Jessica's Wedding - Day 5

 Morning in our little motel came quickly and quietly.  Atkinson was certainly a sleepy town, just a few buildings on either side of the road that cut through town.  Our motel was extremely quiet, so we slept soundly.  Getting on the road, we traveled just a few blocks to our first stop: coffee!  Mona found a little coffee shop, Dejabrew, along our drive.  The little cafe featured a dizzying array of books and fragrances for sale. With coffee in hand, we got back on the road.

Much of the drive across the rest of Nebraska was, well, dull.  There were fewer rolling hills than in South Dakota, and much of the plains was covered in farmland.  As Mona pulled up on Google, more than 90% of Nebraska is agricultural land.  I lost count of the number of heads of cattle we saw along the drive - we simply passed farm after farm, with horses and cows dotting the landscape.  I have come to believe that states like Nebraska are truly "America's Kitchen", with so many of the things we saw were all things we would find at the grocery store. There were no planned stops along our drive, so we motored along to Lincoln.

Arriving in downtown Lincoln, I was reminded that we were also at the University of Nebraska.  Plenty of Husker signs and pennants hung along the road.  Arriving at the hotel, we found we were a few hours ahead of check-in time, so we hung out in the lobby.  Much of the family arrived, so we were quick to consolidate at tables throughout the expansive lobby.  It was wonderful to be able to catch up with family, most of which we hadn't seen since the last wedding!

After checking in to our room, made plans for the evening.  Jessica had arranged a reception a few blocks away at HopCat, so we ambled over for a nice dinner and warm conversation.  By coincidence, this evening also featured the Savannah Bananas, playing at Husker Stadium!  We grouped with Angie, Stephanie and Dorothy and made our way to the stadium.  IT WAS PACKED!  The stadium seats 85,000 and it was completely sold out.  The Bananas were playing the Firefighters, and it was expected to be a real slugfest.

The antics of the game truly defy explanation - "Banana Ball" carries its own rules, such as mandatory dance breaks, trick plays and so on.  If you have an opportunity to see them play, it's highly recommended.

The Firefighters narrowly defeated the Bananas with a walk-off home run at the bottom of the 9th
inning.   

It was clear that this team and these games were definitely fun for the kids - as we saw hordes of children in yellow attire.  Souvenirs, trinkets, balloons, stuffed animals and shirts were in every shop window and outside the arena.  

Leaving the stadium, we didn't take very long to back to the hotel - it was just a few blocks away.  Coming back to the hotel, we all grouped up in the lobby at a comfy table and spent the rest of the evening in deep conversation.  It was really nice to see sisters and cousins, of several different generations, conversing and sharing.  It's funny to think that Mona and I are Gen X, Angie, Stephanie and Dorothy are Millennials, just a few years younger, yet we're all facing the same challenges at different points in our lives.  The same trajectories, yet different point along the curve.  The mathematical analogy might be lost on some of you, but as I quietly looked on in their conversations, I believed this to be true.

As the evening wound down, we said our goodbyes and settled in for a good sleep.

Jessica's Wedding - Day 4

What a great night!  Relaxing in our hotel room after the previous day's adventures was a genuine pleasure.  I think this was the best sleep I'd had in the last few nights, so I was not complaining.

Heading down to breakfast in the morning, the small dining room was bustling with people.  Laura and I had breakfast, while Ramona took a walk in the cool morning air.  The weather was quite mild this morning, so she took advantage of a good walk through the small shops near the hotel.  The Roosevelt Inn offered a stay just minutes from Mount Rushmore, and the packed parking lot tipped me off that there would be plenty of folks at breakfast.  I was right.  In addition to the usual breakfast fair, they also featured a pancake "machine", essentially spitting out small pancakes.  Laura had never seen one before and seemed impressed.

Thanks to our busy schedule yesterday, we had seen so many sights that we were ahead of schedule.  This allowed us a later departure and a more-leisurely day.  Mona and I took a short walk up the street, taking a look in a few more stores.  Returning to the hotel, we loaded up and prepared for our longest day of driving.

