Cherry Blossoms and Kirk's New Baby

Cherry blossom season has come and gone already - it happened so fast! It's typically the end of March/early April and only lasts for about 2 weeks. But, there are a lot of Hanami (cherry) festivals and celebrations. It's a fun way to really celebrate the coming of spring. The weather is beautiful here right now! But, we keep getting warned that "the rainy season is coming". Whatever. I will use that as an excuse to get some cute Japanese rain boots. :)

Unfortunately, we didn't have a whole lot of time during the 2 weeks of blossoms to grab some photos. And we didn't feel like fighting the crowds during the weekend festival at the Kintai Bridge. So we snuck away during one of our lunch breaks (did you notice I said "our" lunch breaks?? YES, Joel has a job!!) for a 10 minute photo shoot at Kintai.

They were charging for parking because they knew more people would be visiting! What a racket! So we spent 200 yen for 10 minutes... oh well.

If only we'd had time to cross the bridge...

You can see the Kintai Castle on top of the mountain in the background.

Things are turning green again, hooray!

The blossoms truly are beautiful.

So, now we move on to my new baby. Since Joel is a hard working man now (Bachelor Housing Manager under the Navy's authority) I have been begging for two cars. I think Joel, who is not into freely spending money like me which is why we are a good balance, wanted to "try and see" if we could still be a one car family. But no. It was not working well. We both need to have the freedom and independence that comes with having our own cars. Finding a car right now is easy as many of the families are PCSing back home and are trying to sell all of their stuff. I knew I wanted something roomier than Big Red so we could more comfortably pick folks up from the airport with all their luggage when they come visit. :) And we didn't want to spend a whole lot of money since we won't really be getting much of it back when we re-sell the cars before we leave.

So I found the perfect fit!!!

Meet my new 1989 Toyota Surf! Ahhhhhh... it makes me SO happy!

It's an SUV that rides like a truck. It's empowering to drive. :) And the best part is? We got it for $800!

It totally has duct tape holding stuff together on the inside, but who cares about a few little cosmetic details?! It adds to the character for sure. :-p

So now we have a car that rides smoother than Big Red, empowers the people who drive it, provides WAY more trunk space, and allows me to continue being chronically late for work as Joel can leave on time in his own Big Red.

Thank you Joel! I am SO happy!

Hiroshima Carp Baseball Game

My super awesome wife took me to a Hiroshima Carp baseball game for my birthday last week on April 5th along with her co-worker and friend Jeff. Just about every year since I can remember I have either played in or attended a baseball game on my birthday, so it was great to continue that tradition in Japan! The Carp ended up beating the Yomiuri Giants (Tokyo) 2-0 to complete a three game sweep! We had a great time enjoying the ball game, the Japanese ballpark food, and the ever entertaining 7th inning stretch. Enjoy the pictures!

The walk from the Hiroshima station with the stadium in the background.

On the walk to the stadium we pass the Hiroshima Intelligent Hotel - not sure what makes it "intelligent" but we figured that it was blog worthy.

The Carp guy

"zoom zoom"

Along the walkway to the stadium is a wall with this art containing ancient Japanese warriors wearing Carp uniforms!

The good looking crew in their seats awaiting the game to start. We got there a couple hours early so that is why the seats are empty around us. A special thank you to Hiroko for the Hiroshima Carp hat for my birthday!

A view of the field from our seats.

Two Carp fans decked out in their uniforms that sat in front of us and were nice enough to let us take their picture.

Japanese ballpark food - potato wedges with chili sauce (top), potato wedges with cheese (right), fried chicken with curry powder and mayo sauce (left).

More ballpark food - Chicken stir fry.

The Carp cheering section in right field.

The Carp mascot!

Fans getting ready to let go of the balloons for the 7th inning festivities!

Look at all the pink balloons!

Totally not Japan

So, this post IS highlighting my life, but the part that takes place outside Japan, LOL. Part of my job requires a certain amount of "trainings" per year as I have to collect CEU's (Continuing Education Units) to keep up with my independent mental health and addictions counseling licenses. This year, MCCS (Marine Corps Community Services) paid for me to go to a week-long, joint substance abuse and FAP (Family Advocacy) training hosted by AMEDD (Army Medicine) through Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. (Y'all like my extensive use of acronyms?) :-p I will also be attending a week-long training in Georgia later this summer followed by one in Williamsburg, VA which is the one bringing Joel and me home in July, hooray!!!

