Geo: 34.68, 135.5The first full day on the ship started slowly and easily. We did not get to Osaka until after lunch and stayed in port until 10 p.m. We had a chance to look around the ship. It has been fourteen years since our last trip on this ship. It seems like so long ago now. The ship is small (fewer than 2,000 passengers) by today's standards but was one of the largest when it was new in the mid 1990s. We have been on this ship twice before: January 1998 for our 25th anniversary cruise in the Western Caribbean and June 1999 for a trip to Alaska's Inside Passage to meet Pauline and J.W. Our shore excursion for the day started with a visit to the Sumiyoshi Shrine which is a Shinto shrine. It ... read more

Geo: 35.47, 139.62After we landed safely at Narita, found our luggage quickly, and breezed through immigration and customs, we were ready to find the train to Yokohama. I had maps of the airport and knew where to find the train station several levels below arrivals. However, we went into the Japan Rail Service Center first when we didn't need to. As soon as we walked into the service center we were greeted by a very kind young woman who asked us if we had rail passes. I told her that we did not have passes, but that we just wanted to buy one-way tickets to Yokohama so she directed us across the way to a ticket counter. We walked over there and waited in line for only a minute before that same woman appeared again and ... read more

Geo: 34.0533, -118.245... read more

Geo: 35.0841, -106.649... read more

Geo: 47.7545, -122.157Forty years ago today we committed holy matrimony. Seems so unbelievable that it's been that long. Time has flown by. We are celebrating tonight at the Herbfarm Restaurant, but first we both have work to do. Philip will teach online all day since he has a new class with over twenty students. They have already been a talkative bunch so he has lots of posts to go through. I will go into Seattle to the Convention Center to attend the library conference. I probably would not have volunteered to run for office a couple of years ago if I had looked ahead to see that this conference falls on our actual anniversary. I will fulfill my obligations though. And, as it turns out, it is nice to have a reason to come back to ... read more