Jeff's Log ~ Sunday, June 8th, 2008

34 33.445N 135 00.738E Awaji Island, Japan

Yesterday was a fun filled day for our new guests and myself. We spent the first couple hours walking to the post office to get more yen, and then grocery shopping. The grocery shopping with the kids was fun. I think that we circled every aisle in the store four times. Then we walked back to the boat carrying our loot. As the groceries were being stowed down below, Mark and I prepared to cast off and head to Awaji for the day’s adventure.

We arrived there a couple of hours later, about 1330, I think. The marina is pretty small, and we tied up to a floating dock that is parallel to the sea wall. After registering, the attendant called over to the Weston Hotel, and their bus came and picked us up. The Weston is not only a hotel, it is a complex of gardens and fountains, with lots of reflecting pools, the bottoms of which have thousands of large shells embedded in the concrete. The grounds of the resort border on a national park. Brad and Michelle took us to lunch, then Mark headed back to the boat, and I, accompanied them to the national park. It is early in the season, so a lot of the flower beds had just been planted, and some were just being cultivated. It was still quite lovely with millions of Hydrangeas just beginning to bloom.

There were two amusement parks for the kids, and they had a ball. In the first one, the smaller of the two, the slide had rollers instead of the smooth surfaces to which we are accustomed. Taylor talked me into going down that slide, and it was fun, and very fast. The second play area was very large, and had a big slide with a couple of banked turns with retaining walls. Taylor went first, I followed him, and Gillette followed me. I was going very fast, but my comparatively large mass caused me to get up into the wall in the turns, and the speed was scrubbed away. Gillette caught up with me, and had just a great time with her feet against my back. A child’s laughter is such an enjoyable sound. We hit the bottom, and kind of scrambled, with her giggling the whole time. She is a little cutie.

It was nearing closing time, so we began strolling back towards the hotel. Along the way, there were many very scenic spots and lots of pictures were taken. While crossing the bridge to the marina, there was a Sea Eagle riding the air currents and hovering overhead. I love watching large birds of prey as they glide. The action of their tail feathers and wings are amazing to see, and the bird remained almost directly above us at about twenty feet in altitude for quite a while. There was just a little too much motion for my phone to get a good picture. As soon as I get in a big city, I will get a new camera. The day ended with some light snacks while watching a movie, and I must say that I did enjoy being with the kids all day. They are really well mannered and respectful, and I really like the way that Taylor, who is ten, watches out for and helps his sister Gillette, who is six. He is a gentleman.