Yamaguchi to Miyajima...Thom

Japan is an oasis of color and to some degree spectacle. Gilded Buddhas, Shinto shrines and gardens all add to the feast for the eye. Yamaguchi is about an hour and a half drive southwest of Iwakuni and is the capital of the local prefecture. Densely populated but with great centers that are park like. Went with Marc and Jeane, Jeane is leaving
Saturday and will be replaced with Janyce Beck. Some of the places we have been warrant a
second visit which Jaynce may enjoy.



The garden above was designed in the 16th century and is really quite serene.

This torii is of Shinto origin and was first built in the 6th century. It is "best seen" when the tide is in, but I thought this was an interesting view with the people wandering around on the tidal flat.



The Japanese sense of design is seen everywhere. This is from a mural in a street underpass.

Good Friends Just Pick up Where They Left off........Jo

Thom, meet Barbara and John. They are incredible hosts and long time friends. We spent two wonderful days catching up on the last 16 years, much of the time all three of us straining to remember names of people we knew in Vanuatu.

They have spent a lifetime traveling around the world as John has been in the British Foreign Service. He served as the High Commissioner in Vanuatu and other countries. His last position was as the UK ambassador to Angola. Barbara and I became friends in Vila and to this day she is just as kind and generous as the day I met her. They are two people who have met the Queen on more than one occasion. Snobbish? Not a chance. I have always found them to be down to earth, real, and fun. Who would have guessed that I'd be working an hour away from where they live? Amazing.

Wonderful meals, especially a superb Indian dinner, many glasses of South African red wine, a delightful trip to Oxford and a trip to two stately homes, we managed to stagger back to their house for tea. We covered a lot of territory and it's hard to keep up with these two.

Here I am in front of Claydon House, a traditional country estate, dating back to the Verney family from 1620. Florence Nightingale was a frequent visitor here as her sister married Sir Henry Verney. There is a 13th century church on the grounds. To read more, go here:
http://www.claydonestate.co.uk/about.html





This a view from the botanical garden in Oxford. One of the best gardens I've ever seen. Huge variety of plants from all over the world as well as the typical English garden flowers. Beautiful.

Can't wait to see your photos, Thom, from travels to Yamaguchi and Miyashima. It's been awhile since we talked so hoping I can hear your voice in the morning.

More to come........

Neat happening...thom

Japan has a long relationship with cats, the cat on the wash basin is from the 1600 AD wash basin of the first wife of the Lord Kikkuya ( the water basin is in the top). The live "nikko" is from a pavilion at the Kikkuya Castle in Iwakuni. The cat was being fed by a middle aged woman who I tryed to talk to a little with my limited Japanese language. She poured my MFLC partner and I both a cup of tea. Very sweet person. The Kikkuya family ruled for 270 years. Gives a slightly different meaning to the word family doesn't it. Makes me hope that my relatioships last as long.

Other Thoughts from Hiroshima...Thom

Food was good, these chefs are preparing a type of Japanese Pancake that was absolutely delicious. And the two young girls on the street in their kimonos were absolutely lovely, as well,...they were the first kimono clad Japanese I seen in three weeks in Japan. Kinda sad.
On a more serious note, being separated by thousands of miles from Jo is also kinda sad. She is beautiful, talented, intelligent, the best therapist, mother and wife I know and brings untold beauty to the world and those around her. I miss that and I miss her.

Good Weekend in Japan...Thom

Japan has a lot of history, but nothing probably had a more significantence than the
effects of the Bomb
that was dropped on Hiroshima in August of 1945. The right and wrong of that decision will be debated by politicians, historians and others for eons to come. The experience of standing on ground zero and exploring the grounds of what use to be a city of artist, poets, craftsman and history and realizing that in an instant it basically disappeared makes the conception of anyone deploying such a weapon in the future absolutely unthinkable.

Sitting in the memorial site and seeing inscribed on the walls in a panorama surrounds you as the view from ground zero, reading the stories of the survivors, of men, women and children with their skin burned off standing in lines to get medical aid that was really non-existent, makes it utterly unimaginable to ever allow or support such an tragedy occurring in the future.
The city has grown into an amazing metropolitan city in the time since, with a resilience that is enviable. The people in the Peace Park did not in any way make us (Marc, Jeanne and myself) feel uncomfortable. There was a feeling of reverence and caring for all people.

A Taste of London......Jo

So here I am with the other tourists and Big Ben in the background.

It is unbelievable what you can see in just 24 hours.

This is Trafalgar Square with cool afternoon lighting. Taken from the steps of the National Gallery where we did a blitz viewing of some Raphael, Michelangelo, & Leonardo's paintings.

Jacqui and I managed to stretch the most out of our time in London town. Got tickets to the musical "We Will Rock You" featuring Queen. Wonderfully awesome and entertaining.

Double decker bus, the tube, and rickashaw type bicycle ride through SoHo, Chinatown, & Picadilly Square after the theater last night. London is was very alive at 11:00pm on Saturday night.






So here are 2 retreat coaches on retreat in London.......

