Saying Goodbye and Visiting Family in Japan
This week we have been back in Saro’s hometown in
Japan. We’ve come to participate in the “49th Day”
following his father’s passing. This is a time where
the family moves the ashes from the home to the
grave.
After the Mounds...
Visiting the Mounds
To
enjoy the last days of summer and its good weather we
went off for a simple hike last weekend. We headed
down to Mima Mounds south of Olympia.
Top Chef Birthday Mystery Tour: Day Two
view of adjacent “room” to our balcony: actually a
brewery!
Early
to bed (for us)...early to rise. The next day I
needed to get a jump-on to set things up for our next
dining adventure.
Mystery Tour: Breaking Bread
My
gift for Saro’s birthday was this surprise trip to
Vancouver, and in keeping with the “Top Chef” theme
to the birthday: a 10 course dinner. As per tradition
one breaks bread to start the meal...
Saro's "Top Chef" Mystery Tour Birthday
A
birthday tradition for us has been to take a “mystery
tour” which provides a nice break for both of us.
Earlier this year for my
own birthday we
decided to keep it local because we wanted to stay
nearby to take care of our cat Nyaji.
As Nyaji seems to be doing better, and I could time
his injection with the travel schedule, we decided it
would be okay to do an overnight somewhere. So that’s
what we did...
New Years Storm-watching
For
new years we celebrated with an overnight
storm-watching (technically a pre-celebration since
we went two days before, as Saro had to be back to
work on New Years Day). The trip started off early
with a drive through rather dreary weather to the
coast; but hey, it's
December and
who doesn't expect gray weather in Washington this
time of year?
Thanksgiving at Dillon Beach 2007
Thanksgiving Day was spent visiting with my Aunt K
and her step daughter's family who make a tradition
of renting a beach house at Dillon Beach each
Thanksgiving. This is the second year I’ve joined
them. The first year (last year) both Saro and I
joined them. Both times have been really a great day
relaxing, walking the beach, playing games and
enjoying a great meal with family and extended
family.
A Day at MOMA
Before heading down to San Francisco I found an article on the web that listed the current gallery shows to see in the bay area. One stunning photo jumped out at me; wow! I gotta see that!
Read More...Oh Shoosh! Scram! Damn Deer!
Waking up the next day, it was to the delight of
seeing deer chomp down on Dad’s backyard garden. He
actually lives in a fairly dense urban area - but is
only a short 1/4 mile from a regional park. It’s not
uncommon to see deer, raccoons, and skunks walking
down the middle of the street. Cougars have been
spotted too; at least the warning signs near the
viewpoint say so.
Pit Stop @ Olive Pit
For years I’ve ridden and driven along I-5 and have
passed the town of Corning, ignoring the chance to
pull over and visit the Olive Pit. Why? I
love
olives! Ever since mom opened up a can and I placed 5
on each finger tip to do the
“Look Mom, Mickey Mouse”
wave, I’ve loved olives: in salads, on a pizza, out
of dad’s martini (when he wasn’t looking) or straight
out of the jar or can.
Good Morning Grants Pass!
If one is on the ball and waking up at a Motel 6 in
the early morning, you’re likely hushing the kids
from waking the neighboring rooms, packing up and
loading up the car before the sunrise, and getting
out of there... But I haven’t been a kid in years;
and I’ve never had to hustle a bunch of them into a
car for a road trip; so I have found when I wake up
at the “6” the parking lot is just about empty - all
the families, recreation seekers, empty-nesters, and
motel trysts have left and I’m the last to rise;
having slept through all the doors opening and
closing and engines revving up.
Road Trip for One
This is weird. I’m on the road alone for the first
time in a long time (17 years). The last time I was
on the road on my lonesome was going cross-country to
see the land having just returned from living in
Japan and before finding a job in Seattle. Saro was
still in Japan, preparing for the move, and I decided
to go off across the country in my Chevy “Margaret”.