#trips abroad

[pursuingheavenonearth]

Google Maps Lifelist: The places that have defined me as a human being.

NOTE: Photos will be added over time, but are not accessible directly from Google Maps lists.

Over the 70 years that I’ve lived on this planet, there have been many lifetime milestones associated with a specific place. This list commemorates those places which have figured prominently in my life, either because they have or had great meaning to my existence or are places which I frequently visited.

Baskin-Robbins

$ · Ice Cream · Bowling Green

Ice cream chain with lots of flavors

The original Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream Shop used to be located at 1705 U.S. 31 W Bypass, Bowling Green, KY 42101, but has recently (in last several years) been rebuilt and move further east on the Old By-Pass in 'downtown' Bowling Green, located at 1542 U.S. 31-W Bypass, Suite 9, Bowling Green, KY.

The 'old' Baskin-Robbins was the place that my wife and I had our first date, too many years ago to recall when to confess, but, of course, I do remember at it was more than 45 years ago. We moved away from Bowling Green long ago but still fondly remember our fun ice-cream eating times at 31.

Baskin-Robbins 31, as it is known in Japan as "31" [sirty-one], has been a part of our lives even once we moved to Tokyo in 1979, and it really hasn't changed much since then --except for the menu items increasing and the few of the old flavors have been either renewed or replaced. Nowadays, we go to the Baskin-Robbins Shop in Hibarigaoka, a suburb of Tokyo, enjoying a delicious scoop just like we did 45 years ago usually after awaiting our granddaughter's piano lesson to finish, not 200 yards away. Our 7-year-old granddaughter has learned to love a sugar cone with her favorite scoop of Baskin-Robbins ice cream. z

WKU Fine Arts Center - Music Department

University · Bowling Green, KY

I graduated in 1976 with a B.A. cum laude in Music History & Literature, French, and Education (Teacher certification). Initially, the Music Department was housed in its own 5-story building, located behind the library annex building. The construction of the Fine Arts Center, where the Department of Music is now housed, occurred during my junior year while I was away on my Junior Year Abroad at the Paul Valery campus of the University of Montpellier, France from Sept 1973 to July 1974. My wife, Shizuko, a foreign graduate student in piano performance, started studying at WKU in the fall semester of 1975, just one year after I had returned as a senior student at WKU's music department.

Tokyo Bunka Kaikan

Concert hall · Taito City, Tokyo, Japan

Over the years, I played the part of 'supernumerary' (a stage extra) for many foreign opera, dance and theatre companies that have toured and performed in Japan, often at the old Tokyo Bunka Kaikan. I am visible while in costume in each of the three photos above.

Many years ago before the construction of the Shin Kokuritsu Gekijo (New National Theatre), there were many opera and ballet performances by foreign dance and theatre companies who performed at the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan hall. During some of the performances, there was a need for foreign staff to be 'hired' as stage extras. I was one of the people who did that job for about 10 years.. In the process, I was a stage extra or supernumerary for such companies as La Scala Opera, Deutsches Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera, the Royal Ballet, and American Ballet Theater, and several more. There were anywhere from 10 to nearly 100 people, mostly foreign extras, who were hired depending on the production. In doing so, I got to see some world-class opera and dance performances from right on stage, with such stars as Luciano Pavarotti, Agnes Balsa, Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, and with directors and ballet masters as Mikhail Baryshnikov. My younger son, Paul, was only 7 when he was in the American Ballet Theatre performance of Giselle. Amazingly, he was instructed on how to act in one scene by Baryshnikov himself, I know as I was on stage in rehearsal as an extra, too.

Machiko Hasegawa Grave

Cemetery · Fuchu

Machiko Hasegawa was one of the first female Japanese manga artists, who lived from January 19, 1920 to May 27, 1992. Her famous comic strip, Sazae-san, ran in newspaper comics from 1946 until 1974. It become a regular TV cartoon series that still runs today. Not far from Machiko Hasegawa’s grave on the corner of the open roundabout stand two crepe myrtle trees that bloom in July every year. The blooms last until mid-October and there are other shades of pink, violet, white and almost red crepe myrtle trees throughout the cemetery.

The gravestone for Machiko Hasegawa, the Japanese anime artist, located in Tamabochi Cemetery, not far from our family home in Tamacho, Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan.

Musashino-Mori Park

Park · 府中市 (Fuchu City, Tokyo, Japan)

Plane spotting, leafy walks & sports

We often take walks with our dogs in Musashino-no-Mori Park. It has green fields, a forested mini-hill that you can climb and explore, a large pond where birds gather to search for food, and an observation point for the Chofu Airport. ふるさとの丘 On top so the highest point to the south is the Furusato no Oka. Here you can see sample typical rocks, stones, and minerals from each of the 47 prefectures of the Japanese archipelago on display in 2 m by 1m plaques placed in the ground at the summit of a small hill. The 47 plaques are lined up along the edge of the cement sidewalk that curves up and around the hill.

多磨霊園のスギ (Tama Bochi (Reien) no Cedar Tree)

Tourist attraction · Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan

In all seasons of the year, we take our dogs, a family of Toy Manchester Terriers, for a walk in the beautifully serene Tama Bochi Cemetery. Even Ichiro, our oldest dog, who passed away at the age of 20 years old, loved to take a walk here, most often by a neighbor, Mr. Nishiyama, who was 80 years old when he passed just a year after his beloved friend, Ichiro, died.

