A Cool Shadow

Tonight after work I went to the gym and the library. The weather was unseasonably warm. Even though I was hungry and thirsty I decided tonight was the night to drive my bike to a gas station, add Stabil to the gas, and fill it up with top quality fresh gasoline. This might possibly be my last ride of the year. I would have driven farther but dark rain clouds threatened. I do not like riding in the rain so I went straight home. But as I drove the sun was low in the sky. My shadow floated over the yellow center line as I drove past the browning fields of corn. I think my shadow riding the bike is ever so much cooler than my shadow walking or standing. I really enjoy riding that motorcycle. Sometimes I think about giving it up but then I have a ride like the ride I rode tonight and then I want to keep going on two wheels.

The Sell Out

I listened to Paul Beatty's novel The Sell Out this past week. I am sure my face cringed quite a few times while hearing the heavy satire about racism in America. A few times I smiled but I would not describe this book as a comedy. How can a book about a man named Bon bon who tries to reintroduce segregation and slavery into a town called Dickens in the state of California? These are not comedic subjects. One other person in the novel used to be on the very racist television show Spanky and Our Gang. Hominy Jenkins insists on being Bon bon's slave. Bon bon is protective of Hominy. Hominy doesn't do any work for Bon bon but still insists Bon bon is his master Bon bon is called a sell out by a community leader. Maybe Bon bon is a sell out but he is also an urban farmer creating artisan square watermelons and other fruits with exquisite sweetness. Although out of my comfort zone, I did enjoy this book.

Hope Fest

This morning I went to an event called Hope Fest in Lino Lakes. This is organized in support of the Alexandria House for victims and survivors of domestic violence. The 28 red figures represent women who have been murdered. The red figure in the middle here represents Natasha Waalen. She and I worked together along with her mother. She was violently murdered by her boyfriend and his brother. The two brothers tried to make it look like she had crashed her motorcycle but eventually the truth came out. I believe both murderers are walking around free after having served their sentences. I cried when they read her name out loud and her age. She was only 28 when she died. I can see no reason for her death. One woman spoke to us. She is a survivor of physical abuse and assault. She told us her husband got into trouble at his job by filming his coworkers in the bathroom. Her lawyer advised her to look at every file on their computer. While doing that she found that her husband gave her drugs without her knowledge and raped her while filming it. She turned the information over to the county for prosecution. Later she got a call from the attorney's office saying the case was going to be dropped. She learned that although it is against the law to rape a spouse, it is not against the law to rape a spouse who is incapacitated. She worked for two years and just recently the state legislature passed a law where it is against the law to rape a spouse who is incapacitated. Three other states are looking at changing their laws to model our state law. She was an inspiration. After that we took off walking together through the nice paths around the YMCA in Lino Lakes. Our speaker gave us good advice. She told us to have conversations about boundaries, about how our bodies are our own. She advised us to have these conversations with our family members often as opposed to just once. She advised us to speak up if we see something wrong. She said one person can make a difference. She is right. I was glad I was there to listen to her.

I'll Take You There

I read Wally Lamb's book, I'll Take You There; A Novel expecting more than I got. He's a good writer, I will give him that. The character development is great. The details about life in the 1960's was very entertaining. I learned a lot about the Miss Rheingold Beer contest which was an actual contest to promote beer. The part I didn't like was the time travel. Felix Funicello, the main character, is given films of his childhood which he can watch and actually enter if he presses his hands to the screen. That is the part I thought was hokey.

Circular Conversations

Today I was witness to (but not engaged in) a circular conversation. Whew, I am emotionally drained from that. As I walked to my van after the meeting I thought a good antidote to this meeting would be watching a Disney movie. How many times can one person say, 'You need to do this and that" while the other person says, "I am not going to do this and that?" I am not sure how many times it could be repeated but I heard twenty repetitions. Neither person felt listened to. Both accused each other of yelling. Both accused each other of being upset.  As frustrating as it was to listen to such dysfunction, I am heartened that I don't live with these kinds of conversations every day. I choose to spend time with people who are reasonable and polite. Most time my interactions with others make me feel good. Although the meeting I went to today was in no way pleasant, perhaps witnessing it has improved my life because I now know how lucky I am.

