Archive for Life

Japan, Part 1: Planes, trains and hotel rooms

We took the 14-hour plane ride (non-stop) from D/FW to Narita.  On the plane we met another set of parents heading to Yokosuka – they were from central Louisiana and we ran into them several times during the trip.  Unfortunately my son was not as easy to find.  His ship pulled into port the same day we arrived and he did not have a working cell phone.  On arrival we hoped to meet him at the airport but could not find him so we decided to take the train.  Narita Airport is several miles east of Tokyo and our destination (Yokosuka) is a ways south of Tokyo, so we had a long train ride in store.  We chose the slower local train rather than the Narita Express since it was cheaper and did not require a change of trains at Yokohama, which we were scared to death of at that point.  Most signs in Japan are in both English and Japanese, but the train maps are an exception.  The train was not too crowded since we got on before rush hour and this train went more around Tokyo than through it. Read the rest of this entry »

A week in Japan

We are sleeping off our jet lag and organizing all the photos and video we got in Japan.  What a fantastic trip!  Click on the photos below to view the slideshows.  Once the slideshow starts, click the “i” in the middle of the screen for full captions.  We are still working on the full blog entries; check back soon!

 

RIP Smokie, 1985?-2007

Click for slideshowUntil yesterday we had 4 cats.  We didn’t ask for any of them - all are adoptions from family and friends.  Smokie was already old when we got her from my grandmother who was unable to care for her in the retirement home, and she made it to the ripe age of 22.  She had a quirky personality and some unique skills, and she didn’t take crap from anyone – humans, giant dogs, giant cats, not nobody.

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