Category: travel

going places!

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favorite things food life travel

Getting to Japan

October the 6th dawned bright and early, after we got on our first leg of the flight to Houston. Very quick hop.

At the Houston airport, we got some yen at a terrible exchange rate. Got breakfast … I seem to recall the first one didn’t work out … we may have eaten two breakfasts? Just pulled up the google maps of the IAH international terminal: Custom Burgers took a really long time and gave us random breakfast sandwiches we didn’t order. So then we headed to Pappasito’s Cantina for breakfast tacos … which I think we quite enjoyed. Google rates Custom Burgers at 1.9 stars vs. Pappasito’s at 4 stars. Checks out.

At any rate, back to the trip: we had premium economy seats! Premium economy on United, so, eh, but the husband wasn’t completely sardined in. The seats were arranged in a 3/3/3 configuration, so we picked D and E in the middle: an aisle and a middle seat. With no one to climb over us, because seat F is also an aisle. (These are important things to consider when on a 12 hour flight.)

Plane food was mediocre. (Seriously, United: other airlines give their premium economy guests the business class food. Just saying.) We arrived in one piece! Yay!

Made it through the checkpoints in our bleary eyed state, found our luggage, then on to find our driver.

Ok, so weird thing about Japan: you don’t book tickets for things on the internet. Like, there’s no e-commerce. Most technologically advanced country in the world, and there’s no e-commerce.

So to get transportation from the airport to our hotel, first I looked at the Airport Limousine Bus, as it came highly recommended by the dad. Their website is … well, not super helpful. They do list some hotels on their site, but apparently not all of them. I asked b2 to take a look at the Japanese version of the site and he confirmed, he did not see my hotel on the list. (Which they TOTALLY cover, I saw their bus at our hotel later. So *shakes fist*.)

Ok, so that was a bust. I then tried to google private car transport in Tokyo and … didn’t really find what I was looking for. I happened upon a message on Trip Advisor recommending this place. Where you enter your ‘massage’ in their contact form.

So … I filled in the form. Expecting a quote? I guess? Got an email back with a confirmation. Also a quote. But a confirmation? And … I never gave them any money. But they promised a driver who would be holding up a sign with my name on it.

I decided to roll with it. Worst-case scenario, there’d be no one there and we’d just get a taxi once we got there. No biggie.

The day before we left, I got another email with our driver’s name. Seemed like it might actually work!

Sure enough, once we were headed out of the airport with our bags, we indeed passed “a low fence where people are waiting. Our drivers & guides wait there also, with the passenger’s name on a board.” Ms. Kisugi was there, in her white gloves and sensible pumps, with my name on a board. And so we followed her to a car.

I had a brief panic that this was some kind of scam, that she’d charge us twice as much once we arrived.

But, nope, we arrived at the hotel, paid her with a credit card, and it was even a few yen cheaper than we were quoted.

So, yes: in Japan, you totally book things via email, and then pay for it later.

Checking in at the Tokyo Prince Hotel was a bit of an adventure. In Japan, people are very polite. But also: there is no customization. No “the customer is always right” philosophy. Our guided tour started at that hotel, and I tried to add on an early arrival through Gate 1, something they usually do. But … not so for this trip. So, eh, I booked my own room through hotels.com, and figured when I checked in, I’d get them to put us in the same room that we’d be in for the guided tour portion.

Not so. They would have none of that. But they did offer to transfer our bags to our new room for us while we were out and about sight-seeing. And so we took that option.

And then, they took us to our room with our bags! Which was a highly confusing affair.

First confusion: Our room had a main door, then a little vestibule? with a door to the bathroom and also a door to the bedroom. I know shoes inside in Asia is a huge no-no, and so I thought perhaps this was where the shoes needed to be removed? But also, the vestibule was tiny, not meant for two Americans and a Japanese lady, so as I paused to ask if I needed to take my shoes off, I really slowed down our progress. Some back and forth later: no, no I did not need to remove my shoes. So I continued into the room, she brought our bags in and explained the tv remote (there’s a language button! To switch all the shows into English? It’s magical!)

Second confusion: the tipping. I tried to tip. She was … embarrassed? Refused the tip. So I apologized, kept the money, she left, and we had the evening to ourselves!

Dinner was from Lawson’s in the basement. Yes, a convenience store. But don’t knock it till you try it! Conbini’s are all the rage, and their food is actually really good. Seriously. You are gonna hear a lot about conbinis.