Walk For Thought

In this photo a black, brown and white dog is being held by a person in a dog costume wearing the same colors. The costumed dog represents HHC (Hennepin Health Care).

Yesterday I attended the Walk for Thought in New Brighton put on by the Brain Injury Awareness. I was there with a local high school dance team offering support for people who suffered concussions or head injuries. I did a lot of clapping and yahooing. Randall McDaniel was there cheering people on and taking time to talk with them individually. A local news anchor was there and also a doctor who specialized in treating head injuries. After spending the morning there I was grateful that I have never conked myself on the head too hard. After that I drove to Wisconsin for a booya and to listen to my cousin's band. By 5:30 p.m. I had been on my feet for 12 hours and beginning to tire so I headed home. Still, I could not resist another look at the Saint Croix River so I had to stop in Taylor's Falls to hike the river trail. The smell of those white pine trees is so pleasant. The river looked high and was running fast. I sure hope I have time for another couple kayak rides this season.

Furoshiki

Last Sunday we heard a knock at the door of the house in Japan. Some neighbor kids invited the grand girls to play in the street between the houses. The orange house next door has a girl about age 8 and the house across the street has a girl who looks to be 13 or so. From down the road came another girl who appeared to be about 10. Offspring #1 went out to mingle with the neighbors. Mothers of the three girls stood and talked. The girls were trying to teach the older grand girl how to use a wiggle board. I would think  learning how to use a wiggle board would be easier on a flat street than a street with a hill. All the girls were getting a good work out running up and down the hill. After a while everyone in the house went out to socialize so I did too. The neighbor approached me with a package in a paper bag. She gave me a gift. I was so surprised. I said "Arigato gozaimasu" as best I could and bowed several times. Inside was a furoshiki cloth. Offspring #2 and my daughter in law had purchased several of these cloths at gift shops in the past two weeks. They folded the cloths to use as a purse or to carry water bottles. My cloth has cherry blossoms on it. Some people use the cloths to wrap gifts or to carry melons. I am not sure how I will use my furoshiki but it was surely a nice surprise to get one.

Flush It Again!

Tuesday was a loud day in my yard. I hired a contractor to update my septic tank. He came with a Bobcat and a big shovel. He filled in the ditch in my front  yard and moved in his big equipment. With his father's help they dug a huge hole. A septic pumper emptied the old tank which was then crushed by the shovel. 

Another huge truck with a crane lifted the oblong septic tank into place between the two black spruce trees. 

The crane operator is in the lower left with his handheld controls. I watched closely at all this major work being done. At the same time I hired another guy to come and replace my broken garage door opener spring. I had a very busy day while fighting the effects of jet lag. I was reminded of the day 24 years ago when the round septic tank was put in. The tank has to be left uncovered overnight so the city inspector can come and look at the work.The contractors left Tuesday night and their equipment stayed in my yard because they needed it again on Wednesday morning. I was tempted to crawl into that Bobcat and shovel to take a selfie. But no, I didn't. I behaved myself. Twenty four years ago that night that the septic tank remained uncovered, Offspring #1 kept looking into the tank with a flash light asking us to "flush it again!" The wonderful thing about being a parent is observing and relishing your child's curiosity as one child flushes the toilet and the other child stands in the yard looking into a hole and sees the water enter the septic tank. And then they switch places and do it again. That right there is the kind of entertainment you cannot get on television.