This morning, we headed through Custer State Park.  Like the trip to the Badlands yesterday, this gave us another opportunity to appreciate the scenery of the Black Hills.  The roads were extremely winding, which the many motorcyclists we saw were enjoying.  We wound through the park and connected with the Needles Highway, the road that would lead us through two tunnels.  We meandered along, seeing not only a bison alongside the road, but many hawks as well.  You might not see him clearly in the picture to the right, but this hawk circled several minutes above us, patiently scouring the ground for his next meal.  Returning to the car, we continued on through many scenic overlooks, until we passed Sylvan Lake Lodge.  This small lake seemed to attract throngs of people - fishermen, swimmers, hikers, kayakers - all enjoying the lake.

As we neared the end of the park, we pushed onward to Custer.  Hoping to get a quick meal, we found the deli and local market were already busy, even though it was barely Noon.  With few options in town, we decided to drive a little further.  One upside: we saw some amusing sights along the road.  We noted many prairie dogs along the road, popping in and out of their little burrows.  We pulled off and had a "conversation" with them - barking back at their little yappings.

We decided to push on to our next stop: The Crazy Horse Memorial.  Not far from Custer, this memorial is the site of massive undertaking: carving a 660-foot granite mountain into a memorial to the legendary Lakota warrior.  The project began in the late 1940s and has slowly been making progress ever since.  The memorial site includes an expansive museum, with many exhibits of Native American art, beadwork and carvings.  I found the museum personally moving, as it provided a dose of reality to the current plights of Native Americans, as well as highlighting their successes.

The Crazy Horse Memorial left a strong impression on us, and made a fitting end to the last of the major stops on our trip.  With this last visit complete, we had checked off all the things we had decided to do on the trip.  Now, we were left with driving several hundred miles toward the wedding location: Lincoln, Nebraska.  After some discussion, we chose to drive as far as we could towards Lincoln.  Valentine or Oneill would put us just a few hours from Lincoln, but either would take us 5.5 to 6 hours.

With such a long drive ahead, it's no wonder Mona made sure we stopped for ice cream!  Two Cows Creamery was along our path in Hot Springs, South Dakota, so we stopped by for a snack.  The sign on the door read "Farm to Table, Cow to Cone" - I won't forget this one anytime soon!

Much of the rest of the drive was a multi-hour push through the winding, rolling hillsides.  We drove along the southern part of South Dakota, pushing through Pine Ridge and Olala Lakota Indian Reservations, before crossing into northern Nebraska.  The weather was kind and the traffic almost nonexistent, so we had plenty of time to talk, nap and drive.

Just after sunset, we arrived in Atkinson, Nebraska, just twenty minutes west of Oneill.  The small motel Laura found, Sandhills Guest House Motel, was highly-rated and one of the few hotels we could find.  Still, it was more than comfortable for one night's rest.  Tomorrow would see us make the final push to Lincoln for the wedding!

Jessica's Wedding - Day 3

We had a pleasant night's sleep at the Steever Bed and Breakfast. In the morning, we were treated to

wonderful breakfast by the proprietor, John. Over pancakes and bacon, he told us the story of how his wife found the house of her dreams, and they moved it 70 miles to this location in North Dakota. Yup - they hired a company to pick it up, trailer it 70 miles, then put it on a new foundation. Wow!

Returning to the open road, we raced along I-90 to our first stop. The interstate is 80mph in South Dakota, which takes some getting used to.  While the higher speeds made much of the state race by in the rear view mirror, the winds buffeted us at every turn. 

We discovered the Corn Palace of Mitchell, South Dakota and stopped in for fresh popcorn and a look at its famous murals. The exterior of the building is adorned with many murals made from corn husks and ears. Each year, a theme is chosen and local art students compete to have their designs displayed on the building's exterior.

With a bag of popcorn at the ready, we journeyed further westward, to gleaming sculpture, the Dignity

of Earth and Sky.  Located at a modern travel stop, this sculpture shared its space with both a rest stop, an exhibit about the journey of Lewis and Clark and spectacular view of the Missouri River.

Traveling further west, we found another stop - the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site.  This facility is dedicated to the Minuteman missile program, the controversial buildup of strategic nuclear missiles that framed the backdrop of the Cold War.  The silos of the Minuteman program, each holding a Minuteman II or III missile, stood as silent defenders we hoped would never be used.  By the end of the Cold War, the Minuteman II missiles were decommissioned, partially replaced by Minuteman III and successive programs.  While these

missiles created a specter of fear in both American and Russian citizens, the fear of mutually assured destruction kept them from ever being fired by either side.

