tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61133698081770571552024-02-06T19:10:12.925-07:00Just to see it in print . . .Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-12382464836642561932013-09-23T15:07:00.001-06:002013-09-23T15:07:19.329-06:00A day of firsts -- Island Hopping 2013I haven't written here in several years. For all practical purposes this blog was dead. However, today I had a number of "firsts" that I needed to write about somewhere, and that is what this blog was made for, so here I am. <br />
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<b>Island Hopping (September 22, 2013)</b><br />
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My alarm went off at 4:45 AM this morning. Well, actually, both of my alarms went off at 4:45 AM. I snoozed them both. Twice. I am not a morning person. I finally drug myself out of bed and took a shower to wake up before putting on my outrageous red Hawaiian-shirt-patterned swimsuit and my bright yellow running jersey from a half marathon I didn't run. I was going island-hopping in the Philippines for the first time and I figured I might as well look the part.
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I popped some Excedrin, an acid reducer and chewed a couple of Pepto tablets for good luck and headed down to breakfast at a quarter to six. A muffin and croissant later I was in a taxi heading to our meeting point. I was hoping that the rest of my team would be there, because we were essentially meeting on a street corner in Cebu City and I was only vaguely familiar with that part of town. Sure enough, as we got closer I saw a few familiar faces standing at the right intersection. The day was off to a great start.
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Then things started to get a little rocky. For starters, we were expecting a group of 18, and I was only the 6th person there, and I was 3 minutes late. For the next two hours I stood on this random street corner while our group trickled in. It was very frustrating and I punished those who were on time by ranting about how I was not doing this again, and that in the future we were leaving those who were late.
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<b>First 1: Jeepney ride
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Finally, a little after 8 AM, everyone who was coming (only 11 of us) had arrived, and we embarked on my first "first" of the day: a jeepney ride. I have spent, in total, more than 9 months in the Philippines, where the primary means for transportation for the general populace is the Jeepney. <br />
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It is a haphazard system of privately owned and operated public transportation, but they have made it work for years. An until today, I had never ridden in one, always opting for the more convenient, roomy and expensive alternative: the taxi. So I piled into the jeepney with the rest of the group and off we went. Right away I learned that like many jeepneys, this one was not intended for people over 5'8", Being 6'1" I risked hitting my head at every bump, and endured the entire ride in a hunchback position, the memory of which makes me want to sit up a little straighter as I write about it, enjoying stretching my neck skyward.
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The Jeepney took us from Mandaue over the old bridge to the neighboring island of Mactan, home of Lapu Lapu city, and the Mactan airport. We continued from Mactan on a much smaller and shorter bridge to another island called Cordova. We drove out to the tip of Cordova to an isthmus with a single line of plywood and bamboo shops whose backs opened to the sea. We oozed out of the Jeepney and into one of the small shops to wait. <br />
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It was a sari-sari store, which is a kind of local variety store that you can find all over the Philippines. We sat on some plastic stools provided by the shop keeper, and a few of the group bought drinks or some small snacks. Our boat, it turned out, had gone on another trip because we were so late, so now we had to wait for it to return. It was between 8:30 and 9 AM at this point, and we waited and waited. Around an hour and a half later the boat showed up. Note that I don't list "Waiting" as a first for me. Unfortunately, when one works in the Philippines, one learns to wait.
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<b>First 2: Open water in a small boat, ship, or whatever
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So the Captain of our vessel, whom everyone called "Boss", was assisted by his First Mate, Taco Phil. I'm pretty sure his name was Taco Phil because that was what was printed on the back of his shirt. I give them the grand titles of Captain and First Mate to make up for their ship. Or boat. I was never quite sure on the distinction there. Our vessel was at most 30 feet long and 6 or 8 feet wide, and was shaped like an over-sized canoe, with bamboo outriggers on each side. There were benches down each side of the canoe facing a small table in the center. It had peeling paint and the plywood floor was mostly firm, and I only noticed one hole in the side where I could get a peek at the water, if I wanted one. It was just an option. Captain Boss and Taco Phil were kind enough to extend a canopy over the table and benches so we had a little floating pavilion set up.
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We had piled our things in, and were about to cast off when someone mentioned life jackets. Taco Phil produced 7 ragged orange neck-strangler style flotation devices. Thankfully, my companions told him that we needed more. Unfortunately, everything comes with a price, and we rented three additional vests, complete with snorkels. We were still one vest short, but decided to risk it and get moving. Ironically we had negotiated a discount since the boat was late, and the rental fee for those items roughly equaled the discount. Well played, Cpt. Boss, well played.
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So Taco Phil pushed us out to sea with a long bamboo pole, and Cpt. Boss started the engine. It was a pull-start style of engine, like my old lawn mower at home. Unlike my lawnmower it produced a sound like a jackhammer. As they revved the engine the sound got louder, and any conversation had to be worth shouting if it was to continue. None were worth it. We headed out to sea, and immediately noticed that the swells were getting larger. A few other sailors (I'm upgraded my group of BPO professionals to sailors now) screamed a little bit as we rode several of the larger swells up and then back down. Life jackets were tightened and our 11th sailor looked for means of flotation (remember we were still one life jacket short), and saw a 2L bottle of Coke. He grabbed it with one hand while his other hand white-knuckled the back of his bench. This exciting ride continued for 30 minutes, with the yells now being enhanced by playful contributions from those of us who enjoy danger a little bit. <br />
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It was fun, not unlike the feeling of a roller coaster. Sure, it wasn't as fast, or the movement so spectacular, but that was made up for by the presence of real danger. Being a roller coaster nut I pulled out my phone and took some video. Upon reviewing that footage later I was disappointed to realize that the real sensation and experience of being on the boat was totally lost on video. It look likes a calm, peaceful boat ride with a bunch of people screaming for no reason. Not cool.
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<b>First 3: Swimming in the ocean
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As we got closer to the first island, Cpt Boss cut the engine, and several minutes later my ears stopped ringing. Taco Phil was out front with his bamboo pole maneuvering us for a parking spot. They got about 15 feet from the almost-sheer bank that was the shoreline here, and threw the anchor in the the water. They had a handy ladder that swung down from a platform on the outrigger on one side, and it splashed into the water ready to be used. It was time to go swimming. I should explain that I was a little apprehensive about this part. I am not a great swimmer, and frankly, I haven't even tried to swim an real distance for years, although I wasn't too worried about that because I trust my life jacket. I can see the bottom clearly, and it doesn't look that deep, but water is hard to judge, with its light-bending properties and all that. And I know, like everyone else who has seen Shark Week or any movie with a shark in it, they don't need much depth. At this point, my hesitation was obvious, and I happened to be the one closest to the ladder. I did the only thing I could do. Get out of the way. "Go ahead, Dan, show us how it is done."
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In he went. He stood up, with the water only chest high. One problem solved. I watched for the frothing red water that always accompanied shark attacks. Dan seemed to be swimming around fine. I guess that was covered as well. So in I went. The water was the perfect temperature. Slightly cool, but in no way cold. I borrowed a snorkel and went to town floating around in my life jacket, staring at the ocean floor. At first it was either sand or some kind of weedy, grassy plant, but then I started to make out more details, and saw all kinds of things, from fish to trash.
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<b>First 4: Touch a jelly fish
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I took a break and stood up just as Dan yelled for our attention. I went over to investigate and saw what looked like a large clump of grass moving through the water. Then I caught a glimpse of what as on the the other side of the clump. It was a humongo jelly fish. We all basically freaked out a little bit, trying to keep our distance from the thing. A local fisherman who had been watching us (I tend to draw spectators) came over and calmly grabbed it and flipped it over and started explaining to us that it was harmless. It was about a foot in diameter and did have brown weedy-looking top, but with the tell-tell jelly looking bottom. We all touched the bluish, but slightly translucent, spikes that coated its underside. Keeping it underwater he pulled the spiky part open to show us its "mouth" if that is the right work for it. Seeing as how it didn't seem to display a defense mechanism, or any aggression, I'm not sure how this things survived, be we let it go and it floated off. I saw it once more as I snorkeled around, but decided to keep my distance. It may have been harmless, but it was still creepy.
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While we were swimming, Capt Boss and Taco Phil had lit a small tin of coals near the back of the boat, and had been cooking a few fish we had brought. We spread out our food on the table and had lunch. Liempo (Pork belly), Lechon Manok (rotisserie chicken), and something they explained as Filipino sushi. It involved some raw fish, a number of juices such as lime juice and soy sauce, and vegetables such as red onions and tomatoes. Of course there was rice called puso or "hanging rice" because it is packaged in an intricate weave of coconut leaves which are hung in bundles. My contribution was a bag of chocolate covered caramels. At least I'm consistent.
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<b>First 5: Swimming in the ocean without a life jacket
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With lunch done it was time to move on. This time our ride was smooth, although still very loud, across much calmer waters. I don't think the water was ever more than 8 feet deep for the whole trip to the next island. As we approached I could tell right away that this island was a paradise island made for brochure covers. Like most nice beaches, it was privately owned so we stopped just shy of the buoys, but we splashed down onto a soft sandy bottom that you could see through the clear pale blue water. In this perfect environment, I thought it was time to test my swimming skills without a life jacket.
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I put my snorkel on and I took a couple of strokes and glided easily through the water, which was strange, because my swimming has never been "gliding." In fact, years ago in Phoenix one simple demonstration of my backstroking skills had my wife busting a gut laughing. Never, she said, had she seen anyone backstroke down to the bottom of the pool. The truth is that I just tend to sink. But this was different. I floated easily. I credit two things with my unexpected success here. One, it was snorkeling, not swimming. The hardest part about swimming is the breathing part, and with a snorkel it is a non-issue. Second, I have heard that you are naturally more bouyant in salt water I don't remember all of the science behind it, but I believe it. I had no trouble floating around. With breathing and flotation solved, swimming is just the movement of arms and legs. I have been to enough of my kids swim meets to have the basics down there, so things went swimmingly.
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As I snorkeled around, I noticed all kinds of little cylindrical depressions where crabs had made their homes under the sand. We found several large star fish, and Joanne even came up with a small, fat, cylindrical thing that was about 4 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. It was apparently alive. It was pretty gross, but she picked it up and passed it around. Those who were squeamish about unidentifiable squishy living things were taunted and tortured by those who enjoyed harassing both squeamish people and defenseless creatures. Overall, this was a beautiful spot.
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<b>First 6: Swim through a school of jelly fish
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We decided to go to one more spot before heading back. Capt. Boss knew where there was more marine life for our snorkeling pleasure. We headed out to where the water was little deeper, but still only about 10 feet or so. It was enough to make pretty choppy still, so most of us stuck to using our life vests. I got in and started to snorkel around, and there was a ton of stuff to see. Starfish of all shapes and sizes, more fish, and other creepy crawlies. I saw to big tube things similar to what Joanne found, but these were 8-12 inches long. I was busy being amazed at what was below my, when I noticed a little white thing in the water in front of me. It floated in way that reminded me of a tuft of cotton from a cottonwood tree floating through the air. Then I realized that it was a small jelly fish. I tried to swim backwards (awkward, I know) to keep from running into it, when another one floated in front of my face. <br />
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I glanced around me, focusing on the water rather than the floor, and realized that there were tiny jellyfish everywhere. I didn't know what to do and froze for a moment. Then I realized that if I hadn't been stung by now I likely wasn't going to be. I got out of the water and others confirmed that there was a school of jelly fish, but no one seemed concerned, since they weren't the stinging type. It still bothered me though, and combined with the rough water away from the islands (it took a lot of work to control your motion here) I decided I was done swimming for the day.<br />
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<b>Final Adventure
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We wrapped up the day and headed back. We paused as we got back to our first stopping point and Capt Boss instructed us to tighten things down and told us where to sit to balance the boat. I realized that there must be deeper water between the dock and this first stop. Sure enough the roller coaster swells returned, and this time there was more whooping for fun than out of fear. To add to the drama though, our trusty boat/ship/vessel stalled twice on that last leg, making everything go eerily silent as the swells moved our little boat up and down. It isn't as fun without some real risk...
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Back at the dock we cleaned up and unloaded our stuff, but our Jeepney that was to pick us up was nowhere to be found. We sent someone out to the main road via a bicycle driven sidecar-for-hire, and 20 minutes later we had a new ride. Back at the hotel I looked in the mirror to discover that my whole head was bright red, and starting to hurt. I had religiously applied sunscreen, but it seems impossible to get perfect coverage. There is just too much surface area these days. And with any great adventure, if you come back unscathed you didn't get your money's worth. And I prefer a sunburn to a shark bite any day.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-70226817503946119922011-07-25T01:20:00.011-06:002011-07-25T03:35:43.315-06:00TravelingA lot has happened, and I am way behind in my blog, so I am looking for some way to catch up. What I have decide to do is just put some random notes in one post. This is stuff that happened somewhere in between December 2010 and July 2011.<br /><br />January was a traveling month. I spent three weeks out on the road that month.<br /><br />Fort Knox: This was my first trip to what I would call the mid-East, Kentucky. Not the coast, but still East of the Mississippi. I landed in Louisville and drove to Elizabethtown, which is the nearest town with a decent selection of hotels. The landscape there was beautiful, green with lots of vegetation, big square red brick houses with large porches on large lots of manicured grass. Even the lower income areas looked well kept compared to other places I have been. I was only there for two days, but really enjoyed the scenery. <br /><br />The legendary "Fort Knox" is still there, but ironically is not protected by the military installation. Instead it is just a modest sized stone structure out front of the base entrance, surrounded by its own security--razor-wire, chain link, barriers and personnel. The interesting stuff, I was told, is not in the building but believed to be underground. I hadn't realized it, but this is property of the Treasury department which is a different branch of government than the DoD. Anyway, in the pass office to get on base there are signs to remind visitors that this is an active military base, not a tourist location. There are a fair number of historical locations on old bases like this, and apparently the public at large has tried to go see them.<br /><br />Atlantic City: From Ft Knox I took a late night flight in to Philadelphia and drove down to Atlantic City, arriving at about 2AM. If I was driving on more familiar roads I think this would have been pretty difficult to stay alert, but in unfamiliar [hostile] territory, driving an unfamiliar car, I didn't have any problems. I had also been warned to watch out for wildlife crossing the turnpike at night, so I had multiple reasons to stay awake. I had a room in Absecon that looked out over the city across Absecon Bay. <br /><br />I was working at the local Federal Aviation Administration facility, and while the driving there wasn't any worse than anywhere else on the east coast, but the security at the FAA was more involved than just about any military base I have visited yet. They did full airport security to anyone that visited, and I wasn't able to drive my rental car on their campus. It was very inconvenient, and like many government-sponsored security regimens, not particularly effective or efficient.<br /><br />Washington, DC: The next week I found myself in DC, headed for Andrews AFB. A coworker and I touched down at around 3PM local time, so we decided to go do an hour in the museums downtown before finding the hotel. I had heard that parking was difficult in downtown DC, but at 4:30 there were spots everywhere. I parked on a nearby street and we hit the Natural History Museum and the Military Museum (I think...) <br /><br />Anyway, it was just after 5:30 when we got back to where I had parked, and the car was gone. I had incorrectly interpreted the instructions on the meter and where I had parked became and additional driving lane after 5PM, so I had been towed. In my defense the scant directions were still not totally clear, even after I understood what had happened. Anyway, the system is that they tow your car to another nearby street. You call a number and they towing company tells you the approximate location of your car. An hour later we located the car three blocks away or so and survived the ugly traffic out of there. I ended paying a pretty penny in parking fines over the next few months as well.