Luka Crawford!

Thursday, April 24

1:29pm

The absolutely beautiful

Luka Crawford

was born!!

OMEDETOU GOZAIMASU (CONGRATULATIONS)!!

Greg and Miki

-Next will be Mandy & John in May!

The Final Stretch

Almost home now!! Only about another 20 minutes!
Really almost there.........
Really really almost there..............

It's just after 1:00 pm

Saturday, April 19 and I'm back!

Atsuko isn't quite ready for a picture right now, so Heidi is sitting in on her behalf. It sure feels strange to be back in a home again. The house and town look so alien all of the sudden! It's that feeling you can only get after you've been gone for some time and in that time (long or short) many things transpired.

Well, many things did transpire over the last 17 days. Many new, many wonderful, some not so wonderful, but all priceless. I wouldn't trade the last couple of weeks, not a single day, for anything.

Thank you everyone for keeping up with my adventure. You made me feel as though I was never alone and because of YOU, I could DO IT!

Thanks everyone out on the road for all your kindness, support, and company.

Thank you Atsuko for doing this with me. I know it wasn't easy for you.

I'm gonna take a hot shower and have a nap!

See ya later

At 7:30 am the Osaka Express from Miyazaki arrived at Osaka's Nanko port. Mr. Green are almost home now.

It's been a fun and funny ferry ride from Miyazaki. I've become somewhat of an idol among several elderly women aboard this vessel. They hand me food and drink, and ask to have their pictures taken together with me! If only I was this popular with females about 3 times younger.
Seriously though, ALL the people whom I've had the great fortune of becoming acquainted with, have been lovely individuals.
Just before boarding the ferry in Miyazaki, I met Koyabayashi san. When I first caught sight of her, she was puffin' away on a cigarette. I could tell from the start that she was a strong, oppinionated, independant woman. I liked her instantly. It seems that in Miyazaki, there are no shortage of old birds like her. I met several more along the way on this geriatric ferry ride! Hords of seniors are making their way to Osaka, which is apparently quite the mecca this time of year what with it's weeping cherries at their peak.

Ahoy maties! All men on deck - thar be land me boy! It not be just any land neither. That there be WAKAYAMA KII maties!
Oh yes. Wakayama. Ohisashiburi desu ne! (long time no see). We'll be arriving at Osaka port in less than an hour.

The last ferry terminal Mr.Green and I will depart from on this two week adventure. Next stop Osaka Nanko port. From there, it's just Mr.Green and I homeward bound.

Today the sun is pumpin',the sky is bluer than blue, and I've just met two of the nicest folks I've encountered yet on my adventure. Before waking up to the beautiful sunrise and violets this morning, I thought it would be relatively easy (mentally) to get on a ferry and go home. It just figures that my last day on foriegn soil would be close to a perfect day! Oh well, I'll think of it as a warm farewell and incentive for my next adventure in life, wherever, whenever, and WHATEVER it is!
I mentioned that there were two friendly people whom I met today. There was Tom Jonesamoto, and then there was Kiyoyama san, the 70 year old cleaning lady. When I stumbled into the terminal, I was beat - not from this morning's ride, but from 15 days of living from day to day in mountains, beaches, and cities alike without a home. When I say "beat", I don't mean it in a negative or spiteful way. It's just that two weeks is probably how long it took me to get intn the daily routine of this lifestyle and those two "warm up" weeks weren't exactly easy on my body or soul. I can say with certain confidence that things would only continue to get easier and more fun from here. That being said, hand in hand with those securities would lurk predictability. Places and people could never be predictable, but the daily routine would inevitably become a ritual like anything else in life. I'm a strange per
son (in many ways!) - a meticulous, OBSESSED creature of habit in numerous regards, but also one who cherishes the notion of the unexpected.