Surely I forced the husband to stay up till 7 or 8 pm? That’s the typical travel-fight we have: I can sleep on the plane, he never can, we make it to the hotel and I force him to stay up till bed time. He’s always glad the next day, but man, that first night is pretty rough for us, not gonna lie.

Categories
favorite things travel

40th Birthdays and 15th Anniversaries

On top of the world! Or at least Mt. Hakone

40th birthdays are kind of a big deal. Add in a 15th anniversary, and 2019 needed to be celebrated in a big way.

The husband turned 40 in February. Not time to celebrate.

And then April marked our 15th anniversary. Time to celebrate a book launch!! But … not yet time to celebrate the anniversary.

And then October came, my 40th birthday, and we hopped on a plane to Tokyo.

Now THAT’S how ya celebrate.

Before the trip, we did a little research, booked our plane tickets, booked a guided tour for part of the trip, and then did more research. Booked some hotels, more flights. Invited the in-laws who were living in that half of the world at the time. Did some more research, and filled in my infamous travel google sheet.

(Seriously, I make a google spreadsheet for all of our trips. They are pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.)

Now, we’ve done a fair bit of traveling, had some great trips, but this was our best one yet. I’m writing all this down 8 months late, so I won’t remember everything, but I’m sure gonna try.

We booked a guided tour for the first part of our trip, but arranged to arrive a day early in Tokyo, something we did with our last guided tour and I highly recommend. Gives you an extra day to deal with jetlag, and do a little sight-seeing before the rest of the adventurers arrive.

Our guided tour was with Gate 1 Travel, which I also highly recommend, especially for first-time world travelers. It’s a really good bang for your buck, and you don’t have to worry about a thing after you make it to the airport. Seriously, you don’t even know how much decision fatigue you suffer from until you take a guided tour.

And then after the guided tour, we met up with the in-laws in Okinawa for a few days, then back to Tokyo for a few days.

Tokyo, man. You could spend a lifetime there and not see it all. (We’ve been researching ‘how to move to Japan’ as an American … turns out there’s lots of hoops to jump through … so, uh, I guess we’ll have to just keep playing tourist!)

So that’s just the overview!! Don’t worry, there’s 20 more posts to go!

Categories
life travel

Travelled out

I would have told you it was impossible for me to get tired of traveling, but I think it has finally happened.

In the past 12 months, we have been to Idaho (wedding!), Orlando (Disney!), DC 3 times, Houston 9 times, Ireland, Utah (wedding! and BFFs!) and Vegas. And then I went on two knitting retreats and to a knitting conference. And Josh had a guys weekend.

The crazy thing is, we didn’t even really intend for this to be a year in which we saw all the things in all the places. And ensured our cat sitter could pay all her bills.

First up, we suddenly had a wedding to attend! Mormons tend to have short engagements, and the sister did not disappoint on that front. So to Idaho we went. A welcome reprieve from the brutal San Antonio summer and also a wedding! A quick but lovely trip.

And then, Disney World. A friend had called up that spring to ask if we’d like to go to Disney with them, and at first I was all, meh, we were just there last year and we were thinking about going to Ireland anyway. And then she said they’d be staying in a Polynesian Bungalow, and I was like, oh, keep talking, and then I googled it and said OMG we are THERE. If anybody ever invites you to stay in a Polynesian Bungalow with them you say YES. And then you become BFFs for life. With matching Mickey tattoos. (Just kidding. We stayed at the Polynesian, have you been paying attention? She got a Lilo tattoo, mine’s a Stitch.)

And then DC – should be exciting, but that was just for work. Staying in a hotel, working long days, no site seeing. Nothing to report there.

And all the Houston! The husband’s mother moved to Kuala Lumpur earlier this year, so we had a few trips to see her before she left. Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA. Like on the other side of the world. And then the husband’s sister had a baby! So there were baby showers and a false alarm and the real alarm to attend to. Yay for babies!

And Ireland!! We’d been thinking about it for awhile and just took the plunge one day and booked the trip, before we’d had allll the other things on our schedule. An amazing trip, for sure, but it ended up being crammed in the middle of a year of utter madness. 10/10 would recommend Ireland. Muuuuch better food than their English neighbors.

