Brian – Page 3 – K&B's Website

Tokyo, a city of 35 million people, all walking on the wrong side of the walkway :-)

Tomorrow is our last day in Japan. A very short stay! Too short of a stay, but still rewarding. Our guide Haru introduced us to Japanese culture and train travel. it would have been boggling to get thru all the train stations and trains without her. We had a good breakfast at the hotel, many options. Many Japanese options like miso soup, pork dumplings, goyza, mackerel, plum sauce, bean curd… I had bacon, eggs, rolls. somehow Japanese options do not taste as good with coffee. It rained most of the day, supposedly the rainy season is June but I guess this is monsoon season. We made it to an open fish market which was fascinating. We saw the Japanese version of the Statue of Liberty and had a traditional Japanese lunch, Soba noodles, Miso soup, and Donburi bowls of shrimp and vegetable tempura. We saw a huge statue of a Transformer, Dumdum? that may not be right! Visited the Ota museum, filled with 1800’s master woodblock works of daily life in the Edo period. Visited Harajuku, a young peoples area of fashion trends/styles. we saw coffee shops where there was an entrance fee that entitled you to pet dogs, cats and in one, otters, while you were there! Very elaborate sweets our guide kept trying to get us to buy, ice cream cones with a large cloud of cotton candy around the cone, or elaborately decorated crepes with fruits and sauces. Walked to the Meiji Shrine, which was built in honor of a modernist emperor of the 19th century. There are many traditions that involve helping your fate in life… for a few yen. You can buy Ema’s which you write a wish on and hang up in public. They also had many small packages of various sizes that you can purchase for various enhancements, like finding the right partner, scoring well on the entrance exams, and making lots of money to name a few. We ended the night first on top of the Park Hyatt for some Gin & Tonics with panoramic views of the city. We then found a small Sushi restaurant where Katie kept saying yum and humming.

Japan 2022, the beginning of our Adventure

Katie and I flew out of SFO on United. This was our first time flying business class. We stayed in the Polaris lounge at SFO before our flight and found it to be excellent. Good food, comfortable lounging, and a taste of Champagne maybe a little early in the am. Boarded the plane first and found we each had our own little cuby with lay flat seats, large monitor, and a welcome kit with socks, eye shades, ear plugs, toothbrush, and slippers.

Our guide Haru, met us on exiting customs which was a gaunlet of forms and QR codes that seemed to repeat the inormation over and over again. we took thesky express into Tokyo and to our hotel, the Sunroute Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku. we showered and changed then met her in the lobby to do a bit of a walkabout. we went to Golden Gai and ’Piss Alley’ an area with small alleys cramped with tiny restaurants and bars. We had Sashimi and Sake at a restaurant, or some of us had Sashimi all of us had Sake. we walked further along many Neon lit streets with an overwhelming number of advertisements. Reminds me of a number of science fiction books I’ve read and movies I’ve seen. Shibuya crossing was kind of like Times Square, people everywhere, neon lights, huge video displays and even Godzilla on one of the buildings. Katie and I were pretty tired so skipped the kareoke that was planned.

Camping 2021

We have had very limited internet access in our first 2 1/2 weeks of camping, so I am posting the first blog of our trip very late! Well, we set off in early September. We headed North stopping in Bend Oregon to camp. On the advice of Steve we had dinner at Joolz. Turned out to be great Mediterranean tapas. We also found a great brewpub along the highway. we moved on to Walla Walla and after several wine tasting which were interesting? We moved on to Zillow Lakes. We had dinner at El Graso at J Bell wines and that was fantastic. We drove on to Coeur d’Alene which was beautiful but really nobody wears a mask indoors or outdoors despite no ICU beds left in northern Idaho. They don’t care. Give me freedom. We drove very carefully through Idaho on to Montana, probably not significantly different from Idaho. Here are some Big Horn Sheep we saw on the way to Glacier National Park.

Camping with the Boys

Had a great 4 day 3 night camping trip to Salt Point on the California coast. Managed to escape some heat and some smoke. We enjoyed some days hiking, some days playing frisbee golf. All days eating and sharing stories around the the fire pit. We played poker at night along with guitars and singing as the night grew dark. Cornhole tournaments throughout the day.

Traveling is Back

Katie and I recently returned from the Big Island, Hawaii where we spent 8 days sunning, snorkeling, and just plain old relaxing. We shared our house and time with two good friends Doug and Lori. I have posted some pics and if you want to see a video with Dolphins and Manta Rays click on the video button on the pictures page. We stayed on Kealakekua Bay across from Captain Cooks monument. Our first day we saw a pod of some 30 dolphins across the bay from us jumping and frolicking. There was also a mom and calf Humpback Whale in the Bay breeching. Unfortunately that was our first day. We didn’t snorkel that day! We did see the Whales the next day but only briefly and never again. Apparently they had been there for 2 weeks. We later snorkeled with a smaller pod of dolphins so we didn’t totally miss out. Beaches were great and the weather perfect if not slightly chilly. We were checked 3 times for Covid, twice before we left because we wanted to make sure at least one result was back before we left, and then they check you again on arrival. The plane had some 30 passengers on a flight that held 140. Beaches and restaurants were still busy. It seems like either the locals are partaking in all the tours or other flights held more passengers. One of the highlights besides sitting on our outdoor deck was night snorkeling with Manta Rays in Keauhou Bay. I would not miss this if you get the chance and check out the videos for confirmation of how awesome it is.