<br /><br />Another take away from my time at Andrews was that our military is very inconsistent in their procedures, which has always been counter-intuitive to me. Every base, even in the same branch of the military has a different procedure for getting on base. These little inconsistencies add up to big time dollars being wasted. My example here is the procedure for getting on base. Thinking of Air Force installations only, I have had to fill out multiple forms ahead of time, or sometimes just show my driver's license at the gate. Sometimes I need an escort or a solid itinerary for my visit, while other times I am just let loose on the base to figure it out for myself. I don't blame the soldiers for any of this of course. It is just another source for my healthy distrust of large government. If you want something done quickly, cost-effectively or at a high quality level, then don't ask the government to do it. <br /><br />Ft Hood, Texas: The last week of January was the beginning of four trips in a row to Ft Hood in Killeen, Texas. I like Texas in many ways. The people are faith-based, gun-toting cowboys. Most of the time I liked that atmosphere. I think that the stereotypical character that you think of when I describe it that way might struggle in the IT/Computer world, and there was a lot of that as well. I liked the restaurants, the weather and the overall feel in central Texas (I often flew into Austin and drove up). At the same time there was a lot of harsh language and an antagonistic atmosphere among my counterparts, most of which was politically motivated.<br /><br />February was a little better. A couple more trips to Texas. More progress on Ft. Hood.<br /><br />March was another traveling month. Another week at Ft Hood. Along with weeks at Newark, New Jersey and in Hunstville, Alabama. <br /><br />I have shared my thoughts about Newark before, I believe, and they haven't improved much. If anything I am just more comfortable there, knowing more how to get around, where to get food, and where not to go.<br /><br />Huntsville, Alabama was another story altogether. First of all, for the first time ever I volunteered to get bumped in return for free travel. It ended up being so restricted with rules and fees that I wouldn't recommend it unless you had a specific trip you knew you would have to pay for in the 12 months. The truth is that I was able to make last minute changes to my travel plans, and was comfortable doing so. I jumped on a different plane, one gate over for Birmingham, and then rented a car and drove to Huntsville. <br /><br />Really, if you have the money, the air travel network is fairly flexible. You can get just about anywhere in the country, and sometimes out of the country in a day, if you are willing to pay the price. A big caveat, I know, but it is a new understanding to have. I have changed a lot of flights and as a frequent flyer been given a lot of leeway over the last few years. The cost is the cost of repeating business enough with one or two airlines to earn the luxury of flexibility. Anyway, a tangent, I know, but I thought it was interesting.<br /><br />Huntsville itself was fantastic. It was rainy some days, but it was beautiful, and pretty warm for late winter/early spring. I was there visiting the Redstone Arsenal, which is where most of our missile research takes place. So this is a boom town full of government contractors, rocket scientists and government funding. The base had tons of amenities, and was a polar opposite to Ft Hood. No rough languaged shout-downs happening in the hallways here (yes, that happened multiple times at Ft Hood.) If I liked Texas, then I loved Huntsville. I told Heather that we should move there. Heather happens to have a friend in town, so it made for interesting discussions, but the lack of a job and the distance from family kept it from getting too serious.<br /><br />April brought one more trip to Ft Hood, to finish that project up. It also brought my resignation from the company. Traveling has been hard on the family, but in many cases it has brought the experience that I was looking for. I had only traveled out of the Western US a couple of time up to that point in time, and I felt that that lack of experience was holding me back somewhat, so I embraced the opportunity to travel. Now it is over. <br /><br />Did I resign because I thought I was "done" with that need to experience things? No, it is more just that we have done what we can do for now. A life of experience does not happen in one year, one job, or even with one purpose. I think I exhausted the professional experience available at that company. Yes, there was more traveling available, but that would just be more of the same. I had gained a lot of experience, I missed being home with my family, and I had another option that had the potential for growth. That is usually all it takes.<br /><br />So I started a new job in May 2011 and a new adventure. I will write about that too, but this post is already overly long, so I will split it up. I have also been focusing on work events in this post, so I should write a few about other happenings from the beginning of 2011 as well.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-41327636764414770042010-12-30T22:45:00.008-07:002011-02-14T19:52:23.509-07:00My trip to the North Pole<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7w2Q2PZON82zzfx3blJUNhMGllNCCPe1wQrOIRY8Xu2J22ERhOpzslg1eh9WLbIujkG-v0h06fCgGyL5C1__5IAmpFtOh3dc0oxRhnBjzIO4_k1hVQOe1ic37senZgqix6x2SeXV259M/s1600/SANY2625.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572661227524036978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7w2Q2PZON82zzfx3blJUNhMGllNCCPe1wQrOIRY8Xu2J22ERhOpzslg1eh9WLbIujkG-v0h06fCgGyL5C1__5IAmpFtOh3dc0oxRhnBjzIO4_k1hVQOe1ic37senZgqix6x2SeXV259M/s400/SANY2625.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I am not doing a good job of keeping my blog up to date, so in an effort to increase overall activity I am going to let quality slip even more.<br /><br /><br /><br />I spent 3 weeks in Anchorage, Alaska in August/September this year, and experienced Alaska at its best. I don't remember if I wrote anything about that trip, but I'm not here to tell you about it. I am here to tell you about 2 weeks in December that I spent in Fairbanks, Alaska. That is a different story altogether.<br /><br />I have pictures somewhere, of varying quality, and I will hopefully remember to add them later. For now, I am just going to hit some highlights:<br /><br /><br /><br />1. The warmest it got the whole time I was there was -8 F. The coldest it got was -40 F.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 371px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572658156238956594" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnRtH7lj5Bvf-OmZqwEFjxL3tQ4CGsm7FDVBpfA7kLR5U9hX_rOcYYXpkHe84Epq42Ny9jOW_avDJarbuCJoScOm16N7IRNhsIbHjKlhWxgGxXug8X1KP8FUeHZCJfBGlY6TJZzOsDD7A/s400/SANY2704b.jpg" /><br />2. There are still ravens/blackbirds that live in those temperatures.<br /><br />3. They don't plow the roads when it snows. It is so cold that the snow doesn't get all that slippery, since it never melts, so their roads are just squished down snow.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572658155780108018" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWBVwJkM3IGMwoPsJfsJRy6fbWiY_SqbeEmuiL-JuqS59VFFGaY006GYLuFjzLnY7D48ktEDhEiBNq4fAeFtvq5rRZyaOOk_7i_xGHodfGjpr7_Ni8IqJUpCO0Pbd2y0uGHGCqvBl7618/s400/SANY2705.JPG" /><br /><br /><br />4. I drove through North Pole, AK every day, and I stopped by Santa's House several times.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572661212341225586" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZVG9aX7conrh6ZHOSwL8aWcDmx9mpHJ6Ah7FapnyAPoLQ53lxG2-yiryzIwCHMgOw_jlCYbGSWvyCH1mo_ovKvos13241mhx6HJASFY3JdMnNOZdy9EiU5TnmA6LZH0r8nFKGkJuY3mE/s400/SANY2610.JPG" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572661223041589170" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdJoY9hcHffLFQOx4YB7cMtH3_TvP5cSMHamBNGct0yc1FMf3ogtAqn2vxqg0wAeAMFhqlxSi3_EX4oW6jOoSVUuAtQ-IVykrKOFBP2hVFEuWl40TBcKNNxv2ASVy0a5F1Dz9mAHUUYlk/s400/SANY2619.JPG" /><br />5. It is so cold that frost/ice forms on the inside of doors and windows and can build up quite a bit. It seems to all be based on humidity levels...<br /><br />6. When you spit in -30 F weather, it does NOT turn to ice before hitting the ground. It hits the ground wet and freezes within seconds.<br /><br />7. In -30 F, if you toss a cup of boiling water into the air, it WILL turn to snow-like particles and float down.<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572658146134334466" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgavTuPZbkoBIcO1mbuxBOK_p05P_IIdItQf2P-7nY20aQo8em6W94AA1uzXrHO1GwEH5kjiSve4LqknnCd5ly0GbBEXNxB6l8yUvVh25-6BNmCEdkvgie9lUlYm0_F9YfWEK3f3E0pfC4/s400/SANY2697.JPG" /><br /><br /><br />9. You plug your car in whenever you stop for any material length of time to keep the engine from freezing solid. At grocery stores people just leave their car running with the doors locked rather than turn it off.<br /><br />10. Alaska is an expensive place to live because everything has to be shipped in.<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5572661215058386674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgVf-FqfmohJt_lPFZCamSBUxWSYK6-NckZvYIJs1s8Nmcw8NMoj8kL67oyHe6ghoO01fEhXspu9TRuNdAR1wK7A6l60uycH9fO4mAyN4chd_n5gHXQegnW4Jy4mzC1uZQhxH8V__GhRA/s400/SANY2622.JPG" /><br />Like I said, hopefully I will get some pictures to include here as well. (Look, I did!!)<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjebZ5ykljuL3bLC5q8kUwBCkvT3pNxntPcqT7nD9R3ud2_IFwZfAISINRbHNQlp3YpQds4o8M-c8iGsoWX0FyfJPG_47OuW4TcTYVD0hxy9sFcKR0qzvQoNo9PdlNglm_vFOdnrGwOJ1E/s1600/2010-12-14+17.25.12.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjebZ5ykljuL3bLC5q8kUwBCkvT3pNxntPcqT7nD9R3ud2_IFwZfAISINRbHNQlp3YpQds4o8M-c8iGsoWX0FyfJPG_47OuW4TcTYVD0hxy9sFcKR0qzvQoNo9PdlNglm_vFOdnrGwOJ1E/s400/2010-12-14+17.25.12.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573742544892632434" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4jGHBhBC83nJMV0vLj3sQzZBYEkqDjElBLrnDibSfdq_lB-Bo7EtK3xww5TdHuoEbQBKUHK_kAx46-iGEbq4VJ86dxDXnzGE1_cnLD6XDuqfNteQNhkskqdPjCse3zcc_Ox-NV8U2y6M/s1600/2010-12-14+17.24.52.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4jGHBhBC83nJMV0vLj3sQzZBYEkqDjElBLrnDibSfdq_lB-Bo7EtK3xww5TdHuoEbQBKUHK_kAx46-iGEbq4VJ86dxDXnzGE1_cnLD6XDuqfNteQNhkskqdPjCse3zcc_Ox-NV8U2y6M/s400/2010-12-14+17.24.52.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573742536817567938" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANRvOS-LSnjuNc0yKb4vY3lBB75KKzU0JAFWHkMVwMhvEllX91r4ec11hQb7ANFqCHmEwJ_Lv_120QTegoahp1P607EMm3TW_FUOAm9IzGh44zn5ZhzlTxw3TWhrYybcIqHOQ8lsBw48/s1600/2010-12-14+17.24.21.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhANRvOS-LSnjuNc0yKb4vY3lBB75KKzU0JAFWHkMVwMhvEllX91r4ec11hQb7ANFqCHmEwJ_Lv_120QTegoahp1P607EMm3TW_FUOAm9IzGh44zn5ZhzlTxw3TWhrYybcIqHOQ8lsBw48/s400/2010-12-14+17.24.21.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573742531156719410" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-2JAVEQzJzAa0IErYVVsjymwHIY1HmzajYuQvsrg_TheT2WPIf3IQtd2V5kWzsx-_QfuEx148V9buIwI79ENdl4zNVZnW9p_eAmypElAETnNfwWcWlOfzSayqEmeCjGu5A_96r3SI4Y/s1600/2010-12-14+17.24.02.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib-2JAVEQzJzAa0IErYVVsjymwHIY1HmzajYuQvsrg_TheT2WPIf3IQtd2V5kWzsx-_QfuEx148V9buIwI79ENdl4zNVZnW9p_eAmypElAETnNfwWcWlOfzSayqEmeCjGu5A_96r3SI4Y/s400/2010-12-14+17.24.02.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5573742530528593522" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-43890440024769556542010-10-01T18:23:00.006-06:002010-12-31T11:06:29.114-07:00The passing of Sandra Lynn GreskoHeather has an open, well-known and well-documented relationship with her mom that is as close as any two people can be, in my opinion. So this is my turn to say that I loved Sandy, and it was with a deep sadness I watched her struggle with cancer and eventually pass from this life this year.<br /><br />I hate funerals and the hardest part for me is the viewing. There is just something different between talking about someone dying and actually seeing their bodies vacant of a spirit. To me it is akin to the disparity between hearing about a catastrophe and witnessing it first hand. It becomes something you never forget, that reaches you at a different level. At Sandy's viewing I was overcome by sadness and I couldn't contain it. It was such a sense of loss, and I cried for her, and for her daughter, and for her husband, and their family, and for my family. And for me. I had not felt the loss so keenly prior to that moment, and I haven't felt it like that since, but I remember it, and it was overpowering. And to think that this awful experience of death is a part of life. Such sadness. <br /><br />The day of the funeral was hotter than usual in Phoenix. Definitely too hot to wear a black suit, but wear it I did. I stood in the sun, next to my mother-in-law's grave, and thought about her, and how she was at almost every major event in my life over the last 13 years. There were babies born, kids' soccer games, my marriage, shopping trips to Costco, my family's sealing in the temple, my Eagle Court of Honor, my first full-time job, multiple surgeries and sicknesses. Our first apartment, the next 13 times we moved, Holidays including Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years, Easter, 4th of July, our birthdays and babtisms. There were times we disagreed, even argued, but in the end we were family. We got over it and learned to live with our differences. <br /><br />Sandy's legacy lives on in each of her grandchildren who will carry the sense of self-worth and belonging that came from the unconditional love of a devoted grandparent. Thanks, Sandy for all you have done for me and my family. We will miss you. God be with you 'till we meet again.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-51628144080507179272010-09-18T17:59:00.002-06:002010-12-30T23:58:50.965-07:00Newark, NJSo I spent some time in Newark, NJ, and I will just go ahead and put it on my list of worst places I have ever been. Near the top. <br /><br />Unfortunately, New Jersey isn't a bad place from a natural scenery/climate point of view. It is just full of New Jersians. I will say that I am lucky that I am working with a group of helpful, hardworking people out there, so my opinion is not based on them, but more on the 2000-3000 people I drive past every day while I am there. The ones arguing on the sidewalk, fighting, selling drugs, standing around and doing nothing, playing checkers on the sidewalk, etc, etc. In other words, Newark appears to have a bunch of people in it that don't want to work for a living and just want the government to take care of them. And the hard-working people in Newark (who often live a long way outside of Newark) pay for it. It is rediculous. I think I have written about this before, so this is just a refresher in case anyone forgot where I stand on the "should Newark be leveled so we can start from scratch" question...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-30647386921373784642010-08-30T22:59:00.001-06:002010-12-30T23:52:45.543-07:00Anchorage, AlaskaNo, I did not meet Sarah Palin.<br /><br />I did however take two trips to Anchorage, staying a total of 3 weeks there. It was in August, so it was beautiful weather. Unfortunately I didn't see any moose or polar bears (Alaska icons), but I did see Beluga whales and a seal. And a lot of salmon fisherman. The last day I was there I had some time before my flight left, so I drove down the coast until I had burned half my free time. It was beautiful, and I even saw my first glacier, from a distance (I think).<br /><br />I also experienced daylight until about 11 PM on those trips. This post may grow if I find some pictures to add, and the time to add them. But at least this wasn't left out now...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-35669917515177666342010-07-22T18:53:00.013-06:002010-09-18T05:18:38.149-06:00Legoland<div align="left"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2eewDGFrvq6yMQsebGfEEsVW-qfwhZGEuSc6foSj3Ocu2-gRGJvGjEdtUtueheof7CQfawb9PQX3bB7D5V8lZqPD8xFSiIsjDicNULB5EE2k3Rp8fKeGWtfiErc22Qnd_pNIC9jrttq8/s1600/SAM_0102.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496904681083882562" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2eewDGFrvq6yMQsebGfEEsVW-qfwhZGEuSc6foSj3Ocu2-gRGJvGjEdtUtueheof7CQfawb9PQX3bB7D5V8lZqPD8xFSiIsjDicNULB5EE2k3Rp8fKeGWtfiErc22Qnd_pNIC9jrttq8/s400/SAM_0102.JPG" /></a><br />Life is hectic. So how do you deal with it? I know how I do. I look forward to the next vacation. It sounds kind of cheesy when I say it (or write it), but it is the truth. I like having a plan for something fun to do with the family, and so far our favorite is the canned vacation to a theme park or other "touristy" location. There is a fair helping of irony to this, since I don't really like crowds, don't enjoy cities and spend a lot of time away from home already, but as I found in some of my earliest blog posts, there is something about being on vacation with the family.<br /><br /><br />So we picked up and went to Legoland. It is part of our commitment to lay off of Disneyland for a while. I have a goal of visiting all of the other major So Cal theme parks before going back.</div><div align="left"><br /></div><p align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukbS7bvEYJ_uRuJOe8jim8-KSSWml2mp-7UIMIGWYwA8ipL3XxNgmd_4JyNJIIdD2uxZBeoUkLiZAe9rzbHSEkMxxm0v379z75s7-K7vbsxbJL6nwSHYdD5kS5zzUvyRSyiR1gO_p1tU/s1600/SANY2356.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496920536011320194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukbS7bvEYJ_uRuJOe8jim8-KSSWml2mp-7UIMIGWYwA8ipL3XxNgmd_4JyNJIIdD2uxZBeoUkLiZAe9rzbHSEkMxxm0v379z75s7-K7vbsxbJL6nwSHYdD5kS5zzUvyRSyiR1gO_p1tU/s400/SANY2356.JPG" /></a> One of the coolest things about Legoland is simply all of the lego sculptures. They truly were amazing. Everthing you see here is constructed out of regular stock Lego bricks.<br /></p><p align="left"><br /></p><p align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcYT7s-txu0Ud4J8aaFiQvIYOxRP-B8B5dtIAMpMmkehzsKUK23nIZLLrD2e4ZiFVJgOM0-gPZ8bg_4xvrDnDfLazxUlNmitGlCjynChG-UcKd3Qnth3fBmXBgwYU3ncxayW06UPjCyUA/s1600/SANY2358.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496920527702096050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcYT7s-txu0Ud4J8aaFiQvIYOxRP-B8B5dtIAMpMmkehzsKUK23nIZLLrD2e4ZiFVJgOM0-gPZ8bg_4xvrDnDfLazxUlNmitGlCjynChG-UcKd3Qnth3fBmXBgwYU3ncxayW06UPjCyUA/s400/SANY2358.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVICj5McJwkaTljuV8MK2kjZkJsUKkBqsBSSIkPcaWsskXdgu3AhBKxjip-tyetZramtZh97rDrRkKHD3S3MlE4_J8iCmxeg4eL5jRnMPBYm_bEfAhyphenhyphenjTa0PVG1lb0rkAKSUd9NFgpgFM/s1600/SANY2421.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496920519004964962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVICj5McJwkaTljuV8MK2kjZkJsUKkBqsBSSIkPcaWsskXdgu3AhBKxjip-tyetZramtZh97rDrRkKHD3S3MlE4_J8iCmxeg4eL5jRnMPBYm_bEfAhyphenhyphenjTa0PVG1lb0rkAKSUd9NFgpgFM/s400/SANY2421.JPG" /></a> Heather and I saw Hagrid, and both immediately went for a picture. Logan was our photographer on this trip, so we were able to get a few shots of just us.</p><p align="left"><br /><br /></p><p align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-kWw0jY0QZmxbyerK_Q7ikkHThU8HtoKEjCG6IvJZynA6tLdoWXyw2rhOelrgu7JqVUQAy-mhDwhii_aawxKDciQn-8Ma4MopyBDXk90SKgruKo_pKkdtAtRWDrgs-6pOvpkrW2j0pg/s1600/SANY2422.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496920511717043058" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-kWw0jY0QZmxbyerK_Q7ikkHThU8HtoKEjCG6IvJZynA6tLdoWXyw2rhOelrgu7JqVUQAy-mhDwhii_aawxKDciQn-8Ma4MopyBDXk90SKgruKo_pKkdtAtRWDrgs-6pOvpkrW2j0pg/s400/SANY2422.JPG" /></a> We couldn't turn down Harry either.</p><p align="left"><br /><br /></p><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD1u8wmjfISGa_fSTBncJDGj3RYzdPNdg8vylccEYe17tBDWxx9xD9EvHBoc8TT_oPPigKKB4E9XIG-a_UvEeKleW4AarcCeyZFInEsKXimAiSNct51976BNjz1D_r8nMRKAiljE3ZtS8/s1600/SANY2426.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496920503072914562" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD1u8wmjfISGa_fSTBncJDGj3RYzdPNdg8vylccEYe17tBDWxx9xD9EvHBoc8TT_oPPigKKB4E9XIG-a_UvEeKleW4AarcCeyZFInEsKXimAiSNct51976BNjz1D_r8nMRKAiljE3ZtS8/s400/SANY2426.JPG" /></a> Jeff and Rachelle's fam met us out there, and we ate at this great restaurant twice... umm, I forgot the name. Maybe someone can remind me? Anyway, we were there in between Collin's and Trenton's brithday, so they got to stand on their chairs and be recognized. The cousins were in rare form that night, if I remember correctly. Oh, to be young and so excited about life...