Marriage Anniversary #2

I can't believe it has been two years since Bill and I got married. A lot has changed since then!
Well Bill has been working on a surprise all week long. When I got home from work the kitchen was a mess. I thought to myself, I don't remember it being this messy when I left. But then I looked closer and noticed that Bill was already prepping dinner. He is sneaky.
When he got home he had more prepping to do for dinner. It was obvious that we were having a picnic, but I did not know where. He kept saying we have a 7pm reservation. I am thinking, who makes reservations and takes their own food?
So we loaded up the picnic basket and a bag full of gifts and a blanket and set off for the surprise dinner location.
I was for sure we were headed to the beach. But as we wove in and around the windy roads to Okinawa, we pull up to an Art museum. I though oh how sweet. But the sign says closed. Did he make special arrangements?
Then as we gather all our stuff we head off up a set of very tall stairs. I am asking all sorts of questions. Finally he says we are at a historical castle sight. And the sun shall be setting at 7pm.

We climbed up onto the castle wall, spread out the blanket and enjoyed our home cooked meal.

Bill had prepared a curry chicken pea salad, a red cabbage coleslaw and a tomato basil salad. With fresh strawberries and raspberries for desert.

It was a beautiful sunset and a lovely dinner. With the best company a girl could ask for. Love my husband to pieces. He is a true romantic at heart.

Enjoy the pictures.

Classroom pictures.

Here are a few pics of my classroom.

Tokyo Sightseeing: Meiji Shrine

On our potentially last day in Tokyo we went to Meiji Shrine. We could have been stuck in Tokyo because of the typhoon. But it was a wait and see game.
We had a nice breakfast at a local cafe and then a city hike to Meiji Shrine. When you get off the subway you are still very much in the middle of the city. But then you walk a little ways to the grounds of the shrine and you are
Enveloped into a serene quite park.
Of course it was pouring down rain and we were sharing an umbrella. My husband gets me wet when he is in charge of the umbrella.
Meiji was the total opposite of the shrine we saw the day before. Very zen.
At the entrance they have and sake and wine. It was a neat display. That is what all the barrels and rice baskets are full of.
We walked around for a little and then headed back to the hotel. We found out flights were getting out. We were headed home!

Tokyo Sightseeing: Tokyo Tower and Shibuya

Tokyo tower looks just like the Eifel tower, but red and white. And it is slightly taller. And what do you do at tall towers? You go up to see what you can see.
We got to the top at dusk. Just as the sun was setting it was pretty. It also gave perspective on how large a city
Tokyo really is.
The strange picture is a glass floor looking down to the ground from the observation deck.
After the tower we headed back to the hotel, showered and went out to dinner. We found a cute little Italian place. They spoke Italian and not Japanese. It was great food!
Then our group parted ways. Everyone went home. And Bill and I went to Shibuya.
We caught the subway out. Got out at Shibuya. Bill had read that it is like times square. When we arrive, he is disappointed. We cross the street and look down the side streets and he decides oh it must be Shinjinku no t Shibuya.
So we get back on the subway and head out to Shinjinku. Again we get off, walk the entire way around the building. No bright lights. We decided, it must have been Shibuya. So we go back. It is now past midnight. We bought an unlimited rail/train pass for the day. We are not sure if we will get back on our ticket. We are waiting. Look at the pictures of people waiting for the train. 1- this is how many people are out at midnight. And 2- they wait in straight lines where the doors stop. I have never seen this happen before.
So we make the train back to Shibuya and we exit the train station and... They turned all the lights off. Waawaa!
We never took pictures. Oh well next time.

Tokyo Sightseeing: Asakusa Shrine

After the Imperial Gardens we headed to the Asakusa Shrine. It was very crowded and busy. When you first arrive in the area you have to walk down a market street first. But we were close to closing time and wanted to go into the shrine. So we booked it down the market street and tried to make it up the stairs to the shrine before the doors closed. People were filing in as the doors were closing. We were in line, but they shut it right as we got to the door.
So we took pictures outside. It really is a beautiful shrine. And it is a stark contrast from all the modern buildings.
As we wondered around, we found vendor selling treats. Taren and I got snow cones and the boys got a Beer. John Stevens joined us again because his flight back to Okinawa was cancelled due to the hurricane hanging out by the Island.
Finally Taren and I convinced the boys to walk down the market street. We saw all kinds of trinkets. I headed down a side ally and we stopped to have a local snack. I am not sure what it was, it was soft and gooey, served in a stick warm. Kind of tasted like peanut butter and it was dusted in a powder. It was tasty!
Next we were headed to Tokyo Tower. I could see it so I started leading our group towards it. But I also knew it looked close, but was probably far away. Back to the subway!