This last stop put us in close proximity to Badlands National Park, where we would find ourselves much of the day.  We would through the scenic drive, taking opportunities to step and see the eerie landscape, dotted with eroding mounds of clay and sediment.  In stark contrast, the green plains of the Badlands spread out between the buttes in a vast, green carpet.  At many turns along the road, the carpet seemed to spread clear to the horizon.

As luck would have it, we saw small deer and birds along the route.  At one turn, we saw a pair of buffalo grazing dozens of yards from the road.  At the very next bend, a lone buffalo munched on the grass within a few feet of the roadside.  We quietly passed him in the car and tried to snap a few good pictures.  The windy roads of the Badlands National Park twisted back and forth like a pretzel, until the road finally unwound near the park exit.

We had passed sign after sign along the highway, reminding us to visit Wall Drag.  And without hesitation, we stopped in to browse the many stores and collect a quick bite of dinner.

We pressed on in the late afternoon to complete the long drive, hoping to reach Keystone, South Dakota in the early evening.  Keystone is the landing zone for everyone coming to see the famous Mount Rushmore.  Each evening features a show with the lighting of the sculptures, a dramatic program about the strength of the American spirit and a salute to many members of our armed forces in attendance.  The short video was inspiring and heartwarming, but nothing held the spectacle of turning on the bright spotlight to illuminate the four, granite faces on the wall.  The program was completed with applause and acknowledgement of the veterans present and an audience-led rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.

With our hotel just a few minutes from Mount Rushmore, we quickly returned home and discussed our plans for Friday.  Our last day in South Dakota would involve more sightseeing, and ultimately put us in Lincoln, Nebraska for our pre-wedding family get-together.

Jessica's Wedding - Day 2

After a good night's sleep, we were ready for our next day of travel westward. Today, we are leaving Iowa City and heading further west. After a reasonable breakfast at our Hampton inn, we loaded up the car and continued west. We were greeted by rain fairly early into our trip, so we took a brief stop at a rest stop near Grinnell, Iowa. With the rain moving onward, it was easy enough to get back on the road. We continued West toward Des Moines. Knowing that Des Moines was an interesting stop, we looked for a few things to do there. Our first stop was the Iowa capitol building. This magnificent structure features a large golden dome in the center of the building, surrounded by four smaller domes on the corners. 

Only five capital building in the United States feature domes. Inside, we were greeted by an astonishing view of the Interior Rotunda. Pretty interesting, if you ask me. 

After a brief tour, we continued on to the Papa John's sculpture park. An unusual array of sculptures were scattered around the park.  Modern art always makes me think.... sometimes about what I'm looking at.  This also gave us an opportunity to grab sandwiches lovingly made by Mona, before moving onward. 

Back on the road, we left Des Moines and headed West along I-80 again.  Shortly along the road, we approached the Jesse James Historical site.  A roadside attraction, there was scarcely more than a placard reading, "Site of the First Train Robbery in the west, committed by the notorious Jesse James and his gang of outlaws - July 21, 1873".  Not much to see, but it was a good way to breakup our drive!

Turning North, we soon found ourselves at the Museum of Danish America.  A large number of Dutch immigrants came to America and found themselves settling in many cities across the US.  Iowa is actually home to the largest Dutch community in the US and boasts a substantial museum.  Also located at this museum is another troll!  This one was called Fjord (fi-YOR-duh), and she rides in her own boat.  Gotta snap a picture of this one, too!

Further North, we stopped at the World's Largest Popcorn Ball.  Yup - it was a ball of popcorn, large enough to fill an outdoor pool.  People seem to have a penchant for doing a lot of "World's Largest <This>" out here...  We also noticed that there is a LOT less traffic on many of the backroads we traveled on.  When we've driven in the farming communities in Michigan and Ohio, there was still a modest number of cars on the road.  This time, it was often 3-5 minutes between cars on these country two-lane roads.  There were definitely times I wondered if there were other cars out there, or if we'd slipped into a vortex of some kind...

