We had one week to decide on a school, and it came down to two that he liked the most--University High in SF and College Prep in Oakland. The decision was a difficult one--he seemed to have more opportunities at College Prep--but getting there is extremely complicated from our home. In the end, he chose University High in SF. He is very excited for the opportunity, and we are fortunate to be able to make it happen. Class of 2027!!
We had another busy weekend.
On Saturday bright and early was Alaina's opening day softball parade. I again had the pleasure of riding in the back of the truck (which I am definitely getting to old for), but the girls had a lot of fun. Alaina's first game was that evening, and her team creamed their opponent 5-0, with 2 of the runs being scored by Alaina!
Also this weekend, Ethan wrapped up his basketball season. His team had a great record going into the playoffs and had a semi-finals championship game on Saturday. This is the first year that Ethan has gone back to playing basketball after 2 years out--he is finally feeling good enough to run and jump, which is awesome. Though he is a bench player, he plays with vigor and enthuysiams, and I am really proud of him for that--it take a lot to play with much better kids, but he never seemed to get discouraged, and every time he has been out on the court he has given his all.
Anyway, the team lost in a heartbreaking 45-43 loss. Which did mean we did NOT have the finals game on Sunday, which was really ok.
Anyhow, proud of these guys, especially given the athletic talent that they inherited from me, ha!
Well, this has been one of the wettest winters that we have ever had in the Bay Area and Sierra Mountains. Since we have gotten back from Japan, it basically has been raining non-stop. Up in Tahoe, we have about 20 FEET of snow on the ground, and it is the 4th snowiest winter since the 1950s.
With the snow, there have been many issues with roof collapses, and with all the weather we have been unable to head up to the cabin to make sure things are ok. We are hoping that our steeply sloped roof is functioning well!
Meanwhile back in Marin, the creeks are roaring, and trees are down. Check out this one that we saw while out walking yesterday-yikes!
This year for ski week we took a trip to a place I have always wanted to visit: Japan! We bought our tickets months ago when a new discount airline called Zipair started service between San Jose and Tokyo. We were worried that the airline would not be good, but actually had a pleasant experience and both our flights were on-time.
In Japan, we first spent 4 nights in Tokyo. Tokyo is such a massive city, and we barely scratched the surface in our short visit. First we headed to the Sensoji temple, where Ethan enjoyed picking a fortune, and we saw some early blooming plum trees.
That day, we also visited a "rabbit cafe"--in Japan, there are all these animal cafes where you can pay a small cover fee and hang out with different animals. Obviously because of Alaina we chose a Rabbit one--but they also have owls, pigs, hedgehogs, otters--the choices are endlesss! This was a highlight of the trip for Alaina for sure.
On our second day, we visited the Meiji-jingu temple, which was in a massive park, and enjoyed shopping the rest of the day. Shopping was another favorite activity of Alaina's-they have all these cute shops with cartoon characters, like Hello Kitty and Miffy the Bunny. She was in heaven.
Our final day in Tokyo, we checked out the fish market, as well as the World War II museum, which was a fascinating perspective on the war. We also headed to the top of the Tokyo government metropolitan building for sunset--and really got to appreciate the endless Tokyo skyline.
The following day, we got to take the Shinkansen, or Japanese bullet train to Kyoto. Ethan has been interested in taking this train since he read about it in an "All About Trains" book he had as a toddler. And it did not disappoint. So fast!
Upon arriving in Kyoto we headed to Fushimi Inari Shrine. This shrine has tori gates that go up a mountain--it is really beautiful and a nice hike too! The top had lovely views of Kyoto, which is a valley that kind of reminded me of Silicon Valley.
We stayed in a really cool airbnb in Kyoto--a very old, but redone traditional Japanese home. The table and chairs were leg-less and we slept on mats on the floor. One of the neatest airbnbs ever!
The following day was unfortunately rainy. We spent the morning shopping and then took the kids to haircuts. In the afternoon, I took the kids to an "all you can eat snack cafe", which was Ethan's highlight of the trip. With a small cover charge, we had access to all sorts of Japanese snacks and Candy--all we could eat--and video games for one hour. We definitely got our money's worth, ha ha--this place is not designed for Americans!
Our last full day in Kyoto, we headed to a reserve where we got to see some snow monkeys. They even let you feed them, from a special caged area (the humans are in the cage, ha ha). We then took a short walk through a bamboo forest, which was beautiful. In the afternoon it started to snow, but we headed out to see Kinkaku-ji, a golden Shrine, which was very beautiful. We ended the day with Jason heading to a traditional Japanese bath, and the kids and I did some shopping before heading to dinner.
Our hotel that night was a traditional Japanese Ryokan. We had some issues with the kids, as apparently I had not put their ages on the reservation and so their dinner and beds were not included. We did get it all sorted out, but I was a little soured on the place. After dinner, we divided up and headed to the onsen (hot springs tubs)--which were separated by gender and required bathing in the nude. The kids were not big fans.
Our final day, we headed back to Tokyo and Narita Airport--we took off at 4pm Monday, but landed at 8am Monday--backwards time travel!
Overall an amazing trip! I was struck by the cleanliness of everywhere in Japan-yet there were not trash cans on the streets at all! Also the fact that the culture seemed very lonely/isolated--many people dined alone, and meals always seemed rushed. And rules were a big deal--everyone just follows them. Fascinicating. For sure, one week was not nearly enough, and I would love to head back again in the future to check out other parts of Japan.
