Mom's pictures of her vacation Aug 21- Sept 18 2011

September 29 2011 - Really, time is just going by to fast! There are so many things going on, and at the same time, hardly anything going on (am I living in some sort of time paradox?) that I am falling behind on everything!

So this weeks blog update will be photos from my mom's perspective of her vacation. Though she's not here to put in her own dialogue, so you'll have to put up with my interpretation.
As you recall, we did some bike rides while she was here. I can't remember how many miles we logged...not as much as we wanted, due to the rainy season. (I've been here long enough, you'd think I could remember when the rainy seasons start and end, and start again....)

Above is the ever elusive Mailman (in this case, lady) out and about on their motor bikes. They ride these things in all kinds of weather, even snow and ice. (they have chains that go on the tires and just put right along) I say elusive, as in the time we've lived here, this is the best shot anyone has gotten.

Below is a shot of my "grass". My yard leaves a lot to be desired....like grass. It does very well on the weedy side of life. My neighbor gave me perspective one day. He said if we (his yard has the same problem...the whole neighborhood does really) just decide which weed we are growing, and cultivate said weed....then, by jove, our yards are looking rather nice. Mine is a cross of clover and some sort of grass that looks like soft pine needles...it's the weirdest stuff.

Since the landlord doesn't come and mow the weeds in a timely manner, periodically I'll go out and pluck out the tallest (usually knee high) of the weeds. Mom was here for one of those brief periods of striving to make my lawn look almost normal. When we moved in the landlord put sod down that first spring....it was dormant (or so I thought....if it was dormant, I would think it would've perked up by now, 2 years later)

I can't remember if I posted pictures from our trek down to Miss Veedol Beach. This is the beach where the plane actually took off from many moons ago. (not to be confused with Veedol Beach where Andi used to go to build sandcastles, and destroyed by the tsunami) This beach was also destroyed, as was the original plane that had been on display there.

There is still a lot of work to be done on the beaches, but getting the fishing ports back to fully functioning is still the top priority. I've heard that the leisure beaches will probably be another 2-3 years before they are back to fully functioning.

On a drive about to scope out a bicycle ride (that never took place due to deluges of rain) we came across a road lined with Rose of Sharon.

At the Asamushi Aquarium....who has dreams of swimming with the dolphins???


I haven't looked at the above photo closely....hopefully our eyes are all open and no boogers are hanging out anywhere....
I had to laugh at the above. When I unloaded Andi's camera, I found pretty much the same shot. Apparently this is how Mom and Andi see things. Thank goodness I sit up front, the back looks kind of dull.

Below, going up the mountain roads with mirrors as your guides! They work rather well to let you see that big tour bus bearing down on you as it cuts the corners tight! (although on this trip there were no tour buses....bummer)

At one of the parking areas at the top of the mountain/volcano. Mt Odake I believe. Apparently the hiker below had had enough for the day!

Above: Overlooking the bridge. (no I can't remember the name, and frankly I don't feel like looking back to get it....somebody do it for me)

Below: At the 200some Torii Gates...the horse kind of freaked me out a little.....




Now, let me explain the above photo. Apparently when my mother and sister went to Norway last year, my mother took a picture of said sister in pretty much the same position. (we have a thing for the "artsy fartsy" flower photo) And if I had thought about it, I would've dug through the photos of Norway and put in that picture. But I could feel the "stink eye" coming from my sister should she come across said photo....(how does she do that?)


Look! I took a picture of mom with her camera! Eyes open and everything! (she took one of SAM.....let's see here...Andi's eyes partially closed, her mini skirt riding up a little, Shane looking off somewhere else and I don't even want to look at what mine looked like....so no, you'll never see that one, at least not here!)
Rice fields out behind our housing area, and sweet potato/yam vines. (some day I'll take the time to figure out what the difference is between a sweet potato and yam....but really I'm not sure that I care that much)


The mystery bird. Mom spent hours looking through my bird book of the world....still haven't figured it out.

Oh, and for those who wonder about "Lawson" our favorite conbini....well, here's what the outside of one looks like. It's pretty much a 7-11, but with better food! (well different sometimes makes it better)
Above: Wood carvings at one of the temples.
Andi wasn't happy that Mormor (Danish for mother's mother) had to return home. So nothing like playing with the camera to create a distraction.

