Day 1 - USA to Osaka, Japan

     We departed on Saturday at 11am from San Francisco and landed in Osaka on Sunday at 2:30pm. It was an 11 hour flight and Japan is 16 hours ahead so we lost a day flying there but would make it back when we returned.

     Our first stop was to redeem our Japan Rail Pass vouchers for actual passes that would allow us unlimited use of JR trains for 2 weeks. You can only get it by purchasing it at home and can't be bought once inside Japan. I held onto all the passes and we presented them at the side entrance/exit every time. At times we had to wait for others but most of the time it was pretty quick. It also makes a great souvenir!

     This was our first time in Osaka so we weren't as familiar with the area or exactly how to get to our hotel as the directions/map weren't the best. I chose our hotel based on the proximity to the JR station since we would be lugging around our suitcases and reviews from several websites. I booked two rooms with twin beds since getting a room with 2 queen beds for 4 people was nearly impossible to find. Most hotels in Japan have either single/twin beds or double/full size beds. I learned the hard way last time that two adults in a double is not comfortable unless you just lie down and don't move at all during the night. I asked for the rooms to be next to each other and the girls loved having their own room to themselves and all the toiletries that came with it.

     Our hotel gave us two goody boxes from the Glico company. The Glico man sign is famous in Osaka and I had no idea what they made or sold. I originally thought it was healthy stuff since they use a runner as their model but no. I later found out the 300 meter running man was used since their first candy contained 15.4 calories and a average man could burn that number of calories from running 300 meters. The only product I was familiar with was Pocky- which are chocolate covered biscuit sticks.

     We checked in and I didn't have anything planned for the rest of the day since it had already been a long flight and it was more important to rest up for the next day. Many business buildings in Japan have underground shops like convenience stores, banks, cafes and in our case a grocery store. We went there to get a quick bite of sandwiches, fruit and drinks before settling in. They had self check outs like back home and wasn't hard to figure out.

We watched the sunset while we ate and relaxed the rest of the night.

Jacqueline brought along stowaways in her bag.

Planning for a trip of a lifetime to Japan!

     Tony & I alternate where we go on vacation each year and it was his turn this year. He said Japan and I was so excited to come back to my favorite country! It's been a long five years since we had last gone and it would be our third time there. I always get asked if we have friends or family where ever we visit and I say no. I just want to see new places and expand my horizon. Travelling around the US doesn't give you the same experience since you know what to expect and doesn't force you out of your comfort zone. As much preparation as I do before for an international trip, I still manage to learn a lot about the country, their values and appreciate the people there.

     Our planning took on a new twist when Tony suggested we take my 2 nieces - Brittany (age 14) and Jacqueline (age 11). They are at the age where they are independent enough that we don't have to supervise them at every moment, they are good girls and we knew they would love Japan. They were so excited when we told them. I told them they had to start saving as much money as they could since they would go crazy in wanting to buy everything there, which ended up being the case.

     We had a narrow period of time to go between their school ending and our work schedules but it ended up working out. We got their parents permission and actually had to get it in writing since we were taking minors out of the country without either of their parents. It didn't end up being an issue as people assumed we were a family. 

     I started researching places to visit at the beginning of the year and knew we wanted to see some new places as well as our favorites.At a minimum, you need two weeks to get a sense of the country and even then it can feel rushed since there is so much to see and never enough time to see everything. We decided to fly out of Orange County, CA to San Francisco (avoiding LAX completely) and then to Osaka, Japan. On the return we would fly out of Tokyo and then to San Fran and ending back in OC. 

     We had the girls over the weekend before so we could go over what to expect when they got there, how to behave, what not to do, currency, what we would be doing and going over some basic phrases. I told them that their behavior would not just reflect on them or us but on all Americans/Foreigners. No pressure. Jacqueline took copious notes and they asked a lot of questions especially about how much yen they would get. Unfortunately, due to Abenomics the yen had risen against the dollar making things more expensive for us but to help them keep things simple we told them to look at prices like this: 1 US Dollar = 100 Japanese Yen.

     Our adventure together would soon begin!

Hike #2 at Mariposa Trail Loop

     I know it'a been almost a year since my last entry but I've been busier than ever. Today I went on a hike with my best friends at Laguna Wilderness Park based on Karin Klein's book, 50 Hikes in Orange County. The plan is to go through all 50 hikes. We did the Mariposa Trail Loop and based it on it being the best time to see the flowers. I also tested out my new 16-85mm lens and ended up with a lot of great photos. It was cool and overcast but it ended up being great for a hike.

We came across this beautiful plant several times along our hike. I don't know what it's called but it was amazing to see among the dry brush.

A cactus blooming.

This is the Weedi Mariposa Lily that the trail is named after and is only in bloom for 4-6 weeks in the spring. Although it wasn't a good rainy season we still managed to see a few although only one bloomed in a bush of dry brush.

