Day 2 of Stan's Birthday Weekend - 4/21/12

In the parking lot of our building looking up at our LR balcony. There are 6 floors & we're on 5. Our apartment is on the left side from the corner.


Yep - we're the ones with all the plants, lights, ribbons & balloons outside! And you can even see my stained glass window in the kitchen. The mylar balloons & ribbons actually help keep pigeons away, so I try to keep them up all year 'round. But those two new balloons are for Stan's birthday.


Colorful redtop in someone's yard outside the Main Gate. We used to bike out the North Gate - an "out only" gate that's MUCH closer to our house, and toward the direction of downtown Iwakuni, but with all the changes and improvements going on here, it's pretty much impossible to get out that way on a bike now . . .


Looking down a line of blooming dogwoods on the "new" road that leads downtown when you turn right outside the Main Gate. That's Stan in red in front of me. It's a cloudy day, so we're prepared for rain with our raincoats & umbrellas . . .


Beautiful dogwood blossoms always remind me of Easter in Birmingham - but Easter has long since passed.


Someone's garden.


And colorful thrift blooming along the sidewalk.


Azaleas & rhododendron are just beginning to bloom now. This hedge is in front of a house that faces the river and will soon be in full bloom.


There's Stan on the pedestrian/bike bridge, taking a picture of me. Downtown is behind him. It sure looks like rain!


And here's the picture he took of me just biking onto the bridge. I'm holding my camera, so it won't bounce when I ride over bumps!


Behind me is a neighborhood market.


Me riding my beautiful pink bike!


Fisherman tending his boat in the riverbank below us.


Tide is very low.


Biking on the divided sidewalks along Hwy 188, as we head into downtown Iwakuni. That's Stan ahead of me.


Downtown under the arched, covered sidewalks. Pedestrians and bicyclists are so accustomed to sharing the sidewalk here, that there's never a problem - well, almost never . . .


Checking out the movie theater schedule to see what's playing in English . . .


Parking our bikes at Monte Beer - time to eat, and since it's still Stan's birthday, this is where he wants to go - fine with me! It's right next door to the large movie theater.


Inside Monte Beer, the Hiroshima Carps are playing on TV - yay!


Kampai Stan!


and Peace!


Ouch! One of the batters was hit by a ball . . .


Hope he's OK . . .


Here comes some of our food . . .


Stan loves the hot, spicy noodles!


We split garlic bread and seafood salad.


And we split a rack of ribs - not as good as Dreamland in Birmingham, but delicious with sweet sauce. It's just impossible to compete with Alabama BBQ!


Wow - that's a BIG beer Stan! Good thing we're on our bikes . . .


Fried local sweet potatoes - yum!


We ate it all . . .(burp)


And after picking up some bread at Andersen's, we've decided to go into the 100 Yen Store, where I saw some cute bags. This one features a very philosophical cat . . .


And another with cute little doggy businessman.


Azaleas in a small park behind the Fuji Grand are in full bloom, and well trimmed.


And lots of thrift blooming inside the old train tracks near the station as we head for home.


Gorgeous! These are tended every year & of course there are more and more . . .


Ha! We got home just in time to enter the Contractor's Gate. It's an "in only" gate - also closer to our house than the Main Gate & we end up right behind our building! It's just starting to rain, so we may make it home before the bottom falls out!

When you reach the bottom of a page, click "Older Posts" below to continue . . .