</p><br /><br /><br /><p><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCpf_EJbScyNLz-ie8d6sjj025twWLLoaA7JP0jpK8l7G9a9iEwJQ_jtvUn2Ue_gWZX9X9oStjl1qJSW5NG7iY-715_nSWcU5GYNBfLoJVZIWYdSbpImF4Ej-8miwKilANFkOuQHGXE80/s1600/SANY2260.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496911746720182338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCpf_EJbScyNLz-ie8d6sjj025twWLLoaA7JP0jpK8l7G9a9iEwJQ_jtvUn2Ue_gWZX9X9oStjl1qJSW5NG7iY-715_nSWcU5GYNBfLoJVZIWYdSbpImF4Ej-8miwKilANFkOuQHGXE80/s400/SANY2260.JPG" /></a> Taryn was a good sport. At Legoland, the little kids have to wait in line with everyone else so the parents can switch on the ride. She did pretty well, and as always, we love to take pictures of her.<br /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUXccS6kUNXugcNIWfIO0Kteg3EjN7ejJWPiBFopiSzfUROy01xz_hXGmD27XOjVK42muhMJbdDkdNWqZc7YN6yE2zQDPtRX9enqDBbvFzPG1tSqCs70MiOkiFSstBmsuMYbMFfw_LuC0/s1600/SANY2247.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496911740120466610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUXccS6kUNXugcNIWfIO0Kteg3EjN7ejJWPiBFopiSzfUROy01xz_hXGmD27XOjVK42muhMJbdDkdNWqZc7YN6yE2zQDPtRX9enqDBbvFzPG1tSqCs70MiOkiFSstBmsuMYbMFfw_LuC0/s400/SANY2247.JPG" /></a> Collin turned 11 on this trip. He is growing up on us.<br /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgS_INUMjcdXboeQOniOZQeSj6BAj8poUxif3aUnWRWFsLQIoK9DkynQbH52V_CDn0pDdSG85MRmqWFqhHOq0RYvr9_8nV4zwJL_keOnRzvw-qocYTxJnvpcPrYWAPHl5Enr8GVwrZYiQ/s1600/SAM_0175.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496911725049965762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgS_INUMjcdXboeQOniOZQeSj6BAj8poUxif3aUnWRWFsLQIoK9DkynQbH52V_CDn0pDdSG85MRmqWFqhHOq0RYvr9_8nV4zwJL_keOnRzvw-qocYTxJnvpcPrYWAPHl5Enr8GVwrZYiQ/s400/SAM_0175.JPG" /></a> Yeah, work it baby.</p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbNWdCicUSFoT8zNdhvPAoxGtiZYetbI9ESVkcIFEBQuAFvjug5DcbbPoJ3TnHTcbZen4RVV97asVweHsDFr7WhdAfxTwBXa_DQooaTguBU6mK-9XW_CXzeF0J0yg-EQs7cESNBt09IX0/s1600/SAM_0173.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496911718697211282" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbNWdCicUSFoT8zNdhvPAoxGtiZYetbI9ESVkcIFEBQuAFvjug5DcbbPoJ3TnHTcbZen4RVV97asVweHsDFr7WhdAfxTwBXa_DQooaTguBU6mK-9XW_CXzeF0J0yg-EQs7cESNBt09IX0/s400/SAM_0173.JPG" /></a>I think she has a thing for bald guys...</p><br /><br /><br /><p><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGUYjsBMjnP3uK9_0afRZHxkOfaIhA5sWNCwugaUXIja0mVQvaIXQjbr15GkNfJVLmkF-y49cH0FCU6SJs5NrzrVi-ls-1YSJosQbrgGGL5ZHhVBAYztfrFLrJnrRhENxZfBlohc0FK8/s1600/SAM_0168.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496911710594625698" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaGUYjsBMjnP3uK9_0afRZHxkOfaIhA5sWNCwugaUXIja0mVQvaIXQjbr15GkNfJVLmkF-y49cH0FCU6SJs5NrzrVi-ls-1YSJosQbrgGGL5ZHhVBAYztfrFLrJnrRhENxZfBlohc0FK8/s400/SAM_0168.JPG" /></a> They did pretty much the whole Vegas strip. The detail was pretty cool. I did find it interesting that the are working hard to create recognizable characters out of their Lego guys, yet they didn't use the standard Lego guys in their model. They built people out of bricks instead. Weird.<br /><br /><br /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5c2qwUfiNftjE5ueJHJ45DpzPCDz5l79ji-IKzvF-xhOXM3yQhKZo8OEUTM-_mFYtvtYy515e4d15t3MsvD8efvgt2Rh8fbxNKBdMD5lXv594IOfo_0NlMUeEFvVzFG2StGkt58AKLv4/s1600/SAM_0159.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496910358726082610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5c2qwUfiNftjE5ueJHJ45DpzPCDz5l79ji-IKzvF-xhOXM3yQhKZo8OEUTM-_mFYtvtYy515e4d15t3MsvD8efvgt2Rh8fbxNKBdMD5lXv594IOfo_0NlMUeEFvVzFG2StGkt58AKLv4/s400/SAM_0159.JPG" /></a></p><br /><br /><br /><p><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSSm6OYncoEJv4RqxpMW7GqKNUV7a71aFqARagrkDWX1j7QJWe5kvJ97f8C841CI2UH7khBaLU2TNz7MAhXAoiSn6lQeL7Ar2q6cxr-rI125NgdMRRWBG9R_BCiFq6FL-nW7SzqXakZ9c/s1600/SAM_0154.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496910347294160674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSSm6OYncoEJv4RqxpMW7GqKNUV7a71aFqARagrkDWX1j7QJWe5kvJ97f8C841CI2UH7khBaLU2TNz7MAhXAoiSn6lQeL7Ar2q6cxr-rI125NgdMRRWBG9R_BCiFq6FL-nW7SzqXakZ9c/s400/SAM_0154.JPG" /></a>We realized that we didn't have a jacket for Taryn anymore, so on the way out of town we stopped at our favorite store: the Disneyland outlet store and got her this Mickey jacket. She loved it, and it turned out to be a good idea because it was cold the whole time we were there. (Highs in the 60's in the second week of July??) </p><br /><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrmrq0iQeMj1dbmuELSWM7Y9nub4XoilJXlXocd2oD17Z9TBZzjaIifkTZnQBS491k1A-K5mOKQlGzYO0it9s-fz-Qs6bnt9d2EY-AtYzSf03NKocN5q8zo0BVxehxsAL4808RS-_pkrg/s1600/SAM_0145.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496910341655838882" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrmrq0iQeMj1dbmuELSWM7Y9nub4XoilJXlXocd2oD17Z9TBZzjaIifkTZnQBS491k1A-K5mOKQlGzYO0it9s-fz-Qs6bnt9d2EY-AtYzSf03NKocN5q8zo0BVxehxsAL4808RS-_pkrg/s400/SAM_0145.JPG" /></a> Another cool thing was the technic classes. You could sign up to come back and play with these robots. You plugged them into a computer, programmed them to do certain tasks, and then tested it on this special table. The boys loved it. I loved it. I only wish they would have just let us play on our own a while longer.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFAPwiVW3S2_a9qut_lM-uX8jELDHbt-Lxrdk1ehqn8RuwSYx-QNsws1S9WoLNZ28QYSpKcCSUMhmrdmwu9OcfPQ6ZwfCWWyMEDdOsxMt9fYJkdMXDkc_nLLrejVGpL-i7eM53YNIV5G8/s1600/SAM_0144.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496910333826999010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFAPwiVW3S2_a9qut_lM-uX8jELDHbt-Lxrdk1ehqn8RuwSYx-QNsws1S9WoLNZ28QYSpKcCSUMhmrdmwu9OcfPQ6ZwfCWWyMEDdOsxMt9fYJkdMXDkc_nLLrejVGpL-i7eM53YNIV5G8/s400/SAM_0144.JPG" /></a> All made out of Legos. Pretty cool, huh.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9TvYG6aXGkLjMMwZCNMszAWT6qz244Yezute2-iJweFR3KRcDSlTU_XvHI4H6wB2EjHIa-RgUEwHwld4iFCVZnpd_GjLu8TJG3SNp7Ddio8xQHhV5vYJl5Y-XJFz0Cx3LEUiegkH6eXE/s1600/SAM_0142b.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 347px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496910328643166626" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9TvYG6aXGkLjMMwZCNMszAWT6qz244Yezute2-iJweFR3KRcDSlTU_XvHI4H6wB2EjHIa-RgUEwHwld4iFCVZnpd_GjLu8TJG3SNp7Ddio8xQHhV5vYJl5Y-XJFz0Cx3LEUiegkH6eXE/s400/SAM_0142b.jpg" /></a> They had some 3-D shows, one of which was Bob the Builder. Taryn really wanted to go see Bob, until she got there. Then she remembered how shy she is, and how big Bob is up close. Still, Taryn seems to pull us more toward characters than the other kids have.</p><p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaglHUadehyrv_JHNXPe7SH2ZBJQrHyQxM4kbi5xlLf2PM_coHGuCIectIsD4nX3d_ygfHNuPI8Q6TQkKtzESukdt0QZathCVSwz0yPSGpQCUOtZFw8qU70p-2C8s4TThoKBqqUmkvqOw/s1600/SAM_0128.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496904712075867410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaglHUadehyrv_JHNXPe7SH2ZBJQrHyQxM4kbi5xlLf2PM_coHGuCIectIsD4nX3d_ygfHNuPI8Q6TQkKtzESukdt0QZathCVSwz0yPSGpQCUOtZFw8qU70p-2C8s4TThoKBqqUmkvqOw/s400/SAM_0128.JPG" /></a><br />Wow. look at our little family. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5QT6ZfS7uTYHwgKKYr83wktYM7fSnlIweHI-iqjDrv3v1IzsbbkdIHNKI4xxfjIloguFLPqpW1YmUL4pXO7vTdDFO_YyN8hNgZkjUn-CnwR0Dk-7kHnmK_G3jiMAJn1E7fy7nGwnRF-A/s1600/SAM_0121b.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 294px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496904707993993394" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5QT6ZfS7uTYHwgKKYr83wktYM7fSnlIweHI-iqjDrv3v1IzsbbkdIHNKI4xxfjIloguFLPqpW1YmUL4pXO7vTdDFO_YyN8hNgZkjUn-CnwR0Dk-7kHnmK_G3jiMAJn1E7fy7nGwnRF-A/s400/SAM_0121b.jpg" /></a><br />So one of the down sides of Legoland was that the rides left a lot to be desired. This is one of the few that Taryn went on, and she loved it, but overall the rides were a disappointment. They were all scaled down compared to DLand, and you can tell that they just didn't spend the money on them. The cheese factor was pretty high. But still, we can say we experienced it.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPOSV4l_M3RzvI85dGVdbM0GWRM7sPr03FMhCLXnowRmT6no1jaDbPA1e4P-3E4PhYdk-PO3JhkWH507twaNRs4DgNMkHese2ITtDR8oGCsjpV1OH4fF7ZSHdpTP6SORRwZMOw2xC9Q-A/s1600/SAM_0110.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496904691374757490" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPOSV4l_M3RzvI85dGVdbM0GWRM7sPr03FMhCLXnowRmT6no1jaDbPA1e4P-3E4PhYdk-PO3JhkWH507twaNRs4DgNMkHese2ITtDR8oGCsjpV1OH4fF7ZSHdpTP6SORRwZMOw2xC9Q-A/s400/SAM_0110.JPG" /></a> </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-7234756602388168682010-07-03T00:08:00.006-06:002010-07-03T01:07:17.727-06:00Jon SchmidtCollin found this Utah-based piano-guy, Jon Schmidt a while back. I don't know how he heard about him, but he loved his stuff and worked his tail off to learn one of his songs. Over the last 6 months while Collin has worked on "Jon Schmidt" songs we went to a concert in Henderson where Jon performed, and have watched every you-tube video that mentions his name or his songs. I love to listen to Collin play, and especially when he is playing one of these songs, and I have found myself far away from my family, streaming music from Jon's website, and thinking about how it would be at home and hearing Collin play. Collin isn't a master of all of these songs yet, but he does pretty good, and he is learning what it is to have to perform them on stage. He makes a few more mistakes in front of an audience then he does at home, but I know that it is because he wants to do them as fast as Jon does. He is getting better all the time, and I am so proud of him. So I am going to post a video from a recent talent show. Taryn was making a fuss for part of the video, and Collin had to do his own page turning, as well as deal with nerves, so this is a little rough, but it is life.<br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/UTVU9zgD4qg&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/UTVU9zgD4qg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-53309257160972106452010-07-02T23:35:00.007-06:002010-07-03T00:08:01.414-06:00So I came home for a week at the end of May/beginning of June, and then returned again to Okinawa. I was in Okinawa for the rest of June and the first few days of July (28 days total). Currently I am once again in the Kansai airport in Osaka, Japan, waiting for my connecting flight back to San Francisco. I feel like I have blogged more in this airport than in anywhere else in the world (not true, of course).<br /><br />Anyway, I haven't posted anymore pictures of signs with goofy translation errors, or other cultural oddities, because, frankly, they all blend in for me now. I feel like I see more things as "normal" now, although there are some things that are still just wrong in my book, most of them being culinary in nature. (Why, oh why would you ruin a perfectly good pizza with ring shaped hunks of squid?) <br /><br />So what I do have to report on is that I finally bought a new camera. It is still an inexpensive model, because I am a tight-wad. It is also a stylish blue color, that doesn't at all fit me, but that is also because I am a tight-wad (the blue ones were on sale. Apparently they didn't fit anyone else either.) So although the newness of Japan has worn off a bit, the newness of my camera has not, and I was on the lookout for something interesting to take a picture of. <br /><br /><Pause in typing due to the nasty wasabi-flavored crunchy thing I just ate from the airport lounge I am sitting in... Anyways><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57shJXugtBzyP-r8-KkNHNOFaUaYoMKMVU2d1yEfZc6e403t3Og1DkzJY3Dkw38ZEXjoJ75beffqcR8uzUMjGEZP9-0fS1Or9-455YbdByKJp3ValRNgnqf43VcmAGPu7sBBDkJtBxek/s1600/SAM_0008.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57shJXugtBzyP-r8-KkNHNOFaUaYoMKMVU2d1yEfZc6e403t3Og1DkzJY3Dkw38ZEXjoJ75beffqcR8uzUMjGEZP9-0fS1Or9-455YbdByKJp3ValRNgnqf43VcmAGPu7sBBDkJtBxek/s320/SAM_0008.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5489552526338200034" /></a><br /><br />So in airports across the world now there are designated smoking rooms. You get used to them. You smell them before you see them, and once you pass them if you just keep walking the smell goes away. Anyway, I was passing this one and walked by, and then stopped and went back and took a picture. There is an obvious problem here if you put "For smoking adults only." Where are the kids going to smoke? Some people are just thoughtless.<br /><br />Anyway, so on this trip I went golfing for the first time in Okinawa. And the same thing happened that happens every time I go golfing. I lose horribly. I had a great time. I stated at least 10 times that I need to go to the driving range and practice before golfing again. As usual, I enjoyed the time outdoors and so the next day we went again. It was my first time on a small irons course. Nothing but par 3s, and I really liked that. The second time we went it was close to their closing time, so we did all nine holes in an hour and ten minutes. We jogged the whole way. Did my score suffer? Yes. Did it matter? No. So I heard a long time ago that if you video tape your swing, and then look at it, it is easier to see what you need to change (as opposed to having people constantly tell you how to fix it, which I haven't found totally helpful up to this point...) So I did that, and it was really educational. I decided against posting that video however. That would be a waste of bytes on some server somewhere.<br /><br />What was cool is that the course is right under the incoming flight path to Kadena Air Base, and we saw a bunch of fighter jets throughout the round. They were SO close that we could hear the hydraulics that controlled the flaps and stuff. It sounded like a scene from Transformers. It was so cool. Unfortunately after the tenth fly-over I thought "I should get video of that." Too late.<br /><br />So I am so glad to be heading home to see my family. We have been spread all over the place, and it is high-time we had some time together. Unfortunately, it looks like I will be back out in OKA a time or two this year, so we will have to make the most of the time we have together over the next few weeks.<br /><br />I have a few other topics to post about, but I'll wait and work on those later.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-10039625108322165372010-05-28T11:11:00.004-06:002010-05-28T11:24:17.747-06:00What is that on your plate?So I didn't take any pictures, but did have an interesting dinner. I love the Korean BBQ places; those are the ones with cutouts in the table with a BBQ stuck right there. My favorite are the buffet style, where you can go to a big open refrigerated buffet of raw meat, and heap up a bunch of raw meat to take back and cook at your table. It is most exciting because since I can't read Japanese, so I have to guess at what kind of meat I am getting.<br /><br />Well we were at one such establishment, and I saw a plate of raw chicken, and thought that I might get a little chicken to go with my pork and beef. So I grabbed a couple of pieces and sat down to BBQ and eat my rice. Mark, who I work with, asked if I knew what that was. "Yep, its chicken." He smiled. Its bad news when Mark thinks something is funny. <br /><br />"Tell me what it is" I said. <br /><br />"No."<br /><br />"If you tell me I promise to try it anyway."<br /><br />He grabs the tongs and throws my two now suspicious raw somethings on the grill.<br /><br />"Intestines" he says.<br /><br />So it turns out that intestines are rather tasteless, albeit extremely chewy. Reminded me of the unfortunate squid I sampled last time I was in Yokohama, only without the crunchy parts (the little round sucker things.) <br /><br />I didn't go back for seconds.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-4695274649311086072010-05-25T15:57:00.003-06:002010-05-25T15:59:48.743-06:00Update from OKAStill no pictures (I haven't gone anywhere new yet). Still not a lot to update. It has been 13+ hour work days and finding food and sleep in between. I hope to be on my flight home on Saturday, but it isn't looking promising at this point...<br /><br />Interesting tidbit: Okinawa has endured an earthquake and 2 tsunamai warnings since I was here last. The world is rocking and rolling.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-27110972610682282572010-05-23T01:48:00.003-06:002010-05-23T01:52:15.396-06:00Osaka, for another hour or soSo, it is true. The only time I have for blogging these days is when I'm on the road. I have been re-assigned to our project in Okinawa, so I am on my way back there today, and will be back and forth a bit for the next month or two. The 7 week break from travel was nice, but good things never last. This should only be a one-week trip, and I have a big task ahead of me, so I don't plan on doing anything exciting. I didn't even bring a camera, other than my phone. We'll see if I can find anything interesting to take pictures of...Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-18759958660750615882010-02-27T14:15:00.000-07:002010-02-27T12:10:54.946-07:00GermanySo I finally made it to Germany in January 2010. Now I am out here for a second trip already in February-March. Overall life has been busy, both at home and abroad, so I haven't had a lot of time for picture taking/site seeing, but I though I would post what I have and make a few comments in case anyone is interested.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438229652410082450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9j9Ndactg-GizS941UIG3VTxH2uYTxrC8Rhto4zhCrAzvIfvsT3nEp9YEaTSiybugnKJozDP4enZdIFT5Rn3wc_hPI3gl0hxYQIbW_W5hssrxFPf8wRNwuT6aaT5g7vUE-Tn0DjmhBnM/s320/SANY1835.JPG" /><br /><br />This is me standing on a castle wall, overlooking the town of Heidelberg. This is an "Americanized" German town, but I can't tell from where I am. To me it just looks German.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438229659239068626" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKEBp3SJmPx7IrnzwzgEvxYkL0NrftBtSstc7EFZukaeEcVpN_6klqZqlfn1Gx8utB89ccqCBun_P474ZXMXU9oZH_3Q5VfE6xQOgXlhTBv_HF-qmTWmS1HtnlBkfi_EFHpLV33Mk0RE0/s320/SANY1837.JPG" /><br /><br />This is pretty much the same picture, just better because I am not in the way.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438223870642580914" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfcGHWNBlePsSwV2UeLXQObb4VqtdZsHDMYpoWkJ5QD25T4AlXRmsccRAHzLgqr1zosh9KzNClhatBS8E4bjCEzFCthoZO3qgrYYVihO0EXDzM6VJ7zO-0zXekRFKaTqfMXIs-R00re20/s320/SANY1832.JPG" /><br />More from the same vantage point, but looking straight across the valley.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438229667639021122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_DzOmt7uYpAunAwITLhSB7MwkOLBMNxxbQfOpZ6_Y896asheKBfzsNbv9UgucmkqoRRwhyphenhyphenERrbEU1E6GxS62qT2Y1qlI9XzqDgJPdbenpcKFINSf6NicGSsm7Jvh7csmRDN3RT72OWnI/s320/SANY1838.JPG" /><br /><br />If I turned around from where I took those pictures of the valley, this is main building? Wall? of the "castle". The term castle refers to a lot of things, and while it felt like a castle as I climbed the ancient narrow trail that wound up the side of the mountain, I didn't expect for there to be so many windows... Granted, this still isn't an easily accessed/conquered vantage point, but still. That is a lot of windows.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuFQxyYvCwzFZJLs94he12tvOTjNBZbikCIl2obULthRN5XbUWOrSEsuNh4EAp73QwboEwgWv-PvQZeI6GciRVqek1kQ-Hrw_Ss2Jm1tQe9e2j6C0TlYTbSSyvwWtoMFt-v4yzDSuqR2U/s1600-h/SANY1859.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438234492981292434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuFQxyYvCwzFZJLs94he12tvOTjNBZbikCIl2obULthRN5XbUWOrSEsuNh4EAp73QwboEwgWv-PvQZeI6GciRVqek1kQ-Hrw_Ss2Jm1tQe9e2j6C0TlYTbSSyvwWtoMFt-v4yzDSuqR2U/s320/SANY1859.JPG" /></a><br /><br />It seems that the castle is in a constant state of being rebuilt to keep it in showing condition, however, some parts had been damaged beyond fixing by time, bombs and lightning. This picture (horrible lighting, sorry) was meant to show the thickness of the walls. They are incredibly thick in some place,like 12 feet thick. And it still broke... Interesting.