While traveling in Japan we spent nearly all of our time in large cities. Besides Yokosuka we went to Tokyo, Kyoto, Yokohama, and Osaka. I think I heard the most English speakers in Yokosuka and Toyko. We found it difficult to order meals or ask questions in the other towns. The streets are very crowded although the tourist season ended the beginning of September. People in Japan use yen as money. A thousand yen is about ten dollars. Food in stores was cheap but food in restaurants seemed expensive. People do not tip here except at American places such as the military hotel we stayed in. Credit cards are not used except at the airport and the military bases. Public transportation was great. I bought a travel card that can be used on trains and buses and shops in the train station. At the end of the trip I turned my card in at the airport and got any remaining value in yen. We took very many rides on buses and trains. Some times the public transportation was crowded. Some people immediately appeared to go to sleep as soon as they sat down. Others read books or stared at their phones. Several train cars had a sign that said women only between 7 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. I saw practically no litter even though the public trash cans are very rare. People are expected to take their trash home to get rid of it. Recycling is very important. Cartons must be rinsed and dried and the plastic hole cut out with a scissors before it can be recycled. Plastic bottles must have the label removed, the lid removed and that tiny ring around the neck of the bottle removed. Removing that tiny ring is not easy to do. Bathrooms were readily available, free of charge, and very clean. I saw a few squat bathrooms but most were the automatic flush. Some public bathrooms sense when you sit down and automatically play the sound of running water. This confused me at first because I thought there was running water beneath me. The sound is to mask any sounds the user might make. Most of the flush toilets had bidet and a drying button. You can choose the temperature of the water of the bidet and the fan. Toilet stalls had child seats attached to the wall so you can strap your baby in the seat while you take care of your own needs. Electricity is nearly the same as in the United States except the outlets are two prong instead of three prong. Bedrooms have a heating/air conditioning machine up near the ceiling. You can also select dehumidifier. If you do select dehumidifier you really don't need air conditioning at night. Vending machines are on every block. Most of the vending machines sell bottles and cans of coffee, tea, and sugary juices. In Kyoto there was a large garden on the  next block from our place. I could see the rows and rows of 3 feet high bushes laden with purple eggplant. Next to the garden was a vending machine. For 200 yen you could buy 4 potatoes, 3 onions, or two squash. At one of the ramen restaurants we went to we used the vending machine to buy a meal. The machine gave us a ticket which we gave to the waitress. Shopping was difficult for me because i cannot read Japanese. Google has a translate app you can use but that isn't always accurate. We looked at a jar of what we thought was jam and the google app said purple balls. Another time we used the app at a box of crackers and it read seven levels of punishment. We chose not to buy that. If I saw a picture of a cow on the label I figured it was a dairy product. Seven Eleven stores are on every other block. You can buy nearly everything you need including liquor at Seven Eleven. I did not see much cheese. We bought a lot of rice balls. These are triangular blocks of rice filled with fish or soy sauce or sea weed or sesame paste or bean paste or meats. Each block is wrapped in a sheet of sea weed. If you open the package correctly you do not have to put the sea weed back on the rice ball. The sea weed is edible. I liked the soy sauce rice balls but I would not like to eat them every day. Sugar is added to many items that are available without sugar here. I bought a bottle of what I thought was black coffee but it was sugared coffee. I bought a package of what i thought was wheat buns but there was a blob of sweet butter inside the middle. I picked up