So glad you liked the watch......Jo

I am curious about how the rice tasted after the watch on top. Also glad that your family is so good about getting just the right gift for you...heehee.

The week has been stressful and the only thing I can say is that I'm glad it's nearing the end. No internet, atm card not working, phone card not working, and bigtime stress on the job. It's enough to make me want to scream. Fortunately, I'm spending the weekend with my friend Jacqui and I'll get away & restore myself to some semblance of normalcy.

The above post is from a market last weekend. The dried cranberries and blueberries were the best.

Wow. This is my 71st birthday present. I knew that Jo, Andrew, Rob, Ginger, MettaGrace and Mabelrose would want me to have a great present so I bought myself a Casio Pathfinder Solar watch. Actually, the photo is on a bed of rice, carrots and slivered almonds which later became my dinner of fried rice with sesame oil and soy sauce.

Odds and Ends...Thom

These photos are all from the Kentai Bridge area. This has been a long week, randomly busy, lots of clients for what we do. My seventy first birthday, alone, in Japan...has it's plus and minuses. Thanks, Jo, for the phone calls and the blog, I really love you.

Have to admit I don't like being seventy 0ne, but of course, as they say, the options aren't that great, so I guess I'm happy.

Planning a trip somewhere this weekend, possibly Miajima or maybe Hiroshima.

Happy Birthday, Thom

This is Jo saying Happy Birthday to Thom. I wish I was there to give you a big hug and a kiss. I'm sending you both across the miles. I hope your day has been special in some small way and that you're feeling alive and ready for the next 70. Love you, Jo

Finding the Japanese...

After fifty years I don't seem to be able to find the Japan I remember. I suspect that my memory is faulty and the Japan I remember doesn't really exist anymore. There are over 147 million Japanese in an area the size of California. Few kimonos on the streets, vegetable stands have either disappeared or been "sanitized", the Kentai bridge was built in the fifties, the original having been destroyed in a typhoon, ( the original was over 400 years old.) There is a real hustle to the tempo on the street, but no eye contact with strangers, kids are an epidemic, the streets very narrow, ( they are paved now) and every thing is very expensive.

Small pleasures........Jo

Another night with internet in my room! YAAAY. I'm giddy with the sheer pleasure of it. No more sitting out in the cold trying to connect in front of the library. It's just the little things in life that make things sweet.

And the big thing is that I get to go to Florence after all!!!! So much drama involved just to get there but I'm over it now. I'm free to go! To feel some warmth will be good. It's grey and rainy, I think a typical English day. What are your days like, Thom? Hot, muggy? Are you sweltering as they say here? I got your message that you worked a 12 hour day. Geez. That's a lot.

Here is a fabulous place I discovered, thanks to my new friend, Chantelle. The Orchard, a place near Cambridge where people like Virginia Woolf, E.M. Forster, Bertrand Russell, and Rupert Brooke used to have afternoon tea underneath the apple trees. I experienced the same kind of laziness and enjoyed my English tea and cheese scone with everyone else. Way cool place. If you want to know more, here's the link: www.orchard-grantchester.com

So missing Thom tonight.

One more thing.......Jo

They have the kind of doors I like here. As I look at it now, I realize I've posted it upside down! But isn't the color nice? Sorta like the event I went to tonight when I was talking to one of the Colonel's wives and introduced myself, she said, oh, your name tag is upside down. Hmmmm. So much for trying to be sophisticated. And the Colonel was right next to her along with the big base commander. Oh well.

I'm so excited that I'm still on the internet.......what a huge bonus! I'm like ecstatic. Do not take your connection to the internet for granted, people. Thom, I believe you have constant connection, eh? Who can I call on skype right now? Thom, wake up.....

Weekend in England......Jo

This is a rare, unexpected moment to have access to the internet from my room so here goes. Catching up with wanderings on the weekend. The below photo is taken in Ely, where the cathedral (in the background) dates back to 1200 I believe. Also Oliver Cromwell lived here.


The bridge is, well just a bridge on a beautiful park area I walked about. everything here is old.

I'm loving the afternoon tea. I tried a scone with clotted cream. It sounds revolting, I know, but absolutely divine in real life. Something tells me it's not low cal......Thom you would absolutely love the scones, they are outrageous.

And I have discovered the Elderberry sparkling water......the drink that will turn your head. Unlike anything I've had so far and positively brilliant. Love it.

More to come.......

Vending Machines...Thom

There are vending machines everywhere, street corners, vacant field, office building...if there is room they put up a vending machine. It's great to be in Japan for me, but so far I've not gotten out to see the Japan of the postcards.

Dinner and Laundry night.....Jo

Thom, I love seeing photos of Japan. Send more.

I'm sitting outside between my building which doesn't have wi fi and the library which is closed at the moment but does have wi fi. It's a bit nippy at the moment so don't know how long I'll last. It's almost 9:00pm and I noticed that last night it was 10:00 before darkness fell.

Yesterday I bought flowers for myself for making it through the 1st week. (They're peeping through this photo). And here's what dinner looks like for me, I must say a bit unconventional: quinoa, cucumbers, carrots, cherries, left over spaghetti, stuffed pepperinis, red peppers, & miniature tomatoes, a glass of Pinot Grigio. And a touch of dark chocolate. What's dinner like for you, Thom? I know you're sleeping at the moment but just wondering.

