There's no place like Home.......Jo

As I settle back in at home and wait for Thom, I'm looking at the gorgeous four leaf clover Thom found for us. It symbolizes that which is rare and unique, not often found ordinarily. I think of our relationship, with all the bumps and separations, we still manage to find what is special and unique about us, the each of us as individuals and the uniqueness about our relationship.

As we begin again, in a new way, in the same old way, I am filled with gratitude to be able to share my life with this one special man. I'm here waiting now for you, Thom. Have a safe, easy journey home.

Hobbs is waiting, too..........

Last views...Thom

Hey Jo, I found this four leaf clover for us...I'm sure it will bring us good fortune in the future. I hope you have a wonderful, pleasureable and comfortable flight back home. I can't wait to join you.

Last Days in Cambridge........Jo

Hard to follow Thom's images. They are stunning. It definitely pays to keep persisting and going back to the same place. I get how talented a photographer Thom is when he is able to get comfortable with where he is. I admire his commitment to photographing a place until it feels right.















Madingley Cemetary.....Britain's only American military WWII cemetary. It was moving to be here this morning. Very poignant and peaceful. Appropriate visit to this place on my last day here, especially since I've been working on a RAF base where British and Americans fought together during WWII. Hard to describe the feeling of peace and reverence here. http://madingleyamericancemetery.info/

















King's College revisited......another view from the river. The day was stellar.....warm and sunny, definitely a rarity here.













Punting again in Cambridge with my two partners, Carolyn and Joan. We had brilliant blue skies today while we drifted down the river.














As my day ends and I finish packing, I remember reading Thom's post of things not accomplished and wonderment at how the experience can be different than expected. I did not achieve many of the things I wanted either....no retreats planned, some books I never opened, and I never got to my Spanish on Rosetta Stone. What I did do was have lots of time to think and be by myself. My happiest moments were when I was free to travel on my own and experience England at my pace.

There were times I felt completely off track and I wondered what I was doing here. And yet, I learned about myself and about how to be myself in a world that is so different than me. There is so much more cooking and and stewing before I can really assimilate what this trip has meant for me.

I am ready to go home now and I am ready to be with my beloved. It is time to regroup and to begin again. But first it's time to sleep. I have a long flight tomorrow and even longer until I'm finally home.

One week to go...Thom

Time is unwinding now, Jo will be home in a little over 24 hours, and I'll be home in a week. Was thinking about the things that didn't happen over the last 60 days... didn't lose any of the weight I intended to, didn't do the definitive photo shoot of Japan and realized that may have been a little grandiose, and missed Jo like crazy. I also realized how fortunate I have been and am. I have he love of a beautiful wife, fine sons, a daughter and granddaughters. I have traveled, I have had many opportunities, some of which I have even taken advantage of. My trip to Japan has been little of what I expected, and much more than I could have imagined. My photo's are good, and getting better, Jo and I are still talking, and even though I am pitiful with the Japanese language I still enjoy trying. I have met some wonderful people on this trip as well, both nationals and Americans. Thought I would add a few more images from Kintai Bridge. It rained monstrously last night and Kintai changes with each day.

downtown iwakuni...thom

The day was wet and hot. When I would get out of the car my glasses would fog up and stay that way. I was on my way downtown to have dinner at Ganesh, a local indian resturant. I had Badama Nan and Alu Sadji, a potato curry. Best ever! Jo I know your winding down and getting ready to go home, and I'll be following you in five days. I am really excited about being back together again. This blog was a good idea and I thank you for thinking of it. I love you.

Can't stay away...Thom

Back to Kintai, the Iwakuni Castle is on a mountain overlooking the Kentai bridge. Oddly enough as you were hiking up you trail to the sky in England, I was struggling , emphasis on the word struggling, up to the castle, from whence I made another photo of Kentai Bridge.
I took the cable car back to the bottom, they call them ropeways.

More on York

This photo is taken from the tower of the York Minster.....275 steps up this baby. It's 210 feet of winding, narrow steps. Reminds me of the Duomo in Florence. The Minster is a Gothic cathedral, considered one of the largest in Northern Europe. I was mildly, well, okay, more than mildly out of breath when I reached the top. And then we had to go back down again. Lovely view I must say and worth the extra huffing and puffing.