Tokyo Sightseeing: The Imperial Palace Gardens

So on Sunday the Little's and the Morrison's walked a million miles around Tokyo. First was figuring out the subway system. Then it was a challenge getting to the right place. With a little trial and error we finally started making it to the places we wanted to see.
Her are pictures of the Imperial Palace Gardens. They were very pretty, but there were several hill and it was HOT. I let Bill make a few passes through the garden and then we left. My prize for not complaining too much was ice cream and water on the way out!

After Mt. Fuji

After Mt. Fuji we all showered up. Let me tell you, I have NEVER been this dirty. I washed and scrubbed 3 and 4 times. My hair was nasty and I could not get a comb through it with conditioner.
We rested in the hotel for 2 hrs and then as a group set out for some food. We had not really eaten since 8pm the night before. On the mountain we ate power bars and junk. All of which made my stomach hurt.
We had found a Mexican restaurant in an area we were all interested in checking out. We went to Ropponggi.
Ropponggi is know for being a little seedy. We did not know this. We were approached on the street offering us entrance into some shady establishment. We quickly found the Mexican restaurant and went in.
Food, real food tasted so good. I had tacos. We watched an olympic soccer game between japan and Egypt. We all sat really quietly and ate and watched.

After dinner we walked to a mojito bar. We all ordered a drink. Bill fell asleep at the bar. We tried making it an early night. But as it was we did not make it back to the hotel until 11pm.
We crashed!!! It was the most sound sleep I have ever had. We were beyond tired.

At the top of Mt. Fuji

After a 30 min cat nap, Bill and I set off to find our friends. They were waiting at the top of the stairs for us. We all decided to sit in a restaurant, rest area. This is where the Texas flag was hung. Texans represent!!!
We literally died for a few hours. Salome slept. Some re adjusted gear. Some changed clothes. Bill and John walked to the post office and sent some post cards home. I was going to go, but it was further up hill so I sat down on the ground and took another nap in the sun. After resting my muscles hurt, I could not straighten at the hip nor put my heels down. I had to work it out and stretch before the decent.

It was time to head down. We started at about 8:45am. Imagine snowshoeing through deep loose gravel. We skated down on top of the loose gravel, leading with our heels. We have geared if you lead with your toes, which is what you naturally want to do, you will loose toenails.

There was no rain, so the ash and gravel dust just engulfed us. We were covered with in mins. The trail was a different trail down. It zigzagged back and forth down the mountain. We moved very rapidly. I had to go to the bathroom so I had motivation. The bathroom at the top was so disgusting. I have never been in a more vile bathroom. And men and women shared it. The men's urinals were Ruth at the front where women waited in line. Then the bathroom for women were squatty potties. After 8 hr os hiking, squatting was not easy. I kept saying don't touch anything, don't touch anything. And after I left, I vowed I would not use it again. I knew there was a bathroom half way down.

Covered in dirt, sore beyond belief and tired we made our way down. I won the prize for falling the most. But I was graceful and did not really get hurt. Bill and Jeff fell and got scraped up. Taren fought her bad knee giving out. And John twisted his ankle. In record time we made it to the bottom. The last half of the trail was a straight path directly across the mountain and through a cloud. It was very cool, both awesome and temperature wise.

There was a group riding horses on this part of the mountain. You really had to watch out for horse poop. I was constantly looking down and watching my footing. I walked straight into a hose head on. The rider yelled at me. I figured he should be looking out too. We were in a cloud for peets sake.

We made it to the base in 2hrs 30mins. Next was to catch a bus. I have a picture of how dirty we were, but it is in Bills camera, I'll post it later. While waiting for the bus we all took a baby wipe bath. The guys looked as if they had on eye liner.
The bus ride back was packed. I got a seat. But Jeff and Taren say on the floor and Bill and John stood. Everyone on the bus was asleep. It was funny to watch everyone fall over and jolt awake. We made it back to the train station an we retraced our path back to the hotel. It took us until 4pm before we got home.
Now that I am off the mountain, I can say it was an experience. I am not sure I would say good. When we crosse the top step Bill asked how I felt and I literally almost cried. I quickly answer, "I made it." I was so glad to be at the top and be done with the hike. I am glad I did it, but this was my first, last and only mountain I will climb. I maybe recovering for quite some time. But something I can look back and say I accomplished a great feat. And be proud Bill and I made it to the top of Mt. Fuji!!!

