Downtown Adventure

OK – Everyone’s been clamoring for an update. Sorry to be so long, but we’re so busy living our adventure, it’s hard to stop in order to record it! (Besides our household goods arrived early, so we’re up to our “knees” in boxes & stuff. . . Enjoy reading about the remainder of December (pictures to follow soon) and I resolve to try to be better in 2005!

December 2004 - One Sunday night before Christmas, I attended a party given by Ingrid & Jim, our next door neighbors. There was a huge turn-out, so I met lots of neighbors. Unfortunately, Stan was TDY (on a business trip) so I went alone, but he would have loved the food. Ingrid had cooked a huge turkey & a ham & everyone brought something (except me -- it was my one freebie) and everything was yummy! Her Japanese students (she teaches English) brought delicious Japanese dishes. Ingrid set up the desserts in one of the bedrooms, because her huge round dining room table was full. Out in the hallway near the elevators, they set up the drinks, ice and bar, so their door was open all during the party. People were wandering in and out, including their big pale orange cat, Tommy, & I fell in love with him! He looks like Heather’s Stimpy, but acts more like Ozzy. It was a wonderful party, I met some very interesting people, and it’s always encouraging to be in someone’s apartment who has their “stuff.” The best part was simply walking next door when it was time to leave . . .

12/25 Merry Christmas! We had a quiet Christmas & talked to all of the children on Christmas Eve and again Christmas Day. We ate dinner at the Club, and it was OK, but not like eating at home. Maybe next year, I’ll cook. Or maybe not . . .

12/26 Happy Birthday Heather! Like the rest of the world, we were shocked and horrified to hear about the tsunami and the rising death toll. We were further concerned because there was tour group from the base vacationing in Cambodia and Thailand during the holidays. We were relieved to find out a few days later that they had not been on the beach that day, and they all arrived home safely.

12/29 long bike ride with Windley – at least 10 miles. The last Saturday of 2004, we were invited to ride our bikes into downtown Iwakuni to eat lunch at a soba shop with Windley, one of our neighbors. It was a beautiful, but very cold day, so by the time we arrived downtown, we were ready for the hot steaming noodle soup. After lunch, we went over to Andersen’s, which is a fabulous Scandinavian pastry shop and blew our carbs. The really interesting thing about riding in town is that you ride your bike on the sidewalk. This is the accepted practice. The streets are so narrow that only the cars and motorcycles drive on them. The sidewalks are the same height as the road (not higher as in the U S) and there are 6 inch high “curbs” to separate the sidewalks from the streets. Every 4-5 feet, there is a small open space so you can ride out onto the street to keep from running into someone. Of course you have to watch to be sure that a motorcycle or car is not coming at that precise moment! Downtown, where the sidewalks were very crowded, I (being somewhat of a chicken) chose to walk my bike a lot. We went into a huge grocery store and looked around at all the choices and ate some free samples. Sometimes, it’s better not to ask what it is – just eat it. Windley then asked us if we were “game” to go touring around town and see some interesting thrift stores. Well, those last 2 were the magic words for me, so off we went. It was a little scary because the streets are so narrow, and the traffic is heavy, but the terrain is mostly pretty flat. I found out (too late) that I have a height / balance disability when riding the little narrow sidewalks over a high bridge (of which there are plenty of around Iwakuni!). Because these bridge crossing sidewalks are fenced in on both sides, this is a no-passing zone for bikes. Fortunately, I only fell against the fence, but because of Stan behind me, and the Japanese guy behind him, we nearly had a 3-bike pileup. Stan made a more spectacular fall. We were crossing the river on the spill way. It is a very wide spill way with a narrow sidewalk near the upstream side. I was walking my bike and Stan was behind me. He likes to ride faster than I and perhaps he was just showing off. He went around me on the broad part of the spillway. He was doing fine until he came to a trickle of water. The trickle made a wet spot on the spillway about six feet wide. Apparently Stan did not notice the wet spot or perhaps he thought he could just ride across it. About the time I hollered, 'it’s wet' down he went. I will have to admit that it was a very graceful fall. He just sort of laid his bike down on its side with him under it. At least he did not go into the river. He was not hurt badly and was able to continue the ride. Really, what choice did he have? “Besides a few bumps and bruises (I drew him a hot bath in our big tub when we got home), he has been strongly requested NOT to wear light khaki pants on future bike rides. After soaking and scrubbing for a week (the pants, not Stan), the mud stains mostly came out – about the same time his bruises disappeared.

Windley knows lots of shortcuts, so we went down many VERY narrow streets (what we would call an alley) where houses are. Most are walled in with beautiful gardens, and parking is a huge bonus. What really struck me was that it was so quiet. You never hear TVs or stereos or talking or anything! The Japanese are very quiet people – maybe from living so close to each other? There were many interesting things in the small, dark and unheated shops we ventured in. I bought a small iron fish hanging on a stand that exactly matches a larger one that Holly gave me a few years ago. Many of the shops were starting to close up for the long New Year’s holiday, the biggest holiday of the year, which would last most of the following week. I found several pieces that were intriguing, but because we were on our bikes, they remained safe in the shop. Maybe another day . . .

Mon 12/31 NYE
We were again invited to our neighbors for a beautiful dinner party in which everyone took a dish. Ingrid sets a gorgeous table, and the food was again, delicious. They have one of those huge round tables, and it’s so congenial. I took one of my (now) world-famous spinach salads, and I made a cheesecake with a borrowed spring-form pan. During the course of the evening, big snow flakes began falling outside and when we went out on the balcony, there were children running around trying to catch them. It was a wonderful cozy evening and a perfect way to ring out 2004. Needless to say, we did not watch the ball fall in NYC since it was 15 hours earlier there, but we did call the kids and wish them an early Happy New Year!