Since we wanted to keep moving, Mona placed an online order at a Mexican restaurant along our route, in a little town called Storm Lake, Iowa.  Once we got there, however, we surprised the waitress as she had not seen the order appear on the delivery display - looks like they were used to getting orders via DoorDash and they failed to check another screen.  After a brief wait, we were greeted with (extremely) hot tacos!   Not wanting to delay our travels, we ate in the car and continued the drive.  

Our last stop for the day: the Wells Visitor Center in Le Mars, Iowa!  This is the home of Blue Bunny

ice cream, the self-proclaimed Ice Cream Capital of the World.  The cool treats were a nice reward for a long, hot day of driving.  While temperatures were well into the 90s much of the day, the Forrester stayed cool - I hope it handles the next few days as well!

As we continued on, we finally left Iowa and entered South Dakota.  Shockingly, the speed limit on the freeway was 80mph.  There was very little traffic on the road near sunset, but a few cars in the opposing lanes looked like they were going at least that fast.

We arrived at our stay for the night, the Steever's Bed and Breakfast.  This was a classic B&B, not an AirBnB for sure.  John greeted us warmly as we pulled up, and introduced us to Gypsy, the quiet pup he was dogsitting.  John showed us to our cozy rooms and we settled on a time for breakfast in the morning.  With our plans set for tomorrow, there was nothing left but time to take in our belongings from the car and bleat at the sheep who stared at me from the front lawn.

Jessica's Wedding - Day 1

 And we're off on another trip today!  Ramona's cousin Jessica gets married next week.  We're planning to drive to the wedding and see many stops along the way.  We haven't driven across the central US together, so this will our first time to see what the Great Plains states have to offer!

Laura will be joining us on the trip, so we'll be excited to see what her sees and enjoys!

Our departure from Kalamazoo was a little later in the morning than planned, but it worked to our benefit.  We found little traffic on I-94 across much of Michigan.  As we neared the Indiana border, construction and truck traffic slowed us quite a bit, but it didn't last very long.

Continuing across Indiana into Illinois, the skies became overcast and offered much protection from the strong, summer sun.  In the early afternoon, we reached our first point of interest, the Rochelle Railroad Park in Rochelle, IL.  Two major railline spurs meet here, creating a unique place where different types of rail traffic - commercial and passenger - intersect.  Apparently, you can see as many as 80 trains in a day, with many different trains passing every few minutes.

Back on the road, we continued westward, crossing the state of Illinois.  Reaching the mighty Mississippi River, we crossed the bridge and found ourselves in Clinton, Iowa.  Clinton is home to an interesting series of art pieces by Thomas Dambo, a Danish artists.  He created three wooden trolls, scattered around the city.  We visited the first one on our trip, Helmut:

Helmut was most impressive, because he was built around the tree that emerges from the pot!

Next, we crossed town to visit his brother, Warren, relaxing in his own building:

Back on the road, the World's Largest Truck Stop beckoned to us!  Sadly, it did not have a refrigerator magnet for us.

Our goal was to reach Iowa City, IA, so pushed a bit further.

Our Hampton Inn was easy to find, and allowed a chance to drop our bags, then head out for a quick dinner.  A Mediterranean fast-food place offered a chance for a quick meal, followed by a walk along the riverfront.  The Iowa River was flowing quickly near the park we visited, offering a slightly cool breeze to enjoy our walk.

Back in the hotel, we quickly settled in for a busy drive tomorrow!
 

Day 14 - Last Day in Tokyo

We find ourselves nearing the end of our journey. Two weeks have flown by. We've flown over 12,600 miles from the US to Japan, and back.  Inside Japan, we've traveled more than 1,130 miles, 518 miles by plane, more than 600 miles by long-distance train.  According to my Google Timeline, we've logged almost 170 subway/tram/bus miles while in Japan.  Later on, we'll figure out what we've spent on the trip, but I'm less interested in the money spent, versus the experiences we've shared.

For starters, I've learned it was an absolute delight traveling with Kylee.  She was always keen to try something new or different.  Mona and I remembered much from our previous trip, and Kylee was keen to ask great questions and offer helpful suggestions.