Mt. Fuji part 2

I preface this blog post with this statement. I am a few days away from actually hiking Mt. Fuji. I am not sure I will accurately describe how difficult things on the mountain were. Now that I am off the Mountain, things are good. It was great, but I know it was the most physically and emotionally draining experience I have ever participated in. Now that being said, our hike up the mountain.

For clarification of the story we were hiking with Jeff, Taren and John. Jeff and Taren are married and good friends. All of the guys work in the same LSSS section.
So in the last post I left you all as we were transferring from trains to a bus to get to station 5. We arrived at station 5 around 8:50ish. This is a few hours behind when I wanted to start hiking, but it was the last bus out to the station.
Now one might think that since we were hiking at night we might be alone and the mountain deserted. Wrong! It was packed. Thousands of people were hiking at night.
We stopped for one last bathroom break before beginning our assent. On the mountain you had to pay ¥200 to 300 to use the facilities. The initial beginning was down hill. I was convinced we were headed in the wrong direction. But all the signage pointed this way. We passed the security station where we picked up a map. And away we went.
We started at a really fast pace. We were all excited and eager to get to the top. The first part of the hike was deceivingly easy. I thought, if it is like this the whole way, we will be at the top in no time.
And then the incline increased. I could not keep up with the 3 Marines. I nearly had an asthma attack and we hadn't even really started the hike. Bill and I had made an agreement that he would not leave me and I could set the pace. Jeff and John headed off to literally run up the mountain. Taren, Bill and I were going to hike at a more reasonable pace. We would see the other two at the top.

As we progressively went up, breathing became more difficult. But we marched at a steady pace. As we went up we rose above the clouds and could see the last of the daylight disappear. It was beautiful. The temp was in the 60s. I was cold in the beginning but soon warmed up. I hiked in pants and a t-shirt.
Our goal was to make it to each rest station. I lived for the next station. We began with hiking with no stops till we got to the station. Bill and I had purchased wooden hiking sticks that could be branded at each rest station. By the time we got to the 3rd station on the mountain we had caught up with a lot of people. It began getting crowded.
We ha a system, I would rest and drink and Bill would get stamps. It was great resting. At about 3hrs into the hike, my lungs were on fire, my feet hurt, my body ached at the exertion of climbing. We were only at station 7. There are 10 stations on the mountain, we started at 5 and knew station 8 was half way up.

The path was steep, slippery, covers in gravel, ash and large rocks. We were constantly passing people and navigation the easiest path. I cursed the whole way up. I was not sure I was going to make it. I like climbing the stairs better than the gravel path. Mainly because it worked a different set of muscles. But they were also very tall. Sometimes I would use my knees to get up and then stand up. My favorite part was the large rock climbing area. Where you were scaling boulders. If it was like that the whole time, I think it would have been ok.
It really became a mind of matter club. We could not see the top, but we could see bobbing head lamps go for a long time into the abyss above.
I was quiet and Bill and Taren would be concerned. I would reply, " I am breathing, I am moving, I am ok!".
In between station 7 and 8 we meet up with Nick and Stephanie, our neighbors who were also climbing. They were not fairing too well. We stopped an talked to them awhile and then pushed on.
I apologized the whole way up. I am sorry for going slow, for stopping so much, for having Bill hold the walking stick, for cursing, for being tired, etc. we were stopping more now. Some were forced stops because it was contested and single file. Some was because I hurt or could not breath.

It was becoming apparent we were not going to make it to the top by sunrise. We pushed on as fast as we could. But between station 9 and 10(the summit) the lines were so long and slow. Sometimes we would push pass, but mostly we waited. I liked waiting. I could breath and close my eyes a little. I know Bill and I both hiked portions with our eyes closed.

We were a few hundred meters from the top. When everyone came to a stop. Turned around and watched the sunrise. This was about 5am. At this point we had been hiking for 8 straight hours. And we were still not to the top.
The sunrise was gorgeous. But I was exhausted. The hike is 6.2 miles up with an elevation of 2 miles.
The last bit was not to bad. I got my second wind and was determine to make it to the top.

We got to the top and walked to a section of the mountain where you could see the volcanic crater and the sunrise view. We sat down and we both fell asleep.

Tokyo/ Mt Fuji Climb part one

So early Friday morning Bill and I got up, had breakfast at the hotel and headed out to find the Chinese Embassy.
We needed to go to the Chinese Embassy to try to get a visa for Bill. Our walk was about 15 mins. We walked through a very lovely park. The shade was very welcomed. I was/am surprised at how warm Tokyo is in the summer. I really had no idea. It is hot!