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438234484680450482" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_GgUibDb84ulhtHgDPJPa7bXWUsl5TTf0kBNk3ljvLBRMCg6l8yH-ApkLsG9raCEei_rdQHRh0ffwH5eGJN4FTDeHKWsN3X0udCJsMAG-3nRfdbBxiFMhmOZ7GmqZ7HgymathoRIZjqQ/s320/SANY1854.JPG" /><br /><br />This was part of an interpretive sign that explained about how the castle used to look. It seems that most castles weren't just built, they were large buildings that kept getting addons and remodels until the took the shape of what we consider a castle. Perhaps some of the more Gothic structures are a little different, so I should find some of those. If/when I go to France, I think that a few French castles fit my particular perception of a castle a little better.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYdok10KSbavOZT8rEe6o4a8Xxef1GcaSF5xYfYnrCPYmr-lkWpJQ11YTzYMS7XrY4OaSC7ei9ty2okpenQ38NDpoe6Hhn9qyY8QY7-r9-9MbvEGmjpeB8sexv_l5iwbOUBsy0rkIytZs/s1600-h/SANY1851.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438234480302838082" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYdok10KSbavOZT8rEe6o4a8Xxef1GcaSF5xYfYnrCPYmr-lkWpJQ11YTzYMS7XrY4OaSC7ei9ty2okpenQ38NDpoe6Hhn9qyY8QY7-r9-9MbvEGmjpeB8sexv_l5iwbOUBsy0rkIytZs/s320/SANY1851.JPG" /></a><br /><br />This tower was broken almost clean down the middle, and the massive piece of the tower remained intact and just slid to a new resting place. A German professor, trying to make a political point of some kind back in the day, spread the story that this was the work of WWII bombing by the Allies, but Wikipedia confirms that the real culprit here was lightning in the 19th century. Still, it is amazing to see this massive, old, man-made hunk of tower just leaning there like a tinker toy. My picture doesn't do this justice...<br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9QHy_foK5qTIoxonkNH6tzPFDnNLTvQPD1A7UCLQ2xEXTn-TZJ7M4K0ilMqFojiYAcY4drN_NI9BlWlUo7OKYCE7wAKmg6B_qw6DTzRGbmepHD8G3yH6vKdJVH9zJVU4C9zb50lu14Xo/s1600-h/SANY1847.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438234477943528850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9QHy_foK5qTIoxonkNH6tzPFDnNLTvQPD1A7UCLQ2xEXTn-TZJ7M4K0ilMqFojiYAcY4drN_NI9BlWlUo7OKYCE7wAKmg6B_qw6DTzRGbmepHD8G3yH6vKdJVH9zJVU4C9zb50lu14Xo/s320/SANY1847.JPG" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7OmcTU2eeiGRRfYNVgLSvsHhSjIcXZ4fgwAwZGYnrZ5M65narPR-Iil6-7n0Pz1hgsoVG8EJp5t80qQTynRVQ0iGs7w0zXViKfsZwj2czYjZIxebD9DO6y0G4pz6dGaTBpIUGLJ-Xd7s/s1600-h/SANY1845.JPG"></a><br />Old vs. New. As I said, the castle was more like a bunch of add-ons. Here you can see a date carved in the stone (1545) and right next to it are the more modern pipes bringing in utilities of some kind (water maybe?) Very interesting.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8awbMimWd3K8qM0675c445-6GOLkEOmPfOxnvT2fF9Pa1B3Ddf-3l1s_JAHfVvoGDKVEgXrs3n-whqNd0LrMK8_cm22zjXHC3_MN7amgZ5Vp4ISF9cietts8roR2335ewyGjPpDbLUA/s1600-h/SANY1845.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438229677212810194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8awbMimWd3K8qM0675c445-6GOLkEOmPfOxnvT2fF9Pa1B3Ddf-3l1s_JAHfVvoGDKVEgXrs3n-whqNd0LrMK8_cm22zjXHC3_MN7amgZ5Vp4ISF9cietts8roR2335ewyGjPpDbLUA/s320/SANY1845.JPG" /></a><br />This is from inside the Courtyard of the castle. That big building in front of me is the other side of the wall I was looking up at a few pictures ago. The courtyard does match my perception of castle life a little better... They have converted the East side of the castle (to right, around the corner) to an Apothecary (Pharmacy) museum. It was very interesting too, but I wasn't able to get pictures of anything in there. In the foreground of this picture on the right, you see the corner with pillars. That was where the well for the castle was. That alone is amazing to me, that they could dig that deep by hand on a mountainside and hit water... ok, so I was raised in a desert.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlX-hlXbwRtqZodoYdEXW6JvpLgQ-3iyYiH5FooyjVx6IFDS9Gjpbsbvg0mlVq1atstc9K9tsBInpWsovgyraFgVQIw1ww2DD4uFCmsE7fMbBdcCTFbRU8zPrhwGqBPzylvTl6_vS9uDY/s1600-h/SANY1841.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438229671239548322" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlX-hlXbwRtqZodoYdEXW6JvpLgQ-3iyYiH5FooyjVx6IFDS9Gjpbsbvg0mlVq1atstc9K9tsBInpWsovgyraFgVQIw1ww2DD4uFCmsE7fMbBdcCTFbRU8zPrhwGqBPzylvTl6_vS9uDY/s320/SANY1841.JPG" /></a><br /><br />This is a horrible picture for a number of reasons, the biggest being that you don't get the scale of it at all. This is a humongous Wine cask. It was built in the castle, and is 20 ft. tall I would guess? Standing on the ground next to it I have to look up to see the center of the thing. It was huge. Some idiot with more money than brains had it built, only to find that within a year it started leaking. It was only in use for a year or two, at the end of which it was constantly leaking like a sieve. At least the guy did set his sights high.... There was a staircase so you could walk up and over it, or stand on top. It was cool.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhIagHlmHatDlox_KGALuBSPrDNUifqfZaGrQAV5KFnGolIF0Cza4rEuYmtHRdJaFNvCEARNIJ7Zd-UmmHHzjOpge32LwypYF5nW8-KLxfRBWTRCjLpDjcJZpxLRPfZvc42hbyr-T04w/s1600-h/SANY1830.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438223862472292578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhIagHlmHatDlox_KGALuBSPrDNUifqfZaGrQAV5KFnGolIF0Cza4rEuYmtHRdJaFNvCEARNIJ7Zd-UmmHHzjOpge32LwypYF5nW8-KLxfRBWTRCjLpDjcJZpxLRPfZvc42hbyr-T04w/s320/SANY1830.JPG" /></a><br />This is a town square in below the castle (you can see one of the ruined walls behind the statue. The statue was of Mary and Baby Jesus, but the picture didn't turn out too well.<br /><br />So those are some of my pictures from my first trip in January. I only had one half day (luck) to do anything but work, since I was only there a week, so I am glad to have been able to see what I did.<br /><br />I was home for about three weeks, and then I went back to Germany for what was going to be 2 weeks, but is stretching into almost 4 weeks (I am still here...) I hope to be home soon. The upside is that I had a few more days--weekends--to see a few things, so here is a sampling of those sights.<br /><br /></p><p></p><p></p><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438219488788069026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwKo_wWAvXF4Y9aRtNovFnvaLloy3SIdunevIoztHoC9mnodLrFzue8hv_1HC1nF3U6K2ZbpJyHKNMEUKlfKi39QESBBIJHlbFgPWwWv_ZtpLwH2Dc6zJ48kMS8Kc7daJgNPxBAXa6pU/s320/DSCN0383.JPG" /><br /><br />The day started at the Hauptbahnhof (train station) in Frankfurt. We had to take a coworker to the airport, so we parked the car at the train station. There was a tourism office where we got a day pass for Frankfurt, which allowed us to ride any of the trains and get discounts at any of the museums in town (there are a lot of museums) for about 9 euros. That is about $14.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438219477816661922" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJsSAFD1e2MJ2p94XB4cd5wG3ori3cAJY78w6XWhhu7eURrIZkcSQSA7TROuqAd09nklF7b96jXNou5QXCHqgFm9OItEa-kJtgz0gnWPHY_OcIKDXB9VKRWJS7UTXR0ReBajhEci_I0Io/s320/SANY1877.JPG" /><br />An overall shot of the train station. I am not a big fan of cities, or city life, but I am a big fan of trains. Too bad they seem to go together.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438219483052481074" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinxoIhPNVqYOFBEqZy4jp9NmBpZVvTI1wJ9kK-WXdbGnGTBUpNA31qKZOeZVAIkGn8B8xMLSkwCR9Wz4HsfYrPiTOe5Pl1U5V5eFBQTszHLoDCD6nX-JV3D3OMLol54H5dgJjfwxR2XbY/s320/DSCN0382.JPG" /><br />So after getting our day passes and maps we took a few minutes at an American icon to plan out our day. It was extremely cold, and snowing off an on, so a cup of hot chocolate was perfect. Did I mention it was freezing cold? Ok, good. Didn't want to leave that out. (BTW: Can you pick me out of the crowd? Ok, that was too easy.)<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438219494784505810" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjKOShYPQmOqXMqn0c8dpQEKv1Pl5ZNngqMSUkUSeqwSrI7mtVfWfXAVAcxG2P0H9A8X7umbHfZkdP5fUqRoCRTKxs56h8HxZzcQxmTK33L8PKcvAY6zixvIV4ewHKf7Ff_1lAbMRodRo/s320/DSCN0387.JPG" /><br />There are basically 4 types of trains: underground (U-bahn), Regional surface trains (R-bahn), local trams (buses on tracks;)--(S-bahn) and then the long distance, super fast Inter City Express trains (ICE trains). This is the tram stop (S-bahn) outside of the train Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (main train station). We decided to ride the tram down to the old city center along the river, where it would be a short walk to a dozen different museums.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438215341438444994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJU1KYfuCdrmLUadZ24rlZp3dmGxFt6fbfejKnOHwVtJqSw4D-pUZ3YiQJdHOTuqFVfMqb2RIpZA4xBtxU4fuYwEleMlOBb-ALqLtCxKgdKoYWtVR1MjJVShEQEYwrwNHDJJQ22A2QlPo/s320/SANY1867.JPG" /></p><br />This is the old town in Frankfurt. Frankfurt is actually considered a new city, and has more skypscrapers than anywhere in Germany (or so I am told) but why would I take pictures of skyscrapers? That seemed dumb. So here is one angle on the old town square. This weekend was Carnival (a big drunken festival of unknown origin?) and they were setting up for the festivities as we wandered around.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438219500269397890" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgli6-NvU5sJzpIGKBzdZPfww_F3TFHvfDpJEUmaj24jk-7xvW_9dX6tKCt1EqmL9cOs4nwkZVGVLS88Uoij79ilaLln4Db7yajho5sh0bYq4vw93P9N8S5GibJUbYhBxyNs5jHZn9Ngus/s320/DSCN0391.JPG" /><br />Just another building in all its quaintness.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438215353283589634" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8PQUuNxmobyUIns46tndLeo16CYEn4gi8UpLH6NqFYodF_R2d9SqCv5mZdo-ZW4aj0B4nIo63mIrg9Jh0WSoNylua_7lxo8AsmuINlyk44pZUxxxDVCPe2RmOzb3L832-7G7xo7J_5AQ/s320/SANY1869.JPG" /><br />This statue was outside an "ancient statue" museum. They had big windows along the outside of the building, so we walked along and saw all kinds of Greek and Roman statues, at varying levels of modesty. We didn't pay to go in. The statue pictured is of the King (ok, so I don't remember exactly what he was king of) from around 760ish AD. That was a long time ago. And it looks just like him!! Amazing. I wonder if it was chiseled by a guy named Polaroid. Or maybe it was a guy named Bob using Polaroid chisels...<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438215346546697106" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQ1SHO36a77dAhIUYEDXkn4TMJb-RWMLe7Bkj_guY8BZco4oXLVhHagnf85dTEh2v8H3Rg5aWyxcDD7FKD_6r78kLcfZ2yuaBvZihqvJIBjqTBxCEHNJ-KAp-CmHm-cLnfntmQ3YJKIw/s320/SANY1868.JPG" /><br />So being from Vegas, I see random stuff stuck on buildings all the time. I don't even see it anymore becuase I know it is all just a faked up attempt to make stucco (and the whole city) look like something more than it is. Well, I saw this on the side of an old German building and thought, I don't know if that is genuine or a reproduction for tourists. Just not knowing for sure somehow lent it some credibility. And even if it is just another cheap stucco reproduction, it does have more value because the street I was standing on probably had seen armored troops on horseback (among other conveyences.) Also, you can't tell from the picture so much, but this is not just a picture, but a flat sculpture on the wall (isn't that called a relief? I never took art history. I never thought I would use it ;) )<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438223847514320146" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiALHFXsEojf9vV67cc-rmItKHKCuE_0_cgBPchYVC8PbwDNbG3wfOr8NWlefYmpeU3nj11MXOAcfu0zGd-Laqxybk5EiHvNgbYBYSwY4jruiIjKhovDVjIUm84m5fsWeI331T1e1fZEus/s320/DSCN0392.JPG" /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438215358976121522" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqWwfqygS8NOrgZjsYR6mvmfgf0QAmEP1Bx1nmufGujw_wkj-v-hIsZdU1KNihcOOGUsaXnyFWts9yMfoIOMq93ZI66lN-Avy60vc9UnaM2aRjLfsC3h__BsBMNfaZCkkBKOiuZmF3oEA/s320/SANY1871.JPG" /><br />This is two attemps to get a shot of an old chapel across the river. Yes a new camera is on my Christmas list.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438223855651925010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5nzL7n7kvdG2NR2y9G_Zup1FfWiWEo6IzafjV4e3TAj_H-CHhG6yvIpJWXmtWkaFSNFAA1YcRLBAhyphenhyphenyPBFSRI9QXn3v4MktNq1xv9il07jMrVxt8znZzGNXus0qdL90COuO2ju-1ziEs/s320/DSCN0395.JPG" /><br />There was a foot bridge across the river... (Did I mention it was freezing cold?)<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438215362042583618" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCP59ZHCcdC26lVwYa2KQl_ToqG5AFnL4tboqXOfjJRZftzo4Y26s_LhXlsOyhl_39xiFhxPL12n2vp2MB3fLI4vsdBf8DGgbX4HLrK0ndbYMLDcqyovkuc-_dAdoCiWpCgdilOvZYPak/s320/SANY1874.JPG" /><br />This is me on the foot bridge, freezing. (Thanks Mom for the stocking hat from Christmas like 10 years ago. See, it made it to Germany!) The sign above/behind me is in Greek. In the full sized picture I can't make out the characters I can't read. Yeah, you aren't missing much there.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438223859462630962" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf5bJ1nP5uP0UyRRREMvf-8EyeEza-OP0_YLLBe-6fY9b9kMY6a9jDyniXvzBuzVSB0KcMIt51Kb3qtPuD7HifWYry00bKItoP0R7PT01UsDEO0C4jpLBBwbnu7Ccm8IMnekpvzfoTmrs/s320/DSCN0399.JPG" /> <p></p><p><br /><br />This is a dog.<br /><br />So we wandered around some more. Went to an Architecture museum and a Archeology museum (no pictures allowed in either.) We found a more modern, very European street to walk down that had a bunch of shops and pubs, so we stopped in one for lunch. That took two hours. That is where the dog picture came from. We noticed in multiple places, especially restaurants, that people would bring their dogs to work. Our waitress owned this little dog, and the table next to us had a few little kids, the youngest being a little blond haired girl who was 3 at most. They loved this dog, and the waitress came over and had it do tricks (rolling over and such). My little Taryn would have loved that dog. He was very patient with the kids, although they did finally get him to bark a few times. When the family left the dog went and sat by the glass door and watched them leave.<br /><br />So a few more train rides and we were done for the day. I have a few more pictures from my trip, which as I mentioned isn't over yet, so I will do another post later for those who might be interested.<br /><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-54119763952107505842010-02-21T21:45:00.000-07:002010-12-31T11:10:18.739-07:00Sliding in GermanySo in the post with the more recent Germany pics, I showed you a 747 on stilts and mentioned that we got to slide down from it. Here is a video of a co-worker, Jason, who captured his slide down from the platform under the plane. Notice the excitement. It was like being a kid again. Cool.<br /><br /><OBJECT id=BLOG_video-a06b05938eb67106 class=BLOG_video_class width=320 height=266 contentId="a06b05938eb67106"></OBJECT>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-11639858576973260722010-02-20T22:22:00.000-07:002010-12-31T11:09:15.902-07:00More Pics from GermanySo several of you have told me that I need to update my blog. You are right, of course. So I decided to work on that this weekend, and when I logged in I found that I have several posts that I just never finished. I didn't realize that these had been left out, so this is what you get. Old stuff. Due to the catching up I am doing, I plan on putting relatively little effort in these posts, to they are disorganized and don't honor chronology or comprehensivity. (I did just use two awesome words though...)<br /><br />These pictures (and this post) are from my second trip to Germany, earlier this year. I was there for a month, and although it was a lot of work, I did get out for a weekend visit to the Teknic Museum in Speyer. I am pretty sure I slaughtered the spelling there...<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3Ks3NTLSAsM2rXPw8sEYeTSRJBvvq5IvnrcTyRMVHSMst-eXwEpnt2ct-s4R3FaQwJAif6PiHXzW8K7Rcgrb8F3AMAwgk6VeKoLef8fLryZXgJ_mihmS9RplF2azLiCDZ5FDZwkDm30/s1600-h/SANY2016.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443272318562779538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3Ks3NTLSAsM2rXPw8sEYeTSRJBvvq5IvnrcTyRMVHSMst-eXwEpnt2ct-s4R3FaQwJAif6PiHXzW8K7Rcgrb8F3AMAwgk6VeKoLef8fLryZXgJ_mihmS9RplF2azLiCDZ5FDZwkDm30/s320/SANY2016.JPG" /></a><br />So this was a massive museum of technology, born from the collection of a single investor, I believe. One of the cool things was that they had a bunch of planes/aircraft on display up in the air. Some of them had stairs so you could go up in them and see the inside. The cooler ones had big stainless steel slides to get back to the ground. More on that later...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><blockquote><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2eCAI_jfZXyGidk7HHwj1gpgCmr_z3SSvJ_BFs9ivxBNvEO4K8SOdPHYgGQtRt2yj6vSLCsU3mAyAn_J0lX844gkwrgIbJvJNuUT9ywRRHYL5ZMphVpvGvxMYgYObPCf3a20LHH86ux4/s1600-h/SANY1999.JPG"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2eCAI_jfZXyGidk7HHwj1gpgCmr_z3SSvJ_BFs9ivxBNvEO4K8SOdPHYgGQtRt2yj6vSLCsU3mAyAn_J0lX844gkwrgIbJvJNuUT9ywRRHYL5ZMphVpvGvxMYgYObPCf3a20LHH86ux4/s1600-h/SANY1999.JPG"></blockquote></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2eCAI_jfZXyGidk7HHwj1gpgCmr_z3SSvJ_BFs9ivxBNvEO4K8SOdPHYgGQtRt2yj6vSLCsU3mAyAn_J0lX844gkwrgIbJvJNuUT9ywRRHYL5ZMphVpvGvxMYgYObPCf3a20LHH86ux4/s1600-h/SANY1999.JPG"><p></a></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443268878147368802" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2eCAI_jfZXyGidk7HHwj1gpgCmr_z3SSvJ_BFs9ivxBNvEO4K8SOdPHYgGQtRt2yj6vSLCsU3mAyAn_J0lX844gkwrgIbJvJNuUT9ywRRHYL5ZMphVpvGvxMYgYObPCf3a20LHH86ux4/s320/SANY1999.JPG" /> This is a German U-boat (submarine). I went inside (see below.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3ba0vYu57dI03aPk9-I9WkCY3LPUn56ZjLsP2iENZUdCEvrbtA-Az1fG0KyK1ir9HwjPEiz6GUjLcewlHS9cvEXIpM6hfXnMZuPMLQvzdwcnnu_RoG8n2n6sS1darrSzA7I5-Nnt9os/s1600-h/SANY2010.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443272313729866706" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3ba0vYu57dI03aPk9-I9WkCY3LPUn56ZjLsP2iENZUdCEvrbtA-Az1fG0KyK1ir9HwjPEiz6GUjLcewlHS9cvEXIpM6hfXnMZuPMLQvzdwcnnu_RoG8n2n6sS1darrSzA7I5-Nnt9os/s320/SANY2010.JPG" /></a> This is me inside of a German U-Boat. It was crazy tight. When fully loaded it said that they had something like 40 guys in here. I think there was room for about 4. Midgets.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgneUkgYXjExGDQpoICACCRFsqTPOUQV5gK80d5pRgv4FU8gPCEcTC99zH9_ABr1q_e691FO-5cdyiW8UIl4Yx0bkEX3nchBiC6X5R745mzsnXv8iJAVafw9YPTYlQuTFH8FkxlwEB9qbI/s1600-h/SANY1964.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443272308753836898" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgneUkgYXjExGDQpoICACCRFsqTPOUQV5gK80d5pRgv4FU8gPCEcTC99zH9_ABr1q_e691FO-5cdyiW8UIl4Yx0bkEX3nchBiC6X5R745mzsnXv8iJAVafw9YPTYlQuTFH8FkxlwEB9qbI/s320/SANY1964.JPG" /></a><br /><br />This is the back of the Russian space shuttle. It never actually made it into space (the Russians ran out of money...) but it was still cool to see a real space shuttle.<br /><p><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibOupCCFwJ3jPuCNwHrbNkNSeGI-dOAOKu8fXMY3552KA5TxICNn72Y4_U3x0OSF1yBflRUoeAEt3NO8NKKu5P5yg-bCsB4agHaqlyXf8L372uAI0bVoQQ_p1HZtogajFnY5fMB0RRrGg/s1600-h/SANY1994.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443268873761976290" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibOupCCFwJ3jPuCNwHrbNkNSeGI-dOAOKu8fXMY3552KA5TxICNn72Y4_U3x0OSF1yBflRUoeAEt3NO8NKKu5P5yg-bCsB4agHaqlyXf8L372uAI0bVoQQ_p1HZtogajFnY5fMB0RRrGg/s320/SANY1994.JPG" /></a><br />This was the inside of a humongo German cargo plane (military). They had a video showing them landing it on the little airstrip by the museum. Crazy. The overran the runway and bumped into a fence... and then stopped.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm9e-ElJgR9BQFM96RkCZh1gBw6DVY326GmhMBkRiTtCOjrezNP5Vzt2goMty87FIRQpiQnBEXdxFfVl2di3BJ0h5gynbm1OapZzg88pMvHXIduvtUd4E8UEGw5gmEH098cisskCDiZW0/s1600-h/SANY1968.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443268864218083794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm9e-ElJgR9BQFM96RkCZh1gBw6DVY326GmhMBkRiTtCOjrezNP5Vzt2goMty87FIRQpiQnBEXdxFfVl2di3BJ0h5gynbm1OapZzg88pMvHXIduvtUd4E8UEGw5gmEH098cisskCDiZW0/s320/SANY1968.JPG" /></a> </p><p>They had a bunch of sweet old cars. This was a fancy one.