Japan Day 3

Tuesday morning was very rainy here. We started our day by eating the buffet breakfast at our hotel. We knew it would be a lot of food but what else did we have to do. the food selection was amazing. There was very little Western type breakfast food but everything tasted excellent. Some of the tofu dishes were especially pleasing to Sharon. We've been borrowed an umbrella and did some walking before our check out of 11 a.m. We left one bag at the hotel since we will be back in 3 days. We took the train to Koshien where we had baseball tickets for the evening game. We are crossing our fingers that the game would not be rained out. The game was played and we enjoyed it. One of the pictures was a previous USA player. The fans are very enthusiastic. They let balloons off during the seventh inning stretch. There were cheerleaders and mini beer girls with kegs on their backs to keep the cups full. I read that the beer is brewed locally and brought to the stadium fresh. The food selection was not hot dogs. One of the biggest differences was that the game officially ended in a tie! Our hotel was just a few blocks from the stadium so that made it convenient.

Kyoto Japan Day 2

We woke multiple times during the night but actually got sufficient sleep again. Jet lag is real but not winning the battle here. Sharon had a big agenda for the day. We did not complete it. Ron can only take so many temples. The Kyoto station nearest has an unlimited supply of food and shopping. We have figured out where the good pastry shops are to go with our morning coffee.
Kiyomizu-dera Temple was our main destination today and the surrounding area. It's it's very high on the hill and has a fabulous view of the entire area. There are some interesting customs or beliefs: such as two large rocks that are about 20 feet apart. They are called love rocks and you are supposed to walk between them in a straight line with your eyes closed to improve your Romance luck.
We also lit incense at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for World War II. We did so realizing that there both America and Japan lost so many young men.
We tried another Ramen Shop but now know that all remain is not made equal. We will look always for the long lines. It wasn't bad but just not nearly as good as the first day. We still have sushi, tempura and barbecued eel on our list of must eats!
Tomorrow we leave to go to Osaka and Koshien where we have baseball tickets. Rain is predicted unfortunately. We hope it does not cancel the game.
It was Ron's birthday today so I tried to let him make the choices of where to eat and when to call the sightseeing done.

Kyoto Japan day one

It was a long travel day. We arrived at our hotel at about 7:30 p.m. Dustin had recommended this hotel and it is very nice. It has free coffee drinks in the morning! It is close to the Kyoto station-- which is huge. It took us several attempts to smoothly get from the station where all the trains and subway end to our hotel. We traveled by train bus and Subway to do some sightseeing. It was trial and error. We slept 10 hours the first night so that helped with jet lag. We had a fabulous ramen noodle lunch. Even though the Bulls are huge there was not much left in them. Once again my pictures are not cooperating to go on the blog.

Lopez Island

We are in the vacation mode. The weather turned nicer yesterday so it is possible we won't have to ride in the rain now. Our plans are to Amtrak home on Tuesday. Sorry I couldn't share pictures with you. It is beautiful . Last night we watched bald eagles while the sun set.

Day 6 Ferry to Friday Harbor

Stayed in Mt Vernon and rode 22 miles to the San Juan ferry terminal. Ferry leaves in 1 hr. to Friday Harbor. We will stay there two days then go to Lopez Island for 2 days. Sorry I cannot get my pictures to post.

Day 5 Elbe to Mt. Vernon, 45 miles

We cycled in the rain to begin the day. It seems like we were taking our raincoats on and off all day. We rode to the Olympia train station and travel to Mount Vernon by train. Tomorrow we will ride to the Anacortes Ferry and spend a few days cycling in the San Juan Islands.

Day 5 Elma to Olympia