2009: A couple of weeks ago Andi and I went out for a bike ride. As we started down a dirt road we realized there were hundreds of dragonflies out with us. All over the place! It was a lot of fun to see and ride along with them. Andi (usually petrified of anything with more than 2 legs (with the exception of dogs and cats)) had a great time....after all dragonflies are fairies in disguise! (according to one of her books)

Above is the park where I was able to get the pictures of these two colorful dragonflies.

At first I thought the abundance of the dragonflies we saw was due to the fact that I bike ride was down a dirt road with lots of trees and grass. But then this weekend Andi and I found them outside our house. I just can't believe the number of them. The last time I saw things in great hordes, it was tent caterpillars (shudder) in Northern Michigan.

The dragonflies are a horde of creepie crawlies that I'll accept any day.

End of Summer

August 31 2009 Well, the time has come. Summer vacation has ended and it is back to school! Andi heads off to the third grade. She has been dreading the day....but guess what? it turns out she loves it!...knew she would.

But as the summer comes to an end there is still time to experience new things. The girl who is freaked out at the thought of a spider or any of natures other creepy crawlies is able to catch her own frogs! They are plentiful out by the rice paddies. There are water ways (mini canals if you will) that run long side the paddies. Apparently there are at least 200 species of natures creepy crawlies living in there. (trivial info....there used to be 400 at one estimate, but that was before pollution and greenhouse effects)

A rice paddy view from a new friends back porch. She has a great view! There is even a heron, a flock of egrets and other birds that come and feast on the creepy crawlies. Every now and then, instead of a rice paddy, there will be an empty paddy...no rice, just water...I think it must be to help encourage the birds to roost there, instead of messing with the rice....though ducks do make their nests within the rice.

The rice is starting to take shape! Hopefully harvest will take place soon. Though have heard rumours that this may not be a good year....to much rain...the grains haven't been getting a chance to dry out.

Another piece of trivia regarding rice paddies....they do not rotate with other crops. Where a corn field might be corn for a year or two, then changed out to something else, to help the soil....not so with rice...with all the little creatures and organisms that grow in the paddies it is a symbiotic relationship...

Here is a link with a little bit about rice....

http://web-japan.org/kidsweb/Explore/history/q7.html

Oh...and another bit of info....we are in the Northern Honshu area mentioned at the end of the article. (maybe next year I can learn all about Cherry Blossoms...this year, it's all you'll ever need to know about rice.)

So, the sun sets on summer vacation (once again though, I'm not looking west, it's the reflections through the clouds....this is a south/southeast view).

Since my compadre is back in school...I'll have to do some venturing on my own. If it ever quits raining in the mornings, I plan on taking walks after the bus has left....explore some other parts of Misawa and see what's around.....