It's not always about the tupperware

I haven't been doing much geocaching lately. I haven't been doing much besides working, and getting ready for school (my next term starts Monday).

I did, however, stop and look for a cache on my way home from work on Thursday afternoon. I have often eyed the local rice paddies with a detached interest, and have marveled at the rice being dried on the roadside guard rails just like it has been done for many years.

The cache I stopped at was intended to bring the cacher to a local rice paddie so that we can watch rice being grown, and harvested, the way it has always been done. This is probably a unique experience, since nobody in The States is going to see rice being harvested by hand.

A local farmer was working right next to ground zero, so I was unable to search properly for the cache container. I did snap a couple of photos of the rice paddies. From the smell of things, I suspect that the rice has been well fertilized too!

Overall, it was a neat little spot, and I'm glad I stopped there. I'll be back there again to grab the cache, probably on an early morning when Farmer Yoshi is still asleep!

Trip To the Beach

My mom jokingly asked me what I thought would happen if I planned a family trip to the beach. I responded with, "We'll probably have a typhoon!" Laughing ensued...

Who's laughing now? I'm just that lucky!

Back In The Land of Strangeness

I went out and grabbed a couple of geocaches with my daughter on Saturday morning, and she demonstrated that she's very good at pointing out things here in Okinawa that are strange, funny, or just a little out of place.

I'm not sure what that depiction of the moon landing is supposed to be doing, but it looks pretty permanent...

Postcrossing

Thanks Erika!

I was recently introduced to the hobby of postcrossing. It's a neat little website where you can sign up and get interesting postcards from all around the world. Like I need another hobby, right?

Sounds boring? Maybe, but it's neat to get little glimpses of other nations in your mailbox.

Here's a few that I've recieved:

All Good Things Must Come To an End

I had a wonderful time visiting family in California, and it seemed like it was over in a flash. We were on the go most of the time, and we spent as much time as we could with family. We did take two days on our own to go to Knott's Berry Farm (see my previous post about their crummy hotel by clicking here), but that was about it.

I even got to meet a friend of mine, and his family, for an afternoon of mall shopping and lunch. Gary, and his family, were great, and we had a wonderful time with them.

Alas, I didn't get to do as much geocaching as I would have liked, but there just didn't seem to be enough time. Three weeks doesn't last as long as you might think when you have family that you haven't seen in years (and grandkids that they haven't seen).

I did see a really neat vending machine on the way back to Okinawa; it's full of electronics and video games. Who knew they had vending machines in airports that sell ipods? Are cars next?

Ipod vending machine?

Palm Springs Air Museum

My trip to California is going well, but it's really flying by (no pun intended). I thought three weeks would be a pretty long visit, but it's not as long of a stay as I thought it would be.

Yesterday, my dad and I went to the Palm Springs Air Museum. They have a very impressive collection of vintage aircraft, most of which are WWII era birds. Almost all of them are in flying condition!

I've always had a fascination with aircraft, particularly the older war planes. I think my favorite plane at the museum was the F-4U Corsair, but it's a tough choice between that, and the P-40 Warhawk that was parked outside.

If you're ever in the Palm Springs area, be sure to stop in at the museum. It's co-located with the airport (for obvious reasons), and easy to get to.

Here's a couple more photos from my visit:

California Caching Part II

After our family trip to Knott's Berry Farm, we headed toward Mountain Home Village to visit with my Father In Law and his wife. We've had a great time here, as the surroundings are beautiful, and we all get along very well.

He and I spent yesterday afternoon doing some geocaching along Highway 38 near Forest Falls, the route to Angeles Oaks, an old dirt road that leads to 7 Oaks, and back to Mountain Home Village. We found ten caches, one of which had been muggled. The contents of the geocache were scattered about the area. When you find happy meal toys, balloons, and a geocaching signature coin laying on the ground near the cache coordinates, it's a safe bet that it has been muggled.

We had a great time, and the scenery was nice. It was warm yesterday, 101 in Mountain Home Village, but a bit cooler up in 7 Oaks.





Scene of the crime: