Posts

Showing posts from June, 2016

Honshu and Okinawa

Image
I am back. I spent 10 days in Japan, 5 days for work on the main island of Honshu and 5 days of solo adventure in Okinawa. Travel is so invigorating dispite the uncomfortableness. Jetlag, anxiety, crowds, and other discomforts aside, it is mind-expanding and rewarding. Work went well. I flew a new airline (Skymark) from Tokyo to Naha. I am always wary of strange discount airlines and all the traps they set. However, I had a great expereince with "Sky". I was actually shocked. Super easy checkin at the airport, no extra fees even with extra luggage. The primary mission in Okinawa was to visit the Peace Park and the suicide cliffs of Okinawa. From what I understand, at the end of WW2 the inhabitants were encouraged to commit suicide rather than surrender to the Americans and get tortured and eaten. Besides other types of suicide, they jumped off the cliffs at the Southern end of the main island. If you have seen the original color footage taken at the time, I am sure you ...
Image
Summer is definitely here. Flying in the afternoons is bumpy. It is good practice. I feel good about a tough crosswind landing today at KLZU. A cold front dropped in the area which makes the flying a true multi-dimensional experience. One minute you are climbing, the next descending the next getting pushed to the left or right. And of course your airspeed and ground speed are benefactors. Breakfast in South Carolina, work on the boat in the afternoon. We will launch the little boat with its annual repairs complete. Gracie the cat actually likes being carried like a log. Weird.
Image
It is getting to be Summer. A couple hazy pics over Lake Hartwell South Carolina. Crew cars are a great bargain when they are available, but your ride is seldom fancy or cool.
Image
Angie and I drove to the Farm and back again to Georgia. I found some good short cuts around the major traffic areas but we still found a few traffic jams. Overall, the US 23/441 is much better than the I85/I77 route. Much better. We went to the memorial day parade in Owego NY and took the route through the Smokey mountains on the way back South.