Apple Picking

We went apple picking with directions that I wrote down on a post it note... Derick was not impressed... But between my friend Rachel and I we got there... and this is it... a shack... in the Japanese country side... thank goodness we are in Japan where everything is fairly safe... cause in the states I might have been kinda scared...Inside the shack we met this really nice lady who knew no English... but no worries... between hand motions and our broken Japanese we communicated what we need to and bought entrance to the apple orchard... it was like 500 yen to get in and eat as much as you can and you get to bring 3 kilo's home...
To get to the apple orchard we had to walk down this hill with a vineyard on it... we ate grapes on our way to the apples... they were so delicous!
Our whole group... and the awesome old Japanese lady who was at the bottom of the hill at the orchard who taught us the proper method of picking apples from the tree and which ones were the ripest... with NO English! She was awesome!
Derick and I... awww
Smash throwing his son Caleb up in the air... it was kinda scary for me... that kid went high!
Awesome view from an observation tower in the middle of the woods next to the orchard! Fall is the best in Japan...

A vending machine with bottles of grape and apple juice... I love Japan...
This was a short drive from the orchard at the "cherry house"... its this big dragon thing that you pay to go in and get a helmet and climb up inside all those tubes going around the outside... in the states this would be a lawsuit waiting to happen!

MOSC Small Business Expo

The MOSC (Misawa Officers Spouces Club) had a home business expo so I had a booth with my new custom art business. Here I am with my booth! Here are some close ups! This is OilPen & Ink on Tea Stained Paper
Oil
Pen & Ink... if you click on the picture you will be able to see the details...
Pen & Ink on tea stained paper... this one also have lots of details... this one is super populer... people were like wow I really like the "S" but my last name is Jones... and I would say... well I do know the whole alphabet!
Oil- this one was really popular as well
Pen & Ink
Photo prints I had for sale and you can the my business cards I made!
My friend Erica sells Arbonne and this was her booth!

Air Fest

Misawa Air Fest 2009!!!! With the Blue Impulse and the THUNDERBIRDS! its was a great show, the 14th made tons of money selling cakes, patches, and temporary tattoos! Here are two little boys in their flight suits... so cute!there were an estimated 300,000 Japanese nationals on the flight line this one day! HOLY MOLY it was PACKED! it was weird seeing a white person, cause there were so many Japanese
This is how close the planes were to us! it was crazy
There were these two girls just hanging on this F-2 in flight suits for pictures... it was pretty funny!
THE THUNDERBIRDS!
There were children crying the whole time because they were so loud and so close! This kid is looking as him mom like I don't think I like this!
Japanese and their crazy awesome cameras... everyone had a camera like these it seemed... slightly jealous... but I love my camera and it is doing great for me! I would really like photoshop however!
CRAZYNESS!
ZOOM!
BOOYAH!
Apperently this move is super hard but he just went in front of the crowd really slowly with his nose pointed up like this the whole time... a lot of g's i guess.
It was really super cool!


All tired out!

Mt. Oser... trip #2

My friend Rachel and her Aunt were wanting to make a day trip up to Mt. Oser (the mythical entrance to hell) and were asking me about it and I decided to go again cause it was such a fun trip the first time!Last time we were at this spot it was kinda cloudy and the water was really choppy and scary... this time is was calm clear and beautiful!


Rice being harvested! I love this time of year!

Big Buddah
These surfer pits are crazy (if you want more back info on the mythical entrance to hell check out my blog entry the first time we went... just go look back through old posts on the left hand side... you'll see it!)
We were right after a festival and the signs were everywhere... a huge pile of pinwheels left for their dead children... very sad
Somebody left flowers and a coke...
and as you are leaving you could try "mugwort (herb)" ice cream! I did not try it... I wish I had

Mt. Eboshi Bike Ride

So I signed up for a bike ride with outdoor rec hoping at least one of my friends would want to go with me and sign up too... but nobody did... but no worries I still went... on the bike ride. It turned out to just be this other little girl (well she was 26) and me... AND WE WERE THE FIRST GROUP TO EVER MAKE IT TO THE TOP! Heck Yeah!

We started the ride at this campground and this picture is for you Dad... this is a game the Japanese play with golf clubs and bad mitten little things... they hit them with the golf clubs into this net thing...There were also a whole bunch of plastic floats painted with different things... this one was my favorite!
Beware of baboon?... nope just a really poor drawing of a bear!
There was apperently some logging going on! cool stacking though!
So this was NOT an easy ride... and I really did not think I would make it to the top! But I had this delicous sandwich I made and every time I wanted to stop I just had to remember my sandwich and tell myself I would not get to eat it unless I made it to the top! and here is my half my sandwich and a HUGE GRAPE! that thing was like three bites! HOLY MOLY!
This is how I ate my sandwich at the top! It was SO worth it!
View from the top, that is Mutsu bay on the left
Other side of the view... looking towards the Hakkoda mountains
There were a ton of TV towers on top of the mountain
This is looking back where we came from... this is maybe 3/4 of the way back down... that mountian is what I rode my bike up... BOOYAH
Random awesomeness
If you look close you can see Kodji (our guide... also the guy who taught me how to surf) and I in the shadow below the waterfall!
We stopped at a farmers market outside of Towada... with Horse Jerky...