Sapporo Report

Listen, I could go on and on about our trip to Hokkaido (next island up) for the Sapporo Snow Festival.  But you don't have time for that.  Instead I'll just give you the high(and low)lights:

1.  We saw some really cool, really large snow and ice sculptures:

2.  There was a blizzard:

Baby Gray was NOT a fan

3.  Gabe got lost for 20 minutes shortly after striking this model pose in the snow:

Lost child ALMOST causes international incident

(Doug found him with a policeman across the street.  I was busy trying to get a Swedish ambassador to translate for me.  It wasn't my favorite moment.)

4.  I bought myself a Valentine:
(I don't have a picture so just imagine red, knee-high fuzzy socks with white hearts, made out of the same ultra soft material as the following:)

5.  I bought Doug a Valentine:

(Just kidding.  I bought the socks, but not the ultra soft and fuzzy short spats.)

6.  There were absolutely no snow globes to be found in the whole city.

7.  There WAS, however, a PEACOCK!

"...The Last Leg of a Journey We Started A Long Time Ago..."*

*Hearts and Bones by Paul Simon.

Remember how I left you hangin' a few weeks back and never finished up the account of our trip to Osorezan?

No?

Hello?  (echo...echo...)

Well, here's the final adventure of that trip.

While we were in the neighborhood we decided to visit Cape Shiriya (The top right tip of the above map) and see the wild horses.

Who knew the park closed so early?

Luckily, I found a solution.  I figured we'd be in and out really quick.

I figured the park was probably full of people still finding their way out.

I figured if they had such shoddy security, it must not be a big deal to break in.

I figured wrong.

We zoomed nervously down the road and saw the lighthouse.

We saw a Park Employee on a motorcycle.  He passed us and tried to gesture us back towards the exit.

But we hadn't seen any horses yet, so we kept going.  More nervous than before.          

We found the horses;

(short, fat, and happy horses...who evidently spend a lot of time eating and breeding.  Sorta like me, actually...)

We threw some carrots at them,

And then we turned around and sped toward the exit.

Which had now been barred.  Undoubtedly by the Park Employee who passed us on the road.

After trying to jimmy the locks unsuccessfully, the husbands had to find the Employee to get him to let us out.

He wasn't happy.

We said 'gomenasai' a lot, bowed, and got out of their quick.

This is why American's have a bad name abroad.  Whoops.

And then we went home.

The End.

Camping Near Ryusendo Caves

After going to Korea on Monday/Tuesday, we turned around and went camping Thursday/Friday/Saturday.

It was the longest week of my life and packing for the trip in million-degree heat may have caused a tiny (ginourmous) amount of marital discord, but we did it and it was pretty darn cool.

At this point you ask, "Does Doug EVER have to work?" and I answer, "Yes.  Whenever I want to sleep-in, (daily) go to the store with no kids, or whenever the toilet over-flows, or a kid has a poop accident, he is at work."

So we drove the 19 (3-4) hours South to Ryusendo and camped at the camp ground right next to the caves with 4 other families from church.  It was a pretty nice facility with grass, a cooking area with running water, clean new bathrooms, and even a coin operated shower.  Oh, and some of the largest bugs I have EVER seen.  Present company excluded.

I was worried about how Gray would sleep because it was so stinkin' hot and our tent didn't come equipped with a ceiling fan.  But he was a champ and did awesome.

(My kids are great sleepers.  Thank you BabyWise.)

The caves were pretty darn spectacular even though the boys were less than impressed.  It was super cold inside and their clothes were wet (because it was super HOT outside and we were playing in the water) so they walked in and immediately wanted to leave.

But we dragged them through the whole route anyway.

Doug kept trying to get Max to look at cool things and get excited and finally Max replied
"NO!  I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING IN THIS CAVE!"  sigh.

From a Japanese website:
"One of Japan's 3 greatest limestone caves, Ryusendo has a number of underground lakes enriched with water of exquisite features. Sceneries of the lakes, keep the massive volume of water ever quietly, are exposed to visitors when they proceed in a long, narrow, and complex underground path in the giant cave.
The first lake to be encountered in the cave is called "Ryugu-fuchi (pond of Dreagon palace)", known for high level of transparency of water as one of the highest in the world with 41.5m. The third lake has a depth of 98m, and its emerald-like shining water is the highlight of the tour. 
Spring volume mounts 17 thousand tons daily in Ryusendo, flowing out into a river. Temperature of this remarkable water is naturally kept at 7～10℃ throughout year. Notably this water is bottled and marketed nationally under brand name "Ryusendo-no-Mizu (Water of Ryusendo)", known also for winning Gold awards in Monde Selection.

It was a great trip despite coming home with 10,000 mosquito bites and a boat load of laundry.

Maybe we'll go camping again someday.  

But not someday soon.

Monday in Nanbu Town - Fourth of July Weekend

I suppose to be totally fair, I should mention what we did on the actual 4th.
We went to church.
We sang patriotic hymns.
And we had a BBQ at our friends' home with two brand new families.
(One of these families just moved from the same ward as my sister Jenny.  Small world!)

We did NOT (reverently and in keeping with the spirit of the Sabbath day) watch fireworks as planned because they were rained out and postponed until Monday.

Now back to Monday:  The free base paper did a feature on a *relatively* nearby town called Nanbu.  It listed tons of fun things to see and do with typical directions on how to get there that went something like this:

...Once you leave the freeway, count 9 stop lights past the first Pachinko Parlor.  Turn slight leftish.  We'll call this point A.  From here, go 3.67 kilometers to point B near the green Ramen shop.  Combine points A and B to find the sub total of point C which is halfway to your destination divided by one Happy Drug pharmacy...


