Hiking in January

While Mike's been exploring Japan I've been enjoying my time in the northeast, which, of course, involves hiking! Since Mike's been gone I've done three hikes in the New England area. First, JuJu, JoJo, D and I hiked Monadnock in New Hampshire. It was a beautiful day with blue-bird skies, perfect temps, icy terrain and strong wind gusts at the summit. Matter of fact, the winds were so strong that they blew little D over! It was a wonderful hike and a great time!

Later that week my JuJu and I decided to explore Mt. Alander out in Mt. Washington, MA. Yes, you heard me right, there is a Mt. Washington Massachusetts! We lucked out again with blue-bird skies and perfect temps! After our hike we visited Bash Bish Falls, also in Mt. Washington, MA. I had never been and my Mom had never been in the winter. It was a beautiful sight to be seen, cascading waters, running through a half-frozen falls into pristine, turquoise-colored water! The pictures really didn't do it justice as the sun was beginning to set. We finished off our lovely day with some yummy food at the Gypsy Joynt in Great Barrington, MA!

Yesterday, JuJu, the brosif and I headed up to Mt. Kearsage in the Sunapee region of NH! It was probably the most beautiful and interesting hike I've been on in a while. It had rained the day before and the temperatures had dropped below freezing that night, so all of the trees, bushes, benches, roads, and trails had been coated in ice. Everything around us was glistening in the sunshine! It was like being in some sort of fairytale! It was a short hike, but it took us twice as long to get to the summit on a count of me stopping every minute to take another picture! Needless to say, my hard drive is filling up fast with pictures of these beautiful hikes this past month!!

In other news, I recently received word that I'm leaving on March 1st for Japan!! I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am!! We have been assigned a townhouse in Sagamihara, in the Kanagawa prefecture. It is part of Camp Zama, but is about 3 kilometers, which is just under 2 miles, away from the Camp Zama. Mike is moving in there on the 1st of February. The building were built back in the 50's, so they are somewhat "dated", if you will. ;-) Mike said that there is a new housing development going up in Sagamihara that is supposed to be done by the fall of this year and we were told that we'd be moving into the new housing once it's completed. :-) I'll be relieved when that happens as I'm not sure that the building codes in the 50's are up to par with the those today when it comes to withstanding earthquakes, and seeing as Mike has already experienced two (very small) earthquakes, I'd feel much safer in a newer establishment! :-)

That's all for now, keep checking back for more updates from New England and beyond... :-)

Mike's Japanese Adventures!

As most of you know, Mike left for Japan on the 2nd of January. The kitties and I weren't able to join him on a count of the base not having any housing available for us all. Mike is currently residing in the Officer's Quarters at Camp Zama. Since Mike has left we've kept in touch via texting, emailing and my beloved FaceTime! Technology certainly makes having loved ones far, FAR away a lot easier than I expected it to be. The purpose of this blog post is to share with you all some of the things that Mike has come across in his travels.

Mike's first experience with a bidet was at the Narita Airport. He made sure to whip out his iPhone and snap a picture of the experience... NO!.. Not like that! I'm particularly fond of the english translations below!
After the 2.5 hour-long bus ride back to Camp Zama he settled into his hotel room for the evening. He awoke to a beautiful view, which included mountains! YAY for mountains!! Mike, being the brave individual he is, ventured out to the streets of Japan. Barely knowing how to use the transit system, he hopped on the train and headed... somewhere... He ended up at a park (I'm sure it's much nicer looking in the Spring and Summer months)... ... and grabbed a bit to eat...

... yes... those are noodles in his bun! Ha ha ha! Poor Mike. Later that week he checked out of the hotel and into his Officer's Quarters and he was kind enough to give us a tour...

He spent the next week in classes which introduced him to Japan's curious language and rich culture. During that week, he and his class went on a field trip to Odawara Castle...

... where he met some angry monkeys (luckily they were caged)...

Before heading back to base, he ordered his first meal in Japanese "Sumimasen, mountain vegetable with soba noodles o onegaishimasu.", the waitress applauded his efforts and handed him his meal.

As the days passed Mike became even more comfortable in his surroundings and decided to explore a nearby mountain that a new friend had told him about. Once again, he hopped on the train and headed to Mt. Oyama. He rode the train for a few stops and then stepped off to catch a bus... ... apparently he wasn't the only hiker heading to Oyama that day! He arrived at the base of Oyama and snapped some shots of the majestic Shinto Shrines. After walking up about 600 feet of stairs, he decided to take a break and snap another shot... Finally, he arrived at the top and snapped a quick shot of the view... His stomach growled so he sought out a bite to eat... Unable to read Japanese he opted for the only thing he knew how to purchase... ... and to tell you the truth, I haven't the slightest clue what this was that he ended up with, but I'm sure the soups that he was eyeballing would have made for a much better meal... Too bad we haven't developed the technology that would allow us to place a chip in our brain that would result in us being fluent in any language on the planet. Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?!?

A few days later Mike's sponsor, David, and his wife took Mike out to eat at a Japanese "pub-style" restaurant in Ebina. He snapped this shot as they walked from the train to the restaurant. He really enjoyed his meal and a neat grocery store that David and his wife had shown him. Matter of fact, he enjoyed it so much that he decided to return to that grocery store a few days later to further explore it's offerings. He was looking for a restroom when he came across an older, extreme friendly, gentleman. Despite Mike not understanding a single word out of this man's mouth, the fellow, growing more excited with each passing minute, continued to show Mike around the grocery store. They stopped at a meat counter where the man pointed out a beef patty to Mike and proceeded to purchase one for him. He and Mike then went out to a bench where Mike ate the beef patty and the man smiled as Mike enjoyed each bite.After spending about 15 minutes with Mike the man said goodbye and disappeared down the busy street. Mike enjoyed this beef patty so much so that he went back in for seconds. After consuming two beef patty's Mike decided he needed some quality kitten time and stopped into a pet shop where he came across this little darling... ... I'll never understand how he didn't bring that little beauty home!.. Oh WAIT! I know why!! Because he has these two little cuties who are just dying to see him again!!

I hope you've enjoyed Mike's Japanese Adventure! Keep checking back, as there's MUCH more to come!!