We started our morning early, repacking our bags, one last time.  Kylee and Mona each grabbed coffee or snacks from the 7-Eleven or the grocery across the street.  As we completed our checkout, we now had an hour or two to kill, before we needed to get Kylee to her 4PM JST departure at Haneda Airport (Mona and I wouldn't leave until 5:45PM JST).  While the hotel did offer a shuttle to Toyosu Station (a local bus station that offers a direct shuttle bus to Haneda Airport), it only ran at four intervals in the morning.  So, our plan became doing a little exploring, then finding a way to get ourselves to the airport.  In a pinch, we could always take a taxi for about 8000 yen....

We dropped our bags at the front desk, planning to pick them up later and head to the station.  A nearby mall, Urban Dock, was the perfect way to eat some time.  The bus stop was directly in front of the hotel, making it easy to catch the bus.  Hopping on, we found we only had to go three stops to get there.  In just a few minutes, we reached the mall, then split up to do our thing.

I wandered by myself to a coffee shop called Komeda.  You could get a booth or a semi-private counter space, complete with power outlets.  I ordered a large coffee and tiramisu!

The shop was busy, with customers coming and going, but it was never, ever loud.  Like much of Japan, it felt more like being in a library than being at Starbucks.  I used the time to charge my phone and battery, and try to figure out our last challenge: catching the Haneda-Airport Limousine Bus.  

It wasn't hard to find the website, but all of the links seemed to indicate you needed to reserve seating a day in advance.  This made me sweat, because a taxi would run 8000 yen, but the bus was only 800 yen per person, plus a little more for each extra bag...

Meeting back up with Mona, we headed back to the front of the mall, to meet Kylee and head back.  With the extra time, I walked over to Toyosu Station and found the bus stand for the airport.  Aha! To my relief, the sign had more information, indicating not only could board the bus without reserving tickets, the tickets could be purchased with Suica, the travel pass.  The buses were large motor coaches, with ample space for luggage underneath.  This was a nice change from the many city busses we'd squeezed onto.

Armed with new information, we made a plan to go back toward the hotel, charge our Suica cards with enough fare for the bus, continue to the hotel and get our bags, then return in time for the 1:15PM JST bus.  The listed arrival time for that bus was 1:50PM JST, good timing for Kylee's flight.

The walk was less than ten minutes, and we had no trouble getting our cards charged.  Grabbing our bags and heading back, Kylee got off to a great start, and saw first-hand how youthful vigor got her to the bus well ahead of us.

After a brief wait, the bus soon arrived.  The driver opened the luggage compartments, and began boarding all the passengers with reserved seats.  Even though there was a long line of reserved passengers, they filled less than half the bus.  We were at the head of the non-reserved line, and easily got seats!

In 30 minutes flat, the driver unloaded our bags at the appropriate terminal.  At the gate, we helped Kylee find her luggage drop off and said our goodbyes at the security line.  She made her flight was back home in just a few hours!

Mona and I used the last of our time in Japan to roam the exquisite shopping in the airport; not kiosks or little carts, but full-fledged stores, with shelves of Japanese goodness!

The security line was long and serpentine, stretching the length of Terminal 3.  Yet, we cleared security in 25 minutes or so - not too shabby!  Our return aircraft was a Boeing 787-10, much newer and cleaner than the 777-100 (an early model 777, much louder and narrower than the 787) we flew from Dulles to Tokyo.  Our flight was largely uneventful, passing the time with our tradition of watching a movie together (Empire of Light) and napping when possible.

After half a day on a plane, we landed in O'Hare, waded through customs and found our luggage.  Driving back to Kalamazoo, however, was a real chore.  Construction and accidents dotted the highways, stretching our drive home to over 3.5 hours.  Still, we were fortunate to have our own bed to sleep in once again.  I just miss having a bidet in the bathroom (and Mona misses the high water pressure in the showers!).

Thanks for following along on our adventure!

Day 13 - Sendai to Tokyo

Two weeks in a foreign country gives you space to reconsider your perspectives on many things.  Aside from global politics, the geopolitical machinations of the financial industry and immigration, it's nice to simply reflect on the kindness and generosity of people.  This trip has given me ample opportunity to reflect on this, and it feels good.  And yet, I still miss family and friends.  I miss the common things in my home I've gotten used to having.  I miss being able to read the controls on the remote without Google Translate..... 

Today marks our last day in Sendai.  After breakfast, we will check out of our hotel and make our way back to Sendai Station.  Our mid-morning Shinkansen ride will put us back in Tokyo ahead of the afternoon rush, so we'll have time to lug our baggage to our hotel, then get around town a bit, before shutting down for the evening.