Aloha

Sheltering in April

Day 35 sheltering at home!! The weeds keep coming, Spanish still eludes me and being a rock star has not developed the way I envisioned.

At times life is very reminiscent of the movie Ground Hog Day. I get up. I drink coffee in the front room reading the days newspaper. I then read my email and delve deeper into news stories on my iPad. I usually go for an hour hike or bike ride after that, then settle in for a little yard work if it is not raining. Found a new radio station, at least for me, called Krush or krsh out of Napa which is on the internet and plays many rock, blues, acoustic tracks that are not so main stream. I am also listening to K-ZAP out of Sacrament via the internet which I grew up listening to. After some outdoor work I usually spend a couple hours on Rosetta Stone attempting to improve my Spanish. I can certainly read Spanish better but speaking and understanding spoken Spanish remains elusive. Following that, some lunch with maybe a TV show (Star Trek Discovery, Tiger King, Clone Wars, Marvel). I then move to the music room, maybe with a beer and play for a couple hours. Fender offered 3 months of free guitar lessons so I have been doing that. I chose the Blues track which has been exceedingly slow and hard to jump ahead. But, this has toughened up my fingers and I enjoy doodling for an hour or so after the lesson. I have my electric Les Paul and an acoustic/electric Ovation I play thru a Fender amp. Along with Tab from online and Spotify to play the songs I play along with Tom Petty and others for kicks. My goal is to get better with knowing the fretboard, scales, and a little bit of music theory. We’ll see, maybe more beer will help.

We have had some visitors. Jamie and Tim have brought Russell over a couple of Saturdays in a row. We sit outside spread out. We don’t hold Russell just watch and coo. We sit and talk for a few hours sharing a few glasses of wine and lunch. We have facetimed with Kelsi and David catching up with them and watching Ava showing off her walking prowess. We facetimed Zac and Maria but they have been working really hard (Doordash is doing exceptionally well during the Shelter) so we missed out on an online pinochle game with them recently. We will make it up in the coming week. The Alex’s are fed up with the City at this point. They have decided to move in early with us for the next number of months. Our original plan was June in preparation for Katie and I’s big trip around the world but that is most likely cancelled. So now, we will just be roommates 2020 getting to enjoy homemade pizza via Crow every Friday, maybe some cornhole contests, and more social interaction. Looking forward to that though I will need to get dressed a little earlier in the day!

Katie and I had an excursion to Napa last week as the skies were blue and the temp somewhere close to 80. We had wines to pick up at Robert Biale and we ordered take-out from our favorite restaurant up there, Rutherford Grill. We hiked in Moore Creek Park up along a creek finding a nice flat spot to eat our French Dip and Wild Rice Salad meal. A little Biale ‘Black Chicken’ wine and the day was set. We were planning a longer hike after that but we were too full and tipsy to enjoy the long walk so we drove back home. Beautiful day

My family is in general well though my mother took a fall at the living facility she is in. She has had the unfortunate luck of being in quarantine prior to the shelter in place orders because of a GI bug going around her facility. Then of course they locked down because of the Corona Virus. Well she sat in her room for weeks. I suspect got fairly weak. Then while moving about her kitchen twisted awkwardly, fell and ended up with several pelvic fractures. She was evaluated that day but initially no fractures were found and they sent her home. She couldn’t put weight on her leg and subsequently fell 2 more times. This time they found the fractures with a CT scan. She ended up overnight in the hospital and now is in a nursing home getting physical therapy until she can get up on her own. The worst is no visitors have been allowed for weeks at her facility and now that includes the nursing home and hospital so she has just been on her own for all of this.

Oh my, look what time it is! Rosetta Stone is calling. Take care everyone. Hope all are well and look forward to seeing you all on the flipside.

Sheltering!

Just to remember this in the future, I am going to write down a little of what is going on in our world. Katie and I had a great time skiing with the Banfields on our last 2 days up in Tahoe. On our last day there were forecasts of the largest winter storm of the year coming, though the timing kept changing. We decided to drive home that night as some predictions were for chain controls to start that evening. After some hot tub, some dinner, some cleaning!!, we hit the rode for an uneventful trip back home. The following day the storm predictions kept adding feet of snow so I booked a hotel outside Alpine Meadows for the following week.. I gave some shit to some of our kids because they had to work in the coming week and I was going up for some powder. Later that day I was informed by one of the kids that the ski resorts had all closed because of the Coronavirus sweeping the world. Arghhh!