I've been busy today and I loved talking to Thom on skype. We actually got to see each other. YAAAY!

I decided not to go anywhere tonight, to just stay on the base and wash clothes. Boring, eh? Last night after my adventure to the next town over to go grocery shopping, I found myself on a roundabout going the wrong way. (Thom just quickly read past this part). It scared the bajeebers out of me. I don't know exactly what happened but I'm over it now. I'm chalking it up to the crazy roundabout madness that I experienced all day yesterday. It was like I was in another realm of reality. Okay, so now I'm going to hear from Thom the lecture about being careful. I will be. It's enough to straighten out anyone who becomes too cocky about anything, especially driving in England. At least I was on the left side of the road. Oi.....

Hmmmm. Time to go inside now.
I'll see if the dryer has finished with my laundry.

This is a picture I took the other day while in Cambridge. Directly across from this bike there must have been 20-30 bikes parked. So I guess there is at least one rebel at this venerable institution.

This was my day in the life of a MFLC in the UK.

Contradictions...Thom

Publish Post

This image is right outside the gate of Iwakuni Marine Air Base. It presents one of the interesting contradictions of Japan, a country of unsurpassed natural beauty and man-made beauty and yet the exterior world of the towns are often anything but "quaint."

Round About Stress .......Jo

Okay, so I leave an hour early from my home base #1 to go to base #2 to do a big briefing. I am so excited that Thom called and I got to talk to him this morning that I didn't quite leave at 8:00am as scheduled. But I'm out the door at 8:07 and feel I've left plenty of time to make it to base #2, a normal 30 minute trip by 9:00am. WRONG!

So the first thing is that there's traffic up the wazoo and then I go around the roundabout one too many times. At this point, the GPS is politely telling me to round the roundabout again, "take the thurrrd exit on the left". I realize that I've missed the turn and then about the time that I'm trying to recover, the bloody GPS falls from the windshield onto the floor. I grab it, put it back up and start out again, only mildly starting to sweat as now it's about 8:25. Still time, I tell myself.

Hmmmm. This road seems familiar now I tell myself but something is wrong. Wait. I think the GPS has reset itself and we're going back home to base #1!!!! Okay, I'm telling myself, don't panic, there's still time. I reset the GPS for base #2 and luckily I get onto the A14 or the motorway (as close to the freeway as you're going to get in England). Anyway, I'm now very nervous but settle back in and arrive miraculously at base#2 at 8:55. Unbelievable. I now calmly pull myself together and go in and do a briefing for 150 people. Good recovery, eh?

There are 2 Marines in the audience amongst all the other branches. After my brief, I go up and talk to them. I have used the "Marine card" and told the audience in my brief that I am the mother of 2 sons who are active duty Marines. They both laugh and tell me they felt like I was their mom up there as they knew their own moms would have said the same thing. They were kinda embarrassed and I said, yes, that's probably the reaction my sons would have. I don't care, I just am a proud mom and so I'm going to let people know it, plus I think it gives me credibility that I am also a military family member. Maybe it's just me.

I have been here a week now. I like it here. There is a calm, gentle feeling to this part of England. And the people aren't bad either.

I miss you, Thom.

The doves are cooing........Jo

I'm sitting outside listening to the doves make their lovely sounds. It's the end of a work day and I have been busy giving briefs, getting lost on the way to giving the brief, and dancing in the moment with work challenges.

I wish I could talk to Thom but I'm grateful for the emails back and forth. As we both get used to the time difference between us and allowing our bodies to catch up with new surroundings, I am sure that we'll find more ways to communicate. Like Skype or gmail chat. Today I realized that we can use sound for skype and video with gmail or yahoo at the same time. That's crazy, eh?

Here I am in Oxford. It was an impulsive trip to a very beautiful city. Stunning architecture and quite simply a place of extreme beauty. I will go back and allow more time. Driving on English roads is a lesson in patience with all the round abouts. As I go through every 2 miles of these monsters, I'm wondering what were the Brits thinking? "Take the thurrrd exit on the roundabout" the GPS says. The roads are narrow, especially between the villages and out in the countryside. But it is beautiful, with green pastures everywhere.

In Cambridge the other night, at this lovely seafood restaurant, I tried potted shrimp. It sounds ghastly to me, the word "potted" but it was quite tasty as an appetizer. I was able to get some outrageous cheeses the other day from the local cheese maker. But then I think I've covered that in one of my other posts. You can see I'm impressed with the cheese.

If you were here, Thom, we'd be going out to dinner and so tonight when I go, I'll drink a toast to you and hope that you are sleeping soundly. I think it's 2:00am your time. Sweet dreams.

Thinking about the trip here... Thom

It was interesting flying in, I always want Jo to see and experience what I am. Maybe another way to say that is I always want to share with Jo, ...anyway, we had beautiful thunderheads on the way from Narita to Hiroshima, and the sunrize this morning was beautiful as well .