Vacation Photos

We've posted slideshows of our summer vacation in Cancun and Tennessee.

Click here to check them out!

Highlights of East Tennessee

This post will, in fact, require two posts, I think. I, personally, found Tennessee's greatness too large to contain in a single post. John and Marilyn were extremely hospitable - from picking us up at the airport, to putting us up, to making sure we got back to the airport. And their hospitality didn't belie the kindness of the people of Tennessee. Trying out my Southern accent, I want to say that the people in Tennessee are so naaahce! Seriously - with the exception of a few teenaged shop attendants, the folks in Tennessee were very, very nice. Always asking where we were from, how we were doing, etc...

So, back to the highlights:

• Being with Brian's family
  
• Walking up to Clingman's Dome
  
• Hiking in the Smoky Mountains
  
• Seeing elk
  
• Seeing a great black bear (no pictures!! He is my "The one that got away").
  
  
  
  The Smoky Mountains as seen from the "trailhead" to Clingman's Dome
  
  
  Elk as seen grazing (and most likely unwelcome) in a farmer's field off of Newfound Gap road, from Cherokee toward Townsend.
  
  
  Sunset over the Smokies - along Newfound Gap road, after seeing the elk, after seeing the Bear.
  
  
  Me and Brian at the top of Mt. LeConte - we hiked uphill 5 miles to get here (for U Canadjins out there - that is more than 5 kilometers!)
  
  Also - I respect the people who live in Tennessee; they actually do go hiking and/or fishing in the Smokies; they don't say -"it'll be there tomorrow". I love that. I love that people appreciate what they have, and have to admit, with some shame, that I have climbed Mt. Fuji, and sailed along the Mekong river, but I have never been to Niagara Falls or Quebec city. Why can't we recognize that the best things can often be found right at home?

A few pics of Cancun

I am working on redesigning the Japanrider photo albums so we haven't put up many photos yet, but here are a few pics from Cancun.


Brian at the beach at Garrafon de Castilla


Brian sends an SOS as he is attacked by my mom


Isla Mujeres - Look how blue it is!


Me at Chichen Itza, the Mayan city ruins - this picture was taken from the top of a perfect pyramid.

A Brief Overview of What We Did in Cancun

We ate.
We drank.
We sat on the beach.

Life was good.

Seriously - we only spent five nights in Cancun, which is quite a famous "tourist city" in Mexico, and we had a great time. My mother flew in from Montreal, and she also seemed to enjoy the sun and the shopping.

Cancun is a created city - it was built specifically as a tourist resort, and for me it took some convincing that it was even in Mexico! Most tourists go to Cancun as part of an all-inclusive package from their travel agent. It can be a very convenient and cheap way to go. Brian and I (and therefore my mother) opted not to do that, as we wanted to be downtown rather than in the Hotel Zone (miles of hotels, side-by-side, fronting the main beaches), and to research and select our own hotel.

We finally decided to stay at the Radisson Hacienda hotel, which is a fairly nice hotel with friendly staff but overpriced drinks. Overall, we think it was the best choice, as we got to ride the local buses (with the local people, not the tourists!) and take the ferry over to Isla Mujeres, a small island just north of Cancun.

We absolutely loved Isla Mujeres (the Island of Women) - it was small enough to navigate easily, had plenty of nice restaurants and shops, and excellent (EXCELLENT) beaches. The short (and cheap) ferry ride over was an absolute pleasure,too. In fact, we went to Isla Mujeres on two separate days. (Pictures coming soon!)

We all took a day trip to the Mayan city of Chichen Itza, about 200km outside of Cancun. We had a guided tour of the ruins with, perhaps, the best guide in the country - a funny, intelligent man named Jaime Juarez (I think!!). He is (or was) a history professor, and his love for the ancient people and admiration for their art was very evident throughout the tour. (Pictures coming soon, too!).

And, of course, during all of these fun activities, we ate and drank! My mother had her first (and probably last) tequila as well as her first (and second and third...)margarita. She also successfully flew into Cancun, found our driver, made it to the hotel, and found the hotel bar all on her own - no small feat for never having been in a non-English speaking country alone before.

We all flew out of Cancun on July 16th - about 24 hours before the airport was closed and people were evacuated to shelters due to Huricane Emily. My mother flew to Ottawa to spend some time with my brother, while Brian and I flew to Knoxville to spend a week with Brian's family (more on the joys of East Tennessee coming soon.)

Back Home

Well, jet lag is almost a memory now, and we were back to work the morning after we landed in Tokyo. We landed in the rain, which we then learned was actually a typhoon - typhoons bring strong winds, then clear skies when they've passed.

I haven't yet co-ordinated our photos from our holiday yet, but here are some photos from just outside our apartment.

Rice Paddy in front of our apartment during a typhoon


Mt. Fuji after the typhoon

Gotta Love Jet Lag

Jet Lag is not a bad thing - it gives you back lost time, in a way; time that would otherwise be wasted on sleep.

I was up at about 3:00 a.m. this morning, wide awake and restless, I was happy to get up and begin working on our vacation pictures. I've sorted the wheat from the chaff, as they say, and have labeled most of them.

Jet Lag gave me three hours of uninterrupted creative time, and for that I am thankful. Three hours that otherwise would have been squandered on sleep. Ha.

Japan Rider Returns!

Whew! We are back from our excellent two-week blog-free vacation. We had a great vacation - we spent some time in and around Cancun, including a day-trip to Chichen Itza, the awe-inspiring Mayan city about 200 km away from Cancun. We then spent some quality time with Brian's family in East Tennessee - luckily, that included time for shopping (new suits!!) and hiking. We have not been on a bicycle in two weeks, either - perhaps we must surrender the name Japan Rider, and adopt instead something like Cancun Beacher, or Tennessee Hiker??

We brought two cameras with us, and we filled up one 128mb SD card, and have plenty of pictures on our 1gb cards, too. It will take some time for us to upload, organize, edit, name etc... all the photos, but look for plenty of blogging to occur over the next few days.

Off to Cancun

This is just a brief post to let everyone know that Brian and I will be leaving Japan today for some vacation time; therefore, posts may be intermittent to non-existent!

But look for lots of photos when we return!

Ode on an Unworn Sandal

Brian and I are both giddy - tomorrow we fly out of Narita for a two-week holiday - five nights in Cancun, and then eight nights in Tennessee (near Knoxville).

My only regret is that summer has crept up on us so slowly, time waiting for no man (and not even for me, either!), and the gorgeous sandals that I bought in early spring have yet to be worn (shallow, I know, oh so shallow).

Yet - touring Mayan ruins, sitting on the beach and probably hiking in the awesome Smoky Mountains means that I will not be carrying these lovely shoes across several continents. Such a shame...


The Unworn Sandal

A Bug's Life

The summer heat and humidity helps the rice grow strong, and also brings along some interesting bug life.

Every summer we find a influx of insects on our doorstep - from oversize spiders to collectable beetles to the as-yet-unidentified.

Here are some pictures we took of recent discoveries on our balcony.


A beetle poses for us.



Here's a beetle, which kids like to keep as "pets".



Un-identified insect - Brian has made this picture his desk top background.