And then b3 got engaged! With another short engagement! So to Utah we went, which had the added benefit of letting us hang out with our BFFs who left us. Not the Disney ones, but our crazy nerdy gaming ones who introduced us to a whole new world of games and then MOVED out of the STATE so now we have NO ONE to play with. Ok, so maybe that’s an exaggeration, but in any event, it was fun to see them and introduce THEM to Mysterium. And we played another Time Stories expansion! And also there was a wedding, blah blah, it was beautiful, one of the best I’ve been to, blah blah, mazel tov! (Just kidding, I adore my new sister in law, I’ve had to stop myself from inviting them to visit San Antonio over and over again, I mean I’ve already issued an open invitation and I don’t want her to know I’m a crazy person just yet. Hmm, it just dawned on me that she’s a professor, she’s not stupid, she probably already knows I’m a crazy person … )

And then Vegas. The 30th anniversary of Star Trek TNG was a big draw, of course, but the clincher was that there’s a DS9 documentary in the works. Aaand the husband indiegogo funded it and we got tickets to the convention as part of his ‘donation’. So to Vegas we went, and it was awesome!

But now, for the first time in maybe forever, I just kinda want to stay at home. While I plan my trip to Malaysia, of course.

Categories
favorite things food travel

Eating Las Vegas!

Hash House Scramble. Yup, that’s a tiny tree.

Vegas is well known as a foodie paradise, but it is also a fast-foodie paradise. For those of us who aren’t quite foodies.

First up, Smash Burger. Now, I know there are Smash Burgers in San Antonio, but they are … less than impressive. If you’re gonna try Smash Burger, try one in Vegas. Even the kids smash is good, which can be hard to do with a kid-sized burger. Many restaurants end up with too much bread and too little meat when they down-size their burger. Ask me how I know. Oh: get the peanut butter shake. If you, uh, like peanut butter. And shakes.

Next up, In-N-Out Burger. The Vegas establishments aren’t as good as the California ones, but if you’ve only ever eaten a Utah In-N-Out Burger and you got two bites into it before chucking it in the trash, then give it another try. In Vegas, I mean. Not Utah. (Shudder.)

Ok, here’s a place an actual foodie might like: Hash House a go go. It’s not cheap, but the portions are huge! Waffles and French toast are both ah-may-zing.

And last up, what would life be without dessert? Carlos Bakery, at the Venetian. Though he’s famous for the Lobster Tails (which are delicious), my favorites are the Chocolate Strawberry Mousse Tower or the Dark Chocolate Mousse. You’re welcome.

Bon Apetit!

 

Categories
nerdly travel tv/movies

Viva Las Vegas!

Engage!

San Antonio reached an unheard of 105 degrees, so the husband and I decided to find someplace even hotter to spend a few days. You know, to make San Antonio seem downright tolerable.

 

Or maybe it was the 30th anniversary of Star Trek TNG and we bought tickets months in advance to the big Star Trek convention?

Either way, Vegas in August is hot, y’all. Do not go outside. You may spontaneously combust.

Luckily, there was not much venturing outside for us as we stayed at the Rio, where the massive Trek party was held. That’s right, 5 days of insane introvert fun! We met no people and made no new friends, despite the fact that we spent 5 days with thousands of likeminded people! Introvert mission accomplished!

5 days of Trek is … a lot of Trek. The casual fan may wonder, what can you possibly do for 5 days?

Well, there’s panels! Panels with TOS actors. And with TNG actors. And with DS9 actors. And with Voyager actors. And with Enterprise actors. And with Discovery actors. And with the movie actors. And with the NEW movie actors. And with writers.

So … that’s a lot of panels.

And then there’s the autographs! Which means lots of waiting in line for autographs.

And then there’s the photo ops! Which means lots of waiting in line for photo ops.

And then there’s all the people that are dressed up! Which means a lot of people watching.

And then there’s the vendors room! With that one toy you wanted when you were a kid but couldn’t afford because, well, you were a kid. Still in the package, even.

And then there’s the trivia challenges and auctions and tv and movie prop displays.

It’s a little hard to believe, but … we didn’t even do all the things. Turns out maybe 5 days isn’t quite enough, after all.

 

Categories
knitting life texas travel

5 years?!

I meant to just take a little break to get settled into the new Texas life … but, uh, then 5 years went by.

So what happened?

Facebook. Facebook happened. Well, really, Facebook + Smart Phones. It’s just so easy to post my inane thoughts to the computer in my pocket! And I get instant likes! From my captive audience of 300 friends!

(Well, not my captive audience. But a captive audience. Because they are all checking their like counts on their … slightly less inane posts.)