Anyway, we convinced three other families to come along, and with numerous kids in tow, ventured out to explore new territory.
Robert and Lyana took the lead and somehow managed to get us to our first destination--the one I was most excited about; an artist colony with pottery studio and craft boutique and restaurant.  After a lengthy (and for us, extremely HOT drive--A/C is broken) we arrived to find the place closed down.  A few people peeked at us from a home on the premises, but they kept their distance.

Max found an unlocked door and wandered in to the restaurant but was quickly ordered OUT by his unsurprised parents.  Then we all stood around for a few minutes hoping everything would magically come to life and all the buildings would open before our eyes.  They didn't.

So, we strapped all 38 loud and restless children back into their car seats, chalked it up to the weird Japanese aversion to being open on Mondays, and headed to our NEXT destination:
A GIANT (100 feet high) ROPEY DRAGON CLIMBING THINGY!!!  (A sure kid pleaser.)

We found our way there...
We unloaded all the kids...
We all walked to the Dragon Thingy...

and...

It was closed.

Max climbed over the barricade and started crawling upward anyway.  (Much to, once again, no ones surprise.)  This time only one parent ordered him out--ME.  The other parent said "I think that sign says 'Monday's are FREE!  Please enjoy!'"

Then we all stood around for a few minutes really wishing we could read Japanese signs and hoping it would magically open for us.

It didn't.

The heavens did, however, open up for us and bless us with a torrential down-pour which drenched half of our party.

When the storm passed, we strapped all 67 wet and frustrated children back into their car seats and headed to our NEXT destination:

HOKOJI TEMPLE AREA/Mt. Nakui


This place, although it didn't appear to have anyone around, was at least not closed.  (Though this doesn't mean it was open.)  And it was very pretty.

"The 700 year old Hokoji Temple was built between 1249 and 1256 AD.  It was constructed on the side of Mt. Nakui means one must climb up from the main temple to see all the shrines and end up at the magnificent 3 stories pagoda in the back.  While passing through the scenic “1000 pine trees” road, be sure to look for the “Grandfather Cedar”, a 1100 year old tree that towers over 100 feet with a circumference of 25 feet around."

(I'm just trying to have good photograph posture but it looks like I'm trying to stick my boobs out.)

After the kids were thoroughly shrined-out, tired and hungry we travelled to our fourth and final destination.

The one the kids were REALLY excited about.

The one that made up for everything.

Thank the blessed heavens it was OPEN!

"BADE-PARK"  An indoor/outdoor pool with large tube water slide.  All the kids had a blast.   Gray got to swim for the first time and I got to don a swimsuit for the first time this post partum.  

(This pool was reserved for swim class.  Cute little kiddies!)

Good times were had by all.

(I would post more pictures here, but evidently I'm not allowed to post pictures of my friends, in their swimsuits, on my blog.  Wimps.)

Next up:

Our trip to the Gates of HELL!!!

I'll tell you all about it...

...tomorrow.

Matsushima Bay - Last Stop

I said I'd finish this trip re-cap on Tuesday, right?  Well, it's a Tuesday.

The last activity of the day was a Ferry Ride across the actual bay.  I happen to love Ferry boats.  As does McDreamy from Grey's Anatomy.  Which is why I'm sure we'd get along swimmingly.

The cool thing about this particular bay, and what makes it so famous, is that it's dotted with hundreds of little "islands"--some of which are super cool looking thanks to erosion from wind and waves.
All of them are named.  Lucky for you, I've lost the brochure so I wont name them for you.  I'll just give you a little caption so you know what you're looking at.

White Lighthouse.

Long Bridge.

Short Bridge.

Godaido Island--our first stop.

Seagulls swarming after the ferry hoping for hand-outs.  (I'm not a huge fan of seagulls.)

Max and friend Jonathan discussed living on this island and parking their boat in one of these handy "garages".

We think this one looks like Donald Duck.  Agree or disagree?  Talk amongst yourselves.

The one on the left is "Female" the one on the right, "Male".  Why?  Talk amongst yourselves again.

It was a beautiful and relaxing ride.  And lucky for us, after such a long day, we got to climb into a bus and didn't even have to drive home!  It may have sucked a little bit (for our friends) when (their) little Ashley projectile vomited all over herself and her car seat and the bus seat, but lets face it...no long trip is without its ups and stinky little downs.  (There's another potential pun in their about up-chuck, but I'm going to leave it to your imagination.)

And THAT concludes our Matsushima Bay adventure.  It was an all around fantastic day and I highly recommend the trip if you're ever in the neighborhood...or on the continent.

Next up:  Our trip to the GATES OF HELL!

Be afraid.  Be very afraid.

Marinepia Aquarium - Stop 4

Marinepia was established in 1927 (and it's showing it's age a bit.  It's not exactly pristine like say, Monterey Bay Aquarium.) making it one of the oldest aquariums in Japan.  Over 300 different species (many of them butt ugly) totaling over 4000 marine animals are displayed in the aquarium's geographic theme parks.  (Seriously.  Biggest bunch of ugly sea life I've ever seen.  Too ugly to even want to photograph.  The seal show was cool though!)

Welcome to the Aquarium!  

Buy a stuffed animal while you're here!

"I wonder if I could touch one of the penguins and get away with it..."

"Hey, what's the little Gaijin doing in our picture?"

"Oh well!  PEACE!"

"You pway in da pee-pees wif me Ashey?"

"Dad, the seals play volleyball better than Mommy!"

And just as an added bonus, 

Wanna know how Gray was feeling about the trip?

Part 5, the Grand Finale if you will, on Tuesday.  I have a few other things set to go up in the mean time.