Seattle Weekend

I flew back to Seattle for Dawg Dash weekend, and Waffle Fest.

• Hike


But first, I met up with my friend Carrie for a hike. We mailed back and forth setting it up: I definitely wanted to hike, but I wasn't sure of any good routes, since it had been quite some time since I moved away. We settled on 6-8 miles with ~2000 foot elevation gain, which sounded reasonable. She brought more friends and we drove out to the Teanaway forest area to hike to Navajo Peak.



IMG_0076
Originally uploaded by klbarrus
These three are serious hikers!


What we wound up doing was 13 miles and ~4500 foot elevation. Carrie is a strong hiker - I think she goes every weekend all year long, sometimes both days - and perhaps overestimated my hiking fitness in her ambition to summit, and probably didn't measure the route too carefully. ;) It was a tough hike, and I was dragging a bit by the end.



IMG_0092
Originally uploaded by klbarrus
Navajo pass. The summit is another ~1200 feet up.


The view at the top of the pass was spectacular, and worth the hike. I was ready to turn around at this point, roughly 5.0 miles in with ~3200 feet of gain - that would have been enough for me. But Carrie wanted to summit Navajo peak, and it was "only" another 1.5 miles and ~1200 feet... so we headed up. It was snowing at the top, so the view wasn't too good. Despite how tough the hike was (for me at least), it did feel good to reach the summit.



IMG_0101
Originally uploaded by klbarrus
Just below the summit, as fog and snow moved in.


I don't think I slowed them up too much, but I know I did. We got back to the trailhead as the sun was setting so it was good timing overall. Afterwards, e were famished and ate at a Mexican restaurant in Cle Elum.


• Dawg Dash


The next day I ran the Dawg Dash in the rain. We were lucky: it rained lightly before the event, and poured afterwards, but during the event it didn't rain much at all.

The Dawg Dash is a fun event because it is dog friendly, and one of the UW homecoming events. After the race we retreated to Francesca's for Waffle Fest, a UW themed waffle brunch hosted by Francesca. Yum!

Auto Train

Since I'm moving to the Washington DC area for my new job, I decided to try out the Amtrak Auto Train. After all, I am moving from one end of the route to the other. Plus, the alternate option was to drive my car up, and that didn't sound as appealing.

The trip takes 17 hours (depart 4 pm, arrive 9:30 am the next day), and it went by pretty quick. Dinner was tasty and included complimentary white wine. The seat next to me was unoccupied so I stretched out a little bit and had no trouble sleeping. But then I doze off easily on airplanes and sometimes in cars.

One friendly couple gave me a ton of advice on the route - they live in Philadelphia and were frequent travelers. The main advice was that the sleeper cars (super liner roomette, and bedroom) weren't really worth it since the trip was just one overnight. And who hasn't taken a long plane flight and slept en route? Same thing, except the train is more spacious even in regular seats.

Another tip is to always try to get a lower level seat. That's because each car connects on the top level, so foot traffic is higher in general above. On top of that, half of the lower level is occupied by restrooms. So if you sit on the top level, you will have a better view from the window, but people will walk by you all the time on the way to the stairs down for the restroom. Meanwhile, on the lower level, there is a sliding door separating the passenger compartment (big enough for 12 passengers) from the restroom half, so we don't hear much noise at all.

The train included a "lounge" car, which had booths, coffee and snacks available all the time, and small TV screens for movie showings. Amtrak tries to arrange families and especially kids near the lounge cars, since they tend to go back and forth to the lounge. Another reason the upper level tends to be busy. All the way at one end was the dining car, which served up a very nice dinner (I had vegetarian lasagna).

There were electric sockets available along the windows, and if I had known that I might have brought my notebook on so I could watch a movie. Instead it stayed packed in my car, which wasn't had since then I didn't have to worry about my computer when I went off to eat. I brought a book, but wound up looking out the window until dinner time, and doing that again after dinner until it was dark. When I woke up around 6:30 am, I had breakfast and then the staff announced we were running nearly an hour ahead of schedule and would arrive at 8:30 am!

Sacramento

Bev called up in October, to wish me a happy birthday. We hadn't seen each other in a year or more, so she invited me out for a weekend in November. Also flying out was another friend of ours from Houston, Patti.

Winery
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

We had a nice, relaxing weekend. Bev got her inlaws to watch their two boys Friday and Saturday, so the four of us (Bev and Ben, Patti, me) took some bikes out to a park with trails. But... it proved to be a little too hilly for the group so we packed up and just visited wineries!

Winery Patrons
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

We visited a few, but eventually wound up at Ben and Bev's favorite winery, V. Sattui. The winery has a small museum, just one room with some old equipment, fairly large picnic grounds, and is very scenic. Plus, it has a generous wine tasting program: tasting 6 of 9 regular wines for $5, or tasting 6 of 9 premium wines for $10. For comparison, some of the other wineries we stopped at were more expensive: $25 for tasting, or another one was $10 for 5 samples, etc. We were cheap and just left those places after a brief walkthrough.

V. Sattui Building
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

On Sunday, Ben and Bev had their boys back, so we took it easy in the morning. In the afternoon, we visited a salmon hatchery along the American River, and then went for a walk/hike. It was a really nice trail: paved for bikes, with a gravel lane for runners! Past the gravel lane were trails along the bank good for hikers or mountain bikers. We collected flat rocks and skipped them in the water. :)

American River
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

DC Trip

After training for so many months, marathon weekend is here!

Earlier this year I realized that 10 years ago is when I started running. Since then I've branched out, but running was the first fitness activity I enjoyed and stuck with. In order to commemorate that, I decided to do a marathon later in the year. I searched around for a suitable one, and boiled it down to Portland or Washington DC, both in October, and thus also around my birthday.