Afterwards, I attended an Evensong service in the main part of the cathedral. A beautiful choral service with a pipe organ that was phenomenal.


Okay, so the Romans first came in the 1st Century, they built a military fort on the banks of the River Ouse. These walls form the basis of the city walls
that remain today. You can walk on these walls, above the city.
It's incredible. More about this here: http://www.britainexpress.com/cities/york/wall.htm. Fascinating.















I wish you could be here with me, Thom. I think you would love it. The contrast between here and Japan is great. I look at your beautiful photos of Kentai bridge and think of what different places in the world we're in right now. For me, I realize that everywhere I turn here there is a beautiful photograph to be made and all I have to do is click the shutter.....really. It's a phenomenal place to photograph.

So nothing special here and the building is crooked but I just liked it.

A Day in York

Lucky me I got to see a parade of British WWII veterans as I visited York today. These 4 were just a few of many who were at Normandy. I spoke with the man on the right who is 84 and was very gracious and welcoming. Not sure what all the medals are for but they are daunting. Notice how many the woman has.














I wish I was able to say who the dignitaries are but I am not. No one next to me seemed to know either. Very British, though, and very formal.


After the parade,the rain.......

Kintai Bridge revisited...Thom

Japan is a very large and diverse place, and yet I keep coming back to the same place, Kintai Bridge. Part of the reason, of course, is that it is only 15 minutes away, but a more interesting reason to me is that it represents the basic character of the people of this island. Steadfastness,...in the face of adversity, beauty...incorporating the beauty of the people and the environment, commitment ... in the face of destruction, the present... as being " in the present", not the western version of through the baby out with the bath water, but simply being. The people who "are" the Kintai Bridge understand the significances of being in the present, are not gurus, senseis or special in any way, they just simply are. They understand that the present is us and all that make us, which is the past, present and the future. When I am with the bridge, these truths resonate with me as well, ... knowing that Jo is on the other side of the planet, knowing that no matter how far or close, she will always have an effect on me. I am sad for much of what we have lost. Anyway, I ramble, these photo's are beginning to capture an essence, and for me it confirms that it is not the breathe of a vision but the depth that is important.

Punting with Uncle Ron........Jo

"A punt is a flat-bottomed boat with a square-cut bow, designed for use in small rivers or other shallow water. Punting refers to boating in a punt. The punter generally propels the punt by pushing against the river bed with a pole. A punt should not be confused with a gondola, which is propelled by an oar rather than a pole. Punts were originally built as cargo boats or platforms for fowling and angling but in modern times their use is almost exclusively confined to pleasure trips on the rivers in the university towns of Oxford and Cambridge in England and races at a few summer regattas on the Thames. "

Here Uncle Ron and I are in Cambridge, having a very relaxing afternoon. I feel really lucky that he traveled from London by train to visit me for the day.

We walked from the train station which was a mile away from the city centre and Ron never got winded. And he just turned 80 in May. Imagine!

He and Betty and their parents lived in Cambridge many years ago so Ron was the perfect guide for me. We walked all around the colleges in this University which is celebrating it's 800th year......yes, that's right. 800 years. Established in 1209. Can you get your head around that?




I think this is St. John's College. Ron, let me know if I got it mixed up with one of the others.

Thom, you would be amazed at this unbelievable city and University. You needed to be here to photograph it properly. I did the best I could. We'll see when I get home and we take a look on the 20D.

More from Hofu...Thom

The mansion of the Lord of the region, was very elegant. The Kimono on the mannequins are something I sorely miss in Japan now. They are only worn on holidays, marriages, and big celebrations. Fish is still a very basic food for the Japanese and none of it goes to waste.

scenes from the south....Thom

Just got through talking with you Jo, I wish I were in a better humor, but I really do enjoy being with you and don't much like not being with you. Anyway, this is a typical scene from Japan now, note the Sanyo Express way which runs pretty much north to south through Japan, the rice fields are every where, and the ocean can barely be seen to the extreme left. More to come.

