As I scrolled on my phone to learn more about the aquarium we'd be going to the next day, I stopped at a picture of an Asian small-clawed otter sticking its paw through a small hole in its enclosure. You can feed slash hold hands with otters at this Japanese aquarium?!?! I turned my phone… Continue reading Dreams coming true: making friends with otters
Once we knew we'd be going to Japan -- you know, we secured that travel visa that ended up being moot since Japan "opened up" to foreigners the day after we arrived. -- Bryce and I both started planning the "one thing" we wanted to do while there. His was to go to a soccer… Continue reading Date night with Yokohama FC
"Ohhhh no," Bryce said to me as we were mid-flight. "What?" I looked over at him and baby. I see him sniff through his N95 and even behind a mask, I could tell he was making a face -- an unpleasant face. She definitely had a poopy diaper. And, of course it was during the… Continue reading Baby’s first flight
"I'm not doing a hike with the word 'misery' in the trail name!" I said to Bryce as I carried our 20-pound baby on my back. We had just crossed the footbridge over the river at Smith Rock State Park and the trail sign in front of us was for Misery Ridge Trail. There were… Continue reading Baby’s first canyon hike
When we received the save-the-date in 2021, we were hopeful we'd be able to attend our friends' March wedding reception. All events would be outdoors. Our baby would (fingers crossed) be vaccinated by then! (I know, I know ... you're eyerolling at how naïve I was!) Before the news broke that more research would be… Continue reading Fun while it lasted
A few years ago if you had asked me what my "travel goals" were, it would be going to new cities and/or countries. I'm not one of those people who has any desire to visit all the countries in the world. (Let's be real, that would be cool, but that also would take a lot… Continue reading This looks familiar
She stared at us from inside her presumably heated car as we walked by in rain gear and a rain cover over the baby's stroller. Saying it was pouring rain would have been an understatement. It was dumping buckets sideways. We had just parked in the lot for the Heceta Lighthouse in Florence, Oregon. It… Continue reading Torrential rain won’t stop us
"How was Osaka?" "It was good. Well, I prefer Tokyo though," I replied. My mom's reaction to my response was a burst of laughter. She then followed with: I'm not surprised. Because we are Tokyo people. This conversation occurred more than two years ago. Bryce and I had just returned to my grandma's house in… Continue reading Osaka v. Tokyo
Sometimes I see the notifications comes into my email that I gained a new blog follower. "Oh, that's nice," I think to myself. Nice that someone out there is interested to subscribe to a blog that has been dormant for 12 months. How did this even happen? There are a few factors. The first half… Continue reading The last 12 months
Being from Seattle, we scoff at people who use umbrellas. We don't need umbrellas! Yes, it rains but it's usually just an off-and-on type of rain, or a light drizzle. Nothing our rain jackets, or even a hoodie, can't handle! However, I was grateful I brought my grandmother's umbrella with me on our trip to… Continue reading Kyoto: Sloshing about at Fushimi Inari
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