Who needs Fodor's?

**Warning: this is about travel in general and not a lot about Japan, so don’t read it if you have no interest in hearing about things that aren't Japan-related. And if this is you, gosh you’re a snob! Why are we friends again? Hehehe, juuuuuuust kidding! If you want, you can skip down to the end for the "Japan-related-only" update!**

I was just wasting some time on Pinterest (oh, who hasn't lost an hour or two thanks to that lil site?) and I was pinning places that I've been. And, as Jonas correctly pointed out, it is pretty much my only collection of photos that isn't a "wishlist" of some sort...it's fun to have a small boast now and then, especially when it's done online where hardly anyone will see it and/or benefit besides you.
My thoughts went back to the time before I was "somewhere" (aka Japan) and I realized I really have been blessed with amazing travel experiences already. This isn't to say that I haven't been thrilled with being in Japan, but it isn't really the only somewhere that I've been. Here's a small list of the places I've seen:

• California...ah, yes, that bustling, urban, smoggy land that actually has some beautiful places. Hidden amongst all the yuppies. Look closely. All joking aside, the times I spent taking English riding lessons while I lived there actually changed my life. Anything that magical can't be all bad. Oh yes and San Fran was really cool! The Golden Gate bridge, I mean come on...it really is a marvel of engineering. Yosemite was worth the drive, even if the donkey I was riding nearly killed us both. What an ass.
• Maine...talk about surprised, no one could have prepared me for what I found in Maine. I was lucky enough to spend a whole summer here when I was about 20 (thank you, sis) and I found it to be beautiful and laid-back and I felt such a strange sense of being home here that is unlike anywhere else I have ever been (other than actual home). Oh and as a bonus I got to stalk my favorite author while we were in Bangor. Here's a tip, though...bring a sweater.
• Washington, DC...this trip was also thanks to my dear sister, who has always wanted me to quit whatever stupid job I was working and join her wherever she is. To her credit, she has always been right (about the job and the trip being totally worth quitting) even though it sounds like she's trying to lead me astray. I was filled with patriotic emotion standing in front of several of the famous monuments and it was the quickest week of my life. I would love to go back there sometime, especially since J has never been! I found it to be surprisingly clean and the metro system to be both easy and not too filled with scary folk.
• Florida...J and I visited Destin in the summer of 08 and I have to say that I never really dreamed of visiting FL before this trip but I would definitely go again. I really wasn't much of a beach fan before (had only been to Padre and a couple of COLD beach areas in CA) and even though I got the worst sunburn of my life while jet-skiing, I would totally do it again.
• New Orleans...oh, my what a trip! The summer of 08 was a busy one and J and I visited New Orleans as well as FL. Bourbon Street is not for the faint of heart...but if you can handle loud, drunken debauchery then you should be OK (btw is there ever quiet drunken debauchery?). I had never been anywhere that strangers yelled random lewd things at me and I can't say that I really liked it (cause the dude was like 100 years old and looked like he hadn't showered since Katrina) but apparently it's a part of the whole experience. I will say that we took a tour that was a little pricey ($90/person if I recall) but it was awesome and since we didn't rent a car it was perfect for us. We were able to see the famous cemeteries, some of the Katrina-damaged areas near where the levee broke, the downtown area and a bunch of really awesome Antebellum style homes. I would definitely recommend the tour in New Orleans.
• Cincinnati...yes, my ex was from there, so what? The food there....oh lord, the food! They have very unique chili (think dark chocolate), Graeter's ice cream (amazing stuff), and great pizza (mmmm LaRosa's! oooo and Donato's!). Plus, I am a big city girl and the cityscape is great...remember the Singing Bridge scene in Rain Man? Come on, that thing is cool! Anyway, I am happy to say that divorce hasn't ruined my fond memories of this city...even though it had some of the most ghetto places I've ever driven through, what big city doesn't? Oh and is it just Ohioans in general that think their state is the absolute best everything ever? I found this fascinating about "The 'Nati" cause it was pretty much rampant.
• Colorado...I went to some amazing places in this state (once again, thanks largely to my sister)...Telluride probably stands out as the most memorable, but just barely edges out Estes Park. Telluride is a very unique town in that it's built at the bottom of this incredible bowl formed by the Rockies...the free Gondola ride from the town up to the top of the "bowl" is pretty much breathtaking. It was pricey back in the early 2000's so I'm sure it has only gotten more expensive, but it is totally worth it if you want scenery but not a big ski-resort-type experience. I was not very fond of Pueblo (where we lived for about a year) but nearby Colorado Springs was extremely charming and much more scenic.

This is not nearly the whole list of cool places I've been, heck even half the states I have lived in and/or visited. I am saying all this to tell myself that I didn't really need to fly halfway around the world to be somewhere cool...I've already been there. And yes, I got the t-shirt...from Hard Rock at least. :)

For Japan-related-only readers: The update on summer is that the kids LOVE love love it here and they have wanted to go to the Daiso (100 Yen Store) about 42 times already. Actually we went yesterday and had to go yet again today because of a Rhino beetle related emergency. The emergency was that Connor finally found one so therefore we had to procure tons of Rhino beetle related stuff that they happen to sell there for 100 yen. I hope you, dear reader, have seen the 200-something pics I have recently uploaded to FB of all the fun side trips we're having. Asakusa was really fun and I was happy that we left something to discover together with the kids. J remarked yet again at the startling amount of "stuff" for sale in front of one of their religious shrines...seems pretty odd to us. Not to step on any toes, but there aren't any baby Jesus statues for sale outside of churches that I have seen in our country, so we are kind of puzzled at the way the "sacred" areas are treated here. It's almost as if there is an invisible line that on one side is full of shrine memorabilia to purchase and on the other is the shrine itself to worship. But I guess if it were done exactly the same here as in America, I wouldn't have much to blog about. We have been spending a lot of time walking around Fussa and just yesterday went on a 2 hour round-trip trek out to the Tama River, which was in my mind the perfect walk because it went "city city city city RIVER"...just like that. Awesome in my book. None of this leading up to it, no sir. I want to just round a corner and damn near fall in the river. And as it turns out, that's about right. Anywho, when we aren't traipsing about the countryside we are usually playing Apples to Apples, Clue, or LIFE...or taking everyones movie picks and drawing the movie for the evening out of a coffee mug. Cause this is my house and our entertainment will be left to chance, by God. Hey, we all have our weird things. Next trip will be Hello Kitty Land this coming weekend....**happy dance!** Love to all our readers!
PS. I apologize for the length of this blog post but I am not only really bored but I felt guilty about how long it's been since I posted anything. I wonder to myself if anyone actually wonders what is happening with us and why we haven't posted. If you don't, in fact, ever wonder this please please let me know so that I may find something else to worry needlessly about. Thanks in advance!

PS2. A recent trip to Shinrin Park (about 2 hours from the base) led us to an amazing discovery...see pics below.

Ain't no party like a Japanese Popcorn Party! Yes, yes I did.