Breakfast was a nice occasion to reflect on what had transpired along the way.  We chatted and enjoyed each other's company, before returning to our rooms.  There was enough time for a quick trip to the onsen, followed by lots of repacking our luggage.  Back downstairs, we pressed onward to the street and headed for Sendai Station.  Being almost an hour early, Mona and Kylee headed off, while I stayed with our luggage.  When they returned, we entered the station and headed for the Shinkansen platforms.  We easily found our train and waited near the boarding area.  Once our train arrived, we boarded and quickly shoehorned our bags into the luggage rack.  Once in our seats, the train smoothly and quietly pulled away from the station.  So long, Sendai!

With only a few stops on the schedule, the train stayed at a high speed.  The countryside quickly blurred, and the one hour, 40-minute train ride was over before we knew it.

Now at Tokyo station, we were immediately exposed to more heat than we'd left in Sendai.  The temperature was already 82, on its way to 84 for the high.  Despite the mugginess, we pulled our luggage off the train and headed through the station.  We opted to take the bus, as there was a bus stop immediately in front of our hotel.  At the bus terminal, we struggled to find the right bus.  The attendants in the area were busy making announcements and directing traffic with batons.  I stopped to ask a bus driver, who ask another attendant who finally pointed us to the right bus stand.  As the pickup time for the bus neared, I was a little fearful of being able to get on with our luggage.  Once the bus arrived, however, we laid those fears to rest.  We found spaces for ourselves, and we were on our way!

Before long, the bus approached our stop and we successfully extricated ourselves and our belonging from the somewhat-crowded bus.  After checking in, we immediately headed back out to explore the area.  We purposefully booked lodgings in Odaiba, the waterfront area of Tokyo, to ensure we'd visit the last stops on our list.  First up, we were headed to DiverCity (a large shopping mall complex) to visit Hello Kity, the Gundam statue and store, and take a few pictures.  Back on the bus, we rode a few stops before Kylee noticed we had already passed our first stop.  Oops!  It was a semi-short walk back, and we soon found ourselves face-to-face - or rather, face-to-foot, with an 19.7m tall 1:1 scale replica of the RX-0 Gundam Unicorn from the Bandai TV show, "Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn".  The last time we were here, the 18m replica of the RX-78-2 Gundam stood in it's place.

Moving inside, we explored the mall, with stops at Hello Kitty and the massive Gundam Base store.  This store featured all manner of model kits from the Gundam series, now celebrating it's 40th anniversary.  It was terribly nostalgic, seeing models and character cutouts from TV shows that were nearly as old as I am.  Even Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and Gundam SEED Desinty from the early 2000s were represented.

Moving on from DiverCity, we headed off to take a picture at the Tokyo TELEPORT station.  After eight years, they'd changed the signs, so I couldn't replicate the pictures I wanted exactly...

We headed back to meet up with Kylee at Flying Tiger, then continued onward toward the hotel.  The grocery store across the street beckoned, and we explored the food court for dining options.  Sated from a good meal, it was an easy trip back to our hotel.  The hotel featured a public bath, so I stopped in for a quick soak before bed.

Tomorrow morning would come early, and we'd find ourselves on our last day in Japan!

Day 12 - Paddleboarding in Sendai

Our days in Japan are soon coming to an end. What better way to enjoy your island nation, rhan with some paddleboarding! We found a paddle boarding experience avaliable about an 1.5hr away by train and taxi.

We joined Kylee in the breakfast room, and chatted a bit about the trip thus far. It was great to hear how much she'd enjoyed things so far. After breakfast, there was enough time for a quick dip in the bath: so relaxing! 

We headed for the Sendai train station, to take a JR rail train to the closest stop. Along the way, we spotted some cream cheese-filled tarts for the train. They didn't last long after boarding.... 

It never ceases to amaze me, how quiet people are on the trains. Other than the conductor and automated stop announcements, it was dead silent.  We shuffled past several stops along the way, each station getting a little smaller.  The day began just a little rain, but it had begun to intensify as we progressed.  In just a few minutes, we finally reached our destionation: Kuragane station. 

