Posterous theme by Cory Watilo
Ashley and Zach Vander Meeden

Walkabouting in the Land Down Under

Greetings from Australia! We have been here for 8 wonderful days so far and have another 6 to go. While it has been mostly cloudy everyday we have been here, it has been a perfect temperature of about 70-80 degrees the whole time we've been here. I'll give everyone the quick rundown of what we've been up to since we touched down.

We got in last week Sunday after a short little jaunt across the ocean and had no time to muck around as Pearce, Jacqui and the girls took us on a short little hike in the national park near their house. The following day, while everyone else went to work and school, we hopped a train to Sydney to get acquainted with the city. There was this big event going on in the States that only a handful of people seemed to care about here. The culmination of American sporting life, the Super Bowl. This was the first time in years, possibly ever, I didn't watch the game, although we did pop our heads in a few pubs on George St. to check the score. But it was quite refreshing to be removed from the craziness that surrounds the over-hyped event.

After grabbing some lunch, we meandered down to Circular Quay (pronounced Key for all you Yanks) for some great views of the Harbour and the Opera House. We proceeded our aimless walking in the Royal Botanical Gardens where after a few more hours we decided to call it quits and head home.

Day 3 consisted of going to Bondi Beach for some fun in the cloudy sun. Unfortunately, we didn't heed the Aussie's warnings about the Southern Hemisphere sun being a little more potent than the North and got fried. Excitement for the day came when I went to go jump in the ocean for a bit. The swimming area was a little ways down from where Ash and I had been laying and I had been gone about 10 minutes or so when right in front of Ashley a woman surfer comes out of the water screaming. The surfer had a 3-5 inch gash in her leg from where the fin on her board had caught her. A quick thinking local sprinted to the lifeguard station where they were able to calm the woman down and help her out. Shortly behind the lifeguard was Australia's favorite beach rescue program, Bondi Beach Rescue. With camera in hand, they interviewed everyone involved. If you're watching at home look for Ashley looking pretty in the background.

On Wednesday, Pearce had the day off and took Ash and I up to Pittwater Bay where we decided to try our hand at kayaking. There were some gorgeous views of the bay with beautiful houses and great natural scenery. We stopped at a small beach where we saw a 3-4 foot goanna lizard creeping around a tree. On the way back to the launching point, Ashley and I decided that Pearce was leading us astray as he usually does, and proceeded to get lost in the bay. Unfortunately, he was correct this time.

The next day we woke up early and hopped a train to the Blue Mountains where we carried our baggage on the Prince Henry Cliff Walk. This walk had glorious views of the Leura cascades and the Jamison Valley (which looks to be a lush Grand Canyon). We ended the 4 hour hike at Echo Point which gave us amazing views of the valley as well as great photos of the Three Sisters rock formation.  The night was spent at a quaint B&B in Katoomba where we enjoyed some good food and the evening and a delicious birthday breakfast for Ashley the following morning.

For her 28th birthday, we took the train 2 stops and did a 6K hike in an hour and 45 minutes out of fear of missing the next train. Wentworth Falls was well worth the hike with its breathtaking views and amazing rock formations and falls. Back in Sydney, we dropped the girls off at their grandparents and the 4 adults went out for a nice Sushi dinner followed by Pearce leading us astray (like he normally does) on an hour long hike that should have taken 20 minutes to a local brewery that didn't really exist anymore. Well played brother.

Saturday and Sunday was spent in Hunter Valley, one of Australia's wine areas. Good wine, hopping kangaroos, nice accommodations and a delicious dinner made for a relaxing weekend. We liked the kangaroos so much that we had some kangaroo steaks for dinner back at home (tastes like a very good steak).

Pic 1: Sydney Harbour
2: Bondi Beach

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The Japanese Wedding Explained

I will start by saying we were incredibly blessed to join Jin and Kazuko for their wedding in Yokohama, Japan. We were the only ones that flew from the U.S. (probably because I kinda self invited us "Oh we are coming!") Everyone was incredibly gracious to us and though we never knew what they were saying, we could tell that they were very grateful we had traveled so far to celebrate with them all.

We started the morning by making the trek over from our current hotel to the beautiful and mightily tall, Landmark Tower. This tower is something like 971 ft tall and has a hotel, huge mall, restaurants, businesses etc. all inside it. When we checked into our hotel room we received (as Jin had excitedly warned us about) a giant metal old school key to get into our room. We ran into Jin's sister, Lisa in the hallway and she ushered us into the "family" room. And the bowing starts. I had obviously met Jin's parents before but even still, with Zach and I there we were introduced to grandparents, aunts, uncles, Kazuko's father, friends and more. Each time we went through the awkward for us but enjoyable process of trying to figure out when to stop bowing. Also I realized that we have ingrained in us the desire to shake hands with new folks we meet so this always let to confusion. Bow, bow, bow, bow.