We were waiting for that last flight. The board makes it look like there are many planes...but look carefully.....3 flights a day....just one gate, hardly any waiting!

Mormor made it through security, but that doesn't stop the conversation.
We went up to the observation deck to see the plane off. We waited, watched, waved, and turned to go as the plane pulled out...to find a security guard patiently waiting for us to say our goodbyes. The airport had shut down for the night, and we were the only holdouts. They are so patient here!

So that's the quick slide show of mom's vacation. Trust me, there are MANY more pictures....

September 15-18th 2011

September 22 2011- Really, I don't know where the time is going. But it is flying by WAY to fast! Last time I looked at the calendar it was just the 19th. Are you sure we aren't caught up in some sort of time warp?

We'll start out with, I think, the 15th or 16th of September. Andi had been sick this week and out of school. So knowing what day it was, really didn't matter at that point. Took a little walk with Mom and neighbor, Jenell, and the children. The rain had stopped for a little bit and the field workers were taking advantage of that to get the cabbage in.

I think a lot gets picked by hand. Not sure how much the tractor does, except pick up the cases and plow the field back down. Rice harvest should be coming up soon, will have to keep my eyes peeled for that.


It rained a lot from the 14th-21st of this month. On Saturday the 17th, Shane took Andi out to look for frogs. Yes, she was still a bit sick, but fresh air is always on the "ways to feel better" list. She didn't catch any frogs on this day (mainly due to the fact that her net broke), but she did get one on Sunday. It was purely catch and release practices going on this weekend. I have no room for an aquarium to house the "poor lost frogs".


Sunday, September 18th became a day of absolute cabin fever. Well, I think it was affecting me more than anybody else. Andi was doing a bit better, but not enough for a big adventure, not to mention it was raining. (did I mention it rained a lot this last week....I think I may have seen an ark float by at one point)

So a short road trip of "lets see where this road goes" became the order of the day. Above are the bridge end caps (is that what they are called? I don't know, but I think a person could do a whole series on these)

We ended up on a road that Shane kept saying we'd been on. No, no, I was sure we hadn't. Turns out he was right (there it's in writing for all to see....he'll be so happy). I claim ignorance because of the rain clouds, I couldn't see that the ocean was right there to our right...I mean right there down a cliff. The windy twisty road should've given it away. It was the same route we take to get to the wild horses. How we ended up on that road is still a bit of a mystery, but we had a good time getting there.
One of the problems is that we didn't recognize the port fishing village. It looked a little different. Then, oh, it hit us....it's been rebuilt. Not a complete rebuild. But obviously it had suffered some damage in the tsunami, so we were looking at something we hadn't seen before.
Along the wharf was one of the seawalls all painted up nicely. Now this could've been there before and we just never noticed....we'd never gone down onto this part of the road in the village before. So some of it could be ignorance and some of it new.

I suppose you might want to know the name of said seaside village. Well, me too. It's either Nakayamazaki or Monomisaki. (did I mention not being able to read is a bit of a problem?) These are seaside villages north of Misawa on route 338 (for those who are as obsessed with maps as myself)




The nice treat of the day was realizing that there was a bunch of steps, with a temple/shrine at the top. Yippee, more steps. 154 steps (or somewhere in that ballpark) these steps were very uniform and even, so a bit more pleasant to go up. Shane was tired of steps so very kindly drove the car around to the top of the hill and picked us up by the temple. Andi did her usual scamper up the stairs (must've been feeling better) while mom and I wheezed our way up. (my legs are in great shape and were handling it just fine....it's those lungs of mine that can't keep up with my legs)



Couldn't get any views of the ocean from the top because, well, did I mention it was raining?

On our way home we stopped at a rest station that we have passed MANY times while living here. Did I get a picture of that? No...but I did get a picture of a "Koban" or police station. (they are like little district stations...not the main police station by any means)
So that's that for now. Mom left on the 19th and is back home safe and sound. Next post I'll put up some of the pictures she took of her visit here. (hopefully it'll be in a more timely manner....yeah, whatever...)