A Day at the Park

Valentine's Day, I was surprised to find out, is a big deal here. In Japan, the girls are the ones who are supposed to be giving gifts and valentines to boys, instead of the other way around. In any case, Lori, Mike and I were showered with chocolate on Friday because there was no school on the actual Valentine's Day. Lori and I have been saying how much we've been snacking since being here. I think its the combination of having so many new things to try and not being able to read the nutrition labels. To us, this says that since we can't read them, all the calories and fat and sugar just disappear!

It's been fairly cold since we got here, probably somewhere in the 50's everyday. On Friday night, the wind was blowing like crazy but it was very warm outside. It must have blown away the cold because Saturday was incredibly warm. I woke up and put on my usual running clothes (pants, under armour, and a long sleeved shirt) just as Lori was getting back from her run. She told me to change my clothes because I would be way to warm. I put on a t-shirt, and I'm glad I did because it was probably about 70 degrees. The sun was shining. It was perfect running weather. I couldn't stop smiling for the first couple minutes of my run! I explored some different paths and I think I ended up near a landfill at one point, but it felt so good to be outside that I didn't really care.

Lori, Mike and I decided that we wanted to enjoy the sunshine as much as we could so we headed to a park on our bikes. The part was across the street from Big Hop Mall and was already filled with people. We brought a few blankets to set on the grass; the grass was very dry and very yellow. Right now I'm reading Home, a memoir of Julie Andrew's early years growing up with her family and her career on stage. I think she's so charming and fascinating, so I've enjoyed reading her stories whenever I have time and Saturday gave me lots of time to do just that. We were seated on a hill and below us was a flat area where a father and daughter were playing frisbee and several mothers and fathers were out with their children or walking their dogs. Along the paths of the park, people were eating their lunches. I think everyone wanted to enjoy the beautiful day.

I took a couple pictures, but it was so bright outside so they're not terrific.

Lori sitting and sketching. That's my bike next to the tree.

The grass was pretty yellow and dry. We sat father up on the hill to the right and people were playing down here below.

There were lots of trees and nice sidewalks

This was near the restaurant we ate at for lunch. We all took pictures riding the donkey!