Back to Kiyoyama san

I came into the terminal at about 10:00 this morning tired, and so crashed on one of the wooden benches inside. It didn't take but a minute or two before I was in dream land. An hour and a half later when I came to again, I was no longer alone. Now there was a sweet-looking Obasan (older lady) pushing a broom gracefully around the white tiled floor of the waiting room. She seemed to take great interest and concern in me. She asked what my story was, and I told her what I'd been up to for the past couple of weeks. Whenever Kiyoyama san asked me a question, it was because she was genuinely interested. She always listened diligently to my rambling, and had the patience of a Saint with my poor Japanese. I must have looked very worn because she showed me to the "best" bench in the room for taking a snooze.
I didn't sleep. I was writing blog entries instead. Two hours passed by quickly doing this, and suddenly the clock wasn't reading 10:00 anymore. Kiyoyama san had finished her two and a half hour shift. She came over, sat down next to me, and handed me an ice cream wrapped in a cone-type shell. I had never seen one of these before and all I kept thinking was "Ice cream? How does she know I LOVE ICE CREAM?!" Kiyoyama san had one for herself as well. We sat together and enjoyed the delicious frozen treats. Half way through eating mine, I got up and insisted on buying my friend something to drink. She picked a hot can of coffee. In Japan, you have the choice of cold or hot beverages from vending machines! Here, you can purchase almost anything imaginable from vending machines. After she had finished her ice cream and coffee, Kiyoyama san wished me well once more, quietly got up and made her way
to the door, and rode away on her own bicycle. Earlier, she told me the ride takes her 30 minutes to her house. What a tough old bird, and nothing uncommon for Japan. One of the things that has never ceased to astound me since I've been living in Japan is how active and HARD working the aged population, particularly women, are. On any given day, any time of the year, any weather condition, throughout rural and suburban Japan you'll see little old ladies well over 70 years old with their bonnets and rubber boots on, in the dirt of their hatake (vegetable garden/farm) planting, weeding, harvesting and anything else that needs doing there.
They grow the old ladies tough here, and Kiyoyama san is no exception. Make no mistake though, you'll never meet a person with a softer heart.

Well, I made it to the Miyazaki ferry terminal much sooner than I thought I would. As it turns out, I was much closer than I thought I was to the port when stopping to set up camp last night. I was only 20 miles (32 kilometers) away and it was almost completely down-hill riding.
When I arrived at the terminal there was'nt another soul around. I had Mr.Green up against a wall and was fiddling around at the bike, getting something out of a side pannier. When I turned around, I was startled to see two men smoking cigarettes immediately behind me. The older of the two asked me in English "Where are you from?". I told him I was from America but have been living in Wakayama. He just gave a quick nod and got into a car which drove off speedily. I deduced that the man's only motivation behind the inquery was to practice possibly the only English he knew, or was confident enough to use.
The other smoker walked inside the terminal after having finished his cigarette. I returned once again to whatever it was that I had been doing at my bicycle. Moments later, the man returned again. He handed me a small rectangular box. Though I immediately reccognized the small package, in my best attempt at sounding polite and moreover humble, I asked "Kore wa nan desuka?". The man just looked at me with a content smile and said "Nonde kudasai!" (Please,just drink it). In the little box is what I call a "genki drink". There are a multitude of them on the market which can be seen on their own designated display racks in any of the 5 billion convenience stores throughout Japan. They are basically concentrated caffein drinks in small glass bottles baring medical looking labels of gold, silver, and other official colors. These little drinks are popular among those with night-before hangovers o
r the exhausted who need to get through a long work day, or drive a distance. I thanked the friendly-faced man and as he got into the driver seat of the car where his daughter waited for him, he exclaimed "Mata ne!" (See you again). It was if somehow the man knew that I was nearing the end of my journey and this was his way of saying "Otsukare sama!" (Job well done!). I was moved to a great big grin which wouldn't be denied. The moment in time was perfect. I'll never forget it, or the friendly man whose face reminded me of Tom Jones.

These granite Buddha statues dressed in red even seem to be cheering on the sun!

Delicate little Violets and sphagnum moss blanket the soggy park field. They look up to the sun as if like me, to rejoice.