Brunswick Executive Airport

Airport · Brunswick, Georgia

Originally, this airport was part of the Brunswick Naval Air Station, where my father was stationed during the Korean War as part of the weather ballon unit. While my home state of Georgia hasn't been my actual home since I was an 8-year-old third grader in Ft. Oglethorpe, Georgia. I frequently visit Georgia and have and have had family there on both my father's and mother's side. BRUNSWICK is where we had planned to hold a family reunion this past August, which was postponed due to he ongoing COVID-19 pandemic., and we had planned to have all the family reunion attendees visit the BNA Museum. Therefore, 2020 was not only a very significant election, the January 5, 2021 runoff election,deciding the control of the country, makes my connections to this place in Georgia actually very personal., and significant for my own history and family legacy. I was born in Brunswick 😃GA, 67 years ago ( as of Nov 2020) since my still teenage parents moved there. Shortly after their Halloween wedding on October 31, 1952, my dad was transferred to the Brunswick Naval Air Station, for which this museum was created to commemorate. My mother, an 18-year-old high school homecoming queen, Rebecca, and her high school sweetheart and co-captain of their small rural high school’s football team, Jerry, were my late parents. My parents, both from Cave City, KY, were stationed at Brunswick Naval Air Station from 1952-1954, where I was born (in Nov. 1953).

Brunswick Naval Aviation Museum

Museum · Brunswick, Georgia

Originally, this airport was part of the Brunswick Naval Air Station, where my father was stationed during the Korean War as part of the weather ballon unit. While my home state of Georgia hasn't been my actual home since I was an 8-year-old third grader in Ft. Oglethorpe, Georgia. I frequently visit Georgia and have and have had family there on both my father's and mother's side. BRUNSWICK is where we had planned to hold a family reunion this past August, which was postponed due to he ongoing COVID-19 pandemic., and we had planned to have all the family reunion attendees visit the BNA Museum. Therefore, 2020 was not only a very significant election, the January 5, 2021 runoff election,deciding the control of the country, makes my connections to this place in Georgia actually very personal., and significant for my own history and family legacy. I was born in Brunswick 😃GA, 67 years ago ( as of Nov 2020) since my still teenage parents moved there. Shortly after their Halloween wedding on October 31, 1952, my dad was transferred to the Brunswick Naval Air Station, for which this museum was created to commemorate. My mother, an 18-year-old high school homecoming queen, Rebecca, and her high school sweetheart and co-captain of their small rural high school’s football team, Jerry, were my late parents. My parents, both from Cave City, KY, were stationed at Brunswick Naval Air Station from 1952-1954, where I was born.

Soya De Maadjou

$ · Restaurant · Djohong, Cameroon, West Africa

It’s been a long time since I was there, actually in December 2000 to January 2001, so I’m sure the place has changed. So long in fact that I doubt this restaurant existed then, though it may have been the one I ate in. I spent two weeks in and around the village of Djohong, which at the time had no electricity and no wells for water. However, I had a very memorable time there and the great memories of what I experienced there will live with me forever. I was a member of an Earthwatch expedition to assist an American nurse named Phyllis Jansyn, who had immigrated to Cameroon in order to continue her former Peace Corps work in Djohong village. Her goals were to help the people of the village get medical care, to assist in safe childbirth, to provide medical care to prevent, get safe , clean drinking water, and cure various diseases caused by parasites. There were small groups of 5-8 people at three or four times a year who were eco-volunteers through Earthwatch. We lived in a rustic, straw-thatched cabins and worked for two weeks, assisting Phyllis in administering vaccines, and checking for intestinal parasites in the villages in the Djohong province.

Van Meter Hall

Western Kentucky University · Bowling Green, KY

I started as a freshman at WKU in the fall of 1971. As I was a music major involved in many musical organizations, I had many chances to perform in Van Meter Hall. It was also the venue for the 1976 performance of the visiting Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra. That year, the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO), made a short tour of the US, performing in only 4 cities, of which Bowling Green was one. I was studying Russian with Mania Ritter, a long-time Foreign Language Department faculty member at the time. My wife and I hosted 3 members of the LPO by taking them around the city by car, and having them to our house for dinner that evening. The LPO's performance of Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade was one of the most outstanding musical experiences of my life.

Eloise B Houchens Center

Non-profit organization · Bowling Green, KY

The Eloise B. Houchens Center was the venue for my parents' 50th Wedding Anniversary Celebration in October 2002. Jerry Franklin Brooks and Rebecca Lewis Brooks were married in Cave City, KY on October 31, 1952 (68 years ago today as I write this). They had come to live in Bowling Green in 1963 ,after the birth of their fourth child. All four of their children graduated from Bowling Green High School, two of whom still live in the city. The Anniversary Celebration was a public event, which had over 75 people in attendance, including family, friends, fellow church-goers, and other people in the South Central Kentucky area.

Université Jean Moulin Lyon 3 Faculty of Philosophy

University · Lyon, France

I have returned to visit Montpellier (and Lyon), France several different times over the year. Here I am in 2005 when my sister, who took the photo, accompanied me on a return visit to Europe.