So, quick 5-year recap:

  • I look like a legit grown up now! Many of my earlier posts are so whiny about how people never take me seriously because they don’t think I’m an adult, but my face has finally arrived at adulthood! I had suspected it would happen around 40, and that’s about right. I’m not quite there, but … almost. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m almost there.
  • We had a house built! In Texas, where land is abundant and materials and labor are cheap. So there’s acres of wood floors! And the largest granite island known to mankind. Like you can see it from space big. Except for we do have a roof, so you can’t really.
  • I’m obsessed with knitting now. Beyond obsessed, really, if that’s a thing. I’m in a real live knitting guild. And then like 2 other local San Antonio groups. And then … I started my own group. And I go to knitting retreats. And knitting conferences! Like comic cons, but for knitting.
  • The husband launched his writing career! He’ll be a famous writer any day now, I just know it. Or, perhaps, any day after he finishes his novel. Which has 7 really awesome chapters! And a whole bunch of chapters that are still rattling around in his head. That are probably also awesome, I just can’t vouch for them yet.
  • We’ve travelled to a billion awesome places!
  • B2, B3 and the sister are all married! B2 even has some babies!

I know that’s not it (5 years is kind of a long time), but that’s all the things that popped into my head just now. Hopefully the next update won’t take 5 years, but, uh, no promises. 🙂

Categories
travel

farewell tour: slow sunday

After all the madness, Sunday was a much needed day of rest. We slept in, and had a nice lunch of fancy sandwiches! In preparation for the parents’ arrival, I had bought adorable little sandwich rolls and deli meats and cheeses. I didn’t think they’d last till Sunday, but we’d been so busy, there hadn’t been a chance to eat them yet.

After lunch, we went to church where we said a few goodbyes. It’s been a mad-rush of a move, so I expect that in a few months, there’ll be some folks at church wondering what exactly happened to us.

We had a breakfast-for-dinner of bacon and biscuits and gravy. It was a little difficult to eat as we had already given away our dining room table in anticipation of the move. Oops. But we managed.

We drove up to the Mormon temple, and saw the artwork at the visitor center there. The Sunday show was an orchestral concert, and as none of us apparently like orchestras, we headed home before the show.

Which gave us enough time to watch Rise of the Planet of the Apes! Neither of the parents had seen it, so the husband decided that’s the show they should see. They enjoyed the monkeys (apes! I mean apes!), but who wouldn’t? Andy Serkis is a motion capture genius.

Categories
food nerdly travel

farewell tour: renaissance festival

The Maryland Renaissance Festival is always a much anticipated event in our household, so we were delighted when the BFF and her gang invited us to go with them this year. The parents were up for the adventure, even if they didn’t quite know what they were getting into.

We met the 495 on-ramp at a dead stop, so after a few minutes, we decided to try a different route. The husband asked Siri for a non-495 way to the festival, and soon we were on our way – through – the dreaded city.

We took some wrong turns in the city, but the husband managed to find a route that got us to the festival. We were still nice and early, so we got half-decent parking, and we got to enjoy a few hours at the faire before it got too crowded.

We met up with the BFF and her 2 and a half boys (husband+baby+about-to-be-a-baby), and got started on the festivities. And by ‘festivities’, I mean food! Because that’s what the ren fest is all about! Turkey legs and sausage on a stick and fried stuff and cheesecake on a stick and more fried stuff and ice cream cannolis and some more fried stuff!

And then we got busy with the shopping festivities! There is so much stuff to buy! From chain mail bikinis to hand-carved wooden goblets, and wooden swords to blown glass ornaments, there’s a little bit of something for everyone.

And of course, through the whole time, there is always the costume watching! Some costumes are impressive, some are confusing, and a few even have something to do with the renaissance. There seemed to be an influx of ladies with weird baby-hands in their overflowing bosoms, I’m not quite sure what that’s all about. Who wants to think about suffocating babies?

We watched some shows – a comedic, 30 minute version of Henry the V, and the parents watched the first 2 acts of a Midsummer Night’s Dream. The BFF and crew tried a go at the sword swallowing show, but didn’t stick around long. Which is about what I did the first time I watched the sword-swallowing show. It’s not for the faint of heart – it sounds cool in theory, but it’s mostly just disturbing to actually watch.

After the festival, we hurried to Leesburg to shop at the Virginia store downtown. The parents wanted some Virginia-y souvenirs, and that’s the perfect place to find them.

After a day of eating junk, we topped it all off with a stop at Windy City Red Hots for dinner. It’s a small place, but luckily it was pretty empty when we stopped by, so we were able to snag one of their 2 tables. And we got hot dogs! Not just any hot dogs, they definitely have a superior dog. And it comes with a pickle! What could be better than that?

