Sweet 16th Trip to Aoni Onsen

Arielle was blessed to be part of mentor group here in Misawa a few years back. Kim asked if Arielle and two other young gals - 14 at the time - would like to meet weekly for a bit of time....and it was very good.

Here you see the whole group at one of  Kim's (2nd from left) farewells from Misawa.  Not only was this a great, faith grounding experience for Arielle, but deep friendships formed with the other two girls in the group. They've maintained that friendship. I believe these girls will be friends for life.

We tossed around several ideas for Arielle's 16th birthday party and in the end she decided a trip before we all move would be the most meaningful.  Alicia had a birthday recently and agreed! This was a good thing for us moms - since we are fairly good buds as well. ::wink::

We massaged the ideas and the dates...and finally  left Friday night for Aoni Onsen - a Traditional Japanese Ryokan.  Becky suggested Aoni (and boy are we grateful she did). Going here HAD been on our bucket list and none of us had visited before. Aoni is built around natural hot springs...it's way up in the mountains and the scenery is breath taking. They are famous for  lighting with lanterns (though there WERE electric lights in the bathrooms) and for their natural hot springs.  The drive was  an adventure and I was suitably impressed with Mary's skillful maneuvering of hair-pin turns and sharp inclines.  Arielle reports the weekend was well worth the motion sickness the drive induced.

In the winter time snow mobiles meet you and drive you down into the little mountain valley where Aoni is located. I understand why!

We arrived right on time for our dinner of screaming fish. I was pleased to have MANY veggie options and happily passed the screaming fish and raw salmon off to the paleos in our midst.

This gentleman provided dinner entertainment. Arielle and I thought the Shamisen playing sounded a bit like a banjo....blue grass even....

He gave a bit of a speech and from the repeated mentions of lanterns and the word Aoni, we deduced he was sharing local history. Wish we could have understood.

Next up was Karoke...by this time we were trying to figure out how to politely exit the dining room.

At just the right time the show ended and we all filed out. There were about 10 other guests for the night. A couple  and a group of men up from Tokyo.

We checked out our rooms, laid out futons, and jumped into yukatas to check out the onsens.

The girls had asked we NOT go to the same onsen...so we alternated between  various tubs, passing on the paths which only added to the fun!  We had missed the Ladies time in the mix bath...but us Moms decided to chance it anyway late at night when we hadn't seen any other gender in the baths. My thought was it was DARK...and if any men came we'd just have to go deep into the water and stay a while. ::snort::

I can't describe the setting well enough to do it justice. It was peaceful and remote. Dim lantern light lent itself to the feeling of relaxation, and waterfalls and rapids created amazing "white noise." Our building had two rooms....the girls were in one room, with  us women in another. Beneath us were  onsens.  Our windows opened to waterfalls....and the onsen had a beautiful view of the waterfall as well.

The outdoor onsen below our rooms

These shots don't convey the full impact of sitting in this tub under the stars sharing deep conversation about our shared Misawa experience, discussing our hopes for our next assignments and for our daugthers. The lantern light only added to the experience. This will be a treasured memory; one I'm glad we took the time to create for our daughters - and for ourselves.  Becky and Mary packed out about a week ago. Becky and family will leave on Tuesday. We packed out this week. It was a good time to "breathe" and embrace the season  in which we find ourselves.

I ALWAYS wake up early. This morning I set out to enjoy some quiet time, a nature walk and to grab some photos . Before I knew it, I'd set down the camera, stripped off the yukata and jumped into an outside onsen to enjoy the early a.m. mountain air, the quiet, the peaceful waterfall...and I enjoyed an impromptu worship service until the men showed up beyond the barrier with much less inspiring morning noises. ::snort::

This bridge took us from the main area across to "our side" of the getaway.

Rushing water beneath the suspension bridge

This was our building.....the blue is the men's onsen and the red is the women's. Only two rooms in this building...this would be a great spot for a PWOC board planning retreat...or a mentor group retreat. LOL 

Mixed Bath Onsen

This was my favorite looking onsen, I loved all the cedar. I  wanted to get a shot of a couple of women soaking...just a back view...but no one was game....ah well. ::snort::   This was above a rushing river, we opened the windows and had a magnificent view of trees and the mountain.

We roused the girls and headed down for breakfast. It was fun to see a man out gathering lanterns in the morning.

Breakfast....not as many vegan options...but with the rice, miso and pickled veggies I had plenty. I think I fared better than a girl or two who didn't really feel up to rice and fish for breakfast. 

We discovered a little workshop where the man was servicing, refilling and cleaning lanterns.

An outside tub.....

The view from the tub!

 Some things  just can't be rushed....

 The main building

The Girls

The girls again

 The Moms

 Arielle and I on the bridge....

Cropped to show our faces! ::snort:: Wow - she really is taller than me now. ::wink:: 

There are few times in life when you simply KNOW an idea was the RIGHT one and this is one of those times. I'm thankful God graced our lives with these friends and I go so far as to suspect He breathed the idea of the getaway into our hearts. Treasured memories...I may  frame some of the onsen shots for one of our bathrooms in California.

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Today's fun

Now that packing is behind us....I'm working on getting the children and me to Korea for a week. I've gotten the paperwork signed, have us on the waiting list for a Monday flight and have rooms reserved in Seoul for 4 nights. I'll need to find lodging for the other 4 nights when we arrive!