In Sept-Oct, 1973, I attended a 6-week course in French language studies at the Université Jean Moulin Language Institute in Lyon, France, in preparation for beginning a year-long academic stay at University of Montpellier from October 1973 to June 1974. This was the first time to travel outside my home country of the United States. Even though it was almost autumn, the local city pool situated on the banks of the Rhine River was still open. I remember going for an exhilarating September swim in that pool.

Dalewood Middle School

Middle School · Chattanooga, TN

In 1965 - 1966, I attended 7th grade at Dalewood Middle School (called Dalewood Junior High, at the time). I was in Mr. Carson's homeroom, and my best friend in grade 7 was Benjie Burrows, who was captain of the baseball team. I was a band member, playing the French horn, and also played viola in the orchestra (only 4 members, which included the Shapiro Brothers, who lived with their family in the Frank Lloyd Wright House there in Chattanooga. Benjie and I competed to be the best student, although we were good friends during that year. I never made the connection that Benjie's mom was from Korea, so he was a racially mixed child, growing into a teenager. I moved back to Kentucky the following year. Eventually, I was to marry a Japanese women and have two mixed genetic heritage sons, and four grandchildren who are of mixed American-Japanese heritage.

STORY: Just a short memory I recall about 7th grade: There was a school play going to be put on, and the day for try-outs for the play came. I walked down the long hallway toward the audition room, and next to me appeared Chip Bell, with whom I had been 2nd grade at Anna B. Lacey Elementary School five years earlier. We had also done a play in 2nd grade, and Chip had had a leading part. He asked if I were going to the try outs of the school play, which was where he was headed. Quickly, I responded that I was on my way home, turned around abruptly, and left school. I guess I felt that he was more experienced and would no doubt get the 'part', having no idea what play they were even putting on. Such are the foibles of childhood.

W.R. McNeill Elementary

Elementary school · Bowling Green

In 1963, I was a fifth grader at W.R. McNeill Elementary School, which was the year that John F. Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963. I remember that event very well, and recall how nearly the entire school was brought to tears by that news. Later that school year, our class put on a musical play and I recall having to learn how to square dance for our performance. My own siblings were also attending McNeill School, in grades 3 and 1, respectively, at the time.

The next school year in Grade 6, we attended a newly built elementary located much closer to our home on Morgantown Road in Bowling Green, called Dishman-McGinnis Elementary School. I attended the sixth grade there and then we moved to Chattanooga, Tenn., where I went to Dalewood Junior High (see separate entry), and then we returned to live in Bowling Green again for my eight-grade year. I went to L.C. Curry Elementary School (K - 8th grade) for the first half of the year, and then went again to Dishman-McGinnis Elementary School for the remainder of my eigth-grade year. See the attached 8th Grade Graduation Photo.

Here is my 8th Grade graduating class at Dishman McGinnis School in May, 1967. I'm in the very center of the photo.

Anna B Lacey School

School, Elementary

The year 2020 is the 60th anniversary of my 2nd grade year at Anna B. Lacey School located in Chattanooga, TN. Our class put on a play in front of the entire school, and every student played a part. I was the court page in red at the far right of the photo (See attached photo of the class play). I wonder if any of my classmates even remember that time. In fact, I'm pretty sure that at least one classmate remembers: It was Chip Bell, who played the Prince in our second grade play. He reminded me of that special event in our 2nd grade of elementary school when we were both student, new 7th graders at Dalewood Junior High School (now Dalewood Middle School). I retell the incident in Google Maps entry on here in this list (just above at Dalewood Middle School), and also on my Google Maps entry for that place.

Conservatoire Régional de Montpellier

Conservatory of music · Montpellier, France

When I was a junior in college at Western Kentucky University, I spent a year studying at University of Montpellier's Paul Valery College of Liberal Arts and LIterature. At that time, the city of Montpellier had a sister city relationship with Louisville, Kentucky. Consequently, I was awarded a 10-month scholarship to study viola with Professor Chene, who taught at the Conservatory of Montpellier. I had viola lessons with him every week from October until June that year. I have visited Montpellier several times since then and always stop by the Conservatory.

Dorchester Apartments

Apartment building · San Diego, CA

When I was a graduate student at SDSU, I rented a 2-bedroom apartment at Dorchester Apartments for the summer, so that my family could stay with me. We really enjoyed the apartment complex. Having a pool on the property was ideal for the boys and it was not very far from the campus. For two more summers after that (in all 1991-1993), I attended the summer school at San Diego State University to earn a second Master’s in Education Administration.

Byzantine Walls

Historical landmark 

Walls of Constantinople was where my wife and I began our sojourn through much of Mediterranean Turkey at these Byzantine Walls. From this starting point, we had planned a two-week long trip along the Western coast of Turkey to (mainly) follow the visit made by the Apostle Paul to the Seven Churches of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey) in the first century. It is fitting that our sojourn began here at the Byzantine Walls. "The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul in Turkey) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built." (Credited to Bahman Amirzade, Google Local Guide)

Kohala Divers Ltd

Dive shop ·  Kawaihae, Waimea, Big Island

My friend, who lives in Kappa'u (near Hawi) on the Big Island, went diving with me a couple of times.