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6gz-iXVX5YiHEZ2M6XoY_h1uFyBvyu6g1P67NFGQdn6xnZZ22amH5-yYbdzrCm12JCEUOb3ix5S2-gSUpHy60Yn5ohAuapQKIPJ9zyb_xT_d9G8KmQ4Mdmf_-eoPbyZrVRQm5CgxJyaE/s1600-h/SANY1947.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443264716618011410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6gz-iXVX5YiHEZ2M6XoY_h1uFyBvyu6g1P67NFGQdn6xnZZ22amH5-yYbdzrCm12JCEUOb3ix5S2-gSUpHy60Yn5ohAuapQKIPJ9zyb_xT_d9G8KmQ4Mdmf_-eoPbyZrVRQm5CgxJyaE/s320/SANY1947.JPG" /></a><br />They had a full-on 747 up on stilts for us to climb around on. Check out the slide twirling down out of the bottom of it. Also check out the fence on the wing. It comes up later.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ZKpDMou7Rj-GR4ERwc9TCF9QgPWO_7xEsJbb-sh7acVdRsiX5EBOUEWsETRb3bxFvaMpczvMyKqtBzWu_nDyhpL2P7CyPjh7-vxduskIT2KTR-YL0RfmFQGvBQc3apcS2rbMoe7X258/s1600-h/SANY1948.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443264729230360242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ZKpDMou7Rj-GR4ERwc9TCF9QgPWO_7xEsJbb-sh7acVdRsiX5EBOUEWsETRb3bxFvaMpczvMyKqtBzWu_nDyhpL2P7CyPjh7-vxduskIT2KTR-YL0RfmFQGvBQc3apcS2rbMoe7X258/s320/SANY1948.JPG" /></a>I couldn't help myself.... You see a 747 laying around, you just can't help but pick it up.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgGFiI8LpvtghEWgERJ87ddJ3of0dt7kAxYq_v0V3p8vCkFUcIh2q31ZywAI7q4nZxFKSQPjcC-y9LF9lWp4pg-O1Zz4CO9Gfe7Y9nqdaSdfl68vp6H7GmXQDg4i-F2-1NzVPLKL6vZE/s1600-h/SANY1954.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443264735457069458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmgGFiI8LpvtghEWgERJ87ddJ3of0dt7kAxYq_v0V3p8vCkFUcIh2q31ZywAI7q4nZxFKSQPjcC-y9LF9lWp4pg-O1Zz4CO9Gfe7Y9nqdaSdfl68vp6H7GmXQDg4i-F2-1NzVPLKL6vZE/s320/SANY1954.JPG" /></a>So they let you walk out on the wing. That was pretty cool. And then Lennie and I started jumping. It moves. Then we got off of it.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyNFnHsMIUsb0-hU0C0EZpB2tESxoyw5P4u9JqyRWm5D0r21NakDbW7HuisSTOeWFnqtDNgJ7ZoNJ2fanTAB_1SinE0qOXVlNSmtJhAHF3Bf6_uNZvpS1RjvWA1ShoQbgtPW6RszJkwxA/s1600-h/SANY1958.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443268846851050898" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyNFnHsMIUsb0-hU0C0EZpB2tESxoyw5P4u9JqyRWm5D0r21NakDbW7HuisSTOeWFnqtDNgJ7ZoNJ2fanTAB_1SinE0qOXVlNSmtJhAHF3Bf6_uNZvpS1RjvWA1ShoQbgtPW6RszJkwxA/s320/SANY1958.JPG" /></a><br />I made it to the bottom of the slide. Very cool.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUJqaeRzWBOjzSr_PNFC_E9rHSBJeTmZ77Vz-cQonV6vB0alMWL93TKaAPvMdoPm_pUjLmmyRYFJOkXsjb__r3iSV6J4zZSulkweAbg3UDoGoxvGnAQenXsLvnakAWUMKAny92HSSy7c/s1600-h/SANY1946.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443264711467640306" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUJqaeRzWBOjzSr_PNFC_E9rHSBJeTmZ77Vz-cQonV6vB0alMWL93TKaAPvMdoPm_pUjLmmyRYFJOkXsjb__r3iSV6J4zZSulkweAbg3UDoGoxvGnAQenXsLvnakAWUMKAny92HSSy7c/s320/SANY1946.JPG" /></a><br />A piece of the Berlin wall. I have a vague memory of watching this wall come down on the news when I was little. It is interesting to start to see things I remember happening memorialized in museums. I am getting older.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjQqPW8bE8_Vvl9EjJIezJ5oECMMeHNKa8hHHiAZ3_HDa_ejRExdnW1tBy6bdnX0Ui1ngde_-x8kp2tbsuQQ6YuAc4rPNjt1BKxKx-xiXV5qs4AFRrCKv8QN-F2VPpTgCmklQVfVyXfA/s1600-h/SANY1943.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443264705301543010" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUjQqPW8bE8_Vvl9EjJIezJ5oECMMeHNKa8hHHiAZ3_HDa_ejRExdnW1tBy6bdnX0Ui1ngde_-x8kp2tbsuQQ6YuAc4rPNjt1BKxKx-xiXV5qs4AFRrCKv8QN-F2VPpTgCmklQVfVyXfA/s320/SANY1943.JPG" /></a><br />They had a whole section of decked out model railroad tables.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsCAbtXmJuC79HVqTMPWLVynNXgswtdLU6WQgUCFbMDRGULrubXPhkBnWPboYbg6w2vMAuLAP2QhMEYQpNxgIGVBpK50MsD2NBCIBuLFJndKC0NAMXDAMNT2O9-0o_6Erjn4LV6Ya1b7k/s1600-h/SANY1933.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443261115744855266" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsCAbtXmJuC79HVqTMPWLVynNXgswtdLU6WQgUCFbMDRGULrubXPhkBnWPboYbg6w2vMAuLAP2QhMEYQpNxgIGVBpK50MsD2NBCIBuLFJndKC0NAMXDAMNT2O9-0o_6Erjn4LV6Ya1b7k/s320/SANY1933.JPG" /></a>When you enter this room you are distracted by all of the cool cars. Then you look up slightly and see a jet pointed at your head. Its a trip.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDsD-uZ_ctkGAbO9Y7PgzZRS5EG_G1Z2nv3berA19vJkU09PK1F7CAnwkybblgU6Wwp7DOo8JgH3A0I6HLebTxx1BpO4ZJP3vi-qg6mtxtZ7ugxOPQoe8cyK41qPwM8RNvwuaQxSQE49o/s1600-h/SANY1929.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443261108209899554" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDsD-uZ_ctkGAbO9Y7PgzZRS5EG_G1Z2nv3berA19vJkU09PK1F7CAnwkybblgU6Wwp7DOo8JgH3A0I6HLebTxx1BpO4ZJP3vi-qg6mtxtZ7ugxOPQoe8cyK41qPwM8RNvwuaQxSQE49o/s320/SANY1929.JPG" /></a>Another cool car.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihnzU_5kvnSLTAEhhbdXHBpyE73cZJDByeKhAxh26_cyr4CT2fc6A8GvHWhDMa0OMpfulDH2Pd1lqFGRcCiFAx7HXP7Qt07A_OZZhEL1Q8knJfX4UlmD015CQ-HMzqoj99ugAbA3eSdEE/s1600-h/SANY1925.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443261102633914002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihnzU_5kvnSLTAEhhbdXHBpyE73cZJDByeKhAxh26_cyr4CT2fc6A8GvHWhDMa0OMpfulDH2Pd1lqFGRcCiFAx7HXP7Qt07A_OZZhEL1Q8knJfX4UlmD015CQ-HMzqoj99ugAbA3eSdEE/s320/SANY1925.JPG" /></a><br />This is a boat made by save-the-rain-forest-people and then sailed somewhere far away (across the Atlantic?) I'm a little sketchy on the details. All of the interpretive signs were in German.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDoWP1juI6iOQedpk9-V-v4eplsvupM1d5IhnDS8HlKZ1Exl_BmGp8KKWaDdeYMKSAYCyaH0uoPDdAAxlotYCI8YlNpA-SFXVP1GHCRshKIDw2GOjYZsDFutk92uUDJcipWmsBdLUzOh0/s1600-h/SANY1924.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443261096157228610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDoWP1juI6iOQedpk9-V-v4eplsvupM1d5IhnDS8HlKZ1Exl_BmGp8KKWaDdeYMKSAYCyaH0uoPDdAAxlotYCI8YlNpA-SFXVP1GHCRshKIDw2GOjYZsDFutk92uUDJcipWmsBdLUzOh0/s320/SANY1924.JPG" /></a> It is hard to appreciate, but the back tire on this thing is about twice as wide as a normal motorcycle tire. The seat was so wide it would have been hard to straddle. Would make an interesting ride.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkBsOGJRu9_Mi-k85xTrw1KouNU8UmBYl_JHkEJljNgunXN7gmyrpKajGgGdvzpjNd8az-1amnOVp0qz-cPih69H8riv19IMijwitJqLPe1UeWjkYVNxM_3wtXJOV5D5c86wtyvzLVSZ4/s1600-h/SANY1919.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443261092354879138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkBsOGJRu9_Mi-k85xTrw1KouNU8UmBYl_JHkEJljNgunXN7gmyrpKajGgGdvzpjNd8az-1amnOVp0qz-cPih69H8riv19IMijwitJqLPe1UeWjkYVNxM_3wtXJOV5D5c86wtyvzLVSZ4/s320/SANY1919.JPG" /></a> Hmm. Some pilot had a really bad day at some time in the past.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgmDmEUwVzGzUmvZ1BJzCVTKd5RZRmv6w9Z1hrql7R_qfBPOth5Y9k4APeThyl2AF4UBx0174hjF-ctrp3jIk4aam2WZbi5aYPjybIAhpSoFO3JBmAKIa0PBPhfCPTeu7A0s6HZUhleeA/s1600-h/SANY1914.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443256390203516866" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgmDmEUwVzGzUmvZ1BJzCVTKd5RZRmv6w9Z1hrql7R_qfBPOth5Y9k4APeThyl2AF4UBx0174hjF-ctrp3jIk4aam2WZbi5aYPjybIAhpSoFO3JBmAKIa0PBPhfCPTeu7A0s6HZUhleeA/s320/SANY1914.JPG" /></a> They had a lot of turbines on display, this one being the biggest. I think it went to a power generator (water??). Anyway it was cool. They also had a couple of jet engines opened up so you could see the inside. This place was the ultimate place to ask how something worked.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9F7hgZQ8hzSfs7ydQaVNGKsldOH9ku8fKNMEiEqQgrvl0AjSsN1YGrBXT9HXdWTZYEMLR7AhYz50_PaOol6sNKmu02aMY6R2VVkS-jUpL71nfsSwb3iNBplxS4C4w6rm_Z0jBh6VKVI/s1600-h/SANY1913.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443256384697799570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9F7hgZQ8hzSfs7ydQaVNGKsldOH9ku8fKNMEiEqQgrvl0AjSsN1YGrBXT9HXdWTZYEMLR7AhYz50_PaOol6sNKmu02aMY6R2VVkS-jUpL71nfsSwb3iNBplxS4C4w6rm_Z0jBh6VKVI/s320/SANY1913.JPG" /></a><br />Another plane and slide. I didn't even go in this one.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfnSjtM_iJ5fgEiZ-VyD1WbwfuyYxs-UvRPcCABAuVxYwTfNmiKX88UA3PgCB8gX5fgenSTTELDENetxOVS64xtAfyfitVmR0PER2qbhzsuDKYToNzZAZNCwlSIJ91aQpxAbTWtganbWU/s1600-h/SANY1912.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443256378408774418" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfnSjtM_iJ5fgEiZ-VyD1WbwfuyYxs-UvRPcCABAuVxYwTfNmiKX88UA3PgCB8gX5fgenSTTELDENetxOVS64xtAfyfitVmR0PER2qbhzsuDKYToNzZAZNCwlSIJ91aQpxAbTWtganbWU/s320/SANY1912.JPG" /></a><br />The title of this picture is one word: HEAVENLY. This is chocolate milk that I got at the local grocery store. It is 3.5% milk fat and has real chocolate that settles to the bottom when it sits. You shake it up and oh man is it yummy. I went through like 5 or 6 bottles of this stuff. It seemed relatively cheap too-- 1.35 Euro? So a little less than $2 US.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2nElKFbhpn1l4M8_8szOlL6S4Q4f5APTlc7HH23fV6632U8PW48oXVlG_dbrpwitTVY4FcA0h4vzKS4D-H3SH9OuIXahc0Gx_RtaZpZ4IjDK7F7oapuOKxm9x2mTNJFJ_JSri-hpoVzk/s1600-h/SANY1908.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443256369983342338" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2nElKFbhpn1l4M8_8szOlL6S4Q4f5APTlc7HH23fV6632U8PW48oXVlG_dbrpwitTVY4FcA0h4vzKS4D-H3SH9OuIXahc0Gx_RtaZpZ4IjDK7F7oapuOKxm9x2mTNJFJ_JSri-hpoVzk/s320/SANY1908.JPG" /></a><br />Ha, so they have these awesome rolls that are cooked just enough to keep their shape, but are still doughy. You buy them for cheap and them pop them in the oven to finish cooking them. It is cool because they are so cheap, and because you get fresh baked bread with dealing with dough. I was unfortunate enough to learn, however, that if you forget to take them out of the oven for an hour or two, they turn to charcoal. I squeezed (spellcheck says squoze ins't a word) one of these bad boys over the trash can, just to see what would happen. It exploded into black dust, in case you were curious.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMzj_3_Uy-xVnnjXdr8Rk8aSXdxLg7DZi7b5oiYugOoVjvXcXjasfOKHjqIcz3nEjqdvvhe29Amni9nwiKj7mEUujCaJ9HrCSAi0oYKTYmur4mjFIS2vd_OlMzJwSbYB02Y8p-P7tSh8/s1600-h/SANY1894.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443256361964200034" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMzj_3_Uy-xVnnjXdr8Rk8aSXdxLg7DZi7b5oiYugOoVjvXcXjasfOKHjqIcz3nEjqdvvhe29Amni9nwiKj7mEUujCaJ9HrCSAi0oYKTYmur4mjFIS2vd_OlMzJwSbYB02Y8p-P7tSh8/s320/SANY1894.JPG" /></a><br />This is me by the river that ran by where we were staying. There was a quaint church across the river, and those European ducks right there, so I paused for a picture. It was frigid. I should point out my scarf. It is the first scarf I have ever owned, and I bought it in the mall (off the clearance rack--less than 5 euro if I remember correctly!!) It made me feel like I fit in better in Germany. I didn't fit in, of course, but the scarf helped me feel that way.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcQXMejanrLa-1pUjjcNv2ZHkkDr-7nwUJzQ7x1XghrU4R6Qd_c34Y4FO3c7raAxP_d3AhWHgItYkUMynPnuOTdU6RqDvu6MIDb_r0ZJJM8Y6CIjQ7b8Jb7A8mCTI81_HLcVDUkTd3xCw/s1600-h/SANY1892.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443253275294747026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcQXMejanrLa-1pUjjcNv2ZHkkDr-7nwUJzQ7x1XghrU4R6Qd_c34Y4FO3c7raAxP_d3AhWHgItYkUMynPnuOTdU6RqDvu6MIDb_r0ZJJM8Y6CIjQ7b8Jb7A8mCTI81_HLcVDUkTd3xCw/s320/SANY1892.JPG" /></a><br />So the same river had a ferry. I'd never seen a ferry before that I could remember, and this seemed more interesting for being so modest in size, so we hung around and watched it go back and forth for a while.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqevWwN15p22m1KB8Ig1RsuKf3lgP6rm3KmIRFg3RcZpeB2S4r_eu_btox5ZAR9sf3NuBMpPHu0ajyxL0c-L2kuhTf3XOkq5ZAP7MyZ_IDkFgFQ5PqZdaz7wfNLqHyPSspoUJu7bTSbeQ/s1600-h/SANY1898.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443253266603161314" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqevWwN15p22m1KB8Ig1RsuKf3lgP6rm3KmIRFg3RcZpeB2S4r_eu_btox5ZAR9sf3NuBMpPHu0ajyxL0c-L2kuhTf3XOkq5ZAP7MyZ_IDkFgFQ5PqZdaz7wfNLqHyPSspoUJu7bTSbeQ/s320/SANY1898.JPG" /></a><br />The rustic cobble stones went right into the river... How did they get them there? How do they stay? Oh and there is a big river barge going up the river. The cargo is sandwiched into the floaty things up front, and then the boat in the back attaches to it and pushes it around. It is like a tractor-trailer in reverse. They pretty much hauled tail up and down the river, disrupting all the Euro-birds.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfFohCJAZe-b-6THk60lXR7buyDx0OqTxWz0zA1DD8LT2HZm8vDxbfNS3qMCbWUfSi2v8q0wUv4EkUPys-3mduFx1KG1j0IFJAPZ34L9m6VHukTrkr6xN7SVEI_hMyiQ3DV053WE-BdHU/s1600-h/SANY1890.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443253261632556050" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfFohCJAZe-b-6THk60lXR7buyDx0OqTxWz0zA1DD8LT2HZm8vDxbfNS3qMCbWUfSi2v8q0wUv4EkUPys-3mduFx1KG1j0IFJAPZ34L9m6VHukTrkr6xN7SVEI_hMyiQ3DV053WE-BdHU/s320/SANY1890.JPG" /></a><br /><br />Hmm, I must have been fascinated by the cobblestone. I am sure there was a good reason to include this one. Maybe the chain that keep the ferry from floating down river?<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-TOArZwC7ElcubrnT4bQw7-R9AtUIJiUmn6t4zHqXPnMhuj-yJFBl7NmuBPfo6hnrVLCqYe8FQg1j243ZhloOadk9ssKb6vuNe0vJ0mtOkKZyLa92f1nKMwfTmrVy3NIT2yQRy55Ryo/s1600-h/SANY1884.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443253252573488690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh-TOArZwC7ElcubrnT4bQw7-R9AtUIJiUmn6t4zHqXPnMhuj-yJFBl7NmuBPfo6hnrVLCqYe8FQg1j243ZhloOadk9ssKb6vuNe0vJ0mtOkKZyLa92f1nKMwfTmrVy3NIT2yQRy55Ryo/s320/SANY1884.JPG" /></a><br />And there was a bridge just around the bend in the river, but it was a train (and pedestrian) bridge. I don't know where the nearest car bridge was.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1WFN3xgB5RAyKlRdCxW-Hbna9-0zKC3B3I6W2GNuPU7xdvfTN3kYljM5Dac2uKWV8q0dwh9qy9qm2pgpRkZumaN1fKnsrwLAMa2kNafMEDRH-1CXiGT3iAsS2dZZ_E39TtXOtrFdVGqE/s1600-h/SANY1880.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5443253250126279218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1WFN3xgB5RAyKlRdCxW-Hbna9-0zKC3B3I6W2GNuPU7xdvfTN3kYljM5Dac2uKWV8q0dwh9qy9qm2pgpRkZumaN1fKnsrwLAMa2kNafMEDRH-1CXiGT3iAsS2dZZ_E39TtXOtrFdVGqE/s320/SANY1880.JPG" /></a><br />So right in the middle of a park next to the river there was this odd tower. I ended up seeing them all over the place. Not really sure what its function was...<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />So I think there may be other pictures, but this is what I have here, so I am posting this. I may get fancy later (which may equate to me putting a new date on this post (February 28. 2010) to get it in the right order), but in the meantime, enjoy!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-38529817974994151092010-02-15T10:43:00.037-07:002010-02-23T11:12:50.383-07:00Disneyland Tokyo<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 413px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 288px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438541745749674578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifyAETjTVIijl_mfFhnrzjzmCrm8IhMoCFa3D07fqgDKS49spyBMVpXfKhRNBgcSG7PUujnS2ZOdQBPEh5ESWFN0TDi-znzORgOMmp6eiV_3PfQOV5Gtg3uKjskaaUo2y4FwoL7mBM_kA/s320/SANY1729.JPG" /><br /><br />Wow. So last fall I was in Tokyo and had the chance to go to Tokyo Disneyland. It has been months since, but I finally decided to document the trip as best I can. It was interesting for a number of reasons:<br />1. I was alone. Yep, I went to TDL by myself.<br />2. It was my first Disney experience outside of Anaheim.<br />3. I only had 2 days to do two parks.<br />4. It was cold.<br /><br />So I have some pictures here, and I will add some thoughts about the trip. Also, since I was on my own and didn't have anyone to talk to, and I couldn't make friends with anyone because I don't speak Japanese, I instead used my time in line to write about the experience as it happened (not unlike twitter...) Unfortunately this was unlike Twitter in the respect to length. I went on for as long as I wanted. I might add some direct quotes from that as well. Anyway, enough intro...<br /><br />Day 1<br /><br />Day One began with a bus. I was staying in Yokohama, which is south of Tokyo, and it is about an hour bus ride to Disneyland. My friends there informed me that I didn't need an advance ticket, and that the buses are never full. Unfortunately they weren't Disney-ites like myself. If the word "Disney" was an adjective it would mean "crowded". Yep, I wanted to take the 6:45 AM bus, so I got to the stop at 6:30. There was already a bus load of people in line. I made it on the second bus that left just after 7 AM, and we left more people on the curb. The bus ticket was a close call as well. There wasn't a window to buy a ticket, I had to use this machine. Good plan except for that machine was all in Japanse. No English button. I was forced to ask a stranger to help me (me as in the only grown-up white guy in a Disney sweatshirt trying to catch this bus by himself ) buy a ticket to Disneyland. It was awesome.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438530985668292274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4TsSA0C1XHZ_XX635U-lJv6U7D1YCMKJUSdpoKhiwdEYIM7kkqVM6bMEORie2MOrw23c3O9Ssma9Czg6_us15bG7wuwOjPkr5Zzewpxr9SO7IbJyP8e99mnp4wMSs0KshQvgmtG59mqU/s320/SANY1659.JPG" /><br />So being cursed when it comes to buses, of course I got off at the wrong stop and hiked a mile to the entrance, where I got to stand in line. You can just make out the roof over the heads of about 10,000 of my closest Japanese friends there. That is where the back of the line should have been. Once under the roof you were in line to get your bag checked for contraband, and then you got to stand in line to actually get in. It was Disney [crowded].<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 359px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 251px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438546254556157682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUql7kTAc5BhGCPnt1C-AjdPAWjeNMoaJxQNr7j9u0l11K8rFfVQgVRra-z-vRtG6Sd3fb8WDKXj5KMsCidbDUHM5_crawKTJAr_4YpIv4syJdZs86R1-G81ketk6k22a2zJ3qEShwRmU/s320/SANY1750.JPG" /><br /><br />One cool thing was that Disneyland tickets could be bought at Disney retail stores. And they were everywhere. There were two within walking distance of my hotel in Yokohama, so I had picked up my ticket earlier that week. You may notice that there are dates on the ticket. In Japan you buy tickets for certain days, since they sometimes sell out. Yep, some days Disneyland is so full they just stop selling tickets, and this was one such weekend actually, with a Japanese national holiday and it being the first weekend of the Christmas season. Unfortunately, I didn't get any discounts by buying in advance...<br /><br /><br /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 359px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 208px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438534542664554898" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1gH6oW_Q7m70i0SFsBFjB7bZ3Fv4ARfUKMLEQ5wubcyfcDuOJ-xgXa8vzdP6pRGffV7RCtsBQGnoKH4hs4O_oWcCs-rAftmhaGlpa12Q2cSXb0JoNmm3LMHRRUA7gPWvuzvm74jaWlfw/s320/SANY1663b.jpg" /><br />This picture was compressed even more after it was uploaded and so it didn't turn out well, but my two-day pass was about 10,000 yen or roughly $100. It wasn't a park hopper--it was only good at one park per day. Due to the busy weekend, I had to go to Disneyland on Saturday, and Disney's second gate, Tokyo DisneySea the second day, Sunday.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438530986260866242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXmNNa72ncezzi_iNUlmKml-koAGIX7wls0KGc2kZALMzin7CEigTxvd655oS9ahMiHkIYfwmWcXtnIRYUru9WIwg-CuzY1Nbs2S79FBDdqAJ75sgAE8H1nnJhHuBsvJOXi13-FdSZVvI/s320/SANY1665.JPG" /><br />So a little over 30 minutes after the park opened, I made it inside. The first character I saw was Pooh, which made me miss Taryn, my little Pooh fanatic. So I snapped this picture for her. In California I wonder where they find so many short people to fill the costumes, but I didn't ponder on that for long on this trip :)<br /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>So if you have ever been with me to Disneyland (and many of you have), you know that it is all about the FastPasses. What makes them great is that in CA, few of the locals use them, so if you are from out of town, or just want to make the most of your trip, a little forethought and some extra hiking across the park pays serious dividends. Well, here in Japan everyone and their dog tries to work the FastPass game, so it doesn't have the same effect. For my efforts I only got 3 Fastpasses and they were all gone by 10:30 AM, and from what I've read, that is not uncommon. I didn't even get to use one of them.