another package of buns thinking they were currant buns but they turned out to be buns with tiny hot dogs baked inside. We saw a lot of ice cream shops and candy shops. Candy shops sell gelled blobs covered in sesame dust. I do not know what the flavor of the gel was. All I could taste was sugar. Kit Kat bars come in all kinds of flavors including wasabi. Edamame and soybeans products were common but I saw very few other kinds of beans. All products in the store are wrapped in plastic including individual apples. Tofu was available on 20 different varieties where as here we can get firm, medium or soft. Many kinds of noodles were available but few sauces. The water in Japan tasted good. I found places to refill my water bottle when ever I needed to refill it. The people I met were polite and kind. I saw many people dressed very well. I saw a few people who were obviously wealthy but I didn't see any who looked obviously poor. Most people wore designer logos on their clothes or shoes or hats. School kids wore uniforms. The girls wore skirts and white shirts and penny loafers. The boys wore pants and white shirts. All of the uniforms were blue either solid or plaid.  Children were very independent. I saw a five year old walking down a busy street in his uniform and he got on a city bus. I think he was five but it is hard to tell because most people in Japan are shorter than I am. If a kid that young did that here the parents would be in trouble for child  neglect. I saw a few people using wheelchairs or walkers. The walkers there looked more convenient than the walkers I see here. We saw one blind woman at a mall on an elevator. She got off on a floor of the mall that opened into the parking lot. We could not help her because of the language barrier but a man filling the vending machine stopped his work to help her out. Baseball seems to be a popular sport in Japan. We saw more baseball fields than soccer fields. Playgrounds for children were fairly easy to find. People walk and drive on the left side of the road. I understand that Japan decision to stay left goes way back in time before cars were invented. Warriors wore their swords on the left so they could be removed easily by the right hand. When the warriors passed each other while walking on the right their swords got tangled up so they walked on the left. People seemed vary obedient and law abiding. In all the time I spent on city streets I saw only one jay walker. Even if a crowd of people are waiting to cross a street and no cars are even visible they wait for the light to change. The highways were amazingly smooth and free of pot holes. The highways have barricades that are high and arching inward. City roads were narrow. Some lanes are so narrow two cars could not pass each other. Parking spaces are small and everybody backs into the parking spaces. Public parking is expensive. Ambulances make that same "bee - doo" sound as Italian ambulances did. Police and fire trucks sound like American police and fire trucks. I saw plenty of birds and bugs. The cicadas here are three inches long and very loud all day long. I saw no mammals except dogs and cats. The weather was warm and extremely humid. People carried cloths to wipe the sweat off their faces. Umbrellas are used for rain and for sun. I found that a handy way to avoid sun burn too although walking through a crowd with an umbrella can be tricky. Sometimes I had to hold the umbrella very high to avoid poking anyone. At busy shrines and shopping areas young men and women pay to dress up in kimonos and wear those wooden shoes that look difficult to walk in. The wooden sandals have wooden bars across the bottom. The wood shoe bed is supposed to be inches shorter than your foot which cannot be comfortable. I saw quite a few people stumble wearing those very loud wooden shoes. Besides renting the outfit and the shoes customers can get their hair styled in traditional fashion. The women wear ornaments in their hair and some paid to get make up applied. I thought about trying it but the weather was so hot and  humid I did not want to get swathed in polyester fabric. Japan felt very foreign to me but maybe that is because it was my first time there. Next time Japan probably won't be as intimidating as it was this time.