Arielle and I are about to head out for her 16th Birthday trip with a few friends.

Michael and the youngers will settle in for pizza...and a movie on the laptop?

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

The New Norm

"I could have slept until noon, Mom!"  Yep, Stacia LOVED sleeping on her FMO bed rather than her futon of the past four years. 

"The whole house is basically like a BIG hotel!," is Zander's nearly constant refrain since FMO delivered.  (Editor's note: I reminded the kids this afternoon that it is NOT a hotel and HOUSEKEEPING is not going to pick up after them.)

Some have asked if we are camping out for the next seven weeks. Not really. The Air Force has what is called TLF - Temporary Living Facilities. You are allowed to stay in these when you arrive and leave a new assignment. Often it's for a couple of weeks up to a month. When we moved HERE we got stuck for three months in TLF while we waited for a home.  Misawa evidently allows active duty families only 5 days in the Misawa Inn when they leave. BUT you can get loaner furniture from FMO and if you want you can also check out packages of dishes etc.....you provide your own linens. It's really pretty nice. We opted to keep some of our own dishes and such and have a last minute shipment of under 1,000 lbs the day before we move into the Misawa Inn. 

Library/computer/school room has become the suitcase room! 

A friend and I have been talking about going to Hachinohe for months. She called and wanted to do it before she is packed out early  next week....today was the day. Off we went. It is always an adventure...but we eventually did find the  Hachinohe Cement Factory.....

Why would two American women want to visit a cement factory? Because it has been turned into a big complex of recycle (thrift)/antique type shops.....fairly reasonably priced. Ms M. was able to purchase some great finds. *I* had just packed out yesterday...but I was aware I had another 1,000 lbs leaving on 10 July and I CAN mail things to America if we are over our weight allowance.....so....while I dreamed of several doll sets, chests and mirrors.....I bought just a couple of things....

Akikosan told me one of these shows a famous prison and the other a famous road to a temple.....

I'm happy with this....and it will house jewelry....I can easily mail it to CA. 

We backtracked to town to enjoy lunch at an Organic Buffet....a nutritarian's dream.  Hinano is right beside a great onsen and close to Toys R Us. 

Stacia's flower girl dress arrived...so cute. Akikosan was here for the great reveal and said she'll go with me to a spot in the mall which does good alterations....it's ok for length but quite a bit big around the top. If they can do the alterations we'll have it done here to fit....if not....I'll order a smaller size. 

We enjoyed a couple of hours with Akikosan and all are now settling in for another wonderful night's sleep on our FMO furniture. Tomorrow will be another busy day...a new adventure for Arielle and me, trying to work details for a possible trip to Korea on Monday. We shall see. 

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...

Life Amidst the Boxes

Mike met our packers on base to pack up his office. We had a little more of a relaxed start around here....I am still guarding the wifi modem......and happy to see it's left in the "library" amidst the boxes.

We were thrilled they left our beds in tact AFTER ALL last night....though it DID make extra work to have stripped them in anticipation of them being taken apart the first day (as we'd been told to do). ::grin::

We're all working to stay in the moment...enjoy our weeks left (7 as of today) in Japan....we share with each other honestly...and in unguarded moments these are the types of photos we seem to be collecting as reality begins to move closer to our determined joyfulness.  Yuuki was happy to have her bed in the middle of the chaos. 

  You just take a quick nap, Arielle, I'll stand guard! 

An hour into packing they let us know they didn't think they'd get done. They had insisted they'd be done in 1 1/2 days...and so we had scheduled delivery of our FMO (loaner) furniture for this afternoon. We let them know FMO was scheduled for the afternoon...they said they'd try...they called in reinforcements...and with 12 - 15 in the house....things began to move quickly.  Though we spent the day in leisurely pursuits....games, reading, visiting with neighbors.

The men from FMO showed up just as the last items were being loaded on to the moving truck. This gave me time to sweep the edges of rooms before new furniture was brought in. 

We've discovered Stacia has an ingrown toenail and I DREAD what this may mean. UGH. 

I hate to admit what happened after the packers were gone and the furniture delivered. We all succumbed to our first real bout of moving self-centeredness. The kids had spent the past two days playing with friends while Michael and I dealt with the house situation.....we wanted to set up the new furniture, make beds, put things from the "secured locations" back into the house and SLEEP.  The kids, however, wanted to go to BASE for Club Beyond and AWANA. I'm not sure any of us handled the conflicting plans well...but in the end...grace prevails. I ran the kids to base....we had plenty opportunity to practice forgiveness and grace. I dropped the two olders at club, took the two youngers to dinner, Stacia had AWANA and I put my foot down at driving Zander home and then back to base again to pick the rest up. He came with us for AWANA Awards night. I enjoyed a brief catch up with Dawn and then we drug ourselves home. 

Arielle and Nolan helped me unpack the laundry room (as we really NEED to a functioning laundry facility). Arielle and I stayed up and rearranged the furniture in the living room and chatted. 

I would like to fit a trip to Korea in for the kids before our move...and so I'm trying to figure out WHEN....it looks like maybe the 3rd....and that means I am very behind in planning. LOL 

Seven weeks left in Japan. 

Choosing Joy!
©2013 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...