Emma and Henry went on their first fishing expedition this year. Granpa and Henry had gone on a special shopping trip to prepare and came back with a fishing hat and a fancy Spiderman rod. After practicing his casting at the farm the previous day, Henry and Emma were ready to rock.
Our last visit to Broad River Bison was an exciting one. The bison were grazing in a brand new pasture! On previous visits we’d seen them in nearly-bare pasture. With two pastures available rotation is possible, which gives the grass a chance to regrow. The gorgeous green hillside made for some dramatic photos. (Patchy cloud cover helped, too!)
At the end of December we headed south to San Diego for a long weekend in celebration of our 12th anniversary. Our destination: the San Diego Wild Animal Park. We’d talked about going for years but never made the trip. With three kids it seemed like the perfect spot to celebrate our anniversary family-style.
The Hilton in Shinjuku is just blocks from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government complex. The complex is, to say the least, quite an impressive set of structures in a city filled with them.
I had a few more Japanese delicacies on my last trip Japan that I wanted to make sure and capture. Kyoto was fairly sedate, with another trip for kushiage being the highlight. I think I’m growing fond of shrimp heads, honestly.
Just on the edge of town in Kyoto is Arashiyama. The touristy prefecture is famous for cherry blossoms in spring and brilliant orange maples in the fall. The timing wasn’t right for either but no matter. We were there for the monkeys.
The last day of my 2007 trip to Japan we visited the city of Nara just to the south of Kyoto. Nara is famous for two things: Todai-ji and the many tame deer that roam the city.
You may be thinking, “Fushimi Inari whaaa?” but I can assure you that you know exactly what I’m talking about. If you’re ever in Kyoto, definitely visit Fushimi. If you’ve ever in Fushimi definitely skip the sparrow. You’ll thank me on both counts.
During a visit to Kyoto in 2007 I had the chance to tour the Imperial Palace. These grounds were where the emperor lived until the government moved to Tokyo in the late 19th century. (See photos of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo here.)
Our last day in San Francisco was, unfortunately, a short one. Our only mission today: find The Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory in China Town.