Kurihama Flower Park

Today we went to the Kunhama Flower Park, a mere 20 minute car ride from the house where we stay. We parked and walked up a long hill.  Fields of cosmos and poppies and yellow echinacea surrounded us. Along the way Offspring #1 was holding Grandgirl #1 and #2 when a 3 foot section of a tree branch fell just inches in front of his nose. We were all startled by this and laughed at our good luck. We kept walking until we saw Godzilla. Grandgirl #1 climbed the stairs to the belly of Godzilla and slid down his tail a few times. We played at the children's playground for a while and drew pictures in the dirt with sticks. We saw raptors flying over the mountain valley. One floated above us in the same place like a kite. Maybe it was one of those black tailed kites. We saw hundreds of dragon flies and grass hoppers. Some kids had nets and were catching the dragon flies. Part of this park was damaged by the typhoon so it was off limits to us. The playgrounds at the top of the hill were damaged. The metal rails of the flume were strewn about on the ground. We could see over most of the town of Yokosuka. This was a nice way to spend time on our last full day in Japan.

Namba Yasaka Shrine: The Lion Head Shrine in Osaka

Yesterday after breakfast we left our rooms and went to the Namba Yasaka Shrine. Parking lots were full so Offspring #1 stayed with the car while the rest of us went to the shrine. We were not allowed to walk through the lion's mouth into the shrine but we could see it from the outside. Offspring #2 took close ups of the lion's nose. When blown up close enough she could see a pigeon living inside the left nostril. We put come coins into the box so we could ring the bell. If you ring the bell the spirits listen to your wishes. This location had shrines to horses and pigs as well. At the exit to almost every shrine there is a large container of water. Fresh water flows into it from a tap. There are two wooden cups with long handles. The expectation is that you cleanse your hands by pouring water on each hand separately and allow the water to flow into the floor drain. The cool water does feel good on the hands. After our visit we drove back to Yokosoka. The drive out here took 6 hours. The drive back took over 8 hours. Driving before 6 a.m. is the reason why the way there was shorter. We did get a good glimpse of Mount Fuji. We had long looks at the full harvest moon over the mountains of Japan. At one point we could see the harbor. One gigantic ship stood larger than all the others. A terrible motorcycle accident slowed us down. The motorcycle burned on the left shoulder and a person was getting medical attention next to the concrete barrier on the right. The accident appeared to involve the motorcycle only. Motorcyclists here do weave in between lanes. We could be parked at a red light only to be surprised by a cyclist appear at our left or right window. We made it home safely about 8 o'clock in the evening. The highways in Japan are smooth and well maintained. Most city roads are in great shape too. Some of the residential lanes are so narrow two cars could not pass each other. Parking is at a premium so I can see why so many people bike or use public transport.

Osaka

On this day we left Kyoto and drove an hour away to Osaka. We parked at a children's playground so the kids could get some exercise. The day was cloudy but it did not rain and it was nice to get a break from the heat. We saw a little train going by. Actually it was a wheeled vehicle made to look and sound like a train.We ended up boarding the little train for the ride up to the largest palace in Japan. The picture here shows where we got off the train.From here we walked on a bridge over the moat to the palace. We spend the entire afternoon at the palace grounds looking around and people watching. Osaka was the location of the 1970 World Fair. We saw a huge steel time capsule from the fair on the palace grounds. Late in the afternoon we took our train back to our parking spot. Parking is difficult in this city and we ended up paying $20.00 to get out of the parking lot. We found our way to our AirBnB with little difficulty. The parking spot was so tiny we spent a lot of time getting into it. This place to stay is much nicer than our place in Kyoto. We went to the grocery store for a dinner of sushi, edamame, noodles, tofu, rice and kimchi. 

Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine

 Today we took a bus and a train to the Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine. At this shrine there are many vendors of trinkets, food and drinks. At the temple you can pay a coin to ring a bell to have your wishes met. Then you walk up the mountain through a series of orange arches. I didn't walk all the way up the mountain but I did go part way. The path through the orange arches was crowded with people trying to get photos of themselves without anyone else in the picture which was nearly impossible. We had lunch at a dumpling place. I had dumplings with tofu, dumplings with potato, and dumplings with pickled vegetables. After lunch we went to old town Kyoto. We walked through the narrow streets. We visited an art museum and more temples. Each temple was dedicated to an animal such as fox and pig and cat. We stopped at a playground for the kids to work off some energy and then headed for home. We ate at a ramen shop where we had to pay a vending machine our money before our order could be put in. We asked for vegetable ramen. I am fairly certain there was some fish sauce in my bowl but I tried not to think about it.

Kyoto

We woke before dawn to start the six hour drive to Kyoto. We caught a glimpse of Mount Fuji on the way. We got there afternoon and decided to visit the world heritage site of Daigoji. This place has many shrines and temples including this five roof temple. The gardens were lovely to walk through. This place was founded in the year 874 so there is a lot of history here. After several hours of looking around we drove to our AirBnB in Kyoto. We found our second story flat without too much trouble. This place must be a hostel in the busy season but we all have our own beds so that is nice. We went out to eat at a traditional Japanese place because it was Offspring #2's birthday. We sat on cushions on the floor which is not too comfortable for me but I managed. The grandgirls, seated on cushions on the floor, preferred to sprawl in prone positions which is not polite and caused a bit of strife. We had salad with lettuce, lotus root, carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, onions and other vegetables. We had tofu in another dish. We had fried potatoes and other vegetables. The meal ended with noodle soup. The man who owns this tiny 12 seat restaurant and who did all the cooking asked to take our photo so we let him do that. When we came in he had mediation music on but after we were there he switched it to American music. I preferred the mediation music myself. We walked back to our apartment and went to bed. The first day in Kyoto went well. Today was the second day in Kyoto. The weather was blistering hot and humid. After a five minute walk our shirts were soaked in perspiration. We took a bus to the Kyoto Imperial Palace. These gardens were lovely. We were allowed into the palace grounds. A storm came up. Thunder and lightening were fierce. The rain poured down. I had brought an umbrella to block the sun so I stayed dry. We spent a few hours at the Imperial Palace enjoying the history and the atmosphere. We walked across the river for lunch. By the time we finished with that it was 3 in the afternoon. We headed home on the bus with all the other wet travelers.

