November 24, 2014: Post-Japan trip and Cel's birthday

Thanksgiving week is fast approaching, and we are heading to Idaho Falls early in the morning with Jessica and her boys in tow! I look forward to posting photos of our trip!

My 56th birthday was on November 17th, our last day in Japan. When we arrived in the U.S. the following day, it was still November 17th, so technically I had two birthdays in a row! I called my twin sister and told her that I was older than her now ;-).

When we got home after long hours in three airports and three plane rides, it was great to be home! I walked into the kitchen and found pink streamers and colored balloons hanging from our pot rack, plus a vase of fresh flowers (Freesia), a birthday bag full of fun gifts, and breakfast food items on the kitchen counter! There was also a lovely "Happy Birthday" banner hanging from our dining hutch. What a nice surprise from Jessica and her boys! They had come into our house earlier in the day and got everything hung and placed. It really made my day!

Pots and pans covered in balloons and streamers

Fun gifts of chocolate, soft p.j.'s, and furry slippers from Jess and her family

Cool "travel purses" from Japan from my sweetheart Mike!

Awesome iPhone screen photo collage on my brand new iPhone 6+
The coolest gift from Mike ever (since the iPad and the MacBook Air)!

In my comfy new pajamas and slippers doing what all the Japanese do when they pose

Our beautiful grandson Joey hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa

I just want to eat him up!

Now that Joey's walking on his own and trying to talk, he's even more fun than ever
If only he'd like to be hugged as much as I want to hug him!

I don't think Joey will ever outgrow his love of cars

2014 Japan Trip with Jacob--Tokyo: Day 1

This year, Mike had the fortune of presenting a paper in Fukuoka, Japan for The Fifth International Symposium on Energetic Materials and Their Applications. We thought it was the perfect opportunity to take Jacob with us and make a vacation of it. Mike made additional plans to visit a national laboratory in Tsukuba (near Tokyo), so that we could extend the trip. Our trip started on November 3rd and lasts through the 17th.

The long flight and subway rides made us all tired the first day

One of MANY beverage machines in the subways of Japan



The grand foyer of the Imperial Palace Hotel in Tokyo where we stayed

Our awesome bathroom with a Toto bidet toilet and separate Japanese style shower and bath

Our cozy living and sleeping quarters

Happy boy ready for his first Japanese dinner!

Everything was delicious and beautifully displayed

Shrimp and vegetable tempura

Jacob's favorite--katsudon

Other colorful restaurants on the same narrow street near our hotel

Getting comfortable in the yukata provided by our hotel

2014 Japan Trip with Jacob--Tokyo: Day 2

For the largest populated city in the world, Tokyo was crowed with people, mostly dressed in dark business suits. A great number of its residents walk or ride bikes. No wonder everyone is so tiny.

Bicycles parked near the curb are never locked



Checking out the Japanese beverages in the subway station

We spent a lot of time in and out of subway stations like this one in Tokyo

Jacob and Mike waiting for a train in the subway

Jacob was our master tour planner!
We often saw sleeping passengers on the subway trains

 Jacob and his mama at the Tokyo Temple--a great way to start our day

"Holiness to the Lord"

 Jacob hit the streets of Tokyo with his video camera in hand

Mike stands in front of a "Hachiko" art wall at Scramble Crossing in Shibuya

Jacob and Mike pose by the popular "Hachiko" dog statue at Scramble Crossing

Our fried gyoza snack in Tokyo

Does this face say "Oishii!" or what?

We could have eaten a lot more of these, but we were meeting my
Japanese cousin and her husband in Yokohama for a big meal later that evening

Takashi and Masako Inoue with me after our last visit 8 years ago!
They treated us to a wonderful multi-course meal at Manchinro inYokohama

 This is Takaszhi's friend's Chinese restaurant in Yokohama's China Town

Masako meets Jacob for the first time. We took Sam with us in 2007 during our 25th wedding anniversary
The food here was amazingly delicious and a real culinary experience!

 Mike and Takashi enjoying the great food and drinks

 Wonton soup

 Fresh Japanese condiments

Beautiful arrayed green salad

Appetizers of grilled pork, sweet potato, and interesting potato-like vegetable

Grilled BBQ pork over bean sprouts--to die for!

 Mango dessert

Vanilla ice cream
I don't have photos of the many extraordinary dishes we enjoyed before dessert ;-(

 Lighted Chinese dragons in the restaurant

Mike, Jacob, and Takashi pose in front of a carved relief in the restaurant

East meets West again for family bonding