Japan is ......

Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines, ancient castles of the Shoguns and Emperors…

Polite and formal people ……

Always respectful  …..

High fashion, unique fashion, traditional dress ….

Cold temples, cold houses … warm public baths ….

Tasty sweet treats everywhere, beautifully presented, enticing

yet tiny delicate people ….. no obesity anywhere ….

Crossing the busy street

Hard working women gardeners

Tour Guide Meg

Japanese people are …..

Always kind, always helpful, always courteous

Respectful ….

Perfectly quiet on the trains and buses … and they wait in orderly queues to board the trains and buses .....

Speak softly and sing-song as they thank you, thank each other, and thank the world …

 

Hostel operator Midori and friends

Women getting off work at historical Sankeien Gardens, Yokohama.

Buddhism and Shintoism coexist in Japan, non-exclusively.  One may practice either or both. 

Heavenly King at Todai-Ji Temple

Bodisattva and Buddha at Todai-Ji Temple 

Not a Buddha but a happy warrior.

 

American tourists are ……

Full of laughter …

Adventurous users of the bus systems ….

Enjoying the sushi, the fish, the sweet treats, the snacks, and the fresh strawberries …

Sometimes “unglued” by the speeding bicycles on the sidewalks (this, being, perhaps the only semi-chaotic experiences in the cities…)

Apparently always wearing the same clothing (Judy was, for sure …. ) 

Vending machines with hot drinks including hot lemonade.

Linda and Judy preparing for traditional tea ceremony at the Sankeien Garden, Yokohama

 

Rich and Susan

Olivia

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Louise and Jo in lower bunk at Kyoto Hostel Mundo 

Traveling buddies: Louise, Jo, Susan, Rich, Olivia, and Judy

Same Judy, same clothes, now at the Golden Pavilion.

And in Japan, animals are ….

Always wonderful to see in art, in nature, in decorative motifs, and in bicycle baskets:

also at The Golden Pavilion

In the river at Kyoto

There are 1500- +/- tame deer at the Todai-Ji Temple at Nara

For sale at Shinto Shrine dedicated to fertility and ease in childbirth

 

Hawaii

  Approaching Hawaii just after sunrise, miraculously we came back into the cell phone zones and OUT they came by the scores.  Many shipmates’ attentions were divided as the Pilot’s speedy boat came and went and as the tugs pushed and nudged us into our pier position at Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii

Field Lab for Drawing I

My first 8-hour Field Lab on Hilo Day One: the entire Drawing I class  bussed to Moku Ole, also called Coconut Island. Though the day began with sun, soon it was cloudy, then cooler and finally drizzly.  No surprise considering the Hilo side of Hawaii expects up to 10 feet of rain annually while the dry Kona side averages 10 inches.

At Moku Ole the class explored the island and drew details, gathered to critique, drew mid-range views with near/middle/far ground, gathered to critique, drew vistas, drew  botanical studies of trees, ate box lunches and could have gone swimming except for the chilly weather.  It was a delightful day of plein air drawing activities.
 

Notice the past tsunami markers including the one way up from 1960 with waves of 35 feet in Hilo Bay.

This  Hawaiian youth led the way and later many of the SAS students also jumped or flipped here - but not me!

Hilo

On Hilo Day Two colleague Susan Kattwinkel and I wandered through the Hilo Farmers Market where there were many exotic plants and strange foods such as: 

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Proteus flowers

Spam, Chicken, Hot Dog, and Shrimp Musubi

Bananas, Rambutans, Pineapples, and Longans

Red Sugarcane

Anybody know? These are as large as a lopsided basket ball and the prices marked on the stems are $35 and $27.50 respectively.....?

Tumeric

 

 

Fiddlehead Ferns

 

Across from the Market we chanced onto a delightful Hawaiian dance and music concert by a large and happy group of lovely septuagenarians  and octogenarians performing the traditional Hawaiian music and proudly dancing the Hula. It was beautiful!!!

Beautiful happy smiles - and notice her oxygen machine beside her!

Oahu 

Overnight the ship moved to Oahu where we tied up for 30 hours: 10 for refueling and 20 for waiting in safe harbor while a big storm ambled past to the north in the Pacific. We could not disembark but I could see the pink buildings on the hillside of Tripler Army General Hospital where Morgan was born many years ago,  and we could see where Waikiki Beach rounds into the remains of Diamond Head volcano,  and we could see the saddle between the 2 mountains where the Japanese planes sneaked into Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

 

 And now we are bouncing and rolling across the Pacific toward  next stop, Japan.

 

Ensenada Quick Stop

….and we continued our Orientation during and after the 623 students and 33 Life Long Learners boarded in Ensenada Mexico. Now the ship is busy and full of people! 

Fortunately there was sufficient time for a walk into Ensenada for an evening meal with a group of Faculty on Monday evening and again for a morning stroll down the main street on Tuesday.

Just enough time to locate and buy some Sturgeron (which is meds for seasickness!!!)

 A first for me:  the Post Office painted Pepto-Bismal pink!

 

Lard in the grocery - for frying all those tacos!

As soon as we departed Ensenada at 1800 hours the MV Explorer began rockin’ and rollin’ across moderately-heavy seas toward Hawaii.  Many folks quickly took the seasick meds very seriously!  I was not seasick – perhaps the Sturgeron or perhaps my good luck?

Fully oriented (thankfully), classes began on Friday January 11, 2013.  The semester has begun!

Leaving San Diego

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I have left San Diego many times in my life so it is eminently fitting that this Second Time Around SAS Voyage departs from my city of birth.

After a scurrying, hectic retreat from Charlottesville, I thoroughly enjoyed 2 ½  full days with UC Berkeley friend Diane touring beautiful new San Diego and La Jolla as well as familiar old childhood locations. What a kick to see my childhood home, elementary school, and the Mission Bay Yacht Club where I sailed a Sabot many-a-hour-and-day.

At this beach my mother sat in the afternoons with the other moms while the young Sabot sailors sailed the length and the breadth of Mission Bay but NEVER out through the channel to the ocean.

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We also shopped for shipboard sundries and necessities, enjoyed exquisite meals, and visited with Kristi, Doug, and nephew Keith Sherwood.  

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By Sunday afternoon January 7 the blue San Diego skies had turned dreary and YES rainy…..as it was time to report to Faculty and Staff Orientation at the hotel. What a pleasure, nevertheless, to meet my colleagues, companions, and friends for the next 4 months. 

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On Monday, with hefty ‘heave hos,' dragging and tugging our luggage and purchases, we boarded the MV Explorer at the pier across from San Diego's Lindberg Field, settled into our assigned cabins, and continued Orientation…. and continued Orientation after leaving San Diego ….. and continued …..

 

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