I must continue. The training in San Antonio was GREAT - so practical and informative. I actually, really enjoyed paying attention, taking notes, and learning for a whole week, despite jet laggin' like CRAZY! But, the thing that really made the week away from Joel and my "home" and routine in Japan was the fact that Katie got herself a plane ticket and spent the entire week with me. :) It was definitely some much needed sister time for sure!!

Finally, on to the pictures:

I found Joel's replacement at Sports Authority. I guess I should be punching this guy, don't know why I'm getting snuggly.

Just hangin' with the punching dude at the store...

Our hotel had an inner courtyard that was GORGEOUS with a nice pool and lots of sun.

OK, so the River Walk in San Antonio is FABULOUS. It's forever long with so many cool shops and restaurants. The ambiance is great.

A cool mosaic mural.

The River Walk had beautiful landscaping and architecture.

You take a walk through the Hyatt, pop out on the street, and what's that? The Alamo!!

I love this type of architecture.

Katie said this pic looks like I'm "getting on her" about something, which was kind of a theme during the week. What can I say? I'm a type A, OCD, older sister personality! :-p

Katie found a cool well.

Proof we were there at the Alamo.

I read about the Menger Bar before arriving in San Antonio (during my free time at work, I did a lot of research and planning - PROOF that I am a Type A personality with OCD features... that or occasionally bored at work, LOL.)

I found a T-Rex. He was actually kinda creepy when he moved around, roared and snarled.

OK, so what's a trip to Texas without a margarita?! Katie and I decided to split the mondo size one (no worries, parentals. It was mostly sugar water.) Katie is holding up a chip to emphasize the giganticness.

More River Walk views.

There's a water taxi that you can take up and down River Walk, but we're cheapskates and wouldn't fork over $15/person for a ride. Plus, we had to walk off that margarita.

I love how the businesses are built right along the river.

We went up to the top!

I had a Groupon that allowed us to get in 2 for 1! Man, I sound nerdy!

There was a 3D "ride" in the Tower of the Americas. It was fun. :)

Couldn't have planned the sunset view any better.

It was windy up top!

Texas is pretty.

Katie and I decided to get Martini's in the Tower's lounge. I got a really awesome cucumber one (tasted like salt and pepper cucumbers!) and Katie got a spicy mango. Her garnish was a half a jalapeno!

Katie and I had some fun trying on some really tall heels! Katie's a natural, but I felt extremely awkward... and super tall!

We spent A LOT of time at the mall across the street from the hotel. In front are the largest cowboy boots anyone's ever seen!!!

Katie and I became pros at taking the bus into downtown. The San Antonio Museum of Art is free on Tuesday nights (doing prep research ahead of time is AWESOME) but we had to walk about a mile from the bus stop to get to it. We thought the mascot at this school was funny.

The Art Museum! We found it!

 

 

Courtyard at the museum.

My super chic, artistic sis.

Showing off my new cowboy boots. How have I never owned a pair before now?!

Gotta love a good gnarly tree.

We walked by the ghetto of San Antonio.

Neat hanging fish under the overpass.

We picked up the River Walk behind the Art Museum and continued walking to a Mexican restaurant recommended by Food and Wine Magazine.

We heard a really odd noise as we were walking. Finally spotted this dude. He's got an evil eye...

Katie likes to make friends.

The menu at La Gloria. HEAVEN.

My vegetarian sister got cheese stuffed enchiladas with more cheese on top along with fried potatoes, green beans, and an amazing sauce!

Good stuff!

Ready for another night in downtown.

Mariachi Band!

We went here for dinner. For those of you who know what this place is all about, I'm sure you're laughing. For everyone else, it's inappropriate blog material. LOL. Suffice to say, the servers are paid to make fun of you. I ordered gator bites. They were good. 'Nuf said.

In the foyer to the Guinness World Records Museum is a life size moving statue of the tallest man. Wow.

Katie making another friend.

We went here so Katie could knock it off her bucket list. :) We fit in with our cowboy boots. We met some folks from Louisian-er and others from Ler-siana.

So hot.

Finally, what's a girls' week without face masks? I love you Katie!!