Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Back to school...

Now, I realize that most teachers in America have already been back to school for a week or more. I realize that those same teachers might object to my whining about being tired and not ready to go back... sympathy may be non-existent. Well, what I have to say to those teachers is... you get nearly a 3 month break to recover... I got roughly 6 weeks! I think I have earned my right to a few whiny moments.

I was SO not ready for my alarm to go off this morning. In fact, I woke up with a start and rushed around so much (afraid I was going to be late) that I was earlier than I normally am... even when I'm early.

In the time I was off of school I had managed to forget my lovely commute and the walk to school. A commute with three train changes, standing room only and a nice 15 minute walk in scorching heat is not my idea of a good way to start my day. However, in the weeks off I'd forgotten all about those parts of work. I remember them all to clearly again, now.

I have to say that actually teaching and being back in the groove wasn't bad. It was the post-teaching lull that was bad. By the time I left school at the end of the day I was ready to roll into bed. Luckily I get a nicer day tomorrow. Better commuting time (around 11:30am) and a better train (I'll definitely get a seat) and most of all a more cheerful school! :-) Whew! Back to school time makes me tired!!


Hope everyone else is having a lovely day!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Surprises

I like surprises. Sometimes I moan a bit at Shimon that we don't have many surprises between the two of us. Well, he proved he has the ability to surprise today.

He went into work on Saturday to get ready for a very busy week. He called and asked if I wanted to go with him somewhere after work. I said sure and we met up (he actually had to take something to a client... so we met afterwards).

We ended up going to Enoshima (about an hour and a bit outside of Tokyo). It was right before sunset and I had just told Shimon that I had seen Mt. Fuji on my way to meet him... we walk toward the sea and low and behold... a lovely silhouetted Mt. Fuji with nice sunset colors. Nice!!

For dinner we ended up in a nice Italian restaurant on the terrace with cool evening breezes blowing. After that we walked around the Enoshima area. Saw the fattest stray cat I've ever seen!! And enjoyed a lantern display that led around some of the famous areas of the island.

There were even fireworks going from a distance when we started our walk on the island. Wow! For a spontaneous, surprise date everything fell into its lovely, romantic place. Surprises are wonderful... :-)

Hope you have some surprises today!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Denali National Park

Before I post pictures, I have to stress how lucky we were when we went to the park. I don't have the statistics in my head anymore, but people who visit Denali Park are more often times disappointed than fulfilled. Why would that be? Well, people want to see the mountain. The mountain is the biggest in North America and creates its own weather conditions. Conditions that often do not allow it to be seen. This is life. A disappointed part of life, but life nonetheless. Then there's animals. Sadly, there is no way to guarantee seeing any. Many people leave the park only having seen a few distant specks of white that are dall sheep. Again, life. WELL... having said all that. We were incredibly lucky! We saw the mountain AND a ton of animals. When I mean a ton... I mean 7 bears, a heard of dall sheep on the road, etc... a lot of animals. So, without further adieu... enjoy the pics. 

That's right folks, that's the Mountain. Incredible isn't it!? 

Here are the specks of sheep. Don't worry, it gets much much better!

The wind was really strong that day as you can see by the flag!
And by the fact that I had to wear a hat!! Go Liverpool... thanks brother for the hat. Would have frozen if I didn't have it.

Cute ground squirrel!

Bears!! Momma and two babies. We spooked them a bit at first, but once they realized we weren't a real threat they didn't try to run away.

Next up? Sheep. They were right on the road enjoying some lunch... and we were right there to enjoy them!

Lest I forget the beautiful scenery.... here you go!

Golden eagle...

Wolf! This was my first time seeing a wolf... and this one was just walking down the road. Kind of like saying, "Screw running through the bushes, I'm taking the easy route!"

Caribou crossing the road in front of the bus. The driver actually had to break quite hard as we came around a corner. 

A slightly more picturesque view of the caribou!

And to round out the wildlife portion... here's some moose! We saw a momma and babies just off the road. They stayed in the bushes a bit, but you can see them peaking through a bit now. :-)

We saw so much wildlife that when we saw another bull moose up the hill... we didn't even stop. It would have made a good picture, but we were really late returning from the trip as it was. 

Hope you enjoyed the pics... there's a few more to post... just not of animals. Anyone ready for a trip to Alaska now?

Pictures!!

So, since my link was not really the right one (if you speak or read Japanese you would have been fine...:-), I'm putting up some Alaska pictures. Shimon and I went to visit my hometown, Fairbanks, Alaska, from August 7th through the 15th. It was a quick visit, but it was just about right for a first visit. This visit contained many firsts for Shimon: first visit to an English speaking country, first visit to America, first time meeting my family, first American-style barbecue... you get the point. :-) It was really fun and my family and Shimon seemed to like each other. We got to have a bit of quality time with everybody!! 

Now, without further adieu... pictures!!

On the way to my parents' cabin on Stampede Road in Healy, Alaska we managed to have our first Denali (Mt. McKinley) sighting. Wow!! Very few people get to see such a wonderful view of the Mountain like this. This sighting would bode well for us as the next day in the Park we had very good luck... with pretty much everything. 

When we had finally made it to the area where we could get to the cabin... my mom insisted that we help her pick for blueberries. And so we did... 

Of course when you pick, you have to sample too! See that bucket?? We filled 4 of them, then mom dumped them into a bigger bucket and made us start again! :-) 

To get to the cabin we had to use four-wheelers. This was exciting on so many levels for Shimon. He loved driving it, so of course commemorative pictures were required!

Another picture, following my dad so that we don't hit a patch of really bad ground or anything. 

That evening we got to see a wonderful sunset and spectacular colors painted across the clouds. Aaaah... Alaska!
The mountains are wearing hats!! haha... Had to provide a shot with mountains... the pictures wouldn't be complete without a few shots of mountains. ;-)

Next... Denali National Park and Preserve... get ready for some wildlife!!

Alaska pics...

Still not up. Sorry the album link didn't quite work like I wanted it to. Booo! Will work on uploading some onto this blog later today. :-) There are some really good pics, so I definitely want to share!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Pictures!!

So, I promised pictures from Alaska. For now, I'm going to give a link to a HUGE album online. This is just part of the pictures we took. When I say we, I really mean 99% were taken by Shimon. :-) Soon to come will be the Denali photos and all the animals we saw.

I may choose some highlights for narration, but for now... enjoy! :-)

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Just back!

I just got back from Alaska last night. And I want to go back already... Not because I don't love being home. But being home means ridiculously hot weather and miserable humidity. When we went to the store last night, I asked Shimon if I could turn around and go home. Japan can be TOO hot sometimes!

Our trip to Alaska was fantastic. We got to see and do so much in our short week there. We hit Denali Park, the Fair, the Museum, the Musk Ox Farm (which is actually the Large Animal Research Station), and much more. Didn't make it out to the hot springs (next time!!). 

The best thing was that Shimon was able to meet my family and we're all like together. I think he had fun! I hope. :-) One of the highlights was getting to shoot a shotgun with my dad and brothers!! Not sure that will make it up on the internet, but there are certainly some pics to come. :-)

Thursday, August 05, 2010

Quiet

This week has been anything but quiet!! On Saturday, Shimon and I head to Alaska for the first time together. We've been buying presents and getting ready for the big trip.

This is my horribly beaten up suitcase, getting ready to make yet another trip to Alaska. :-) It's not full yet. I've only managed to load all the presents into it. Not sure how all of the rest of the stuff will fit (we're taking two small suitcases!!), but I'm sure we'll find a way.

Wish us luck! This is a biggie!!!