Weekend Trip to Sasebo

We decided to spend the weekend in Sasebo, where there is a small Navy base. I hear lots of people talk about it, and ITT offers trips down there, so we thought we would go check it out. We liked it, but as you will find out, it provided us a little more excitement than we intended.

As soon as Charlie got home from work on Friday, I had the car loaded and fueled up, and off we went. We weren't exactly loving the directions provided, but we did make it there so no worries. I couldn't stop myself from taking pictures of these girls walking home from school. They kept looking my way and smiling, so I snapped the picture. I love how the Japanese wear uniforms and those back traditional backpacks.
We stopped at a rest area on the way down to stretch our legs and get a snack. We opted for ice cream. I love how you see ice cream vending machines (all sorts of vending machines) all over the place.
You could also purchase it by the cone there, but we passed. Zach was quite interested in the display though.
As you can see, I had the camera out and was snapping away. Clara Grace was being a bit of a grumpy girl from time to time. I wanted to take a picture of her in that state, but she quickly put the book she is reading up. What a stinker! I did have fun messing with her though.
Once we made it there, we let the kids burn some energy at the playground of the Navy Lodge where we stayed.

After the kids played a bit, we went and ate at Popeye's Chicken at the bayside food court. Then we went back to the room where the kids got baths and we were gearing up for bed. The routine was running a little later than usual due to the trip and all so it was already after 7pm when I am getting ready to put Zach to bed. Clara and Zach started playing, which included her running to the bathroom. No sooner had I told them to stop, than Zach was trying to turn into the bathroom when his head made contact with the door frame which was made of metal and not rounded at all. He immediately started crying and I scooped him up. Clara Grace was all sorts of sorry at the time. I was trying to calm him when I turned him to see if he had a bump. That was when I saw all the blood. Then Clara Grace lost her composure so we were dealing with two extremely upset kiddos. Charlie took over with Zach and quickly determined stitches were needed. So, we tried to clean up Zach as good as possible by removing his pajama top and putting on a t-shirt, and had CG quickly put on some clothes and off we went to urgent care. We were there for a bit, and were given three options. Choice A: two staples which would be quick but painful B: stitches, which would be worse or C: clean the wound, shave the area and use glue. We opted for choice C, and doctor said that would be fine so long as Zach cooperated, otherwise he would go ahead and do the staples. Zach was quite the trooper, although he did cry a bit while they were cleaning and applying the glue. Charlie held him down for that while I had CG in the lobby. Luckily she was much calmer at this point. I think we finally got Zach to sleep a little after 10pm and of course he woke up super early. I snapped a picture of the bandage the next day.
We didn't do as much as I thought we might, but we still had a nice time. We did quite a bit of shopping at the NEX. The kids had a pretty good time and we were able to eat at Chile's which was great for me. Below are a few more pictures taken there during our stay. We were about ready to throw it in and return Saturday but decided to leave Sunday morning. Overall, Zach handled the 4 hour plus trip rather well. Saturday night I got very little sleep though. He took a nice nap today when we got back and I'm imagining he'll sleep really well tonight.


This ray (and many more) were right below us. The kids had a great time checking them out as well as the two jellyfish we saw right there at the harbor.

It was a great little weekend trip and makes me feel quite confident Zach will do well in a few weeks when we visit Tokyo! Hopefully we can avoid trips to the ER though.

Perspective

I love being exposed to Clara Grace's perspective. She is such a sensitive soul and sees something wonderful about nearly everything. She definitely has a flare for the dramatic. To put it mildly, we are as different as night and day. Granted, I think I'm optimistic but sometimes I forget to slow down and smell the roses.

With that in mind, I'll share a moment from last night. She was asked to tidy her room before getting into bed. After a few minutes, she came excitedly running into the room announcing she had something for me. I must admit I expected a delay tactic. She then carefully hands me the slip of paper below.

I'm not sure what you are thinking right now, but I was thinking, "Oh, how nice, a scrap sheet of paper." I'm so glad I didn't reveal my thoughts and waited to see what she would say. She followed with, "It is a strip of friendship! With people around the world!" After thanking her, she gave me a hug and a kiss and flitted back out of the room as quickly as she breezed in. I just love that she sees value in everything.

Which leads me to the other thing she did that further illustrates how seriously she takes everything. She had a new friend come over to play yesterday. When it was time for her friend to leave, Clara came out to announce that she had given a few items away so that Olivia would remember her time spent here. I casually asked what the items were just to make sure she wasn't giving away something inappropriate. It turns out she gave her a little plastic stag beetle, to remember her meeting of Marty, Clara's beetle. I must admit I chuckled to myself and wondered if Olivia thought Clara was a bit batty. I mean, first Clara has a beetle and now she is sending her off like they'll never see each other again.

I wonder what dramatic revelation she'll share today! She definitely helps me see things in a fresh way.

Yasaka Camping Village

We had talked about going camping for the holiday weekend, but the weather just isn't ideal for camping. Yesterday it rained quite a bit, but today was a rather nice day. We decided to pack a lunch and head out to Yasaka Camping Village for a picnic and to let the kids frolic around the water. We really enjoyed it and are considering camping here when we do go camping. It was really a nice scenic ride to get there. When we arrived, there was a 500 Yen parking fee and a 500 Yen fee to eat at the picnic table. With the current exchange rate, that is over $10 combined. Rather pricey, but still very nice. They told us what table to eat at even. We stopped at You Me Town (sort of like a Japanese Super Walmart...there is a full grocery store plus a nice department store where you in addition to several restaurants) and added sushi and chicken on a stick from the grocery store to our sandwiches and chips for the picnic. Charlie took a picture of the sushi.
After eating, we went down to the water where the kids attempted to skip rocks and enjoy the water. It was at this time that we glanced back up and saw a massive black crow sitting on our picnic table, going to town on the chicken on a stick package. I had closed the plastic container and all other foods but had left it sitting on the table. Anyway, I ran him off and noticed he had pierced the plastic and scattered the leftover chicken. I packed it all away quickly and we had to put the bag back in the car because they were not giving up. You might recall the story I shared about one of Charlie's bike rides when they stopped at a 7-11 for a sandwich and a black crow came swooping down to take it from his hand. Yikes!
We then moved up a little and let the kids play at the stream. They loved it and were able to take off their shoes to really enjoy the experience. Zach seemed a little hesitant at first to enter the water, but really got into it in no time.


After we finished up, we drove around the area. This is a picture of the houses right up from the campsite. This is about as rural as we've seen out here. It was beautiful.
This house had rice paddies all around it. The Japanese are very efficient and maximize space.


This was returning from the seeing the houses above. The campsite was on the other side of the water from where we picnicked. This is a shot from the campsite looking at where we ate.
Just up the road from Yasaka Camping Village is Three Peaks, which is popular hiking area. Just before you begin up a trail, there are several signs including this one that warns you of bears. Good to know!
This is the picture of Three Peaks. Charlie and I are planning to hike this, but will have to find a sitter for Zach and Clara.
As we were leaving, I spotted this really neat display and Charlie did a quick u-turn so we could take pictures. It isn't very often you see rocks in Japanese attire.

We really enjoyed it and I'm sure we'll go back. We are still considering other camping sites.