Day before Cars Land opens at Disney's California Adventure

I went to Disneyland on Wednesday to try to get tickets to a special World of Color performance for annual passholders but it was sold out by the time I got there. Rather than wasting a trip there, I had my SLR camera and decided to take some pictures of California Adventure as it was going to be closed on Thursday for Media Day in anticipation of Cars Land opening on Friday. 

Being able to see what the new entrance area looked like after months of having to go around it to access the park was interesting. The area was roped off to the general public but worked out to my advantage. I love taking photos of landscapes and liked not having to worry about strangers ruining a shot by getting in the way. I knew I would never have this opportunity again.

Buena Vista Street

I love the retro look of the food stands. Mmmm...I'm getting hungry...

Starbucks is finally coming to Disney Parks!!

This quote was the inspiration that launched California Adventure

I couldn't get anywhere near Cars Land but I was able to see part of the new walkway below. 

 Cars Land side entrance by Pacific Wharf

Up close of the canyon using my 200mm lens

Beautiful flowers that I noticed on my way out. That's all folks! (For now)

Another beautiful sunset...

 Two postings in one day? It's almost 3am and I still can't sleep that's why. This week I attended a funeral service of someone I worked for years ago. It was a beautiful service and left reflecting about life in general. I decided to stroll through Fashion Island afterwards for a bit before going home and then realized the sun would be setting soon. Since last week I've been looking up at the sky to see if it's another beautiful sunset kind of day and this week was no exception. I didn't quite know where I could park and have a good view of the sunset so I turned on one street but ended up going the wrong way and no where to stop. I kept going thinking where I could go not knowing exactly how much time I had left to enjoy it. 

I ended up turning into a residential neighborhood, parked and I ran to the beach not wanting to miss a moment. I tend to take a lot of photos even within seconds of each other in case a different photo setting yields more vibrant colors or just to capture the time lapsing. I was at the beach for 30 minutes and took over 65 photos. I always have a hard time picking the "best of the best" because each photo has a unique take on capturing that moment in time.

I loved that it wasn't just a yellow and orange sunset but that the clouds were a pink hue as well.

Then the clouds became more peachy...

I loved how the light reflecting off the houses made it look like all the lights were on.

The tide started coming in which made it look like the ground was on fire.

I went home feeling happy that I experienced yet another wonderful moment that Mother Nature provided,

We interrupt this blog for a beautiful sunset...

Living relatively close to the beach, you would think I would go every once in a while but to the contrary. Since I've moved here years ago I've been at most twice in any one year. Not that the beach is bad but when you've seen clear blue warm waters in Hawaii and the Caribbean, California beaches are no match.

Last week I broke my dry spell and ventured out to the beach to view an amazing sunset. I was running errands after being bedridden for over a week due to a supposed bad cold that rendered me useless with the exception of sleeping or watching TV.

As I was running my errands, I realized that since the rain that just left an hour before that it would be an incredible sunset to photograph by the beach. I got back into my car, drove home to get my camera & drove as quickly as I could. Of course I hit every red light possible but watching the reds and oranges against the deepening sky kept me eager to see what awaited me. I reached the beach and parked my car in a red zone next to someone else who wanted to watch the sunset as well.

This was my first photo I snapped and I loved it! I didn't care that it was cold outside and didn't have a jacket on or that sand was getting inside my shoes. I was mesmerized by the beautiful sunset and the calming effect it had on me. It was over in a matter of minutes but the happy feeling stayed with me on the drive home and into the night.

Looking over Long Beach 

It was also the first day that I had my energy back and fitting that the day ended on such a great note!

Why Peru? Why anywhere?

"For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move. " - Robert Louis Stevenson

When people ask me where we are going on our next trip and I mention a foreign country, I sometimes get asked why there and I say why not? I have really loved travelling especially to foreign countries because it puts me out of my comfort zone, forces me to see things from a different perspective and appreciate what I already have. 


After coming back from Australia, I was not just physically exhausted but mentally from such a whirlwind trip. People asked me how the trip was and and where we were headed to next. I was just looking forward to getting back into the swing of things before thinking of where to go next. Once I become restless from the usual routine, that's when I look to see our next adventure will take us to.


In this case it came from an email from my friend Candice. She asked if anyone was interested in going to Peru for a possible yoga retreat/vacation. My eyes immediately lit up as Machu Picchu  was next on my list of places to go. One of the main reasons I had wanted to go to Australia was to see the Great Barrier reef as it is endangered due to climate change. Peru or specifically Machu Picchu was also on the list except endangered due to so much tourism.


Candice had her friend Amanda join us on the trip and we decided the yoga retreat and not suited for us and ended up going on a 10 day escorted tour of Peru which includes stops to Lima, Urubamba, Cuzco and Puno. This was my first trip where I didn't have to plan all aspects of the trip. This was a good and bad thing as I realized during the trip that we would have missed out on some great experiences but at the same time planning a trip is half the fun.