After hanging out with the fam for awhile and drinking some cherry blossom tea, we were finally kicked out to join the "friend" room. We hung out here with two of Jin's friends from Japanese school in San Jose, CA (who both now live in Japan). They, along with Lisa, would be our occasional translators. They definitely cam in handy when one of the women who works for the hotel thought my gigantic camera bag was a piece of luggage and was suggesting we take it to our room (I think that was roughly what was said).

Finally we knew the wedding was getting close to starting when from the friend room we could hear Jin's loud distinctive laugh out in the hallway. We all walked out and were led into a Shinto Shrine (I can describe it like this because I don't know better and probably no one else reading this does either). Jin and Kazuko were dressed in traditional wedding kimonos sitting in the middle of the room while the rest of us sat around the edges of the room. Zach described the ceremony as "very Catholic" though much shorter. Stand up, sit down. The room was incredibly quiet and we got some more bowing practice. At the end we took a shot of sake out of a small bowl which Zach expected to be "holy water."

From here we all went up to the 68th floor of this huge tower to the reception. This took place in a beautiful French restaurant with incredible views. I finally saw Mt. Fuji in the distant (with one failed trip before of never seeing it). You could also see Tokyo and all of Yokohama. Amazing! And thus began the reception. I must admit I was quite scared for Jin's music choices (which were songs from video games, like Mario's underwater theme song) but in the beautiful place, with the beautiful view, and such a wonderful celebration, it all seemed to make sense. The emcee explained this and that (all in Japanese) even giving a play by play sports run down on Jin and Kazuko, heights, weights, background etc (I'm not sure about the weight but this is what Lisa told me, so I will believe her) Apparently he was very funny though we wouldn't know. We just went with the flow.

About now I made my first appearance on the wedding video. Usually I avoid these. If I have been to your wedding you probably don't have me on it, though I may love you, this is really not my thing. But, when you can't really communicate, and when you really only know how to say "yes" in another language and not "no" you tend to get roped into things you wouldn't usually do. So Zach and I each gave a little congrats on the video and thought that was the end of that. The reception continued and the food was amazing. Of course the menu explaining what to expect was in Japanese and French, if only it had been Spanish! We enjoyed carpaccio, wonderful raw fish, crab and asparagus, prime rib, and plenty of dessert. Zach and I both agree probably the fanciest wedding meal we've had.

Throughout the meal we also discovered an apparent Japanese tradition, both sides of the family love to pour you alcohol. They are thankful you are there and this gesture is a sign (all that I gather of course) that they are glad to share with you. So, first Kazuko's grandfather came over to fill us up on beer. Then it was her Dad with wine I believe. Then it was Jin's sister Lisa with more "overflowing" beer. Then it was Jin's parents. And at some point I had accumulated 5 different types of drinks in front of my plate. I had a gin & tonic (which was my own fault since I ordered it before this all started), white wine, red wine, beer, and champagne. Eventually I had to come up with a game plan to slowly work through these drinks, starting with the smallest amounts first and working back till I eventually finished my first drink, the gin & tonic.

After most of the speeches had ended, Jin stood up to give his. I must set this up with we have been listening to all Japanese for a couple hours now with only a few translations slipped in here and there. So Jin continues to speak in Japanese giving his speech. And just as it as clearly nearing the end ... Jin looks over at us and says in loud clear English "And our Amazing Fucking Friends!" Zach and I nearly fell out our seats. What did he just say!? In front of his parents, her parents, grandparents, and more! Just as Jin, he said what he wanted to say, and it was hilarious.

After this the eating continued and Zach slipped out to hit up the restroom. While he was gone, the emcee came over to me and handed me a microphone trying to prompt me to give a speech. "Stand up" he said. So, though I had never given a speech at anyone's wedding, I stood up, and spoke English congratulating Jin and Kazuko and thanking them for sharing this event with us. I survived. When Zach returned, I gave him the "death" look of "I can't believe you left me for that." Lucky for me, fate was on my side and about 10 minutes later the emcee returned to make Zach stand up and speak as well. We also both made 2nd appearances on the video (not sure how the video guy forgot the English speakers had already spoken).

The reception ended with Jin and Kazuko dancing together. (Oh yea, they had changed into a snazzy white pimp suit, and a beautiful white wedding dress somewhere during the reception).  The reception ended on a hilarious note with Kazuko and her dad dancing to "Let It Be" by the Beatles. She was beautiful. The hilariousness comes in the fact that her dad was obviously confused on quite how to dance with such a big dress and that during the dance he was flashing peace signs to everyone. Good times!

We met up with Jin and Kazuko and friends for after reception beers and settled into our amazing hotel room for our last night of sleep in Japan. What a great experience!!

Kamakura

Tuesday began with some pastries and coffee from the joint right around the corner. We then meandered down to the Yamashita Park where we killed some time admiring the gardens and statues before hopping on our boat cruise of the bay. Most people go on this cruise to get a really nice meal. We however, just hopped up on the sun deck (even though there was no sun) and just lounged around for a few hours. The funny thing was that we were the only 2 people on the deck. We could have chose this for the relaxing atmosphere, but I think we did it for the $3 ticket.
 
