American Journey, Part 2

The first week we stayed at my brother's place in Medina, Ohio. The weather was nice and warm (and thankfully less humid than Japan) so everyone was able to relax and play around a little.

Dad playing lacrosse, right-handed? Rob and I both play left-handed. Guess we both got that from mum.

My mum brought a set of toy lacrosse sticks for little to play with. But as she expected, Rob and I played with them most of the time. We had both played lacrosse when we were younger so it was fun to get to chuck a ball around again (without the fear of banging up the cars on our street as was the situation when we were young.) I'll have to get a set of these for Japan sometime.

Everyone into the pool! Hey hey, let's keep it PG here.

Not sure if he's gettin' in or gettin' out here.

I got to tag along to a local gymboree. I'd heard of them before but I had never been to one before, or even known much about them. They are really fun though, and I think the parents sitting around and talking had just as much fun as the kids. It's a great chance for new parents to meet others in the same boat and to 'talk shop.'

Jonn and his friends greet 'Gymbo.'

John and Rob

Playing on the parachute

Back at the house we all had a present exchange. I thought I had brought a lot of stuff from Japan (John got all the best stuff, of course) but my mum showed me up. She brought about 40 sets of clothing for John! If he doesn't grow then he's set for life. My mum is quite the shopper. With so many new clothes I'm sure John wouldn't mind not getting the lacrosse sticks after all :)

Of all the presents he got from Japan, John seemed to like his 'samurai sword' best.

With sword in hand and diaper on bum, he is ready for anything.

John also got a cool English soccer jersey from my mum. Geez, not even 2 years old and he's already more stylish than I am.

One day we went to a nature preserve where my brother is one of the board of directors. You'd think that with connections like that they'd let me bag a tiger or something, but no. Still, it was a beautiful day and in Japan you don't get all that many chances to wander around in surroundings like that and breathe in fresh air for free.

The gang: dad, me, mum, Ann, Rob, and John hogging the stroller. No one else even got a chance.

This was actually taken while Rob and mum and I went for a stroll around his housing development. Pretty cool eh? Lots of trees, green, ponds. We even saw a watersnake with a dead fish in its mouth. Ya don't see that everyday.

On the way home we stopped at this little corner market for some delicious ice cream. I'm surprised they had room for ice cream with all the Nascar stuff there though. I couldn't believe how popular Nascar racing is there. Next to football its the biggest sport. And personally, I don't even consider car racing a support.

Can you make out the name of the store above? It's 'River Styx Market.' My brother's housing development is just off of River Styx Road. Pretty spooky name, but easy to remember.

On another day we drove into Cleveland to check out the sites.

The Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame.

I'd been in the Hall of Fame before so we didn't go in this time. Besides, it's all INSYNC stuff anyways. We went to the Great Lakes Science Center next door to see the fascinating but slightly creepy Body Worlds exhibition. Real human bodies, with all the skin removed, posed in many different ways to reveal everything. And I mean everything. Donor applications were being given out to visitors and according to one staff member I talked to they had run out of the forms days ago. It seems that many people wouldn't mind their bodies being put on display after they've shuffled off this shiny planet. It's very brave of them.

No cameras were allowed inside but here's a split open camel from the lobby for you to enjoy.

We also saw the Imax film called 'The Human Body'. I didn't know that newborns have a 'diving reflex'. Up until 6 months old they can instictively hold their breath when they go underwater. I figured that was all just a trick on that Nirvana CD cover but it's real. Very neat.

One day we all went swimming at Ann's mother's complex. There is a nice big pool for all the residents to use. Afterwards we went to a nice restaurant and had dinner outside.

A little blurry but everyone's here. My dad, Ann's mum Margaret with John, my mum, my brother Rob and his wife Ann.

Margaret with her grandson.

Rob and Ann get a brief respite from watching John.

One evening we all went to the local county fair. There was a very real Dukes of Hazzard feeling in the air but it was very fun.

This was the health food section. Must be all the corn-dogs they were selling.

Our main reason for coming was to watch the dirt bike races. I'm pretty sure they were all amateur races but the older racers (teenagers) were very good and taking huge jumps. Ann's nephew Thomas (please correct if I'm mixing him up with his brother) was going to be racing in the kids' division. It was very fun watching these tiny little bikes whizzing around the track. There weren't allowed to go over the big bumps so they had to snake around them. They were real bikes though, it was very impressive.

Mini speedsters in action.

Despite a minor pile up near the beginning of the race Thomas ended up finishing 4th. Congratulations!!

John and his very cool cousins.

Don't think it was all fun and games though. They had me working during this trip. There were the frequent trips to super markets and Babies R Us for example.

Scientists have determined that the male fear of shopping is instilled at an early age.

And with a yard as big as my brother's it needed frequent work. Luckily I was assigned the funner stuff.

While Ann toils away with the blower...

I was goofing off on the riding mower. Giddyup!

