Even after 16 days in the Grand Canyon, Margot asked if there were any cool hikes we could do on our way home from Flagstaff. So we did a kind of really silly long way home extension and hiked Wire Pass Gulch in Grand Escalante
I have a bit of a reputation amongst some friends for having somewhat ambitious travel arrangements. But even by my standards, today felt a little crazy. We woke at 4:45 a.m. Saturday Japan time. Took Metro about an hour to see the tuna auction and
For anyone going to Japan and considering TeamLabs. Teamslabs Planets in Tokyo is a crowded, touristy cash grab, but a well done one and probably worth a visit. TeamLabs in Osaka is a touristy, crowded cash grab, and kinda boring and I’d give it a
Today we did a Samurai and Ninja class at the Samurai “museum”. It was a little cheesy and kind of expensive for what it was, but good fun anyway. Margot had long been interested in ninjas and similar, so she was particularly excited, but we
Kim and her mom both like matcha. Kim had expressed an interest in learning about how to make it properly, so I signed us all up for a class. It was not a formal tea ceremony, but just an informal and fun class, well done
I’ve been lucky enough to do a fair bit of travelling. I’ve seen a number of tourist attractions that I didn’t get. I think “really busy crosswalk” might be on the short list of tourist attractions I most don’t get
There are drink vending machines everywhere in Japan. Even in some surprisingly out of the way spots. But fewer ” odd” vending machines than I expected. Margot was excited to get the toy she wanted (1/4 odds) at a train station vending machine. Today we
I’ve been enjoying our Asia trip, but it’s definitely been a fair bit city focused. I was seriously feeling the need to “touch grass”, so I signed the girls and myself* for a half day trip rafting. It was about 45 minutes by train outside
Taiwan->Korea->Japan this trip. Inexpensive -> A little more Expensive -> most expensive Not very touristy-> some tourists -> Tons of tourists* *I’m sure there are some less crowded/touristy parts of Japan, but comparing the capital of Taiwan, the capital of Korea, and not-the-capital of Japan,
Contributing to the delinquency of the famous bowing deer at the deer park in Nara, Japan. Margot loved it. Hazel has stacks of empathy and was upset by the poor behavior of some of the tourists, but she did enjoy feeding the deer.
We had a super busy day today. I found another workshop that Kim, her mom, and the girls really enjoyed. But it meant a kind of early start to get the train from Nara to Kyoto. Dropped our luggage off and went straight to a
Kim’s mom is a longtime devout Buddhist, so I’ve been trying to include temples as we tour around. This was a particularly pretty site in a national park above Seoul.
Neat hike to see part of a 11km fortress wall that was built in 1711. Just outside Seoul. Hazel was making up hilarious haikus the whole hike. We had hiked up a pretty steep trail, then it joined a road, which the girls found a
View from our room tonight. I don’t think I’ve ever been somewhere with as many butterflies as Taiwan. Ecuador might have been close, but I’m sitting catching up on some accounting stuff for another trip just watching dozens and dozens and dozens of butterflies outside
Taipei 101 was once the tallest building in the world. It doesn’t have that title anymore, but still pretty impressively tall.
Margot might have a full blown gambling addiction from the claw machines by the time we return.
Most all museums and such are closed on Monday here, and since DIY workshops have been a good opportunity for the girls to practice their mandarin, we signed up for another. This time was leather working. Margot made a super cute over the shoulder purse,
I wouldn’t call it a must visit, it was kind of expensive and crowded. But we had a good time and it does make for some fun photos.
We rented some bikes for a hot but very enjoyable ride on the bike path around Sun Moon lake. Had a great time. Margot was thrilled to see wild monkeys!
Night markets were one of our favorite parts of Taiwan, Margot was thrilled to get this duck. She wanted to do the game, but I told her her odds of winning weren’t that good, so she just negotiated with the guy (in Mandarin!) and bought
Toroko Gorge is a national park on the east side of Taiwan that was heavily impacted by the 2024 earthquakes that also killed 19 people in the region. They are still recovering and rebuilding and a lot of it is still closed, but we enjoyed