Yokohama

On this day trip we took the train to Yokohama, the second largest city in Japan. We stopped for lunch at a shopping mall and enjoyed the curry at an Indian restaurant. From there we hiked to the CupNoodles museum. While Offspring #2 and I enjoyed a film about the man who founded CupNoodles, Offspring #1 and his family got in line to make their own cup of noodles with their specific ingredients. One child chose prawn and cheese and the other chose chicken and fish. They ate them that night so they must have been good.After the museum we took a walk along the water front. We walked past a wedding fair. Music was playing and stalls displayed the latest wedding trends. Later we walked past a children's music performance. We were trying to walk toward China town but rain started to fall.The first hint of Typhoon Faxai had appeared. We headed back to the train to get home. Rain fell on us but it felt good because it was so humid out. Once home we prepared for the storm. All outside strollers, toys and bikes were brought into the house. Shutters covered the windows on the first floor. We found candles and lighters and flashlights. We filled the tub with water and had plenty of fresh water and food on hand. We went to bed and I slept all through the night although the strong winds woke me up a little. The others did not sleep as well. They heard the winds and the rains. They heard the eerie quiet of the eye of the hurricane. They heard the winds pick up again this time from the other direction. Shoot, I wanted to experience a typhoon but I slept through it. When I woke up all was well. Neighbors were washing their cars to get the salt water off the finish. Others were sweeping little bits of leaves off the sidewalks and driveway. Later, when we went for a walk to the local park we saw a neighbor had part of a fence connected to a deck fall off the garden wall and into the street. They had some repairs to do. Given that the fence fell into the street the damage must have happened after the eye of the hurricane had passed. School was closed today. Trains started late. Some areas of the military base had serious wind and water damage.We were safer here up the hills away from the ocean.

Kitakamakura

We took a car to the Navy base and then walked to the train. We got off at the Kitakamakura Station.We ate at a Buddhist restaurant. We removed our shoes and sat at short chairs. We were served vegan food in the Buddhist style which means all five colors of food and all five tastes of food. I wasn't sure of everything that was served but we sure used a lot of cups and bowls and plates as items were brought and taken away. We had some sliced vegetables, miso soup, tofu, fried soy milk, green tea, barley tea, pickled ginger and pickled some okra, rice with walnut topping, other identifiable things and ended up with sliced pears. We were full. After that we walked to the Jochi-ji Zen Temple. We walked up the many stairs. We walked around the gardens and the grave yards and into some caves. Once finished there we walked to some temples closer to the train station. At these temples there were meditation classes going on. People came here to worship.  We strolled around for a couple of hours. We walked through the shopping district. I had a sesame ice cream cone that was delicious. Sea eagles flew over head crying loudly. The high humidity made us feel logy. As it was getting dark we boarded the train for home. Once the sun went down the temperature was more bearable. We walked by the Naval base as the sun was setting. We hear a typhoon is coming soon so we stocked up on supplies and headed home. 

Tokyo Day Two

This morning we took a bus to Tokyo Tower. This is an orange tower shaped like the Eiffel Tower.

From there we walked to Zojoji Temple. Inside we smelled incense, saw drummers practicing, and saw the people in the shrine getting ready for the 11:30 service. Downstairs they had restrooms and a seating area where we could relax and enjoy hot or cold barley tea. I had cold barley tea.

After that we walked to the Imperial Palace and the Imperial Gardens which were closed today. This is a view from the outside. We saw a gray egret fishing in these ponds but my photo did not turn out well. After that we went to a shopping district for lunch. From where I sat near the window on the second floor I could see shoppers and school kids strolling by. Some shoppers wore rented kimonos. This street had a plastic roof over it. I watched a white rumped swift flying by trying to get out. For lunch I had edamame and tofu. It was delicious! We had a long trim home by train because the tracks were still blocked by the accident with the truck.

