The Archive

Okay, so hear me out. Yes, we found a German brew pub and yes, we ate lunch there. It might seem questionable to eat German food in Japan, a country known for its delicious, umami-rich cuisine. How...

The canal was beautiful It had lovely copper railings that had aged to a gorgeous patina. I couldn’t help wondering if that material would have lasted in our area; not because of the weather, altho...

We spent a lovely day in Otaru, a small seaside port town about an hour’s train ride from Sapporo. The train carriages weren’t that crowded, but Casey and I still didn’t get a seat. Fortunately, th...

Otaru, being right on the water, is known for its seafood. Casey, being Casey, wanted lots of it. As we headed to the shopping area, Casey spotted a BBQ place that advertised grill-it-yourself seaf...

We headed down to the canal and Sakaimachi-hondori Street, the main tourist shopping area. It was a warm, sunny day but the breeze kept things cool enough. We found interesting sights along the way...

Don’t touch the fruit, especially the melons. We’ve noticed this each time we’ve come to Japan, starting in 2018 when Anna was still a child and actually did touch the fruit. The stall lady was not...

A Tuesday morning shopping trip at the konbini (convenience store). We were looking for breakfast, which had been consisting of onigiri or cold noodles and canned cold brew coffee. Anna admired the in

We arrive a few minutes early to the class and decided to use one of Japan’s ubiquitous vending machines for a quick drink. These are super convenient, especially in the 90F* heat. The only catch is t

The first stop was at an izakaya (the Japanese version of a tapas bar) that specializes in yakitori. My plate had grilled mushrooms, asparagus, and shisito peppers, although it’s more typically meat-b

Our Airbnb is large by Japanese standards and very quaint. I am happy that we have a washing machine, although no dryer means that we are hanging clothes on the balcony. Fortunately, the balcony is fa

One view from our hotel, Almont Niporri. We have a corner room, so there’s another side of windows.

Anna’s postcard from the JAL flight crew❤️

Ignore the sixth man in the background!

Brunch on Sunset! Met a lovely chatty lady at a neighboring table who bought us a drink. Profession of said lady is up in the air.

Vegetarian ramen with extra shrooms!

We are at the airport now in the Finnair lounge. Our flight leaves at 7:45 am, and we have several connections to make.

Friday the 16th: We took a ferry to Helsinki for the final city of our trip. The ride was fairly short—just about 2.5 hours. It was quite a madhouse getting on board; lots of people trying to get on a

Thursday morning—back to Kompressor for breakfast. It was even busier than the day before; we were lucky to get a table. Anna had the strawberry jam pancakes, I had blueberry and quark, and Casey had

We made it to Estonia! Our ferry got in around 10:00am on Wednesday, so we had a few hours to kill before our flat was ready.

Tuesday, August 13th: We headed back to Stockholm to catch our overnight ferry to Estonia. Anna’s waiting patiently while we “get organized” at Stockholm Central.

The next day we laced up our walking shoes and headed out for some sight seeing. Like many college towns, this one has its share of bikes.

On Sunday we took the train to Uppsala, which is about 30 minutes (by train) north of Stockholm. It’s a city that’s been described as the Oxford of Sweden; there’s a university, cathedral, and lots of

We had lunch at the vegetarian restaurant in the museum. This is carrot “pasta” with hazelnuts and brown butter. It was surprisingly filling.

Next stop: Sandhamn, where the “jet set” vacation (at least, according to the boat’s tour guide). I didn’t know this, but there’s a series of books set in Sandhamn called The Sandhamn Murders. I’ll ha

Our first stop was the island of Kymmendö, which took about three hours. On the way, we passed by many scenic shorelines with old (from the 1850’s) and newer homes.

On Thursday morning, the first order of business was to get coffee. We went over to the nearby shopping mall (think Lloyd Center) and I passed by this on the way. It reminded me of some stone animal s

Wednesday morning: Getting ready to leave Iceland and saying “goodbye” to Hafnarfjordur.

Our first stop was at a geothermal power station, but we found out they weren’t giving tours that day. Casey had another one on his list, so we weren’t too distressed. Iceland is a huge producer of n

It was fine but I’m not a beer aficionado. I had a Swedish beer tonight that I liked much better.

Mom—Anna smuggled the dog stuffy in her suitcase! It’s one of those IKEA dogs 🐶 .

Ack! I meant “clothes” instead of “close”! I am unable to edit once I post so I apologize for any future misspellings.

Enjoyed our visit to Boyden Winery in Vermont. We were especially impressed by the Brut Rose and Rhubarb wines!

Marmee love!

The bus into NYC has a/c!

What better way to start our visit than a post-flight stop at the Hut?

