Mokey Island Baby!

D and cheech organized a bbq on sarushima off the coast of yokosuka.  so after a loooooong train ride i boarded the "sea friend" and made my way to monkey island:

that's the beach.  that's it.  just a tiny spot on one side of the island:

where's the rescue try-curve?

it was a very sharp and rocky beach:

the men attempt to get the fire going:

yum!  food! by the end of the day, we had about 45 peeps with us:

D vogues:

the island is small enough to explore on foot so a few of us went for a walk:

apparently this place was an old fort:

the view from the do-not-climb-on-this-structure that i flatly ignored:

lots of stairs:

it was beautiful on the other side!  much better than the beach side:

D's marine bio degree kicks in as he inspects the tide pools:

back on the beach to grab our scuba gear before  heading back to the other side of the island:

LOTS of pervy photography on the island:

D is cold and miserable:

cheech loves going a lot farther than she should:

sun scorched and exhausted, we caught the last boat back to the mainland:

look at all those hawks!

thanks for a fun day!

A day in the country

went out to gunma to visit a friend and her kid.  she drove us out to nasu to a "farm" with animals and rides and games and stuff.  great for kids!  first stop, the swings:

sakura wanted to ride a pony by herself:

arts and crafts with mama:

a long walk through the woods:

soaking our tired feet in the foot onsen:

so nice to be out of the city for a change!  the air smelled different up there:

sakura was quite happy with the finished project:

afterwards, we went back to tatebayashi where her sister and her husband were helping out with a little local matsuri.  Sakura is a completely different kid when she's around her cousins.  Yuuki is so much fun!  such a country kid.

they played games:

there's dad manning the yakisoba stand:

carrying the mini mikoshi:

yum!  shaved ice:

and the little one.  i think his name was toshi:

some REALLY bad magic:

but the kids kinda enjoyed it  anyway.  i love hanging out with little peeps.  kids take their fun so seriously.  such a change from my regular life.  Thanks for a great day!