Where Globe-Trotting meets Beach-Combing
As the Final Four raged in Houston, my family road tripped it up to Dallas for my brother Simon’s daughter’s birthday party. She’s turning the Big Five, and the five of us—Han, Justin, my parents and I…and did I mention my sister and I are both pregnant?—stuffed ourselves into a sedan for the drive north….
Golden Week in Japan is the first weekend of May. Most people have the week off, the weather is usually warm for the first time, and everyone spends time outside—it signals the approach of summer kind of like Memorial Day for Americans. Last year, Chris and I joined the throngs at Tokyo’s Nezu Jinja Shrine…
Looks like we have a little da Vinci on our hands. A Japanese kid in northern Japan’s disaster relief area drew an action-packed picture of the US Navy’s Operation Tomodachi (friendship) relief efforts. This photo of the drawing was quickly forwarded around our squadron. As much as Chris means to me, it’s nice to know…
“People from Texas seem to be really proud they’re from Texas,” a Japanese friend mused to me once. This provided an excellent opportunity for me to launch into an overview of the exciting tale of Texas independence. My parents and I drove along part of Texas’ Independence Trail in pursuit of our state flower, the…
“I flew my first mission last night. It was very, very long. We started in Misawa, then flew back and forth from the Ronald Regan (air craft carrier) to the coast delivering food and water to people, landing in fields and landing zones and whatnot, then came back to Misawa. It was probably the most…
This is the least crowded Narita was all day. I started my day at 3:15am. I was no longer trying to think of last-minute items to pack; I had no room in my very heavy suitcase already. I’m good at packing for trips usually, but this wasn’t packing for a trip. I wasn’t really sure…
As soon as Chris and I decided yesterday that I should leave, I bought the earliest available ticket out (leaving Saturday). Then he called me and said, “The entire squadron is moving north to be closer to the search and rescue area. I’m leaving tomorrow morning.” I said, “What are you going to do with…