Tokyo

Today we traveled to Tokyo. The plan was a sort walk, a bus ride, a train ride, a bus ride and then we have one more short walk to the Sannyo Hotel. Instead we had a short walk, a bus ride, six or seven train rides, a bus ride and a short walk to this very nice hotel for military and their families. The problem was the train we were supposed to get on was struck by a truck. The train derailed. Yellow fruit spilled all over the tracks. One person died and thirty were injured so we were glad we didn't get on that train. To get around the accident took many trains and a lot more time. We decided to go to a Ramen restaurant. To get there we had to walk by the park by the Metropolitan Central Library which is where I took this picture. After a delicious dinner we walked to a book store inside a shopping center to buy some books written for children. I enjoyed walking back in the dark looking at all the city lights and the people traveling on foot, on bikes, in cars and on buses. Japan feels like a very safe place to me.

Kannonzaki Nature Museum

Yesterday we spent most of our day at the Kannonzaki Nature Museum. This facility had trails leading down to the rocky shore which were very fun to explore. The tide was out so we saw creatures in the shallows. A freighter went by and the subsequent waves sent us scurrying back up the hill to avoid getting wet. Inside the facility they had displays on fish, the fishing industry, evolution, history of the people who lived in this area, botany, and a touch pool where we could touch urchins, rays, octopus, sea hares, flat fish and star fish. One of the staff saw us using the touch pools so he took a turtle out of a box and set it free in the grass. We watched the turtle crawling through the turf for a long time. The naturalist turned the turtle on it's back so we could see how it extended it's neck to right itself. The naturalist kept talking to us and repeating certain words but with the language barrier we weren't understanding very much at all. We felt honored to get his attention though and we could tell he was having fun showing the turtle to us. After that we went to an art museum for lunch.We ate Italian food on a veranda overlooking the ocean. We stopped at a grocery store to pick up some food for supper. Shopping for food without being able to read the labels is very difficult. We wanted tofu. They had 15 kinds of tofu sitting there but we could not tell which ones were soft, firm or extra firm. We decided to buy two kinds and figure it out when we got home. Turns out the one with the black label is firmer. The scariest thing we saw all day was a giant spider crab. This crab had legs over a yard in length. I am sure if I was snorkeling in the ocean and came upon one of those giant spider crabs I would high tail it back into the boat. 

Yokosuka

Today we walked around Yokosuka. We stopped at the Navy base to get our passes. We had to show our passports, give our fingerprints, and have our pictures taken but now we can be on base as long as Offspring #1 or his wife are with us. After that we walked through the town. We stopped at a park so the grand girls could swing and slide and play on the equipment. We searched for a place for lunch. Eventually we ended up at a place that served Indian and Nepalese food. After that we went to Mikasa Park. This park is located next to the Navy base on the sea front. There are signs here warning you not to eat your food out in the open because the black tailed kites (raptors) will swoop down and steal your food out of your hand. I see a lot of black birds. Some are crows, some are carrion crows, and some are rooks. I can't tell them apart yet. We did see a cicada carcass that was quite large. I picked it up by it's three inch long wing. The body was about three inches long and almost two inches wide. Then I put it back down. This park had a Japanese ship we could tour. The ship was used in the war with the Russians in 1904. We didn't tour the ship but we did walk around the water feature.Sometimes they have fountain shows here. We walked near the friendship arch which I posed my Godzilla here. After that we walked to a store known to most of you as a dollar store but here is known as 1,000 yen store. I didn't buy anything but I enjoyed watching all the shoppers. I feel very tall in Japan. School children came in after school all wearing uniforms of blue and gray with book bags slung over their shoulders. After shopping we headed back to the base to get our car and head home. Now I have a better feeling about the layout of Yokosuka.

Sayonara

I have packed my bags for a trip to Tokyo. I am bringing Godzilla here with me as a mascot.

I am glad to arrive after a 12 hour flight.