Categories
food travel

farewell tour: dc

The parents were able to drag themselves out of bed a little earlier on day 2, so we headed downtown. I don’t drive downtown (unless I get stuck on a bridge), so we headed to the metro, and rode the train in to the metro center.

We bought tickets on a hop-on-hop-off bus, then rode it around to the Capitol. We walked around to the back side to get to the Library of Congress, as the dad wanted to see it on the recommendation from a friend. Visiting the nation’s library doesn’t sound terribly exciting, especially if you don’t plan to check out any books, but the building is quite impressive.

Besides all the architecture, mosaic work, and artwork, there are several exhibits. We got a chance to see the most influential American books, maps (they used to think California was an island!), and Jefferson’s original collection. I’ve been to Monticello, it’s hard to imagine how Jefferson fit all those books in his library. Perhaps Mrs. Jefferson really made the book donation …

For lunch, we made a stop at the American Indian Museum cafe and ate food from the great plains: indian tacos and a buffalo burger. Overpriced, yes, but at least the food there has a fun theme to it!

We tried to hop back on the bus, but waited for 30 minutes for a bus that was too full for us. And our 30 new friends. 10 minutes later they sent us an empty bus for us all, but it was frustrating, as time was ticking! We had things to see!

We rode the bus around for the rest of the tour, and got all the city highlights. We jumped on the green loop to tour georgetown and other non-mall areas, but that was a mistake. We did get the see the National Cathedral covered with scaffolding to fix the earthquake damage, but the traffic was bad and the driver drove as fast as he could in clear stretches to stay on schedule. It was quite a bumpy ride, I had difficulty staying in my seat. I would have reported the driver to the company, but he mentioned that he was leaving the job in 3 days, so perhaps he had already been reported.

Before heading home, we hit the gift shops at the Spy Museum and the Crime Museum. They are both excellent museums, but there are only so many hours in the day. But, you know, there’s always time for shopping! The dad picked up an NCIS hat for himself, and a few other trinkets.

We walked to the metro, rode the metro to the car, and took the car home, where we filled the husband in on our day. (It was so much fun! There was no working! We just spent bunches of your money!)

Dinner was Cheeburger, a local burger joint that we won’t have in Texas. The dad had a salmon burger, which he was a little disappointed in because he lives in the Pacific Northwest. Where if you order a salmon burger for dinner, that salmon was swimming in the river that morning. I had my standard BLT, the husband his standard semi-serious burger, and the mom had a tiny classic burger. The waitress forgot to put the husband’s order in, however, so he got to sit and watch us eat our yummy food. The manager comped his burger, though, so that sort of made up for the fact that he had to scarf his burger down when it finally arrived.

All in all, an exhausting day, but that’s what being a tourist is all about!

Categories
travel

farewell tour: harper’s ferry

On account of all the jet lag, the parents slept in on their first full day in town. I had a leisurely morning, and figured I should let them sleep on account of they were on vacation and all.

Since we got a late start, we headed to Harper’s Ferry, since it’s a short drive. We stopped at a fabric store in Purcelville on the way. Because the mom has discovered the internet, y’all! And she found out you can find fabric stores on it! I found a book to buy in case, you know, I ever take up sewing like I keep thinking I might.

We made it Harper’s Ferry, and took the Park Ranger tour, and learned all about the Civil War Battle of Harper’s Ferry. Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, I always got a very different perspective of the Civil War than is presented in the more southerly parts of the country. It is a little strange to hear about the genius and bravery and courage of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. And the ineptitude of the Union forces. I suppose in moving to Texas, I will have to get used to it. Not in a ‘the South will rise again’ kind of way, but a Southern pride sort of way.

It was an excellent tour, done by a Park Ranger who looked all of 18 years old. He really knew his stuff, though, and there weren’t any questions that stumped him. I would recommend the tour for anyone, no matter what side of the country they happen to fall on.

After the tour, we took the bus down to the lower town, where they’ve reconstructed many of the buildings and put in exhibits. We learned all about John Brown, as well as the history of industry and flooding and whatnot. We ate a ridiculously overpriced lunch on High Street, but it kept us from starving to death. Which, as we all know, Americans are at very high risk of.

We made it home in good time, and the parents watched the traffic in the opposite direction with surprise. But that’s how you get it all! A big house AND a job! You live in West Virginia, but work in the DC area. And then you sit. in. traffic. But we were moving in the opposite direction, so there were no hurdles in our way.

The husband and I treated the parents to none other than tater tot casserole. I don’t know if they were impressed or not, but it was much yummier than the chewy steaks we’d had the night before.