By Monday, the Bay Area had begun a Shelter in Place. All non-essential businesses were to close, restaurants can do take out or curb pickup but no going in. Movies closed, bars (though some would deem essential) closed, barbers (non-essential for me) closed, etc. This has led to a week of creative entertainment. On the first day Katie and I went wild with things we had been putting off, weeding, organizing, reading, etc. On the second day we slowed down. This was going to be long trip not a quick run to the store. We did go and buy groceries which seemed almost normal except papergoods were out of stock and people did give you some distance. Nobody was wearing a mask. I cleaned out our extra room and made it into a music room with hopes of practicing the piano and guitar.

I had been getting a little down being at home all the time so it was really a thrill to have the Alex’s call up one night to ask us for a game of Liar’s dice. Crow played out of his head and dominated early but the Mrs. eventually showed her stuff and won the last couple of games. I think we are going to try and branch out with this so look out Rob/Kel, Don/Frank, Billie/Paul, kids etc.

Katie and I have been able to do walks/hikes for and 1 1/2 hours on many days. The Iron Horse Trail is near us and seems much busier than usual but everyone is giving space. Even the Walnut Creek Open Space was more crowded but in such a large area you really don’t interact that much with others. Strangely, February did not have any rain and since I was away alot of it I heard that temps were getting up to the high 70’s in the Bay Area. Well not the case since the Shelter in Place. We’ve had fairly frequent rain and generally cold temps. What gives. I guess somewhat nice is that the hills were somewhat dry to begin with and any rain gets absorbed very quickly so walking/biking are still feasible.

I’ve heard warm temperatures slow the Coronavirus down so come on Global Warming you have been showing your ugly head for several years now. I don’t think we have fixed it yet. Katie has been working more of late both because there is a need at the hospital but also our 401K’s kinda tanked so anything like real cash is good. Trying to come up with a better strategy than my usual buy high sell low but we will see how it goes. Maybe if Katie just does the opposite of me we will be good. Today I had a great bike ride with Jim. 20 miles overall with some wind at our fronts and backs. We generally stayed apart but managed to have a conversation once in a while. Miss the social contact and look forward to a ‘huge’ party at the end of all this. My best wishes to all.

Close to the end in Tahoe

Katie and I took the day off from skiing on Wednesday for a walk near Northstar in the Martis Creek area. Some snow on the trail but not much. Temperatures were in the high 50’s with blue skies. We ended up back at home in the late afternoon for some slow cooked chili and cornbread. We watched ‘A Hard Days Night’ after dinner which was basically ridiculous.

This am we met Larry and Margie at Alpine Meadows. Our first run was just after 9 and we went through the day finishing after 3. 25 runs in all on groomed and off piste runs. Firm in the am and soft and heavy in the afternoon. We chased good snow most of the day. Summit chair was closed for wind but Larry and I hiked over to the Wolverine side from Alpine Bowl chair for some terrific runs just off Wolverine and on Wolverine. Drinks at Bar of America followed skiing then dinner at Casa Baeza. Plans for tomorrow are skiing with the Banfield’s at Squaw. Big snow predicted for the weekend and beyond but we are out of time.

Another week At Tahoe Donner, now a few days on our own.

We had a great weekend with all the visitors. Some skied over the weekend and most said it was the best day of the year though really new snow was only at most 4 inches. Crowds were not huge so that helped.

We all went for a hike on Saturday along the Truckee River though Crow ran for the hour the rest of us walked. The group, Jamie, Tim, Russell, Alex, Alex, Zac, Maria, Sarah, MK, Katie and I, then all went out for lunch
at Garwoods in Kings Beach. Great location on the lakeshore. Terrific cocktails and good food.

Back to the house for some rest, then played some games, telestrations, cribbage, and others. We had an excellent meal on Saturday night with chicken enchiladas salad and chips. I ‘taught‘ Zac how to play cribbage and he promptly beat me 2 games out of 3.

Sunday was The ski day for some. Katie, MK, and I stayed home. We studied some Spanish, graded some Spanish papers and went shopping in Truckee. The kids came home for a quick hot tub and food then off to home. Zac and Maria stayed and we had a terrific dinner out at Pianeta to celebrate Zac’s B-day. I heard later that night Zac ‘taught’ Maria cribbage with a board we gave him for his birthday and she promptly beat him!!

Monday we went with Zac and Maria to Alpine. Great day skiing both on the groomed runs and off trail. They ended up going back home that night after some hot tub time and a small dinner.

Today Katie and I went to Squaw somewhat late (sleeping in😀) but had a great day of skiing with great snow in places. The only odd thing was groups of high school or college kids all over the slopes. I have a feeling the schools were closed because of the coronavirus and the kids took advantage. Cheers!!

Another day at Squaw

Alex’s, Gary and MK came to the house late last night. This am off later than usual at 9 or so to Squaw, temp already 50 when we left the house. 16 runs today for Katie and I, the others did a few more plus a terrain park. MK of the broken elbow walked the Squaw Meadow and managed some school paper grading at the Rocker. At home, a quick hot tub then some beer,wine and marg’s.

Some cribbage

Some rummy tile

And Gary is working on a shrimp dinner. Cheers!