American Journey, Part 1

To begin the tale of my great American journey, I'll setup the scene and the cast of characters for you. But first, let's start with my trip itself. Because Yukiko had just found out she was pregnant we decided it was better to be safe than sorry so she wouldn't be going. It was tough leaving her but we had been planning this trip for a year and my brother had made all sorts of arrangements for us in America. And while Yukiko gets to see her sister's baby all the time I hadn't met my brother's baby at all. So we decided I would go alone and take lots of presents for everyone in America, and bring lots of great photos (and maybe a few choice presents) back for Yukiko.
It all began early one Wednesday. By some strange twist of fate my friend Dan was also heading out to India this day (read his cool blog to see all about his trip) and he was planning to take the same limousine bus as me to the airport. So I arrive at the bus stop and for the first time ever I'm the one that's one time. No sign of Dan so I head off to the bank to take care of some business. The day before I had tried to pay my rent via ATM as I usually do but the machine wouldn't allow me. An employee at this branch (which wasn't my usual branch) told me that the machines had been upgraded and I couldn't transfer money here but it should work at my usual branch. Luckily my branch is next to the limousine bus stop so I figured I'd be sort it all out before I got on the bus. However, I found out at my branch that it wasn't the ATM's that had changed but the entire computer network. And I wouldn't be able to do any electronic transfers for another 2 weeks. Thanks for the convenience Risona bank. So how the hell was I supposed to pay my rent? Of course this is the same bank that takes 1 week to give you an ATM card (compared to 5 mins anywhere else in the world). Heck, at least they were open. My biggest pet peeve in Japan is the banks, they are awful. I can find 24 hr ATM's in small mountain towns in Nepal but not in Japan. Aaargh. Anyways, I called Yukiko and asked her to make the payment this month. Wasn't a big problem in the end. Later I found Dan in the local Starbucks with some of the teachers from his Junior High School. Turns out that their flight to India had been cancelled because of heavy rains there but they all had to head out to the airport anyways. After an hour or so of the usual sharp witted banter we reached the airport and parted ways.
My trip got off to a rocky start at the Northwest check-in counter. As I finished my way winding through the Economy class line-up I was asked to open up my suitcase for an inspection. This wasn't my usual suitcase though. It was a bigger model I had borrowed from Yukiko because I was taking a lot of presents and omiyage with me. The tricky thing was, the suitcase was locked. And while I was the one who had locked it I couldn't quite remember where the key was. You'd think that I would have put it into one of my shorts' pockets, or one of the small side pockets on my carry on bag. Well that is what I thought too but alas... nothing, nada, zip. No key. Once security tells you to open your luggage though you aren't going anywhere until it is opened. So I was in a sticky situation. They even put my backpack through the metal detector again in hopes of spotting the key inside somewhere but that didn't work. After a few tense minutes I realized that I had put the key into my shorts pocket, but a smaller one farther down the leg. Whew, everyone was very relieved.
As I checked in I found out that I was going to have the pleasure of sitting in the middle of a row. Yay, 14 hours of displeasure. And my aren't Northwest's seats narrow and cozy. Almost, painfully so. The best part of the flight (besides when my legs weren't cramping) was how the annoying kid in front of me kept his seat fully reclined even during meals. Gotta love that.
So I finally arrive in Detroit with 2 hours until my connection to my final destination, Cleveland. I'm hoping to get a bite to eat somwhere as I'm just starving at this point. Vegetarian meals on planes aren't too filling (even though I'm eating some meat those veggie habits are hard to shake). Detroit security sees to it that that's impossible though as I spend over an hour picking up my bag and going through security yet again. I thought it was weird when they asked me to unlock my suitcase in case they wanted to search it any damn time they liked. Weren't locks on suitcases to prevent the airport personnel from ripping me off in the first place?

Dude, where's my departure gate? Dig this trippy corridor at the Detroit airport. Far out.

My connecting gate seemed to be at the far end of Detroit so I only had time to hoof it over there. Once again I got a minor panic as I heard an announcement that my flight to Cleveland had been overbooked and they were looking for volunteers to take another flight. Luckily though, I already had an assigned seat so I was all set and ready to go.

When's the last time you flew in an old prop airplane?

I was to suffer one more setback before my trip was complete though. After finally arriving at Cleveland International Airport I collected my bags and got ready to meet my brother or whomever was supposed to come and get me. So I waited... and waited... then just for the fun of it, waited some more. Hmmm, no one here. I did have my brother's home number with me so I found a pay phone and gave him a call. No answer. It was only 4 in the afternoon so I knew they wouldn't all be sleeping. I didn't have Rob or Ann's mobile number with me. What to do, what to do. Turns out my mobile phone from Japan was working (global roaming, nice) so I tried calling my mum in Vancouver. She answered the phone and I told her what was going on. She didn't have Rob's mobile number either so she said she'd go on the Internet and see if she could find him online with Messenger. I called her back a while later and it turns out that she did find him online and told him I was waiting at the airport. He was still at work. Turns out that while he had the right date and time written down on his calendar he had it stuck in his head that I was arriving a day later. So anyways, eventually he got to the airport and I got to see his house for the first time. And what a house it is. It's nearly as big as the high school I work at.



48 bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, and 2 olympic size swimming pools. And you should see the underground research and devolpment labs, just breathtaking.

Nearly 2/3 of all the houses around here had American flags attached. It's almost like they're trying too hard. Makes you wonder just where these people's loyalties lie doesn't it?

The main reason for this entire trip was the opportunity to see my brand spanking new nephew, John. He's quite the performer and you'll be seeing a lot of pictures of him in the next few postings.

This is obviously a staged photo.

Whereas this one is the real deal, showing what life on the floor is really like.


Other people in attendance:

My brother Rob

His wife Ann

And joining us a few days later, Mum...

... and Dad. This kid certainly knows how to sneak into a picture doesn't he.


There were also a, ahem, few animals around.

Wolfie

Einstein

Woody

Caesar

Calliope

New Kitty - guess this temporary name just stuck

Pete

And everyone thinks I like animals?! Amazingly enough, there is actually one more cat as well as a mountain gorilla reserve in the backyard. OK I'm kidding about the gorillas but there is another cat that is somewhat free-range and lives in the wild, except for dinner time. So with this amazing place and diverse cast of characters the story of my amazing American Journey will continue... next time :)