[et_pb_section][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text]San Mateo, CA My mom was released from the hospital at the end of February. This hospital stay…

San Mateo, California, USA I'm very sorry that we have been MIA for a few weeks BUT you will be relieved to know that we have been (merely) holed up in my…

Melaka, Malaysia We are in the lovely, very old-fasioned Chinatown of this, Malaysia's oldest city. The town was founded in the 14th century and was…

Port Dickson, Malaysia We are staying for 2 nights in this seaside resort for Kuala Lumpur residents. Since most of the hotels are empty during the week (the…

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Having survived the night we shall call, "One Night in Bali" (Cheryl will have to explain), we are now happily situated in Kuala Lumpur.…

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Hmm, it wasn't really Bali that I disliked but our hotel room. Our flight got in at 10:30pm, we tucked ourselves into our silk liners…

Brisbane, Australia The last 4 days here have been very relaxing, quite like a vacation from travelling. And there was no particular reason why they should…

Coff's Harbour, Australia. We are getting ready to leave Coff's Harbour to head about 2 hours North to the small town of Ballina. We tried to find a place to…

Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia Happy New Year! New Year reached us about 37 minutes ago. We celebrated with a bottle of French bubbly (Oyster Bay's and…

Sydney, Australia. Well, I am very happy to report that both Casey and I like Sydney a lot better than the rest of Australia. It's cleaner, has more…

Adelaide, Australia. Merry Christmas! It's too warm for Christmas, even by California standards. We have the a/c cranked up in our apartment and have slipped…

Adelaide, Australia. Today is Christmas Eve and it sure doesn't feel like it. Aside from a mild rush at the stores and a few decorations, it just does not seem…

Adelaide, Australia. Arrived in town this morning on the overnight train. The train ride was pleasant enough and we both got at least a few hours of sleep.…

Melbourne, Australia. We are at an internet/cafe and they are playing that Travis song (the one about the rain) and it reminds me of a James song (sort of the…

Melbourne, Australia. Sorry if this entry is a bit strange...I haven't had my morning coffee yet and I feel a little bit spacy. It's our second day in this…

Queenstown, NZ Queestown is rightly called "the adrenaline capital of the world". There is just about every type of activity here involving, air, water, and…

Te Anau, New Zealand. Ahh...cool, crisp mountain air, a beautiful lake, and a small tourist town too small to be annoying; this is Te Anau. We drove yesterday…

Dunedin, New Zealand This is one of the most Southerly cities in the world, although you wouldn't necessarily know it as it is about 63 F outside (19 or so C).…

Christchurch, New Zealand. We made it across the Cook Strait this morning all in one piece (or, two separate pieces). We got up at the crack of dawn (6am) in…

Napier, New Zealand We are now in Napier, "the Art Deco city". The city was completely destroyed by a 7.8 earthquake in the 1920s and entirely rebuilt in the…

Rotorua, New Zealand It's true what the Guidebook said: "You will know that you have arrived in Rotorua when you smell the sulfur in the air." It seems odd…

Rotorua, New Zealand. Halfway there?!? I know that I was quite ready for the helicopters to sweep in and take me away to a warm bed and a nice, muscle-kneeding…

Hamilton, New Zealand We are now armed with a car, much to the fear of New Zealand's pedestrians and drivers. Actually, the car is working out very well. New…

Auckland, New Zealand. Yes, Auckland is making me very happy. I was trying to figure out why I like it so much and I came up with a somewhat shameful reason:…

Auckland, New Zealand Crime Comes to Fiji! We made it to New Zealand. But first, we should finish up with Fiji. After yet another exhausting Fiji bus ride, we…

Nadi, Fiji. We are back from Ovalau. Levuka (the old capital of Fiji and the main town in Ovalau) is a small town that reminds me of a U.S. fishing village;…

Suva, Fiji Hello! I added the archive of this site to the main page. So you can now see the postings in month-by-month order. This will make more sense later…

Suva, Fiji. Well, it has been a long time, hasn't it? We both feel as if we have been neglecting our duties! However, we were on a small island for four days…

Nadi, Fiji We arrived in Fiji this morning, the 25th of October. Although we left on Thursday the 24th. So for most of you reading this, we are in Fiji today…

Rarotonga, Cook Islands Okay, so we are no longer at the Kii Kii Motel. We came back to our room yesterday after hanging out in Avarua all afternoon and…

(Still) Rarotonga, Cook Islands. Well, we have gone to Aitutaki and come back. I must say that I did enjoy it, although after a few days it got a bit boring.…

Dearest correspondants, we have been to paradise, and we can say--it is really quiet there. We left Rarotonga on Air Rarotonga (The Airline of the Cook…

Rarotonga, Cook Islands (Avarua) Fuck! I just read the news and there was a massive explosion in Bali, Indonesia. Over 150 dead so far. Brings back bad…

Rarotonga, Cook Islands. I will add since I have a few more already-paid minutes to use online. Casey has sunburn on his shoulders (even though he put…

Rarotonga, Cook Islands. The rain has stopped, but it's still cloudy. Fortunately, it's much warmer and the skies aren't so very dark. The forecast predicts…

Rarotonga, Cook Islands Rain again, although not as bad as yesterday. It was POURING practically the whole day. We headed on out at night with the intentions…

Not much to add on my end: There was pig running in the streets. He looked a little confused. Also someone tied up a goat on a bus stop so it looked the goat…

Rarotonga, Cook Islands We have found other accomodations...the woman at the Friendly Mart (which is a five minute walk from the Cook Islands Lodges)…

Cheryl asked me to point out that we are in the Cook Islands. In Rarotonga, the largest island in the group. In the capital Avarua. In a cybercafe a few feet…

Rarotonga, Cook Islands Ah ha. The island is beautiful...you know I'm not one for the hot weather but even the humidity is do-able in this environment. Our…

Casey's entry: Yes, Ramada Limited was very limited. If you ever happen to be passing through Newton, Iowa, and are beginning to be a little bit tired, keep…

Well, it is about a month later, and time for a pre-trip update. --Wedding: the wedding went off beautifully, almost without a hitch (ha!). All except for the…

OK. So here is the first post to the travelogue. On these pages we will keep up to date a log indicating where we are, what we've seen, and what kind mood…