<br /><br /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438530996391071458" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqdJoyIb7ulV2GiXRG8IIB1ivvjsjNIUdfDul4vkd47djFuYqyYkD6TYAIVUO5rH3TYxLiY91cHLV10j8Tk2XcOTngrygqe4JX23NvQTi1BaqrKpu1Xm7V-eZn_VUYbTLXDsAaFERpt8w/s320/SANY1668.JPG" /><br />So I had my first FastPass in hand (Space Mountain) and was walking by IASW (Its a Small World) and decided to pop in since there was no wait. That is what is known as a "rookie mistake." I knew better than that, but I did it anyway and suffered. By the time I got out of there the park had been open for 90 minutes and any benefit from my early start at the day was completely lost. Anyway, I thought I'd include this picture of the loading area for IASW. As you can see it is indoors, as are almost all attractions at TDL. I thought it gave most rides a different feel, but also made me appreciate DL-CA even more. When you are walking around, having the queues out in the open as you walk by an attraction kind of brings it out to you (or brings you into it?) You feel more like you are in a theme park than you do when you are just walking down a sidewalk with buildings on each side, no matter how intricately themed. Just an opinion...<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438530999988382162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY9dAEyV7PhNCcVSDAXMlDh63DlUozTphlPF_UKcrvCDRXQ3fad88PBpBUFtCNAOZEP2h265hr03fKJOwZh5snXA3QaxVcJBKVFI79RiuAsdM5eV1rw3NYZL3JSS9mea1kFXJudG_2hro/s320/SANY1682.JPG" /> </p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>I posted this picture to show that even in the middle of the ride, English is prevalent. Most of the visitors were Japanese, and relatively few seemed to be fluent in English, but when Disney first licensed this park (yep, TDL Resort is not owned by Disney) part of the agreement was to keep English as the primary language. This was Disney's first park overseas, and I think that since then they have changed their minds on that, but you can see the effect here, at the end of IASW. It did help me navigate the park though, having English signs here and there. Unfortunately there aren't English signs everywhere though, so there were a few awkward moments after all...<br /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438531008789530210" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghbVrsL0RCgzviz7ZVCPM47CsOQOSNAyzw_MVAXbj1PwTwgS9RJYoyiRC96vrpeetb4LL0Jmp763D9PLu1oXZspKlwzC4vtbcSypfYzDJpVD_n8dE9rQyU9zovySG6c7zn0jT1juc4abg/s320/SANY1683.JPG" /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>So as I said, going to IASW first messed up my plan. By the time I got to Big Thunder Mountain, this was the sign I saw. The standby line was 110 minutes! I didn't believe it at first, but got in line anyway. </p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438534519349956578" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlnyT6VNRk0L_6hrSmXBnRH1YymXIyLScOLTTIC41bMwX33PPDMglZgBKJYeeLgdKHUMsRfo25lmxhN80ZoenmIMLHCqqPYRwc-Fs68SJ1z1S8sNGI61edx-mkNMEmaFpCDtdYPVaCN-c/s320/SANY1687.JPG" /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438534528648301202" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkwHfZDkKq-XOGjK99qzX55Yq32D2YruNwxJnEn4oLSYYXx-B0ISUWyjE-8GHzzVN9dGLsmkGJa6jl0poCrPu8semZAiibd5KMoF0xl3J1beEoITFLFbUgQJPqEFf5Sl4MSuHnLyS1Y2g/s320/SANY1689.JPG" /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>I love smart ideas, and this one qualifies. I don't know if you can see it, but he has a white wristband on. They measure the kids height, and if they are tall enough they get the wrist band so they don't have to get measured again. I don't have evidence, but I would guess that on some rides it is a requirement for all little kids. </p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438534530342527762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_P3LZM4Yh1L00O41EEMoiu3nOgTagYnOKZKb5wEVZwYNqD8gf98FBsuSSnx8XAu4bpx7iQ52ndAqukIlvNeoD4il9AHDnC6H-V9jx1yUMVsT7MiwXSv74WYAP0p5RX8IV4ZCrFIZHsTc/s320/SANY1692.JPG" /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>The queue line for BTM is really cool. You climb up a hillside, through a [fake] sandstone arch and then into a rustic shack where they can wind you back and forth for 60 minutes. The shot above was taken from the queue line, looking back down the hill at the mass of people that are in line behind me.<img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438534538524201794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOEC36CSVgSyoiJFNJhg4kntg1W8g_6KWWdJVX97PGR8x-f48Hh4QF7dY0xAMCuaZCG1ATrAnxubhTt_laDLIXQxo0qAenmIBC_p0qX00Tm_z6DB_aQHiS0Z7ruiIvHV0E6VmK_U9Qqa8/s320/SANY1698.JPG" /></p><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>Many/most of the rides are near copies of Disney rides at other parks. BTM is at every Disney site, in one form or another, for example. In the TDL version, they have a cool hot springs area during the ride that you can see in the right side of the above picture. Also, the seats are padded!!! There is also a little divider to keep you from sliding back and forth during the ride. Both are good additions, even though it eliminates the option of going three to a car with little kids, which I have done, and will probably do again.</p><br /><p>Speaking of things you don't see every day:</p><br /><br /><br /><p><br /><br /></p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439797766264640130" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8LVY-9gb5ZgYaF-nOGx3s9XvsihkCoQ8d3MViUxD7k-N-iZymarYa10KKm7cv0ApySGt-fyuMnmZOT8c4GUXh5R0p7VClqaItFqgyubzTPTbETYObuj8W9E4DVqSWPR1kGSLtnIAOs48/s320/SANY1707.JPG" /><br /><br />An observation from my phone-notes: "Its quieter. The soundtracks are just a level or two quieter, there are dead spaces walking around and on the rides where there is no soundtrack. I don't know if it is better or not, but that is just how it is. My opinion depends on the situation I guess. Sometimes a little peace and quiet is nice, and other times more volume is better to make the ride or parade or whatever more fun."<br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438538146100874402" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn20Q71ySmtTpW_5HYu5YEOPOuWCSX9YgqVZjMCdNo2dnht-4Po9b8u66zidL18FYKcqKLq-1CTfwLcMAEN5yLZW_0gRSH7MvQcx3XAa-_cmu5Bwh78EXhTs5keST4mLNMESi_VnJ5uAc/s320/SANY1715.JPG" /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p>So by noon I had been on Small World, Big Thunder, Splash Mountain, Jungle Cruise and Tiki Room. It doesn't sound like a lot, but given the circumstances, I was feeling pretty good about it. But I was hungry. I began hunting for things to eat, and in Japan, that can be a real struggle (at least for me.) Then I saw the waffle house, and my problem was solved. One chocolate syrup and banana covered Mickey waffle later (400 yen) and I was good for another hour or two.<br /></p><br /><br /><br /><p>When I had first entered the park and ran for my Space Mountain FastPass, I encountered this line that easily looked like an 45 minute wait, and I was totally surprised to see that it was for a FastPass to their newest ride, Monsters, Inc. Ride and Go Seek. I balked at that craziness of waiting more than half an hour just for a FastPass, and went on my way. However as the day went I couldn't help but think that I should make sure to see all of the stuff that wasn't available at other parks, and a brand-new ride definitely qualified. After enjoying my chocolate covered Mickey waffle, I wandered over to the MI FastPass station to find this:<br /><br /></p><br /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438538155062284690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLPyvRTzHhyi9f0JKFxb4go1ORLWbTjKBrnUn4YmQaG9fyNLReHeV-FscfYA18YongSVwnWfIOdD2uY4Fmt9mws0YP26oVcLZCiTV6f-3c9WyQh5EvUGK47q9yJS2CMf-yaG1Q0CH2Uk0/s320/SANY1716.JPG" /><br /><br />No FastPasses left (I wasn't surprised at this point), but a 180 minute wait??? Are you kidding? I was tired from my early start, and had found most of the rides to be redundant to my experiences elsewhere, and I just couldn't keep myself from wanting to see this ride. The MI ride in Disney's California Adventure is a decent ride, although still just another addition to the dark ride category. To me, Disney didn't break out of that category until they introduced interactive rides, such as Buzz Lightyear AstroBlasters(the TDL Buzz ride was down most of the day, so I didn't experience their version) and Toy Story Mania. Reading the sign for this MI ride gave me hope of a [new] interactive experience; everyone was to get their own flashlight to "find" monsters on the ride.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438538161082428626" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0nybsHKYMOADZ7ANBUihTcqsRtAQTJmJpr6zqMJi5dhhycqtA-FRqta6447pMEmEkWCRU8KQSP2tjsPOO11weeN8h4rZmYQYrGq7unQnkQ1ddrWTd4TL7Dg5KUoadxz4SwV2W3Kb5j4/s320/SANY1718.JPG" /><br /><br />So I got in line. And waited. And waited. They did have some minimal theming (a video for instance) to try and keep the queueing area interesting, but there were just too many people. There was no point but to have miles and miles of chains snaking the line back and forth outside (and inside) the building. The first hour I wrote on my phone. Then I played solitaire. I took videos and pictures (Yes, my phone was my friend this whole trip.)<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438538166692073218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSBBSzMYGqTrbq6KJWGmE_BVbY-x_wJA2gVGjHotTEuF3oOt9hcQZ3VRMhgE1WgyPXX2Aks8etF-XwINtsjT56LC27iNw1bHbhURU_nLbVuB_rkjJ06E1T-KcTUNXmHDIV5RLHjnK-W20/s320/SANY1724.JPG" /><br /><br />It was pretty close to the 3 hours they predicted when I finally got to the boarding area. The ride vehicles were these little two seaters (in pairs)! No wonder it was a 3 hour line. The only justification I can come up with for this is that TDL, which often has a crowding problem, figured that they could stash a couple thousand guests at a time in this queue and get them out of the way. What other excuse could there be? It wasn't even a constant-loader (like Buzz.) I got in my little Monster cart and picked up my flashlight. Rounding a corner, the light came on. We zigged and zagged through what was a decent, but not extraordinary, dark ride experience.<br /><br />I could shine my light on the Monsters, sometimes animatronic, most often not. And nothing happened. It wasn't an interactive ride. My actions didn't change the ride experience one bit. Very disappointing.<br /><br />So if I had it to do over again, would I wait in line for it? Actually yes. What I learned was that it was better to focus on the different rides/experiences, even if less exciting, than to re-hash rides that I had been on dozens of times, despite the minor differences I would see (which were clinically interesting, but not material to the overall ride experience.)<br /><br /></p><br /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438541750635145426" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuUuAvi6UESGaZBcxjRHVTWANE0ztRNN_574C2MzMthkfDO1C575j4yqqhwUXaORh1pc7lhEnIwdN64I69dYxb3c5qGPq6xgcLO1maYlxTiubtCB2f2RkUTljBZSX-HpS_U7Udg82t5ek/s320/SANY1734.JPG" /></p><br /><br /><p></p><br /><br /><p>By the time I got off of MI, the afternoon was starting to give way to evening. I realized that I was losing light and wanted to get the obligatory castle pictures. This one and the picture at the top of this posting are two of those. You can tell in both that my lighting was past its prime, and I only had my crappy little Sanyo camera (never buy a Sanyo camera), but I did the best I could with what I had. I would love to get another shot at this with my wife's fancy Nikon D50 someday.<br /><br /></p><br /><p></p><br /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438541758860445682" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq7cxmZ5Z18jSWxF7zFhpA4x085pnGoNwe7jTEypmi_4I3mMX5ZkZmOvfLEVQc446aULGGv0TWBTJK70Vh3iWz3UHxjsh4nSLzeXGkL1ba53gTOt7cHWjPm9wtSm0jU5l2A5HCpTrop2Y/s320/SANY1737.JPG" /></p><br /><br />I had learned that the AstroOrbitor in Disneyland [CA] had once sat up by the PeopleMover station, but being a relatively new Disney fanatic, I never saw the PeopleMove open, or the AO in that position and, frankly, I had a hard time picturing it. Well, they had that same setup in TDL, so I don't have to imaging it anymore. It was right there. I definitely see the appeal to what I consider a poorly placed, lackluster ride at Dland-CA, if only it were in its original spot. The height would make it a whole new ride. No, I didn't try this one out (I'm not big on spinning rides.)<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438541762584881122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYpg8bO8H1mf8C1gfCbS_E3o51qLzs-6S9EcSugN5KoCEfAjgkU5INIkk2eqTrF0V8fbJN3DkrFAA-PtUqTrx554Yiam3JPIHCs86jrjW4nj_mc2sgjimFANJ3qsrbT_daly6sqUbUMIA/s320/SANY1738.JPG" /><br /><br />It was near the end of the day when I finally used my Space Mountain FastPass. The theming was very much the same, but the ride was not quite up to par with the original, mostly due to the lack of music. I never realized how much the music added to this ride, which is in the dark, so you are already down 1 of the 5 senses. Adding an auditory piece to the ride really makes a difference. It was still a good ride, but doesn't compete with its CA counterpart.<br /><br />I hit up Pirates of the Caribean, and even Peter Pan (a mere 45 minute wait, how could I pass that up?) I liked the Pan ride for two things: It was a constant loader with a conveyer belt--I like to see the park trying to maximize throughput on its rides-- and the London flyover scene was much improved over the CA version. Closer up, with moving car lights. Other than that is was pretty much the same. So at that point I was tired and bedraggled. I got the following video of the Christmas Tree in the center of the World's Bazaar (their Main Street) while I wandered around in a dazed stupor. I had my 3rd and final Fastpass(Pooh ride) in my hand, but it wasn't good until 10PM, and I still had to be alert enough to make my way through the train system to a hotel I had never seen in a nearby, yet unfamiliar part of town. (The addressing system in Japan makes about as much sense to me as an Italian opera.) So I called it a night.<br /><br />The whole experience was great, although I will admit it was somewhat lonely. I would have rather had at least a friend along, if not my family, but overall I have only one regret, and that was not getting to the Pooh ride. It is completely unique to TDL, and in some forums I've read it is heralded as the best ride in the whole park. And I missed it because I was tired. Wimpy. There is no excuse for that. Luckily, there is another day to this story.<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dy7tx3JLmOUWNBDtNbIX15TXg2vBVeNKXP8iK4Vwa5HoXd0yGeYvgCvLeXDHCNFxmlz8XthnwXoXuPIZ6-0YQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br />DAY 2<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438541766693296978" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ5AD4TOd1EQ-TWaeHNq2nkqtSS3gLtcDwgs1-s6EtGCkZlyPs7FFsEFkdFMdinRyFi1VHsHFNuoJNHP0BMe1zbgWdYZ5ETaWT1Ejn6YXRYXE4CNS8LmBBpHiJ7jzDhzxZkrKHL13cp_s/s320/SANY1748.JPG" /><br /><br />The train system in Tokyo is extensive, and is the primary transportation mechanism for millions. With my characteristic tendency to overplan, I had my itinerary pretty planned out when it came to trains, and my solo train riding went off without a hitch (I'm only cursed with buses.) Basically I took the train to the Disney station (the station name escapes me at the moment) and then transferred onto a signature disney train. The Disney train (with its own fare, of course) even had minnie-shaped straps to hold on to.<br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438546259584327602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrXigByGEkl6hEbNHgfl9hmMUh5gsvPwmMoMlbhkhIbtHzKogZT81D8hdnyjHqwsuSUqiCgeY5hyphenhyphenXxkVJuUIbWet0JUddv1llURlMGl4Ezuxyf7iP_adoysLEaORF8ymiaccEoHD1pPHI/s320/SANY1799.JPG" /><br /><br /><br /><br />In Disneyland I was greeted by characters, but at Tokyo DisneySea this huge water-covered rotating fountain-Earth was the centerpiece of the plaza. This big entryway (inside the turnstiles) was surprisingly empty of concessions or even attractions. I stashed my overnight bag in the lockers and hit the park.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcJnW_bbdcS8knoLzYAP4XN0R3BQZu5yJXMbbwr7jtiXvpSaJG4eh6RuG5AN0wTRqPsYi0QO7q7zDdHXnkaVuyu6cn8pqFg1jl3pWpn0luMqX07Mh6TlOqGnfB8NNKdH_W3huEJlpuKeI/s1600-h/SANY1786.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438548750051350738" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcJnW_bbdcS8knoLzYAP4XN0R3BQZu5yJXMbbwr7jtiXvpSaJG4eh6RuG5AN0wTRqPsYi0QO7q7zDdHXnkaVuyu6cn8pqFg1jl3pWpn0luMqX07Mh6TlOqGnfB8NNKdH_W3huEJlpuKeI/s320/SANY1786.JPG" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHNCxeIDK77C52u4VSeQ8SCg8xz1jNvRb8OCPT76i3eiBQGV8Gu3qDxNJ2h3VjHfEz27-ZTiJuwXz7mSYXudNTmkxWbC544eoxwpa-o76SRh2mGaASNL4bdYo7i7Us8PqJhFH1q-gIF8/s1600-h/SANY1784.JPG"></a><br /><br />So I'll say two things over and over about DisneySea. One: This is an awesome park. Two: It was dang cold. The iconic feature of DisneySea is the volcano which spews fire every hour or so. The fire shows isn't that big a deal from a distanc, but from inside Mysterious Island (the rocky center of the park you will get to see in a minute) it is a good show, expecially since they add sound effects and underground lighting that make it look like there are active lava flows.<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyZsLXtj0F1tk6_Q4hwATbp8EAAHWmjnmrIhT86WmmWiZgnyQIpJrT23uiZj76kaOlZih5oznayLhOVekNdxg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />This video is from inside the island. You are surrounded on all sides by rock, and the center is all water. You enter through tubes/caves/walkways from the various connected lands, but this isn't really the classic Disney hub and spoke design. The rock itself is a ride, of course. Journey to the Center of the Earth. It was very well done, although short. I managed to go twice.<br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438548749701542690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHHNCxeIDK77C52u4VSeQ8SCg8xz1jNvRb8OCPT76i3eiBQGV8Gu3qDxNJ2h3VjHfEz27-ZTiJuwXz7mSYXudNTmkxWbC544eoxwpa-o76SRh2mGaASNL4bdYo7i7Us8PqJhFH1q-gIF8/s320/SANY1784.JPG" /><br /><br /><br /><br />While the theme of DisneySea is definitely "water", there is an eclectic mix af themes in specific areas. Above you see a seaside castle worthy of any Fantasy fiction novel, but when you get there there are actual tours of the castle, focusing on castle life and the whole bit. I didn't quite know what to make of that. In fact, the best thing about the place was the food stand there that sold churros and hot chocolate among other more asian treats. I had both a churro and a thimble-full of hot chocolate for a measly 600 yen ($6.00ish--and yes that was sarcasm.) It was so cold that at that point (around 10:30 AM) I could still see my breath and there were random snow flurries riding the very gusty wind. The hot chocolate was worth every yen.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrqNyhgHbUti4O0qz4erprqTnuJpsYKZ9RzcMkJUHXwf6phyphenhyphenUQEynUMCXLruv2Ky_7fGCpMLuNGfuq8fLibc-hFQOwHoILTkvwJqdczWpYC8Z0NEqLEnO_o1SrNHglBDFikNu8j_Acz_s/s1600-h/SANY1772.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438546282174045970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrqNyhgHbUti4O0qz4erprqTnuJpsYKZ9RzcMkJUHXwf6phyphenhyphenUQEynUMCXLruv2Ky_7fGCpMLuNGfuq8fLibc-hFQOwHoILTkvwJqdczWpYC8Z0NEqLEnO_o1SrNHglBDFikNu8j_Acz_s/s320/SANY1772.JPG" /></a> This is standing with my back to the rocky island and look back to where I came. The big arch in the center of the buildings is a tunnel, acting as the "Main Street" for this park, and on the other side is the entrance plaza with the giant Earth-fountain. This bay is the venue for the over-the-top water shows that happens later in the day (video segment below.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEny3bq3R7plmwGlHD6Xu8HD6qUpGefhuPUdGaPlKiuWqF811ZBcBp7iuEOlu58pVpeqCK4pc3tD9L3jCQvzCH0UGZAhZCxFlLR8YhRL4fjACVP6jESx-liSXBNL0hKsZobcbqsEXsSho/s1600-h/SANY1769.