Kintaikyo Bridge...Thom

The original Iwakuni Kintaikyo bridge was built in 1673 the bye order of yoshikawa Hiroyoshi, the third lord of Iwakuni, which was lost by the typhoon in 1950. It was rebuilt using the original plans and engineering standards. It is one of three bridges Japan considers a national treasure. It was built on the opposite bank from the castle and only samurai were allowed to cross the bridge. I wanted images that were not totally common, I don't know if I succeeded or not but it was fun making the images.

The Japanese at one time like manay other countries had open sewers that ran down the side of the streets, at some time these became concrete conduits about 18 inches deep and 14 inches wide with vertical sides and now serve the purpose of conducting rain water to the sea. They also serve to trap unwary foreigners driving cars that are way to wide for their narrow streets. I happened to be one of those demonstrating that principal. While standing by the car in a state of dismay and (basically) helplessness, ( ...is my AAA card any good...no) I am descended upon by three Japanese families, who proceeded to extract me from my dilemma. I was very grateful to say the least, absolutely thankful. What a wonderful and kind people to a total stranger. The picture at the top is a photo of the "rescue crew."

Andrew meets the President......Jo

Does this look like someone who just met the President?????

I finally got to talk to Andrew tonight and heard the story on the White House experience. On the 4th of July, a 1000 military and their families were honored & treated to a barbeque on the White House lawn. Andrew was invited to attend with one of his Marines that he wrote up for best non commissioned officer. During the barbeque Andrew went along with 20 other Marines who were specially invited into the Blue Room to have a private chat with Obama and Michelle. Andrew "thought" he was supposed to go in but he wasn't actually on the official list, but whoever was at the door just said, well you're here now so you might as well go in. Typical Andrew luck and charm or something. Anyway, he said it was surreal, met Malia and Sasha as well as chatted with Michelle and the President. Go figure. And the biggest thing was he got a coin from the President!!!! So trumps mine from Peter Pace from a few years back. Hmmmm. Now I'm going to have to hear about that forever. I must say that it's rather exciting to have someone in your family be able to say they've met the President. Crazy. The downside is that he didn't even tell Michelle that I want to do retreats with military women. Damn him. (I think he was a little dazed)

What a crazy world we're living in. Something about it, though, seems ridiculously natural and normal. That's our Andrew for you.

Don't Push Buttons if you don't know what they are.......Jo

Okay, so on my trip, I decided to use the cruise control. Fine. And then I noticed a little button nearby which I wondered what it was for. I turn off onto one of the English back roads on my way to a castle and suddenly I can only go 20 mph. I'm pushing the accelerator down as hard and fast as it will go all the while cars are honking and passing me, clearly annoyed.

Oh my god, I thought, maybe the transmission is going out. What to do? No where to turn off the road....and I'm thinking....May Day, May Day. Finally I stop and check everything out, get back on the road and now I can go 40 mph. Great. I'm just starting my trip and now I'll probably have to be towed back to who knows where. So managed to creep into the town with the castle. Called Hertz and they said call AA, which is like our AAA. So I do and the guy arrives in 20 minutes, scans everything and determines that I had the pushed the "limiter" button which if on, the car will not accelerate past this point. Relief and sheepishness hit all at the same time. And then about 2 hours later, I am back wandering around a castle priory. Another one of those Jo stories.


So these are just photos of coastal towns along my way. Wells Next to Sea above and Cromer, both fishing towns. I just loved the lighting on the hotel in this photo.


2 more castles, extremely opposing, waring families in medieval times. Tough life for all, don't think I would have liked being around in those days.













What is this dove thinking about???

A Three Day Retreat..........Jo

I'm beginning my retreat through East Anglia (England).......

I discovered the most amazing place as I began my weekend retreat. Castle Acre Priory and castle ruins. Built around 1090 as a monastery for the Clunian monks, destroyed by Henry VIII in 1537. Read more here: www.ukheritage.net/religiou/castle_acre_priory.htm.

Stunningly peaceful, beautiful, and gentle. Hard to capture in a photo. I so missed being by Thom's side as I walked through. He would love this place.

This photo taken just after a gentle rain. These are the castle remains.

It's time to reflect and enjoy this beautiful countryside. It's the 4th of July today. I am so grateful for the opportunity to traipse around another country, free to go where I want, when I want. Saying a silent thank you to all who made this possible.

I'm missing Thom.