Rude earthquake

A very inconsiderate earthquake woke us up at 3:55 a.m. last night. News reports say it was 6.4 or 6.5 (MY report says it was strong enough to shake the dishes in the cupboard, but nothing fell down). News reports say there was no tsunami danger, serious injuries or damage (MY report says after the quake I couldn't sleep well, but now it's early afternoon and I just woke up from a one-hour nap, so I feel much better).

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A few more pictures from our walk along the river near the Sundial Bridge in Redding.

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Activities while we were in Redding include playing games, jumping on a trampoline, laughing until we cried, eating lots of chocolate, eating In-N-Out burger (twice; I thought about going once more, but didn't really have time), eating Mexican food, and taking the infamous jumping pictures.

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My sister (Jane), Nozomi and I drove to my cousin's house in northern California and spent a four-day weekend with family relaxing, playing games, walking, talking and just having fun. The city of Redding has a VERY hot climate during the summer, so it was actually good timing to visit in the spring this year. The first afternoon, before some of the other family members arrived, we went for a walk along the Sacramento River; the wild flowers were blooming and it was very enjoyable. Paula (my cousin) mentioned that the section where we walked was much more attractive at the time we visited (she's used to seeing it in the summer when it's so hot that there are very few green plants). The water level in the river was unusually high, which made the walk across the bridge a bit unique. Near the end of our visit, we returned to the river and went to another section of the trail where there is a bridge designed by a creative architect. The bridge also functions as a sundial, and has become a bit famous as a local landmark. The design really is quite interesting.

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Our visit this year was shorter than in previous years, so our Portland stop was shorter too. After attending New Vision, we went out to eat with a big group and had a delicious lunch (Doran & Vineeta, sorry you couldn't make it-I assume you must have been out of town). I didn't think to take any pictures there-oops! Later, we had a video game extravaganza at the Robertsons-I have "getting ready" and "final pose" Brady Bunch-style pictures from there. We spent the evening on the East Side having a great dinner and playing games at the Porter Aguilar household. (Kwirkel? Quirkle? Kwerkul? Who invents these names?!?!)
Thanks again, everybody!

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We just finished a great visit with family from San Jose, California, but before I post those pictures, I've got to finish pictures from the America trip earlier this year, so here's part two:
My parents and Nozomi and I took a trip to the beach and stayed a night at the Driftwood Shores resort. The weather was rather stormy when we arrived, but it was actually interesting to watch the wind and the waves from the hotel balcony. We went shopping in old town Florence for souvenirs at some interesting shops. We spent most of the evening at the hotel having dinner and playing games.
The next day, we went for a drive along the coast stopping at Sea Lion Caves (there's a live webcam on their site that I'm linking) and then drove further up the coast and enjoyed a delicious fish and chips lunch. We also took a walk along the jetty (sea wall) near the town of Florence before we headed back to Eugene/Springfield.
Thanks for a fun trip, Mom & Dad!

Fun time with guests

Nozomi & I had a fantastic time with our guests (my cousin and her family). In spite of not scheduling TOO many trips other than our weekend in Tokyo, the time went quickly and felt pretty full, so sorry I haven't posted any pictures yet; that's coming (eventually, like I usually say...)  Elaine, Tim, Taidgh and Alex, thanks for visiting, we had a great time, but next time, don't forget your Playstation games *wink*.

Fun In Tokyo

My cousin and her family are visiting us, and we are having a great time taking trips in the local area, and further away from Utsunomiya. I was hoping to post some photos, but I accidentally left my camera cable at home, so I can't transfer them from the camera to this computer yet...
We met Nozomi's sister, Kaoru, for lunch today and enjoyed speaking Japanese, English, and Japanglish together. Pictures soon...
Unbelievably, by chance, we saw a friend from church in the music store across the street from the Hachiko statue in Shibuya-in a city of over 10,000,000 people! Akira, amazing, see you next week!
More later...