Kohala Divers is one of the best dive shops and scuba diving / snorkeling operators on the Big Island of Hawaii. I have been diving with Kohala Divers about a dozen times and have always had a great time with a friendly and knowledgeable dive master. In particular, I can recommend Kelli as she is extremely patient and very knowledgeable about the biological and oceanic life, as well as how to best enjoy the dive experience. The shop has a wide assortment of dive equipment and accessories, and at least once a year you can find great bargains on regular dive equipment during their sale of their older rental equipment to make room for new inventory. I don’t know about now, but in the past many of the dive masters here were women, which makes for a less aggressive, more nature-centered diving experience — in my opinion. They use a fairly large dive boat, which can handle at least four dive groups, based on level and dive experience.

Makaha Valley Plantation

Condominium complex · Waianae, Oahu (West shore)

When I bought a two-bedroom condo at Makaha Valley Plantation in 2002 just after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in NYC, I had no idea the condo would go up four times in value. I fixed up my unit myself, painting it entirely, and tiling the dining and kitchen floors. But as I could only use it on vacation once or twice a year, I did end up selling it. I decided to hunt for property on the Big Island and eventually built a small vacation home, which I sold in 2011. It was destroyed by the Kilauea Lava Flow of 2018, so I was glad no had sold it before the eruption.

Center for Liberal Arts/Kitasato University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

University department · Sagamihara, Japan

As a teacher in the English Language Department of Kitasato University for 24 years until 2020, I saw a lot of changes in the university’s buildings over the years. Of course, the most important elements in the life of a university are the students and teachers, of which I knew and taught thousands.

Books Kinokuniya Tokyo

Book store · Shibuya City, Tokyo, Japan

Japanese bookstore with large selection

Located on the sixth floor of the Nitori ( ) Home Furnishings Store, Kinokuniya Books is a book lover's delight. There are all types of books, magazines, and media (limited DVDs & Blueray disks, etc) available for browsing or purchase, including an extensive selection of English Language teaching materials, children's books, young adult's literature, and academic texts and research books / literature. Formerly, the entire building was a massive 6-floor bookstore run by Kinokuniya, but nowadays if you want to get books written in Nihongo, including manga in Japanese, you'll need to stop by the multi-storied main store, located not far away near the JR Shinjuku East Entrance, a roughly 700-m-walk from this Foreign Books only branch inside Nitori. If you arrive here at the street level entrance, then it will be fun to take one of two possible routes to return back towards Shinjuku JR Station. It's a kind of mini-tour side-trip that makes exploring a new and large city such a joy.

1) The first way back is to go up the stairs on the NW corner of the 6F store to reach the 7F sky walk over to the next building, which houses Takashimaya Department Store and just before that, Tokyu Hands, a multi-storied arts & crafts and eclectic utilitarian goods mega-store for every imaginable need. ( See my separate review elsewhere on Google Maps).

2) The second possible return trip begins by using the escalator inside the building and descending to the third floor of Nitori, which is actually a national chain franchise, stopping along the way to view the largest selections of home furnishings in Japan, and emerging on the 3F wooden-planked walkway that will carry you all the way back to Shinjuku Station, which is, by the way, the largest, busiest and most complex train station in the world.

 --------------- PROFESSIONAL USE ---------------

Kinokuniya Books provides a professional academic, research and educational materials service (including K-12 and college textbooks) for its customers. It is possible to either order online or telephone, or to browse the shelves to find a specific book you want to buy. Then you can either purchase it yourself or have the book(s) shipped to your school or institution's office for later payment by your organization or university. Like me, many college faculty members have an annual research stipend or might have received a MEXT grant, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology Organization's grant-in-aid for research study, which will pay for texts and print materials for use in one's research efforts.

Jikei-in Temple

Pet cemetery · Fuchu

We went to the pet shrine and cemetery, called Jikeiin where our recently passed pet dog, Bati, is interred. He passed away in my wife’s arms on December 30, 2018. I was out of the country at the time, so it was my first time to see where he was laid to rest. Actually, his ashes will only be kept here for just three years. Then we’ll either bring his burial urn home or pour his ashes in a special place—probably the former will be best.  Also memorialized here is my mother-in-law’s pet dog, Ichiro, (named after the Japanese star who played for the Seattle Mariners) who outlived her and came to live with us. Ichiro passed away at the age of twenty.  He died about 4 years ago. Also buried at this shrine are the two rabbits, which were our sons’ pets for about 10 years before we had a dog. In the photo, Bati’s burial urn of cremated remains is kept on the second floor of a two-story building on the grounds of the shrine, located about a mile and a half from our house. It’s really just a 6  x 15 foot room, filled with shelves. Bati’s memorial niche is on the bottom row of this shelf of pet graves. It’s in one of several dozen of such crypt rooms. There are are also graves and mass burial sites - something for every budget and form of commemoration.

Sengenyama Park

Park · Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan

One of our favorite places in West Tokyo for a lovely walk in a forest preserve is also next to one of the largest cemeteries in Tokyo. One of the highlights of the park is the vista point to see Mount Fuji on the far west side of the park. Of course, it can be obscured by the clouds. There are trails and roads, where you can see a natural spring, and, in season, a rare lily-like yellow flower in May blooms on the hillside. There is a small shrine at the top of the 'mountain.' Sengenyama Park connects directly with Tamabochi Cemetery on the east side. There is a suspension bridge above the road that passes between the two, where you can cross to get from the cemetery to the park itself. The park is beautiful in all seasons as there are different flowers and wildlife that can be seen in each. I recommend going on to see the Tama Cemetery too, as there are many interesting monuments and the funeral and burial practices in Japan are quite unique.