After the cruise, we met up with Jin and made our way to the Ramen museum. This facility brings together all the different types of ramen in Japan in one place. It also is decorated in a 1950's style which was pretty neat. We stopped at few places and enjoyed the grub from that region.
 
Ashley and I then mistakenly tried to squeeze one more activity into the day and we headed to Kamakura to see the Great Buddha. Kamakura was a very nice town with a lot of small shops. Since the buddha was about 2 km from the train station, we figured we would walk. Of course, it started raining again which added to oncoming disappointment. Finally we reached the park where the buddha was. As we approached, we thought nothing of the fact that it may be closed. As we approached, we quickly realized that we had missed it by 10 minutes. Ashley suggested maybe we could see it from the outside. Now I had no idea what to expect, but as I walked closer to the gate all of the sudden I saw a giant head and lo' and behold, there he was. A 37 foot bronze statue of the buddha sitting modestly in a park. I would put it on par with the statue of David as far as things you come upon and are somewhat blown away by.
 
Alas we made it back to Yokohama and found some reasonably priced, yet delicious sushi.

Konnichiwa

We woke up the morning of the 23rd in Tokyo around 4:30 AM and absolutely could not fall asleep. The big problem was that we had another 2 hours before breakfast was open at our hotel. Nonetheless, we took our time getting ready, went to a great breakfast buffet and then wandered about the streets of Tokyo. We made our way to the Imperial Palace only to find that everything was closed. Ashley apparently knew this but failed to mention it. However, the park and the moat that surrounded it was definitely a nice activity since it was raining lightly the whole day.  In the afternoon we hopped aboard a train and went to Yokohama. Yokohama is a port town and also where our friend Jin grew up and also where his wedding will be. The highlight of the day was going to Chinatown, which is incredibly clean and well-maintained, and having a wonderful meal. Unlike San Francisco's Chinatown, this was a place where I could visit every night. And the great thing is that it is right around the block from hotel.
 
That is all the writing I have now. We can't upload pictures now, but hopefully later. Stay tuned for the boat cruise and the Great Buddha debacle.
 
 

Mr. Roboto

Greetings from Tokyo! We arrived yesterday (or was it 2 days ago US time, we're all confused on the time change) without any troubles. Besides the length of the flight, our flight from LA to Tokyo on Korean Air was great. We got to choose between about 20 different movies as well as play games, listen to music and many other things on the screen that was in front of us. That coupled with some good food on the flight made for a relaxing flight.
 
After meeting up with our friend Jin (who's getting married in a few days and is also our unofficial tour guide/translator), we got checked into our hotel and went out for a delicious meal just down the street from our hotel. It was in a basement of a building, but the restaurant was very well designed with ponds, bridges, neat lanterns and more. Jin compared it to an old-style Japanese village. The other cool thing about the restaurant was the efficiency of the place. We had a call button at our table and whenever we needed our waiter, we would simply press the button and no more than 15 seconds later he would appear. It was glorious! We also practice some Japanese during the meal. Ashley wanted no part of it but I was getting into it a lot. By the end of the meal, I even felt confident enough to order a beer in Japanese.
 
We are off to Yokohama today (the 2nd largest city in Japan). Until later.

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Two more 14ers: Grays and Torreys

So a couple of weeks ago, we were treated with a visit from Ashley's dad, Greg, who was determined to show us young whippersnappers that the baby boomer generation isn't just all about golfing and creating ass-grooves in the lazy boy. The 3 of us woke up at the brisk hour of 5 AM and drove from Ft Collins near the town of Silver Plume where we cruised up the muddy, pothole filled dirt road just off I-70 to the trailhead. When we arrived, we were slightly discouraged by the gray skies above, but decided that since we didn't hear any thunder, we'd push on.

Being the good son-in-law I am, as we hiked I pushed ahead (sometimes too far ahead) of Greg and Ashley to make sure the trail was clear while Ashley hung back to make sure Greg was still breathing. As we climbed higher and higher up Mt. Grays, it started to snow and sleet on us. Being above 13,000 ft without a place to run for cover may have made us retreat, if not for our stubborness to get to the top of at least 1 mountain. Nonetheless, we made it to the chilly, windy and very cloudy top where we unfortunately could not see anything beyond 30 ft. As Ashley and I sat huddled on the top waiting for Greg (who would arrive shortly thereafter), we decide to climb down the saddle towards Mt. Torreys and see if the skies cleared up. It was a good thing we did. By the time we reached the saddle and began our ascent to Torreys, the sky had cleared up and the top of Torreys was actually quite enjoyable.

Enjoy the pics. Keep in touch. Come out and hike a 14er with us. If Greg can do it, so can you.

1. Greg's expression throughout the day  2. A little bit of scenery appears  3. on top of Grays  4. the cloudy trail toward Torreys  5. Scenery  6. On top of Torreys with Grays behind us.


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