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438546276337459378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEny3bq3R7plmwGlHD6Xu8HD6qUpGefhuPUdGaPlKiuWqF811ZBcBp7iuEOlu58pVpeqCK4pc3tD9L3jCQvzCH0UGZAhZCxFlLR8YhRL4fjACVP6jESx-liSXBNL0hKsZobcbqsEXsSho/s320/SANY1769.JPG" /></a> Disney couldn't have a parked based on the Sea without paying homage to The Little Mermaid. This was the kiddee section of the park, with rides and play areas for the younger crowd. I didn't spend a whole lot of time here, but the setting was so well done, I had to take a picture. This was also one of the few areas I saw characters on this wintery day. Eric (Ariel's boyfriend) turned out to be a huge white guy (he was seriously like 6'6" or taller- no mask) and was accompanied by his dog--the name escapes me-- but the dog was a cast member or two, walking on all fours. It was pretty funny. The Japanese girls (and women) swarmed that guy like an Africanized bee hive. I will admit that he did look exactly like the guy from the movie, but come on...<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLfmJsgLXx1ABn9q62jNNMyiAOrcJ5evPcinzAf_F9W1yG3zb_B7AVozp-EgLroWaiUzjj_du1mSlR4mGh2_sflJwYiK4CaPoHpvw1Xe53RQVL9PX8apw9q76KBTa7h0oAZ4WYRzD6T8U/s1600-h/SANY1762.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5438546266026790370" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLfmJsgLXx1ABn9q62jNNMyiAOrcJ5evPcinzAf_F9W1yG3zb_B7AVozp-EgLroWaiUzjj_du1mSlR4mGh2_sflJwYiK4CaPoHpvw1Xe53RQVL9PX8apw9q76KBTa7h0oAZ4WYRzD6T8U/s320/SANY1762.JPG" /></a><br />So where King Triton's domain fit right into the decor, there was this odd Persian looking place where they had an Aladdin show going that didn't fit in at all. It was extremely popular, I would guess, from the crazy lines for the show (or maybe they just wanted to get out of the cold like me...) but I didn't have the time or desire to do a show. Again, this area had a main entrance and then was a huge courtyard. In this picture I was in the courtyard looking at one side of the surrounding walls. It looked cool, but I missed the connection to the rest of the park. I don't remember any large bodies of water in Aladdin??<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyzMLWdqYscNSfFNenicJ6_wO54appmAvEkmDuRzBQnchmSZ46mMV5UHxsECiF_VILV67av27rCtHlJtHBuQQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />This video is of the cool water show that happened in the midafternoon in the main bay. It was around the same scale as Fanatasmic, although slightly larger, in my opinion. And since it was done in daylight they had to do more to keep you occupied on the periffery. It was over thirty minutes long, and included some sort of good vs evil storyline (all in Japanese), along with a number of cool "floats". In that respect it was kind of like a cross between Fantasmic and the Main Street parades. All of the Disney characters showed up at one point or another, with the main characters getting their own floats. The centerpiece, which is in the video, has one performer on it that is supposed to be some sort of spirit and throughout the show she get higher and higher up. I want to say it goes roughly twice as high as it is in the video.<br /><br /><br /><br />While the show is cool, I just can't forget my first impression. They are all going to die of hypothermia. It was seriously in the 30's with a steady wind. The wind chill had to bring it down to the teens or twenties at the most. And they were out there being hoisted in the air, being squirted in the face with water and they had to sing and dance. In other times and places I would call that cruel and unusual punishment. Case in point: Check out the waverunner guys in the video. Suicidal.<br /><br /><br /><br />I managed to get a lot of the show on video, but I am just posting a section. I haven't looked, but I am willing to bet that you could find a better copy of the show on YouTube, although the title would probably be in Japanese.<br /><br /><br /><br />So I have more pics, but this post has gone on too long already, so I will just stop. DisneySea was awesome. I went on the Indiana Jones ride (a copy of the Disneyland-CA ride), another roller coaster that was short on theming, but still a fun ride, a small-worldish ride, but with a story line about a guy that sailed away and had adventures but came home (it was like a mini opera delivered to you on a small world boat.)<br /><br /><br /><br />There was a ride called Storm Chaser that was a 4-D moving-theater type experience. Think Bugs Life movie in DCA meets Star Tours. I stood in line for 80 minutes for that in absolutely freezing wind. The queue was all outside. I couldn't feel my fingers or toes when we got on, and my ears hurt, and then part of the ride experience including getting hit with mist from a storm. I pulled my hood up during the ride. I could tell it was a decent ride, but that didn't mean I had to enjoy it right then. There was a "Little America" part of the park that I barely even dipped into. Again, it was stretch to fit it into theming, by my estimation. The big pull there was the Tower of Terror, but since I had been on that before, I prioritized the stuff I hadn't done before.<br /><br /><br /><br />I think that was the main reason I liked DisneySea. It was the first really new Disney park I had seen since really becoming a theme park fan. I know Dland and DCA like the back of my hand, and TDL was similar enough (I hear it is a carbon copy of the Magic Kingdom in FL), but DisneySea was mostly new (to me) rides and had a different feel. It was great.<br /><br />If I could I would go back with the family, although navigating Tokyo with our gaggle of children would be both hectic and expensive. Still I would go to Disney Sea first and prioritize everything there over DL. If you ever get a chance to go, I highly recommend it.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-52322986657790571792009-12-08T01:18:00.002-07:002009-12-08T01:22:09.534-07:00My MusicianI posted my first YouTube video. It is a short video of Collin practicing for his upcoming piano solo in church. My idea was to video/record him playing a handful of his songs so I can listen to it on the road. I miss his music whenever I am gone. He's very talented, and we are proud of his hard work!<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2VGYDr9yp60&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2VGYDr9yp60&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-56566335690219200772009-10-01T00:05:00.000-06:002009-10-24T05:25:06.298-06:00So I haven't blogged in a while, largely because I haven't gone anywhere. It is when I am away from my family that I seem to have the time/make the time to document what is going on. With that being said, I somehow never posted any pictures from my August trip to <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">OKA</span>. That is probably because Heather went with me, so I had a welcome distraction the whole time. Anyway, here are a few pics of us in Okinawa.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxR1GULXllyY-v6cJre_XzikER56SORvEpGJHS5hIN3Kv-F6QzbF8lzb8-mcKDsd9KhjdVdp26GoBjIo4RH0kAHdg1Z9zLt7QLimHMwp3ZlwmTYEqLXeYTAUEwpp03QkrjUOWvmjn2R0U/s1600-h/100_5479.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391971394889385762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxR1GULXllyY-v6cJre_XzikER56SORvEpGJHS5hIN3Kv-F6QzbF8lzb8-mcKDsd9KhjdVdp26GoBjIo4RH0kAHdg1Z9zLt7QLimHMwp3ZlwmTYEqLXeYTAUEwpp03QkrjUOWvmjn2R0U/s320/100_5479.JPG" /></a> This is the standard pose in front of the pineapple guy. Your hands are supposed to be like pineapple leaves. Get it? There is a picture of me to, but I like the model in this picture better.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM72FpkQCZMBMcbGn9Q1Noc9uRXRe7rYGpwjdTyLugbIGLw2DQvn0R-NvyhGXLMpAr8x_9fXuufFARTHaaY4_DR1FS0SFLnqtBJccqiKWN7WeutZmM1A89oKsZgZi_ELEUiqzuAeSM3eg/s1600-h/100_5476.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391971385139509234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM72FpkQCZMBMcbGn9Q1Noc9uRXRe7rYGpwjdTyLugbIGLw2DQvn0R-NvyhGXLMpAr8x_9fXuufFARTHaaY4_DR1FS0SFLnqtBJccqiKWN7WeutZmM1A89oKsZgZi_ELEUiqzuAeSM3eg/s320/100_5476.JPG" /></a> He's everywhere!! <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">Ahhh</span>!!</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEismERPh7ifk-3_1IwUHVFzeQPXo7lqnllswzurRbo7wKJl1E3BRFk7dyFi6aHiaMQSY6n_hQj0LP5z2dVfgfQeNUvPZKIenlbsewSOFAFot_D9FPLx20RF634b3-f1qvUOEayBAoEZAts/s1600-h/100_5471.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391971371557033442" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEismERPh7ifk-3_1IwUHVFzeQPXo7lqnllswzurRbo7wKJl1E3BRFk7dyFi6aHiaMQSY6n_hQj0LP5z2dVfgfQeNUvPZKIenlbsewSOFAFot_D9FPLx20RF634b3-f1qvUOEayBAoEZAts/s320/100_5471.JPG" /></a> These carts were amazing. They were just modified golf carts with half a plastic pineapple on the roof, but they had little bilingual speaker boxes and they drove themselves down a windy path while the speaker told you all about pineapples! It was cool. There wasn't any track or other connection that we could see, but they accelerated, braked and steered themselves. Very <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">ingenious</span>. My best guess was that they had buried a tracking cable in the ground below the track or something...</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDPE_ExiggkRAhTwnW-VlwT5GfA4nL-LyLcKh35_sVme-czd30pE-KGSgDtagpYCP-SXrbpXFpjj9dler1JF8Hy6e03IHxvkxGQJhf90z-3pLsa7Kt2TCAJ7cHp6Ox8XaMh1iBSIMjY-E/s1600-h/100_5468.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391971363182115794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDPE_ExiggkRAhTwnW-VlwT5GfA4nL-LyLcKh35_sVme-czd30pE-KGSgDtagpYCP-SXrbpXFpjj9dler1JF8Hy6e03IHxvkxGQJhf90z-3pLsa7Kt2TCAJ7cHp6Ox8XaMh1iBSIMjY-E/s320/100_5468.JPG" /></a> Here we are. </p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WWHxEXgApru2SHo615eURw0xc7TQdfvX3PVR6bnhZl2uLCL3vvXF8hr-1kpLQ3WBye5I9w6-VWEN1rx-1fFb6RS_wiaqtFVRue-f15SdebRR8adtBdBMtBJVbl_kJbFCcbvrtaR4E3M/s1600-h/100_5435.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391971353097199122" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WWHxEXgApru2SHo615eURw0xc7TQdfvX3PVR6bnhZl2uLCL3vvXF8hr-1kpLQ3WBye5I9w6-VWEN1rx-1fFb6RS_wiaqtFVRue-f15SdebRR8adtBdBMtBJVbl_kJbFCcbvrtaR4E3M/s320/100_5435.JPG" /></a> Heather was awesome. She struck out on her own each day while I was at work and made friends and saw stuff and took goofy pictures. She is cute. And that <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-corrected">mannequin</span> loves <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">shima</span> bananas.</p><p><br />Of course, now that I think about it, I also spent a week in New Jersey that didn't get blogged. Maybe I just need to catch up... </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-91432439188438018622009-07-25T00:54:00.004-06:002009-07-25T01:07:47.747-06:00RyukyuYep. So much for not going back to Okinawa. I found myself on that muggy, humid island once again this week. I am already on my way home, but thought I would post the few pics I have.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Ndl-xqJkw_Z_AIvkAfTeuMSSK7NrSu3YbnLz2FoCBahLWSZE3LH2QEoJMxF7KREka8w6djUGw2tm9ippvOoPZ1OJDomJr6SsJK3NmMBXDgsMhBOIYkUrn5CIzuplF5Y0qN5FZI6s0Wg/s1600-h/redLight.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362289303028379410" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 239px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Ndl-xqJkw_Z_AIvkAfTeuMSSK7NrSu3YbnLz2FoCBahLWSZE3LH2QEoJMxF7KREka8w6djUGw2tm9ippvOoPZ1OJDomJr6SsJK3NmMBXDgsMhBOIYkUrn5CIzuplF5Y0qN5FZI6s0Wg/s320/redLight.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVgYN6fP3Es-mfbPc7afpf1uaNcKd3T6KWeBLwvKR26bRKldQr-gI-PSlbux6_1ebGQ8Wt8WGKPDHGWUtDn6MtNE3i8lwaUEdqkOPvKq9zubgGUqUIh3byvCI3PS8SKI2ozblYS2pev2M/s1600-h/SANY1515.JPG"></a><br /><br />This is the eternal red light. The green arrows below the red go off and on, but the red one stays lit no matter what, even if you have a straight green arrow. Hilarious.<br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmshvB8mgj9xly0OfkWqI65sCzxYFDsvDtiL9Yg9KHv0ZyavZNjcXHj2HUjOIeM1ckD1EWkvDkFlXOHJCFkhtt_7MnfU-xx5IX_jdsF2xRBSAi4gUthc7AhwPbf2RHA8eKmMKArBhhD8/s1600-h/SANY1504.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362289290116819554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZmshvB8mgj9xly0OfkWqI65sCzxYFDsvDtiL9Yg9KHv0ZyavZNjcXHj2HUjOIeM1ckD1EWkvDkFlXOHJCFkhtt_7MnfU-xx5IX_jdsF2xRBSAi4gUthc7AhwPbf2RHA8eKmMKArBhhD8/s320/SANY1504.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I stayed in Mark's house and discovered how cool moving walls are. Those dividers can all slide out of the way, so that make this a 1, 2 or 3 bedroom apartment. Sweet.<br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4YuYjfoagYGQ1grWFwXr7TSUDcXqVDDKBRh4FeU0uXA8Dc1zjMaSESK6KMTngy-d7gdE4wyi-_lsbw5bCgY0PwNcrHdjIVwhxfq_DtjcT2QDSnZqjyphnO7Ikfaxtb_NmvrE_DKvBJGQ/s1600-h/korean.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5362290310152286290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4YuYjfoagYGQ1grWFwXr7TSUDcXqVDDKBRh4FeU0uXA8Dc1zjMaSESK6KMTngy-d7gdE4wyi-_lsbw5bCgY0PwNcrHdjIVwhxfq_DtjcT2QDSnZqjyphnO7Ikfaxtb_NmvrE_DKvBJGQ/s320/korean.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Finally, we found this awesome Korean bbq place. Well, Mark found it. $20 - All you can eat raw meet (to cook at your table), soda and ice cream. Nice.<br /><br />Well, I have to go get on a plane, so more later.<br /></div><div>Oh yeah, the title. Ryukyu is the name of the chain of island of which Okinawa is one. FYI.<br /><br /></div><div></div><br /><br /><br /><div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-12109583737497587382009-07-14T21:50:00.020-06:002009-07-15T01:05:09.689-06:00Okinawa, AGAIN<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmlmRfvi3MELPXDckvLN0peUiF5G-zG8r0-UrjDQqZTSGBnLPaLbEpk0ZwOBcuwlEUnVrB0h9SChuE1KId538S1P9Tbwv0c3jnB3QQ6Oxbd6XNBFbBOJuyr540G4SNHhMu1Iv7hFPoqFQ/s1600-h/OkinawaGrandMerView.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358575257752795634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 574px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 227px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmlmRfvi3MELPXDckvLN0peUiF5G-zG8r0-UrjDQqZTSGBnLPaLbEpk0ZwOBcuwlEUnVrB0h9SChuE1KId538S1P9Tbwv0c3jnB3QQ6Oxbd6XNBFbBOJuyr540G4SNHhMu1Iv7hFPoqFQ/s400/OkinawaGrandMerView.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkRiaXQVBKKwsOwrIormR5Umi7-v0Ys2TqnMLiJPaE5ZL8PGDWNMrRWH3vphJwZcfEA0nb5VD1DdQp3zk9RG5zwNr8GScdnrihC6rNP9vio83bqkcMf13HUyOfdPYc2oYbMLPIIpUbRmE/s1600-h/OkinawaGrandMerView.jpg"></a><br /><br /><div><br /><div>So I will be honest. I don't know what to do with my blog. As this type of blogging evolves I am feeling more and more out of place. It is like I am sitting in one of my wife's scrap booking parties.<br /><br />Nevertheless, here I am. I have pictures I want to share, and sometimes I just like to write. Maybe I should try writing in my journal? But where is the fun in that. No one leaves comments in my journal. Of course, no one leaves comments here either.<br /><br />ANYWAY... So I went to Okinawa again, presumably for the last time. I have a bunch of pictures I thought I would share from that, so here goes.<br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE69aP1oHw3HvwWlf_b9DLHfDxXV7eF-wMxAXx5BnhrzhTrS2iiilZGgsHTzl1d_zYhcb-EU8NmY5EHlFauK0S_s5tkpDVv6l1g7Krg9KNJVbjm_hDn6OzIKnM7IkO-gidBAu_Fk2Z0Bo/s1600-h/SANY1375.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358567594295314514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE69aP1oHw3HvwWlf_b9DLHfDxXV7eF-wMxAXx5BnhrzhTrS2iiilZGgsHTzl1d_zYhcb-EU8NmY5EHlFauK0S_s5tkpDVv6l1g7Krg9KNJVbjm_hDn6OzIKnM7IkO-gidBAu_Fk2Z0Bo/s320/SANY1375.JPG" border="0" /></a> This is a cup of cold fizzy green goodness called Melon Soda. I will admit that I got melon soda every chance I got. I highly recommend it.<br /></p><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg24pptlHFd4n6LZiXSLG9sTOGT5L_QMsChqRiKB605SMRI98-2ZIJoXF9ns5JjV_L2xlo-dNPVz4_lCRyd5qTbb7mMXgk8cXo62Sc8ccBQRPUJuBEgIcqDuaneogTbx68kwn-ayGbH6Bo/s1600-h/SANY1374.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358567586241949634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg24pptlHFd4n6LZiXSLG9sTOGT5L_QMsChqRiKB605SMRI98-2ZIJoXF9ns5JjV_L2xlo-dNPVz4_lCRyd5qTbb7mMXgk8cXo62Sc8ccBQRPUJuBEgIcqDuaneogTbx68kwn-ayGbH6Bo/s320/SANY1374.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />And what is this? Oh it was my dinner. And what am I holding in my chopsticks? (check out my chopstick skills by the way!!) Oh that is just a little chunk of squid tentacle. Did I eat it? Yes I did. Was it good? No it was not. It was like trying to chew on a chunk of rubber bike tire. A slightly fishy bike tire. So I avoided the rest of those little guys. The soup was still good.<br /><div><br /><br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc2DgzV-tIO4HtENig0NSzYhytbQR7uTxQjhsD2_S7knOkbtYCJMdxdooAde5PZ8so1VKy5ad3KrRiFayV9mpbzQpSc2T_nq8sHn0Q6YKDD3BIgMXD6XfWfslVka2Q8Lws1HXJb_wvu30/s1600-h/SANY1367.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358562546254184226" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc2DgzV-tIO4HtENig0NSzYhytbQR7uTxQjhsD2_S7knOkbtYCJMdxdooAde5PZ8so1VKy5ad3KrRiFayV9mpbzQpSc2T_nq8sHn0Q6YKDD3BIgMXD6XfWfslVka2Q8Lws1HXJb_wvu30/s320/SANY1367.JPG" border="0" /></a> So we went to the beach at sunset one day, not because we thought the beach would be nice at sunset, but because it was the only one-hour break we took in a 16 hour+ workday. There were these little white crabs skittering all over the beach. You couldn't even walk 10 feet without them scattering underneath your flip flops. Rex had a nice strategy for catching them. He threw sand on one of the bigger one and then picked up the handful of sand, then the crab crawled out of the sand and onto him. It was dark, so the pictures weren't that great, but this is one of the better ones.<br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAUlZATdKmHg8CooDZ8kyJlN9lODZm222s6vFqLj2Wpr_loYuebGESzEizuonGsQGBo-EZsk8HvX18s-w8FfIvDtqZZToTITG1fGFHTQU42dBx05x3uXvUscHYeeEEbaPyqlwwdpX6ICk/s1600-h/SANY1359.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358562541330020162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAUlZATdKmHg8CooDZ8kyJlN9lODZm222s6vFqLj2Wpr_loYuebGESzEizuonGsQGBo-EZsk8HvX18s-w8FfIvDtqZZToTITG1fGFHTQU42dBx05x3uXvUscHYeeEEbaPyqlwwdpX6ICk/s320/SANY1359.JPG" border="0" /></a>Yes. I am a dork. </p><br /><br /><p><br /></p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1eTLgN82gnfTH-n8FicTvcSF_UJ56CcrNG2bzWasKry_9zo3ctQBiSzk28mZm5dt3Nir_nPcffv2G55H7rdaq2hX2n-vG5FOUZq_f6bvGmzL_xoAFu39S6RpMDslpN1ZL3EaIhDtXwpw/s1600-h/SANY1348.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358562533725306322" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1eTLgN82gnfTH-n8FicTvcSF_UJ56CcrNG2bzWasKry_9zo3ctQBiSzk28mZm5dt3Nir_nPcffv2G55H7rdaq2hX2n-vG5FOUZq_f6bvGmzL_xoAFu39S6RpMDslpN1ZL3EaIhDtXwpw/s320/SANY1348.JPG" border="0" /></a> I have a cheap, low-quality camera that I have been trying to squeeze every bit of value out of, and part of that effort is playing with the different pre-set shooting modes. This one didn't turn out to bad I think.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdi8fJlf5MTIB8SHAoJO4Gzk-HiMgV9MhT8LtAhw5R5THYPdOBC8UDIR-QefoSQc-RTEERdK62m7BUtP4c551ef4BOAKR_JJNld7ig4zcPM9_DNuwTbh7JuDWstfa-CG2xBaI2vvjAvPs/s1600-h/SANY1344.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358562523337098562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdi8fJlf5MTIB8SHAoJO4Gzk-HiMgV9MhT8LtAhw5R5THYPdOBC8UDIR-QefoSQc-RTEERdK62m7BUtP4c551ef4BOAKR_JJNld7ig4zcPM9_DNuwTbh7JuDWstfa-CG2xBaI2vvjAvPs/s320/SANY1344.JPG" border="0" /></a> This one as well. </div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-rtiRJWch4n9bjs1Uplnfbwoyjg1tP3706E-Hwhd_MOAikVjt3FMiqO2cMJDKvtA7KpfBa0B77k8X1owJEYg2UEfG9zRlpuf5p1ZkJ1G0r0b0xf8A8qaLj352eyCIpk225SrhyHU_av8/s1600-h/SANY1372b.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358573789629815842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 190px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-rtiRJWch4n9bjs1Uplnfbwoyjg1tP3706E-Hwhd_MOAikVjt3FMiqO2cMJDKvtA7KpfBa0B77k8X1owJEYg2UEfG9zRlpuf5p1ZkJ1G0r0b0xf8A8qaLj352eyCIpk225SrhyHU_av8/s400/SANY1372b.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />So as we left the beach we found this very eloquent sign. I hope you can read it.<br /><br /><div><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig3GlObQCYgDbOKMNBb7-Sazb9YinVsMXZVK2A7GPE0_IUyLLDAAV5e4M98tkae522G8Z_94kI62BqKGmj9kA8mYrOzYkk5CRQg-zJ7yRHjEZu-TLj7resK-r7cjPyv6yOH18oBk7T5mo/s1600-h/SANY1272.