Triolet University City

Student dormitory · Montpellier, France

Back in the day, October 1973-June 1974, when I was a foreign exchange student studying at the Paul Valery campus at the Universite de Montpellier, I lived for nine months at Cite Triolet dormitory and ate meals in the attached student cafeteria. It was a totally different experience from my 'normal' life back home in Kentucky, where I had lived with my family. Dormitory life was new, but something I enjoyed. I soon made friends with another American from the same university back home. We befriended Frankie and Patrice who were also students at Paul Valery University. On weekends, we usually watched TV at the dorm, never missing an episode of Kung Fu, the American TV drama starring David Carradine, and then got drunk on wine in my room and ended up wrestling in our underwear. I met Patrice, his wife and their two grown kids, when I visited Montpellier in March of 2018.

Enpukuji

Buddhist temple · Itabashi Ward, Nishidai, Tokyo

My wife’s family, including her parents, and many of her ancestors are interred at Enpukuji Temple, which is located within a short walking distance from her old family home in Nishidai. As she is the guardian of the family shrine, we go to the burial place two to four times a year at least. The autumnal and vernal equinoxes are the two mandatory days to visit the graves as well as the memorial dates of the passing of her mother and father. We usually clean the gravesite, place fresh flowers there, and light incense, then offer our prayers for good health and wise choices. I learned a few years ago that I will be buried in my wife’s family cemetery plot, as I have lived in her country of Japan for over 42 years. That fact somehow makes the trips to Enpukuji Temple there more meaningful.

NASA Mission Control Center

Museum of space history · Houston

Back in 1989, I had the opportunity to be one of 36 international educators who were selected to participate in the annual International Teacher's Space Camp held at the NASA Mission Control Center. For two weeks, we visited different divisions within NASA Mission Control, getting to do some of the same training exercises that real astronauts undergo, we heard talks from former and future astronauts and their preparation for space missions, and watched presentations by space scientists currently working on missions for NASA. It was a very rewarding experience for me as an international school teacher and as a person.

Pamukkale Belediyesi Kocaçukur Naturel Park Havuzu

Park · Pamukkale

Back when we went to Pamukkale, it was possible to spend a long time in different pools - both the natural ones and man-made ones. We met a young Turkish family at the bus station that offered us a couple of rooms in their home as a place to stay. The place was cheap enough, but the most interesting thing was the family cooked our dinner every night and more than that, the young woman who was the hostess showed my wife how all the dishes were made. Even today, we sometimes have home-made 'dolmas,' baklava, and other authentic Turkish dishes that she learned back then.

Hospital District De Djohong

Hospital · Djohong, Cameroon, West Africa

Thanks to the work of Phyllis Jansyn, who loved and volunteered many years of her life to the people of the village and area around Djohong, it was possible to construct this hospital and to staff it. When I visited Djohong in the early 2000s, the thing I remember was the early morning call-to-prayers by the imam at the mosque. Of course, there were prayers offered at various times during the day , but I can only recall the early morning ones.

Jekyll Island Oceanview Beach Park

Parking lot · Jekyll Island, (near Brunswick, Georgia)

Although I was born in Brunswick, my parents often used to come to Jekyll Island on my dad's day off from his work with hot air weather balloons at the Naval Air Station to spend their leisure time on the beach. I was only a newborn infant at the time. Years later, the three of us returned to this beach when I was over 50 years old to once again enjoy the experience and to reminisce about the 'good old days.'

El Cabron

Nature preserve · dive site: Gran Canaria, The Canary Islands, Spain

It may well be the best place for diving on the island of Gran Canaria, but I don't know about that since it the ONLY place I've dived (multiple times). I do know that there is quite a lot of sea life in these waters. It was great getting my PADI certification here and also getting Underwater Photographer PADI credential here. too, with the tutelage of the Davy Jones Dive School in Arinaga.

Parque Chichen-itza

Playground · Mérida, Yucatan (state), Mexico

At the time we visited Chichen-itza, I was teaching fourth grade in an international school, where the social studies curriculum dealt with the Maya Civilization. Therefore, I was delighted to get to visit the same sites that I had been teaching about in school. It was very hot that day, but we climbed several of the Mayan pyramids, walk on the ancient ball fields, and attempted to decipher the enigmatic face-like glyphs in the various monuments. Due to its proximity to the Yucatán, it was a perfect compliment to what we had seen at Tulum on the coast.

Fés

Train station : Fes, Morocco

It has been many years ago now that we were in Morocco. We arrived from Spain by crossing by ferry at the Strait of Gibraltar. After staying one night in Tangiers, we traveled by train to Fez. On board our train we met a Moroccan couple who were returning to their home in Fez with their infant son. We ended up making friends with them, so they invited us to have dinner at their home that evening. The next day we got took us to see the central marketplace.

Jekyll Island State Park

State park · Jekyll Island, (near Brunswick, Georiga), USA

Island retreat for leisure & fitness

Of course, Jekyll Island State Park means a lot to me. Besides being a wonderful place to spend your free time with friends and family, it was near where I was actually born.

Wright Brothers National Memorial

Memorial park · Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina

Iconic plane take-off spot with exhibits

It's been a long time ago now since 1977 since we took my wife's parents (they were Japanese who were living in Tokyo) on a grand tour of the Eastern United States, and the Wright Brothers National Monument at Kitty Hawk was one thing they wanted to see.