Once we found the Embassy we had to find the right entrance. Just around the corner and we found the entrance. The Embassy was very busy. I am not sure what kind of business all these people were doing but, lots going on. EVERYTHING is in kanji. So I started Looking for a sign to tell me where to go. There was very limited English and it did not make sense. So we walked up to window 6 and she told us to go to the 3rd floor. Again once we arrived in on that floor, lots of people, lots of business. No English. We stood in line. Once we got to the window, in broken English we are told we can not get a tourist visa in person.
So plan B. We went back to the hotel, asked for a travel agent near by and thought we would try one more avenue. After a 15 min walk to the travel agent, no luck. We will have to send Bills passport off and hope he can get in and out of Okinawa on orders until his passport comes back with the visa.

We caught up with 3 of our friends and headed back out of the hotel to get lunch. None of us were feeling too adventurous and wanted something that would stay with us for our trip to Fuji. We ate a nice lunch at a restaurant near Hiro plaza.
Back to the hotel to gear up an head out. Packing all the gear was an ordeal. Making sure we had everything.
I totally felt like I was forgetting something. I did, but this will be seen a little later on.
So out of the hotel for the fourth time today and we are headed to the subway. I have the route we needed to take written down, but I was uncertain it would get us to the right place.

I knew we if we left by two an got on the train by 4pm and made it too the mountain by 7pm we were good. Sunrise is at 4:54am. That was the plan.

Well we left at 2:20pm. Made it to the subway, but there was a rail car accident and the subway was shut down for four hours. Kink in the plans.

A very nice attendant helped us find the correct bus to get on and told us when to get off. Out of the subway we headed. We qued in line for the bus. The bus arrived and we double checked it was going to Shinjuku station. And it was. Success. But now I was worried we could not buy the correct ticket at this station. I had only looked for the nearest station for us to take.

The Bus was standing room only, all 5 of us huddled in the wheel chair section and made the best of the situation. A lady had a large stroller and we moved out of her way so she could stow the stroller where we ha been standing. Shortly we arrived at Shinjuku 1. We got off. As we are standing there, looking for a subway entrance the woman with the stroller hops of the bus and chases after us. We had gotten off at the wrong stop. Get back on the bus We discuss our plans and she helps us understand there are 5 stops with the same name. We wanted the 5th stop.
She asks where we were from. We all say Okinawa. She Thanks us for the help for the earthquake. And at the next stop she gets off. It was really nice of her to help us.
Finally we make it to the 5th sinjuku stop. We get off and head down into the tunnels of the metro and trains.
There are thousands of Japanese walking and going places. We are the lost Americans looking for something to tell us where to go. Finally I ask. We are off to get tickets for the train.
We get to the first ticket booth and they don't sell that ticket there. In broken English he tells us to go down and go to the Blue plaza. We head further down in the depths of the station. Walk a ways and look for anything that has the JR train line name on it. We stand in line, but we have divided and asking multiple people for direction. We are not at the right place. We have to head up and out and look for the View travel agent. It is at this point I remember what I forgot. I forgot to tell everyone to bring their passport to buy the discount train ticket. Hoping we can do with out.
We get into the travel agent and huge disappointment, they say no passport no ticket. We are all like WHAT!!! We say we will pay full price and they say ok, no problem. Whew! We get the tickets and once again head into the depths of the train station to find track 10. The train leaves at 4:30. We are about 30mins behind. Not too bad. We caught the train, we are on our way. Now two more train switches and a bus ride and we will be at station 5 to begin our hike. Stay tuned to see if we make it on time to see the sunrise at 4:54am.

Vacation has begun!

Bill and I are on our first sightseeing tour off island. We are headed to Tokyo for the weekend. Tomorrow we climb Mt. Fuji.
So today was a full day before our vacation could begin. First I had a family fun say set up where I helped organize and start a huge party on the beach. Then I had a job interview for a 2nd grade position. It looks promising. I will know on Monday. Then Bill and I executed our wills. So if I die on this trip, things are settled. And then finally we dropped our cat off at the Huackman's and made our way to the airport.
Our flight was at 9pm arriving at 11:30pm. We were a little late arriving, this could have put a kink in the best laid plans. But with only four mins to spare, we claimed our luggage an ran to the monorail. Bought an express ticket and caught the train. Next we have a ten min taxi ride to the hotel and then we can crash from this long, long day.
Tomorrow, Chinese Embassy to get Bill a visa and then to Mt. Fuji. We are climbing at night, so we have all day to get there. I'll keep you posted! Vacation...GO!