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358550615310389682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig3GlObQCYgDbOKMNBb7-Sazb9YinVsMXZVK2A7GPE0_IUyLLDAAV5e4M98tkae522G8Z_94kI62BqKGmj9kA8mYrOzYkk5CRQg-zJ7yRHjEZu-TLj7resK-r7cjPyv6yOH18oBk7T5mo/s320/SANY1272.JPG" border="0" /></a> This was my sweet ride while in OKA. A Nissan March. I would totally buy one of these. It is a fun little car with a 1000 cc engine and a decent stereo. Too bad they don't sell them in the US.</p><br /><br /><p></p><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358550619567666370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAs4Ld3230KOgzDCeAU6cuHnMMol89F8OVBP1-nvr9tbIgJoNAvv9fswPFvliRVGca_te69WKKYl9SZYIRnkZBwbR5YV1IltwYVFQtmPYAzOAC1TKaWbcOpK9c3alUNmvtO0NYPyZoRJw/s320/SANY1276.JPG" border="0" /></p>This is the decent stereo. It is awesome because it also has built in GPS AND a digital TV tuner. So why can't you see it? Because everytime I changed environments everything fogs up, thanks to the humidity. This is called my camera lens fogged up!<br /><br /><p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358550627226208546" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinspWr3DuCM0V7RQNpOiK8R0WodVvofg8HfjUWZc7I-Cee0T1UVDF-pSQ2H2h6KS5ssAPC1X947XlC9k83gPH_M36CUEO6O-kGPwvkhV9gl4h8A9ZzbE9DMpqmcS7KvxMuUWllWqupS08/s320/SANY1277.JPG" border="0" /><br />Phew. That's better. This is my unfogged sweet in-dash TV. The bad news: all of the options were in Japanese so we had a hard time working it. In the end I think I accidently erased all of the music that was stored on it. Whoops. It also had this annoying feature where the screen turned off if I went more than 5 Kph. It made stop lights a lot more fun though.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpcMS8RsAdGqKIKhnsxuV0qmCuq6bE952Ew9bY0_Z7bg8dKalGWvK25XGdxtKRN_UyoMyiOwISNe4I9juYy-0Fl28q52eemyfmES034AIpcpkkHUnx14AZuoxzQ23Hpcvea6oE3lcrW7A/s1600-h/DSC03707.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358550610079711714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpcMS8RsAdGqKIKhnsxuV0qmCuq6bE952Ew9bY0_Z7bg8dKalGWvK25XGdxtKRN_UyoMyiOwISNe4I9juYy-0Fl28q52eemyfmES034AIpcpkkHUnx14AZuoxzQ23Hpcvea6oE3lcrW7A/s320/DSC03707.JPG" border="0" /></a>This is Jason and I waiting for an awesome dinner at the Four Seasons. The entertaining chefs weren't that entertaining, but the steak was totally awesome!<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotzNg-BT-JydV-LQ3DVwPKkoNIUdNurEePqRZpCihsI5jcuiHfyHSfmjLVW9geKysnmnur5uPokTenXu53ruBvQar1enrUQvIew3w96hyYzoS1VEl0Q_RpWWhSRmoZCtft-vGMx5fR0M/s1600-h/DSC03546.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358550599325346002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotzNg-BT-JydV-LQ3DVwPKkoNIUdNurEePqRZpCihsI5jcuiHfyHSfmjLVW9geKysnmnur5uPokTenXu53ruBvQar1enrUQvIew3w96hyYzoS1VEl0Q_RpWWhSRmoZCtft-vGMx5fR0M/s320/DSC03546.JPG" border="0" /></a> This is Mark and I at an authentic Japanese restaurant. Yes I am not wearing any shoes because we had to take them off at the door, and I am sitting on a hardwood floor so I can eat at a table that is all of 16 inches off the floor. We couldn't read the menu and there weren't any pictures, so we were lucky that Rex and Haekyung were there to help us order. I learned that in most places like this I can ask for tankatsu, which you can see in front of me. It is like Kentucky Fried Greasy Pork with a yummy oriental BBQ sauce. It usually comes with a cabbage salad on the side and, of course, rice. </p><p>So that is all I have at the moment. A few fun pics. There are a few other posts coming up, so come back soon!</p></div></div></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-13258629219258835052009-05-29T08:31:00.005-06:002009-05-29T10:16:05.304-06:00Ranking Pixar<a href="http://www.solarnavigator.net/films_movies_actors/film_images/Pixar_animation_studios_logo.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 174px;" src="http://www.solarnavigator.net/films_movies_actors/film_images/Pixar_animation_studios_logo.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br />Recently IGN ranked the work of Pixar, the industry-dominating animated film company. (Link to article:<a href="http://movies.ign.com/articles/986/986660p1.html">http://movies.ign.com/articles/986/986660p1.html</a>) I found it as I was reviewing my RSS feeds from my favorite Disney sites, something I should blog about some time. Any way, my thanks to <a href="http://www.mickeynews.com">http://www.mickeynews.com</a> for picking this story up and bringing it to my attention.<br /><br />Their rankings went like this (1 being the best):<br /><br />9. Cars<br />8. Monsters, Inc.<br />7. A Bug's Life<br />6. Ratatouille<br />5. Finding Nemo<br />4. The Incredibles<br />3. Toy Story 2<br />2. WALL-E<br />1. Toy Story<br /><br />Of course, they caveat the whole list at least once per page with the fact that the worst Pixar film beats the competition hands down, and I would echo that. This is also a list of the 9 best films to come out over the last 9 years, and I would go on to say that in many cases this isn't just in the animated category. I'm talking about the best out of all genres. Except for WALL-E.<br /><br />OK, I've said too much. So what do I think? Of course, being a critical mind, I disagree with their rankings, thus the post. To get straight to the point, here is MY assessment:<br /><br />9. WALL-E <br />8. Ratatouille <br />7. Finding Nemo <br />6. Monsters, Inc.<br />5. Cars <br />4. A Bug's Life<br />3. Toy Story 2<br />2. The Incredibles<br />1. Toy Story<br /><br />The only thing we agreed on is that Toy Story deserves the top spot. I guess it also shows that I prefer action oriented movies more than the IGN folks, and that I despise wordless environmentalist films about robots. So what do you think?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-36273662411731491422009-05-20T06:57:00.009-06:002009-05-20T08:56:27.477-06:00I'm Lucky<embed src= "http://www.odeo.com/flash/audio_player_standard_black.swf" quality="high" width="300" height="52" allowScriptAccess="always" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" flashvars= "valid_sample_rate=true&external_url=http://hiddenstreet.com/music/Jason%20Mraz%20-%20Lucky.mp3" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"> </embed><br /><br />OK, so first click play above. I'm not a fan of music always playing on blogs,so I am making you click on it. Now, I have to dedicate this song to my wife of almost 11 years (wow I am old:) I am missing her terribly right now, and when I heard this song I wanted nothing more than for her to hear it too, even though it isn't a new song.<br /><br />I just wanted to tell everyone that I am a very lucky man. I have a beautiful wife who takes care of our kids and best of all, takes care of me. She is creative and talented and people like to be around her. She makes friends easily and misses her old friends terribly when we are scattered by time and trials. When I get stressed out or otherwise harried by this existence we call life, she is always there to rub my back, say nice things to me and make me some cookies (yum). She endures the hard times with me and we celebrate the good times together when they come. Our kids love their mom more than anybody, and she loves them right back, in a way that I don't think anyone else on earth could. She is irreplaceable. <br /><br />Yes, I love her dearly, and I have loved her ever since I met her. When we were dating I used to write her all kinds of notes and cards, and there have probably been too few of those since we started our family, but I am saying it here, right out in front of the whole entire everybody (OK, I think there are only like 3 people who read my blog, but it is the idea that counts)<br /><br />Thanks for being my best friend and most of all, I love you. <br /><br />I'm lucky that you chose me.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-50573717922828699502009-05-16T21:50:00.000-06:002009-05-16T21:51:17.608-06:00Okinawa Quick UpdateYesterday was Saturday, and I found a Japanese shopping center and went in and wandered around. It was fun. They have 100 Yen stores, which is the equivalent of a Dollar Store. Same crap for sale, too. Their grocery store was mostly fish (fresh fish, frozen fish, live fish, canned fish), dried noodles, and seasoning, as well as a produce section full of stuff I didn't recognize. I stopped by McDonalds and KFC that day instead of buying much at the store, although I did snag a few snacks. Their bakery is just a little corner of the store, but the baked goods are tasty. They are very fresh, with little preservatives. You buy stuff out of baskets while it is still warm and if you don't eat it in 24 hrs it is hard as a rock.<br /><br />We had to pick someone up from the airport which is 30-40 minutes away, and we got to see a new road that we haven't been on before. It is funny because similar businesses seem to cluster together in the same areas. On one section of the street there much have been a dozen barbarshops in the same half mile. Weird.<br /><br />Well, that is my little story for the day. I will post some more tomorrow.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-1251419107824586452009-05-15T07:26:00.005-06:002009-05-15T07:53:42.347-06:00Okinawa- Trip 1 picsSo a few months ago I made it to Okinawa. I think I mentioned it. Well, I made it back for a 2nd visit and decided to post some pictures, but since I never posted the pics from the last visit I will do those first. I will lower your expectations right off the bat by saying that I am often interested by odd little every day items. So did I take awesome panoramic vistas of mountains and beaches? No. McDonalds bags and Dr Pepper bottles? Yes.<br /><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjepNzq01D1_JhaZ3EfnTjnixM1y2_o2Yh-aD38jXhw6hlUI186CcvqhTVVRGYBpHM0p8D9rKAXBGjBxpHkCPhZwB-1IExivQp5e5StuI3w3kvAXb8RIFmh1ojSnlTrtOLnQMHBlueyoig/s1600-h/1235787407913.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336044391346249554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjepNzq01D1_JhaZ3EfnTjnixM1y2_o2Yh-aD38jXhw6hlUI186CcvqhTVVRGYBpHM0p8D9rKAXBGjBxpHkCPhZwB-1IExivQp5e5StuI3w3kvAXb8RIFmh1ojSnlTrtOLnQMHBlueyoig/s320/1235787407913.jpg" border="0" /></a>I like to do Sudoku during plane rides. It is compact (one sheet of paper and a pen), free in newspapers and plane magazines, and takes me a long time to finish. Also featured here is roughly one cup of Haagen Daas Ice Cream, which set me back 300 Yen, or approximately $3. I would never pay $3 for a cup of ice cream, but for some reason I didn't mind parting with 300 Yen. I was leaving Japan that day, and for some reason those coins didn't seem so valuable when heading back to the states, even though I knew I would be going back.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo4Y1O0aXpirhC3wxWdUWugwInGX-eZVuAYWzFJIdtTGDaHalkSUTDbbLTMEekHU-jV87YhnyvPJQWXr53-tCLUQXOkhgwr1sLeQrrV3F_CCbJDS9zwi2D0fQD1A9aX9zJ6dFmGR9uZ5g/s1600-h/1235798411374.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336043459356895010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo4Y1O0aXpirhC3wxWdUWugwInGX-eZVuAYWzFJIdtTGDaHalkSUTDbbLTMEekHU-jV87YhnyvPJQWXr53-tCLUQXOkhgwr1sLeQrrV3F_CCbJDS9zwi2D0fQD1A9aX9zJ6dFmGR9uZ5g/s320/1235798411374.jpg" border="0" /></a> Yes, this is as nasty as the name is. It has a kind of grapefruity taste at first that ends in a kind of salty, bitter aftertaste. I tried it. Then I recycled the bottle with most of the liquid still in it. There went another 150 Yen.</p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP5vTv8jQG59F4dxYskkgLytgbMH4B1-avOe3PxBI3IcZF8FGf4-zPHYEUBkvAY6fj7jiAhCJVb1qRf7S_0ntyU8p-GDYI8a4Yn75xSpHQ5YOkKyoD-49R1i76oVW1A92jUcBGOlNAQ7Y/s1600-h/1235641351253.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336043456758524274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP5vTv8jQG59F4dxYskkgLytgbMH4B1-avOe3PxBI3IcZF8FGf4-zPHYEUBkvAY6fj7jiAhCJVb1qRf7S_0ntyU8p-GDYI8a4Yn75xSpHQ5YOkKyoD-49R1i76oVW1A92jUcBGOlNAQ7Y/s320/1235641351253.jpg" border="0" /></a>You might be thinking, "what's with the fireworks store?" Or perhaps "nice flower shop." Wrong on both accounts. This is a used car lot. And, yes, they all look like this. I think they are trying to shock you so bad that you wreck your car as you drive by, thereby creating business. </p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2_AZuCQkKa1ASyE9OmdbcEg6INUTIw-GtAx4WEVn9DcbAYLL8un22w1-SE9j7b8eWxfPy2HEhYgr2Rt82IaPhyphenhyphenzUv8UjO4t4DzWQijpAnxERp_pOnSAjvYKq6E4iEku279j28aEhbkc/s1600-h/1235640533333.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336043450667700290" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl2_AZuCQkKa1ASyE9OmdbcEg6INUTIw-GtAx4WEVn9DcbAYLL8un22w1-SE9j7b8eWxfPy2HEhYgr2Rt82IaPhyphenhyphenzUv8UjO4t4DzWQijpAnxERp_pOnSAjvYKq6E4iEku279j28aEhbkc/s320/1235640533333.jpg" border="0" /></a>This picture isn't the greatest, but it is the sign at the main entrance to the base, by the flagpole where they raise/lower the colors and play the national anthems. I say anthemS because they play both the Japanese and US anthems every morning. This picture was just as they were about to lower the colors. </p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhThl43kvi2cdUjD33ot0l8Ii5iHeUEkoYcFZ6vUxVP3V4SCWfe-hKqK8N7YWhI07gHWDxz-CA1eyX3Y0DGjciOTUnPlRZVT8u9FxgObFvxNh87dnXxzKmhSVGy7LTEM05FyyTFMRHOohg/s1600-h/1235639905710.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336043452855558578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhThl43kvi2cdUjD33ot0l8Ii5iHeUEkoYcFZ6vUxVP3V4SCWfe-hKqK8N7YWhI07gHWDxz-CA1eyX3Y0DGjciOTUnPlRZVT8u9FxgObFvxNh87dnXxzKmhSVGy7LTEM05FyyTFMRHOohg/s320/1235639905710.jpg" border="0" /></a> This was my hotel room on base. I was impressed by how much furniture they were able to squeeze into my little living room/kitchenette.</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoiQhFyrgtvrkoWuU4RoABrMxgwNCtFYPfB3ZPogtwTztjpGLM5UesDewSkdQdYwjCjeDveuB0hHf6qDCme_qktD6SqBYBXmhc6SqVMDUD49jB-kpQ1dqJd8l9DvnCrUkgdEo6QNEB_sI/s1600-h/1235376507992.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5336043448687688786" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoiQhFyrgtvrkoWuU4RoABrMxgwNCtFYPfB3ZPogtwTztjpGLM5UesDewSkdQdYwjCjeDveuB0hHf6qDCme_qktD6SqBYBXmhc6SqVMDUD49jB-kpQ1dqJd8l9DvnCrUkgdEo6QNEB_sI/s320/1235376507992.jpg" border="0" /></a> Coffee is a huge thing in Japan. It is everywhere, in everything. I thought I had seen it all until this showed up on the menu. Coffee Jelly for 180 Yen. What a deal.<br /><br /><br />Anyway, that is all for now. Maybe tomorrow I will post some pics from my more recent trip.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6113369808177057155.post-2801115387956182002009-05-14T04:54:00.005-06:002009-05-14T18:19:59.392-06:00A WindfallHave you ever found a $10 bill in the back pocket of an old pair of jeans or in the jacket you haven't worn in over a year? Or have you ever rediscovered an old movie that used to be your favorite, and is just as good now as it was back then? These are similar to the way I felt when I popped the SD card from my camera into my computer.<br /><br />I had shelved this camera a while back, since the picture quality wasn't what I had hoped it would be. Every once in a while we grab it on the way out the door somewhere, and in the meantime the kids love to take pictures and movies with it. Well, I plugged in the card to retrieve a picture I had just taken, and I was rewarded with all kinds of pictures that I hadn't seen before, strung out over the last year or so. It was so awesome that I decided to share some of them. <br /><br />(If you think any of them need captions, let me know and I'll add them)<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFRIl2VikhGoSWZVGr7O5Wu4XgiI8ycjHYPZnoeZUqBYBGzKkooXcOP3jXvYxX2ZX80NWvV0bpl69MQWUOM0P4xKOO-hikrVDN0Hq9hVieoXq8h2t9TLz_0dF0YgLclX8fyUuIA4C1K08/s1600-h/SANY1107.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFRIl2VikhGoSWZVGr7O5Wu4XgiI8ycjHYPZnoeZUqBYBGzKkooXcOP3jXvYxX2ZX80NWvV0bpl69MQWUOM0P4xKOO-hikrVDN0Hq9hVieoXq8h2t9TLz_0dF0YgLclX8fyUuIA4C1K08/s320/SANY1107.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335637360786978818" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCU_5_qPrqxqCBchdIBD6bUkB9Bl_NbSdA4gcffaWxd7smmHTasaB9_aW8tnpXJIKLNdKbXhlePYjMGGeGvQXziXHWSU8pzavjytK5Z1wFeEky-f330K-3H4CkSJF3fEIJgR3PkVt3KNY/s1600-h/SANY1004.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCU_5_qPrqxqCBchdIBD6bUkB9Bl_NbSdA4gcffaWxd7smmHTasaB9_aW8tnpXJIKLNdKbXhlePYjMGGeGvQXziXHWSU8pzavjytK5Z1wFeEky-f330K-3H4CkSJF3fEIJgR3PkVt3KNY/s320/SANY1004.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335637359502513106" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIDcSiBDf47YLnsqo5zDjUOx7LHMhIRR_0584BzxoMuarmdoX7tsQr8wvszilMI_THALQekhrn_3sEAcgk2C3xWrRTDu3Z2nG3g7lUO5QSYyrXBfshUNPYTbE0bmQ1LLomRUs4pbtRl4/s1600-h/SANY0924.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIDcSiBDf47YLnsqo5zDjUOx7LHMhIRR_0584BzxoMuarmdoX7tsQr8wvszilMI_THALQekhrn_3sEAcgk2C3xWrRTDu3Z2nG3g7lUO5QSYyrXBfshUNPYTbE0bmQ1LLomRUs4pbtRl4/s320/SANY0924.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335637359755436370" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNMuAtLoQXl3vmu5XRBMpuTyyXQQIwmG7klbeWei429BNgQKiHInSefjS6Oj3j4oCkfupjPDpkXgrZKy0H_PQvW8TqCHb7cxlyis5JHuZ4OiP7z20ysJpE5q-UXToxZ01-0Xq1bZYeWI/s1600-h/SANY0922.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkNMuAtLoQXl3vmu5XRBMpuTyyXQQIwmG7klbeWei429BNgQKiHInSefjS6Oj3j4oCkfupjPDpkXgrZKy0H_PQvW8TqCHb7cxlyis5JHuZ4OiP7z20ysJpE5q-UXToxZ01-0Xq1bZYeWI/s320/SANY0922.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335637355898455282" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI1CIGXgmWn6kO9iUNWldF5VCqLz-KX92ISeVBC3-2S87hjGI3v246wWXhtTE4gjrAtfZhNnNcxvgV-JSKUAQ4yH_7gY-bkyJkerPz7dSPGlIRyOV-gqzas-O56_RlDxCGVOgi8yG3qXM/s1600-h/SANY0886.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI1CIGXgmWn6kO9iUNWldF5VCqLz-KX92ISeVBC3-2S87hjGI3v246wWXhtTE4gjrAtfZhNnNcxvgV-JSKUAQ4yH_7gY-bkyJkerPz7dSPGlIRyOV-gqzas-O56_RlDxCGVOgi8yG3qXM/s320/SANY0886.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335637350143424418" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8GO0yuBWBiDwK4GuWUe4BQtA8Z5NS-2sR8bDUkQadXZB7Vi090bBAEHoJyoz4cavmV837WjJo9ohyphenhyphenrz4nZTj4OVZQ3pB25YCCtsQWDdYeTT-8cHHIn7_I5LxdkjBItrQ3ulbUz-r84lY/s1600-h/SANY0884.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8GO0yuBWBiDwK4GuWUe4BQtA8Z5NS-2sR8bDUkQadXZB7Vi090bBAEHoJyoz4cavmV837WjJo9ohyphenhyphenrz4nZTj4OVZQ3pB25YCCtsQWDdYeTT-8cHHIn7_I5LxdkjBItrQ3ulbUz-r84lY/s320/SANY0884.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335635837526195026" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj56MNhU0D8potVIcktEMG4YTyoK4uyLx0IevexJ_tfyT7aGbBAFHhxOGG66jiam671A2FGwCUhrWCamwFAElYB0IM2ArNewieNhBNanqyARz7qd5TvQs8oOd0IiGYNbEgRezxWrOkTR4E/s1600-h/SANY0846.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj56MNhU0D8potVIcktEMG4YTyoK4uyLx0IevexJ_tfyT7aGbBAFHhxOGG66jiam671A2FGwCUhrWCamwFAElYB0IM2ArNewieNhBNanqyARz7qd5TvQs8oOd0IiGYNbEgRezxWrOkTR4E/s320/SANY0846.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335635833914426466" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrB6ErzedC8fj4xs1ywBBWaX3FrCY3xIFnIXwUg9ZJ9BwSDstTq9Li-bQY20_bW_C3cK2qm16z_PTHkuZBng4d9mqgZYCGrZofVVRu185FTDT3gnQnFZXbS8tWOmr5d2ul0fatUd9o8vI/s1600-h/SANY0841.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrB6ErzedC8fj4xs1ywBBWaX3FrCY3xIFnIXwUg9ZJ9BwSDstTq9Li-bQY20_bW_C3cK2qm16z_PTHkuZBng4d9mqgZYCGrZofVVRu185FTDT3gnQnFZXbS8tWOmr5d2ul0fatUd9o8vI/s320/SANY0841.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335635828779408034" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKXz-I4RRcjm7OHLMvqDRXhXr_IYHxGuxKj5YhQJqKEXdKfZuPrm4Es_Kshgb2fNHSZ95aTEyQllm4H13DgJk7vhFQJWhyphenhyphen4oa9SkfdLszMbWG2MUn0Ae3P8smqJA4FdXuhT9WK1WZPxtE/s1600-h/SANY0879.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKXz-I4RRcjm7OHLMvqDRXhXr_IYHxGuxKj5YhQJqKEXdKfZuPrm4Es_Kshgb2fNHSZ95aTEyQllm4H13DgJk7vhFQJWhyphenhyphen4oa9SkfdLszMbWG2MUn0Ae3P8smqJA4FdXuhT9WK1WZPxtE/s320/SANY0879.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335635825113978546" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguUPXxiCoB0XjEX1Jci3hc4u5ffgrlvgIQlycquV2zWkYCgybAtp-yg7Si-FBtvE4TWaQD7JNbBypHVIlXDDE_TyLfCSafRvKdogAJO1-8DusLnva6eyuEfAoP0pjyPur46RIzc2e9z60/s1600-h/SANY0835.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguUPXxiCoB0XjEX1Jci3hc4u5ffgrlvgIQlycquV2zWkYCgybAtp-yg7Si-FBtvE4TWaQD7JNbBypHVIlXDDE_TyLfCSafRvKdogAJO1-8DusLnva6eyuEfAoP0pjyPur46RIzc2e9z60/s320/SANY0835.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335635820995337906" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1