Empire State Building

Tourist attraction · New York City, Manhattan Island, NY

The Empire State Building is a 103-story landmark skyscraper with observatories was for the longest time the tallest building in the world. Located in the heart of Manhattan Island, New York City, it is still a noteworthy edifice that is visited by millions of sightseers from around the globe.

I first climbed to the top of the Empire State Building in 1973 when I was departing New York's JFK Airport to spend a year studying in Montpellier, France -- one of those Junior-Year-Abroad study excursions. The next time was in 1977 after I married my wife of 42 years. Her parents were visiting from Tokyo and we made a driving tour of the Eastern United States, and of course, stopped in New York City and went to the top of the Empire. I think the third time was in 1999 when I convinced by parents to fly to New York to meet up with me and my older son, who was studying in Cambridge, Mass. at the time. We were both attending and presenting at the TESOL conference held in New York in March of that year. I can't remember the details of the fourth time I visited it, but it was on a solitary trip to NYC in second decade of the 2000s. Over the decades I’ve seen the New York skyline undergo slow and steady changes, but it always remains one of the world’s great metropolises and a spectacle to behold from the zenith that the Empire State Building offers.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

$$$$ · Performing arts theater · New York City, New York

I have performed on stage in Tokyo several times as a stage extra with the Metropolitan Opera, who used to bring an elaborate entourage on tour to Tokyo. While normally you need ticket for a performance at Metropolitan Opera or New York City Ballet at the Lincoln Center in New York , you don’t need a ticket to visit the Metropolitan Opera Gift Shop. At times, you can find great bargains on special gifts, music CDs, books, and surprising fashion items, such as dresses, handbags, wraps, and evening wear. So you don’t have to even attend one of their world-class performances to enjoy your time at the Met. If you are so inclined, you’ll be completely amazed by the opulence of the theater itself. I’ve attended opera performances they were absolute stunningly staged musical and dramatic works.

Cumberland Mountain State Park

State park 

Lakefront recreation area & golf course

It has been many many years since we've been to Cumberland Mountain State Park. But I do have a childhood memory of a family incident that happened there. Our parents took us to Cumberland Mountain State Park one weekend on our way to Chattanooga, where we used to live. Mom and the three children climbed up into the woods and, for some reason, Dad was not with us. All of sudden, we heard a animal cry like a lynx or a mountain lion, so the four of us hurtled down the hill, back toward the car, running as fast we could. When we reached the car, there was our Dad, laughing his head off, for it had been him who was making the animal noises. My mother was furious because she had been scared so bad that she had peed in her pants. We all used to recall with humor and alacrity that story of Cumberland Mountain State Park. We never went back to visit, by the way.

Gaidos Seafood Restaurant

$$$ · Seafood · Galveston

Longtime upscale restaurant with views

It has been a long while ago now that we ate at Gaido's Seafood Restaurant. Our friends, with whom I had worked as a co-teacher in Japan. Ann Doumas was the junior high science teacher at Nishimachi International School where I was also a teacher (1979 -1990), The Doumas’ had moved back to Galveston some time before. When we visited them a few years ago, they insisted on taking us out to eat dinner at Gaido's Seafood. It was fantastic food - there is no question about that.

Harvard Graduate School Of Education

University · Cambridge (outside Boston, MASS), USA

When our older son, Mikio, graduated from The Harvard Graduate School of Education, he was the youngest person in his class. At that same time, Seiji Ozawa, the renowned conductor, received an honorary doctorate from Harvard University.

Glasgow Cemetery

Cemetery : Glasgow, Kentucky

My mother, Rebecca Florence (Lewis) Brooks was visiting her husband's grave along with her sister-in-law, Susan, at the Glasgow Cemetery.

My father was born in Glasgow, so it's appropriate that he and my mother were buried there upon their deaths. They had met in high school at the nearby Cave City’s Caverna High School, and lived just a block away from each other during that time. My father's funeral was held on August 14, 2012. Many members of his family, as well as family friends, were present at the funeral and at this cemetery for his burial that day. My mother passed on Nov 27, 2017, and was buried there on Dec 3, 2017 in the Brooks family burial plot alongside my father. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend my mother's funeral as I live in Tokyo, and had job commitments at the time. In fact, the last time to see my mother was from March 13-20, 2017. I have not been able to visit Glasgow Cemetery since I was there with my mother while visiting her at her former home in Bowling Green, KY the year before that in 2016.

The photos were mostly taken at Glasgow Cemetery immediately following my dad’s funeral and during his burial after the ceremony in August 2012. They include pictures of my mom, my aunt (by Dad's younger sister), and the pallbearers, including my own son, and his cousins. Incidentally, my father's parents, Arthur Leroy Brooks and (Dorothy) Jeannette Conklin Brooks are also buried in another burial plot at the same Glasgow Cemetery.

          I plan on being buried in my wife’s family burial plot at Empukuji Temple, where nearly 16 generations (nearly 300 years) of the Yamaguchi Family are interred. The gravesite is located directly behind the Empukuji Temple in Tokyo’s Itabashi Ward near my wife’s former family home, where we lived for 12 years until we moved to Fuchu City (West Tokyo), and is the actual place she was born and the temple is where we both will be buried in the same plot as her father and mother. As is Japanese custom, the person’s ashes are placed in the grave exactly 49 days after being kept at home in the family altar.

