Portlandia, Oregon, USA

 We are almost at the end of our sojourn with Josette in Portland. We 
left Yosemite last week and made the 400 miles in good time. Josette has had us 
on the move every day since our arrival and she tends to underestimate the 
physical activity. An advertised 3 mile walk on the flat turned into an 8 mile 
hike with 1500 feet of elevation and a little bike ride became 18 miles of up 
hill and down dale.
The exertion was worth it as the hike took us through forest and waterfalls and 
was very enjoyable. As was the bike ride in the Columbia Gorge wound through 
spectacular scenery. We have been blessed with great weather, not typical of 
Portland but welcome much the same. 
The city of Portland is an interesting place, to say the least. If any of you 
have seen the US cable  TV show Portlandia, the portrayal is pretty accurate. 
There are some fairly different people here but everyone seems pleasant and easy 
going. There are hundreds of eateries coffee shops and bakeries and some very 
peculiar stores for doggies' clothing and some just dedicated to hats and junk 
shops by the dozen.
We have met many of Josette's friends and have enjoyed numerous dinners out. I 
went on an excellent guided tour of the last US diesel submarine moored outside the 
Oregon science museum with new friend John, at retired US Navy Captain.
An afternoon was spent at the Nike campus in Beaverton. Another very impressive 
place, especially the company store with its fifty per cent discount.

Tomorrow, it's off to Boise, ID for some more adventures.

view of Mount Shasta on the way up to Portland

the Columbia River Gorge

The  International Test Rose Garden 

bike ride along the Columbia Gorge

Hiking the Multnomah Falls

The ultra feminist bookshop and community centre featured in the show Portlandia(it really does exist)

Bills posted on telephone poles. Seems to be a Portland tradition. The bills can be inches thick

Following the tour of SS Blueback. The last of the US Navy diesel attack subs.

Yosemite National Park, California, USA

Sorry about the lack of posts this month but we really have been busy, relatively speaking. Our flight home from Narita was excellent. Great service on Japan Airlines business class and the journey was quite civilized. Once over the inevitable jet lag we got back into the swing of things in San Diego and it was good to be home. I got some sailing time in with Van at the Coronado Cays Yacht Club and we discovered some more microbreweries in downtown San Diego. We now have four in easy walking distance!

The Admiral had her first check up with her oncologist and mammograms were clear and lab work looked good. I ran all over Shelter Island looking for boat parts and I think I have everything nailed down by now. Mother's Day came and went and time passed very quickly. We went to Palm Springs on May 18 and spent some time with our friends Len and Kathy visiting some new and old haunts. We did the usual doctor and accountant visits and lunch with Tom and Kathy. On the 21st. we went north and spent the night in Solvang and had dinner at the Hitching Post in nearby Buelton, made famous by the movie Sideways. We got to San Francisco on the following day to celebrate our son James' graduation from the MBA program at the Haas Business School at Berkeley. Julie and Josette flew in for the occasion which was held the following day at the Greek Theater. A very proud moment for the both of us.

We went to the Farmer's Market early on the following morning and then on for a picnic on the beach but unfortunately the weather was quite foggy and cold on the west side of San Francisco. We took a long walk and visited a very chintzy tea shop for afternoon tea. Dinner was memorable at Chez Panisse in Oakland. Very excellent food and service and I think we will be back sometime.

On Sunday, the girls left for San Diego and Portland and we and James and Katie went east to the Yosemite National Park, where we spent the next few days hiking and looking at the amazing, scenic splendor that is Yosemite.

We are now on our way up to Portland to visit with Josette for a few days.

Mother's Day visit to the lavender farm in Escondido

graduation at the Greek Theater at Berkeley

The new graduate and girlfriend, Katie

Farmer's Market, San Francisco

Golden Gate Bridge on  a foggy morning

Half Dome Rock from Glacier Point,  Yosemite

El Capitan

Bridalveil Falls, Yosemite

Hiking up Vernal Falls

At the top of Nevada Falls

Nevada Falls

Swinging Bridge

View from our house in Yosemite

Mirror Lake with Yosemite Falls in the background

Valley View

Mirror lake hike

The Hitching Post restaurant from the movie Sideways

Josette and the Admiral

Having tea in San Francisco

Narita, Japan

We are now sitting at the airport in Tokyo on a very rainy afternoon. Our last few days in Japan have been very pleasant indeed. The journey from Takayama to the Mt. Fuji area was complicated but went without a hitch. It took a bus, a local train and then another bus to get to the town of Kawaguchi-ko, south of Mt. Fuji itself. Our choice of hotel could have been better as an error was made on our booking and when we got there we were charged an extra 50% on the already outrageous room charge. The views were amazing so I guess it was all worth it. We had a very nice dinner and an interesting Japanese breakfast the following day. We wandered all over the town on the following day and walked for miles and took a cable car ride up a nearby mountain. Had we known, we would have tried to find a place to stay on the south side of Lake Kawaguchi-ko in order to see the iconic mountain reflected in the lake in the early morning when it is still and clear.  We will have to do this on our next visit.
Our hotel had an hot spring onsen which is a Japanese type of spa. An interesting but very Japanese experience. Getting naked and bathing with a bunch of  unknown Japanese dudes is not my idea of  a lot of fun but they seem to enjoy it.
On the next day we went to our next destination, Narita which was again a public transport challenge. First a bus to Shinjuku station on the west side of Tokyo. This was a very busy place and quite chaotic as it was the holiday Golden Week. We managed to find our way to Narita on two different trains without getting lost. We were met at Narita by the ryokan owner and settled in. Narita is a delightful town with a traditional old city with a marvelous temple and surrounding park. The weather as perfect and we spent the day seeing the sights with many Japanese tourists making the day trip to the temple with their families. Narita had many bars and eateries and we had a good time there.
Sadly our ten days here are over and we are on our way back to sunny California. We have very much enjoyed Japan and we hope that we can return and see more of this beautiful and interesting country.


 photos from Narita

three storied pagoda at the Naritasan Shinshoji Temple

procession of Japanese Buddhist monks

the chief monk in all his holiday finery

Gaduko Hall at the temple

Japanese family out for the day

Superb park around the temple,narita

Koi feeding frenzy

Old town, Narita. Hordes of people on the Golden week holiday

Preparing and skinning eels, a favorite dish served over rice with a special sauce

Turtles sunning themselves at the Shinshoji Temple,Narita

Narita, Japan

Some photos from our visit to Mount Fuji

sunset over Lake Kawaguchi-ko

Traditional Japanese breakfast. Definitely not the full English

View of Mt. Fuji from our hotel room early in the morning

cherry blossom Lake Kawaguchi-ko

early morning mist on the lake

cherry blossom

view of Mt. Fuji from the bridge over Lake Kawaguchi-ko