The Samurai

I spotted this samurai carrying a case of beer in Kichijoji Park.

Cherry Blossoms with Maw!

We were really lucky that Maw got to see some blossoms while she was in Tokyo. We went to Shinjuku park and this is Maw with a cherry blossom beard.

Not all of the trees were in full bloom, but we managed to find a few.

And this tree had pink blossoms and red blossoms!! It was gorgeous!!

Childhood memories

Hey Y'all! Let's go walking in the creek!

I spent most of my time between 11 and 14 stomping around in the creek on my parent's property. Isn't it gorgeous?!?!? I hadn't seen water in it in a long time, but this trip home it was full. I couldn't resist going for a little trip down memory creek.

I introduced my sister's foster kids to the joy of creek stomping-cold feet, muddy butt, and all. They loved it!

Lillian, Martin, and Nicholas had a blast! And so did I.

Takaragawa Onsen in Gunma

was very cold and snowy! Here's where we stayed.
Our room was on the 1st floor.

The hot springs were amazing!! There were 4 outside baths, and 3 of them
were mixed for both men and women.

Women wore towels, but they were short towels. I kept bending over and showing Shojiro how short mine was. Ha! He told me to be more "lady like," but that is difficult for me sometime.

Of course, we jumped!

The food was really good too! Here Shojiro is eating bear soup.
That's right, BEAR!! It tasted like tough beef not chicken.

This was a grilled river fish. Sho kept calling it a "liver fish." Ha! I just love Japanese 'l's and 'r's. They can be so entertaining.

Cheers!! Kanpai!!

Trees

are BIG in California!!

Sea Lions

on Pier 39 at the famous Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. Apparently these creatures started hopping up on the docks in 1989. I guess no one ever made them move.

Aren't they cute?

Californication!

Lost my shoes during this jump over looking the Bay Area of San Francisco and Oakland.


Making it to California meant that my world trip was coming to an end. We visited San Francisco, Oakland, and Walnut Creek. Did lots of jumping there because we were having the "San Fran Jump Off" competition with my Australian friend Debs.

PS. We WON!!!

More California pics to follow!