[thepenultimateword]

Prompt #226

“Sooo…” The deity tapped their fingers uncomfortably on the arm of their chaise lounge. “Do you want…cheese?”

The sacrifice raised both brows. “Cheese?”

“I don’t really know what mortals like. I personally don’t eat, but the acolytes keep a refrigerator in the lower quarters of the temple and I’ve overheard once or twice they keep cheese there.”

“I’ve been abducted, held prisoner, and served to you on a silver platter, and you’re just going to feed me?”

The deity shrugged helplessly. “Well, I’m not sure what else they expect me to do with you.”

[thou-babbling-brook]

Bro I can’t believe I’m in Ezioland rn 😤🇮🇹🗡️

[tanadrin]

Eric Adams is going to visit Germany next month. The rat mafia, displeased with his decision to permit trash cans in New York City, wants him gone. Remy Ratatouille offers you five hundred thousand german dollars, and the eternal friendship of the international rat mafia, to do the job. Do you accept? (The rat mafia will help but they are too small to operate conventional firearms)

No, I don’t think I could get away with murder. Besides, Berlin definitely has some big-ass rats that could get the job done. Plus they are immune to the human justice system.

[ifindus]

Fun idea

How about 🇩🇰 building a Lego castle !

Since Denmark is where Lego comes from

Of course Denmark loves legos!! As a relatively small country Denmark is proud of being home to such a big company known all across the world. He has made a lot of money on Lego, but for him personally it is much more important to bring joy to people of all ages. He loves creating and being artistic as well - lego is very Danish.

[expiationist]

im not crying, you are 😭

[corrodedcoughin]

Thinking about steddie future where they're both just average guys. No rockstars, no basketball players just two Normal men living a normal life because honestly? they deserve it. They deserve soft domesticity and happiness.

They both have jobs they like but don't love and they're happy with that. Eddie maybe becomes an electrician, working for someone else's company. His coworkers are chill, he gets to get out and work with his hands and that's more than he could have asked for. Steve is a physical therapist, or a manager in some business. He likes his team and the steady hours. He's not working for his dad which is a plus.

They buy a house together, that's not a mansion but it's not a trailer either. Steve does a lot of the dishes because Eddie hates it, hates the feeling of old food on the plates and cutlery. So Eddie will kiss Steve on the cheek and does the laundry because Steve fucking hates laundry. And sitting on the floor watching TV while he folds clothes is honestly sort of relaxing?? Love is doing the chores your partner hates.

Steve and Robin go out for brunch at least once a month, where they catch up and gossip for hours and hours and Steve comes home lighter with updates on Robin and Vickie. Eddie will have nightly phone calls with Wayne, where they talk and laugh and Eddie will eventually hand the phone over to Steve so he and Wayne can talk sports together. When he's in town Dustin will come over and stay in their spare room and they laugh and joke so much it's just like old times. They go over to Jeff's house for dinner on a semi regular basis, and it's nice having normal friends.

They adopt a very annoying cat who will climb all over them in bed and meow in their faces when they don't wake up to feed it breakfast in time. Steve will go for jogs on a Saturday morning, coming home to Eddie reading in bed. Some old western book Wayne recommended to him. There's a steaming cup of coffee waiting on their bedside tables that Eddie's prepared.

They take time off of work and go on a week long vacation because they can do that now. They do dorky touristy things and Eddie buys a mug to send to Wayne. Steve takes a lot of dorky photos of the two of them.

Idk they deserve to be normal and alive and happy with no upside down anymore <3

Oh I love this! I had actually been thinking about tradesman Eddie for a little bit I am so, so glad you’ve come up with this!

I can so completely see him learning a trade and just getting employed and put through his time by a small local employer! He has to go through his exams and that part of it worries him when he first gets the job but his team end up being really supportive and Steve stays up late with him, practicing circuits and wiring and quizzing him on currents and volts. Eddie returning the favour, letting Steve mark up his muscles and be a living anatomy dummy. Sure it gets a little sexy from time to time but more often than not it’s just them testing each other as Steve identifies bones and Eddie talks about parallel circuits.

The monthly brunches mentally and physically revive Steve after working extended hours with patients that he really does want the best for but a jobs a job and it can get pretty tiring. They joke that they rebalance each others chakras but they really do feel realigned after their meet ups. Eddie can see it to, sometimes he’ll come pick them up when it’s been a boozy brunch and delights in seeing them happy and light, clambering over each other to tell Eddie something about one of the waiters or an especially good dish they ordered. When he drops Robin home Steve sits in the front and looks at peace and Eddie feels the same way.

Their weekends are for them, sometimes that means staying home and cleaning the whole place between ordering food in and sometimes that means going on a day trip and taking Wayne around all the antique spots around the county and seeing what horrors they can uncover. Top spot currently sits with Wayne’s find of a doll whose limbs had been replaced with horse legs and had the head of a fish. Of course they bought it.

Every time they go on a holiday they make sure to send postcards to everyone, including themselves, seeing if they’ll get home before the postcard does. Steve keeps them in a photo album, each with a Polaroid of them next to it. Sometimes taken by a stranger, sometimes just a close up of their faces squashed together. It’s Eddie’s favourite thing to go through on their anniversary, or any day really, just loves being reminded that this is the life they get to have.