Getting off the train, I suddenly realized we were at a very small, rural stop.  Our intent was to call a taxi with a rideshare app to get to the meet-up point.  However, after 10 minutes, no drivers responded to the request.  Uh oh.  Precious time was ticking by, as our reservations were very clear about being on time.  We crossed the street to a 7-Eleven, hoping to be able to call a taxi.  Sadly, we could not place a call within Japan - Wi-Fi calling is great, until you need to call internationally (insert eyeroll here).

Not wishing to inconveneice the other guests who had reserved this paddleboarding excursion, I used the app we booked the excursion through to message them we would not make it.  To my surprise the reply came, "Where are you?"  When I mentioned the station name, the reply came, "Stay a moment - I will come pick you up."  Huzzah!  The tour operator drove over to the station and picked us up!  When he arrived, he made room for us in his van, pushing aside paddleboard pumps and equipment.  He cheerfully drove us back to the launch site and began to ask us questions about what brought us to Japan, and what did we like to do.

In a few minutes, we reached the launch site, changed clothes and pushed our boards into the water.  We paddled the Okura river, fenced on one side by the Okura Dam. The rain subsided as we pushed into the water, and in fact, the sun even peeked out for a bit. The emergence of the sun made the air even stickier and we quickly got hot and sweaty.  But no matter - the waters were calm and the lack of wind made an excellent experience.

As we pushed along, our guide, Kazunori-san, told us about his business: managing paddleboarding excursions in the summer, and snowboarding in the winter.  He was an avid sportsman, enjoying his hobbies with his wife and young son.  At one point, he showed a video on his phone of his skateboarding and dribbling a basketball!

Our private tour wound along the river, which had carved a wide swath through the valley.  On either side, small waterfalls poured in, and it was clear the river was claiming more and more of the surrouding landscape as time went on.  At the far end of the river, we could go no further, as the far end of the river was actually a higher elevation.  Kazunori-san said that in the early Spring, the waters are of equal height and you could paddle even further along.  We stopped for a quick break and snack, before reversing our course.  We'd paddled almost 3km upstream, and would now paddle that same distance back.  The sun had retreated behind the clouds again, giving us a short reprieve from the heat.

On the way back, Kazunori-san offered to drive us all the back to our hotel!  He lived in Sendai, just a few minutes from our hotel.  This gesture greatly simplified our return, and helped remind us what kind, generous people exist in the world.

As we pulled up to the hotel, we thanked our new friend and paused for a quick selfie!  The day could have ended poorly, but pausing and not giving up had blessed us with a great time and a new friend.

Hot and sweaty from our afternoon paddle, it was time to visit the onsen.  It was a perfect way to relax from our long day.

Mona wanted an opportunity to get out of the room, so we chose to make one, last trek out into Sendai.  Kazunori-san mentioned a good restaurant to get yakiniku, Korean-style barbeque, not far from our hotel.  We headed downstairs and met Kylee in the lobby.  The rain had picked up again, making the streets wet and unlucky pedestrians without umbrellas even wetter.

We found the restaurant and were ushered to a table.  We ordered a selection of meats and vegetables and waited.  Before long, the waiter placed a large, earthen cook stove, filled with large charcoals logs, covered in a wire mesh grill.  As the plates of thinly-sliced meats arrived, we placed them on the grill and watch them sizzle and cook!  We made short work of our food, so it was soon time to find dessert!  Wandering back to Sendai Station, we stopped by many counters, in search of soft serve ice cream.  Sadly, both of the shops we'd chosen were closed.  We continued our search, wandering over to other dessert counters, before selecting several small cakes.

Not to be thwarted by our lack of soft serve, we relied on that last bastion of hope: McDonald's.  Supposedly, McDonald's here would use different ingredients than in the US - or are the very least, the machine wouldn't be broken.  With no line, we quickly got our soft serve ice cream.  It certainly tasted good, but we couldn't tell if it was any different than back home.  Google was unhelpful, so we'll just go with, "McDonald's soft serve tastes good in Japan!"

The lounge at the hotel was quiet, and the perfect place to pull up a seat and eat the rest of our deserts.  We shared each other's dishes and were quite satisfied with our choices.  As the hour was fast approaching 11PM, we decided to call it a night and head off to bed.  We would need to check out in the morning, and make our way to Sendai Station, for the last leg of the trip: Back to Tokyo.