It’s mundane, dare say even normal, but they love it. Steve comes home every night, happy to put his scrubs in the washing machine next to Eddie’s uniform, happy to be where he feels loved.

[psychodelic-insomnomaniac]

Do you think the person who made this PrussiaxGermany Hetalia yaoi doujin knew that it would one day end up on display in the Danish National Museum?

[mythicalpoolnoodle]

My great plains ass isn't built for these mountains

[yard-adjacent]

“He thinks this is enough…”

[idontmindifuforgetme]

You guys don’t know how much yearning for Baghdad takes up of my mental real estate

[xiyade]

I got called to the office on the weekend to help with tickets and visas. Manager asked where he can buy cardboard boxes from. Anyone with less anxiety can you please tell me if I should look for a new job?

[streamdotpng]

Hello everybody, who wants pictures

[iwa--chan]

📍hakone, japan

[abroadlifeactually]

Its a Vibe (Free of Ghosts)

Over the last several years my birthday has been a week-long celebration. My 30th was spent relaxing on a beach and partying in Aruba with my best friend, which ushered in the trend to always do something lavish for my birthday. I maintained this tradition with vacations and spa treatments over the years. However, things started to change when I turned 40. One, I was pregnant, and two, it was during the covid years, thus severely altering how I could celebrate.  Last year we took a trip to the Philippines as a 40th redux, and to give me much needed R&R since our move abroad earlier that year was pretty rough. It was an amazing trip, but it wasn’t the “all about me” birthday vacation I had gotten used to. Sunbeam had just started to ween off breastfeeding, so I was pumping for relief and doing my best to maintain her schedule while we were away. On our return home Sunbeam got sick in the airport leaving us quarantined in a tiny hospital room for 2 days with all our luggage, no wifi, cell phone service, or drinking water, and a toilet leaking all over the floor. But that’s a story for another time. 

This past birthday the realization set in that the old days of sipping champagne all day aren’t returning; but it’s okay because my life is evolving, and change is a natural part of growth. At first I felt the need to cling to my old bday tradition to hold on to my “bad b*tch” aesthetic. Being able to splurge on myself and luxuriate for several days made me confident and independent. However, now I’m in a place where trying to uphold those traditions along with my new responsibilities is much harder. It’s not impossible, but definitely requires a lot more effort and planning, which can feel like a lot.

So what does a good birthday look like now? Earlier this year we took a family vacation to the Maldives, and were planning a visit back west around the holidays, so traveling was not an option. I thought about what brings me joy now, as a woman with a family. Hearing the happy squeals of my child brings me life, so I opted to bring Sunbeam to an indoor play gym in the morning, since she’s still a little too young to really enjoy Disney.  We had the place to ourselves. Later that evening, my husband arranged for our nanny to come so we could enjoy the evening out. He planned a beautiful evening. We ate a 6 course meal in a private room at the top of a building with a breathtaking view of the city. I was all dressed up and felt beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed spending the day with my family.

As my life continues to evolve, my birthday celebration has to take other factors into account. This encouraged me to reexamine my perspective on what makes my birthday meaningful, and embrace what comes with evolution. I’m grateful for the way my life is progressing and all the new experiences it brings, which makes these changes all the more welcome.

Now on another note….this birthday also indicated that an ex situationship has FINALLY moved on. I met my husband back in 2016, and with any new relationship it may take some time for ex lingerers to officially cut ties. But when I was done or over a person, I would totally disappear, they’d never hear from me again.  So when Hubby and I met, I may have gotten a rogue text here or there, but for the most part we just moved forward uninterrupted.

But there was one. An ex? Not sure you could call him that, it really never got that serious, so I’ll just say someone I dated briefly. This person would send happy birthday texts every year to no response. This shockingly went on for 6 YEARS. There were no other messages exchanged in between, because we weren’t in contact. But every year without fail I’d get a random text filled with bitmoji. One year the text came with 6 different Bitmojis…. I thought about responding a few times just to say I’m married, or I’m married and pregnant, or I’m married with a kid and don’t even live in the country anymore. But I couldn’t figure out how to bring that up with a happy birthday text, and also didn’t feel conversing, so opted for cold silence instead.

These messages were especially surprising because he was the “i’m so busy” type. He made it very clear he was suuuper busy with all of his goals, so he needed to be focused. He was the type that presented as if he had it all figured out, while he questioned my ambition. The reality was, we just had different goals. But somewhere between my mid twenties and early thirties I fully accepted that I wasn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea, which allowed me to stay grounded and not take negative things men said to me seriously. It was usually them, and not me. I’m not claiming to be perfect, but I stand by that assessment. I also didn’t try to change anyone’s mind, so when our communication gradually faded, it was all good. 

At first, the birthday messages made sense, right?  We were cool, there were no hard feelings. So the first time I got a text after all communication completely stopped I responded “wow, I can’t believe you remembered, thank you”. The following year, “thank you!!!” But in 2018 I decided, I wasn’t going to respond anymore messages, to send the message, MOVE ON. But he continued, he sent birthday texts year after year, to no response. I was slightly amused, but more so confused. Like, what was the reason!?!  We weren’t friends. I’ll never know what his motivations were, but for the first time in seven years the birthday texts finally stopped. I think he’s finally got the hint and moved on, good for him.

[sparvverius]

caravaggio paintings, st. peter's and the pantheon, and the view from my kitchen and bedroom windows