I mentioned this plan to some friends, and to my surprise, quite a few expressed interest! We met and tossed around some training plans and eventually registered for the 2008 Marine Corps Marathon.

MCM training group
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

At a party at Venky's. Only Charles is missing from the pic. And yes, Linda is really tall (6'2").


We flew up in several groups throughout the day. Since I was splitting a hotel room with Mai and Charles, I met them and we went to the expo, where everybody had to go to pick up race numbers and info packets. Fortunately, we met up with the others and went to dinner afterwards!

MCM Display
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Charles, Mai, me

Japan Trip

I'm back from a fantastic trip, and still sorting pictures and thinking of what to write. So I'll be filling this in during the upcoming days. In the meantime, my trip outline:

• Jan 31 - Arrival
  
• Feb 1 - Lost Day
  
• Feb 2 - URC meeting
  
• Feb 2 - Imperial Palace
  
• Feb 3 - Race Day
  
• Feb 3 - Homestay
  
• Feb 3 - Welcome Party
  
• Feb 4 - Kamakura
  
• Feb 5 - Urayasu
  
• Feb 5 - Bullet Train to Kyoto
  
• Feb 6 - Kyoto Walking Tour
  
• Feb 7 - Ryokan
  
• Feb 8 - Wandering Around Tokyo
  
• Feb 9 - Tsukiji and Hamarikyu Park
  
• Feb 9 - Onsen
  
• Feb 10 - Tokyo Tower
  
• Feb 10 - Departure
  

Also, the Urayasu Runners Club kept a blog of "Orlando Week 2008".

Kyoto Walking Tour

I found a nice walking tour of Kyoto and followed it.

Ginkakuji
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Temple of the Silver Pavillion.

Ginkakuji View
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Kyoto view from the Ginkakuji grounds.

Heian Shrine
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Heian Shrine

Torii Gate
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Torii Gate near the Heian Shrine, in Kyoto.

Ryozen Kannon
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Ryozen Kannon

Nijō Castle
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Nijō Castle.

This castle is famous for the "nightingale" floors... squeaky wooden floors that alerted the occupants if anybody was attempting to sneak up on them.

Kinkakuji
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Kinkakuji, Temple of the Golden Pavillion.

This is Kyoto's most famous tourist attraction, a spectacular building. It was busy even in February, I imagine at the height of the tourist season it is difficult to get a clear view of the building!

Bullet Train to Kyoto

After touring Urayasu in the morning, I met up with the group to say bye. They were all flying back, but I took an extra 5 days off work to see more of Japan! I arranged a side trip for myself to Kyoto, and got there by taking the Shinkansen from Tokyo. Shige helped me buy the tickets and waited outside until the train left.

Shinkansen
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Standing in front of the Nozomi Shinkansen.

Urayasu

In the morning, Shige drove me around the old part of Urayasu. Most of the city is new, built on land reclaimed from the sea. Shige took me to the "old" town, where the streets were very narrow, and there was more evidence of the original industry of the area: fishing.

Urayasu is at sea level, and has a canal and watergate system used to control flooding. The gate opens and closes during high tide and low tide.

Watergate
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Urayasu has three shrines, and we visited one of them. This sculpted hill is on the side of the main building.

Jinja
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Shige said the proper way to pay respects is to clap your hands twice (with a large sweeping motion), pray, clap once more, and then toss some coins into the collection box. ;) Sometimes there is a bell to ring (attached to a rope). He demonstrated and then I did it.

Urayasu Shrine
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

While in Urayasu, we noticed these mats all over the place. What were they, and what was their purpose? They followed streets, forked at intersections, and switched patterns at obstacles like stairways. We took a few guesses but wound up asking our hosts.

Mysterious Mats
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

They told us these mats were for blind people - the grooves helped guide their walking sticks. Very interesting!

After seeing the shrine, we drove over to the city museum, which had a nice display on the history and culture of Urayasu. It was also a popular spot for school kids as there were at least 3 or 4 classes of elementary school students in there as well! The museum had vintage pictures of the early industries (fishing and nori farming), some replica equipment such as boats and clamming gear, and a small model of what an original section of the city looked like.

For lunch, Shige took me to a nearby restaurant where we had some very delicious unagi.

Kamakura

Several URC members took us to Kamakura, southeast of Tokyo right off a subway stop.

We headed towards the Tsurugaoka Hachiman shrine, at the end of a path that began with a torii. It looks like the path vanishes in the distance, but that is partly an optical illusion as it is built that way - the path narrows as it approaches the shrine.

Torii
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Tsurugaoka Hachiman Shrine
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

After lunch we walked back along a street lined with shops, and eventually caught a bus to see Daibutsu, the famous large statue of Buddha.

Daibutsu
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

After that we visited Kenchō-ji, a large Zen temple nearby.

Offering
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Peach Blossom
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

This peach blossom is a sign of spring. We told the Japanese our equivalent spring tradition is Groundhog Day, which they thought was amusing.

Cave Offering
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Kenchō-ji had a small cave accessible by tunnels. The tunnels were lined with various carvings. The cave had more carvings, and was a place people came to leave small statues and flowers as offerings.

Homestay

The usual schedule for the exchange trip is to check out of our hotel after the race, and then have a homestay with a Japanese family until departure. My homestay was with the Yanagida family: Shigeyuki and Emiko. Shige and Emiko visited Orlando in December 2007 for the OUC half marathon, so I had met them before.

Homestay
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Like many densely populated urban areas, most people live in condos. Shige and Emiko's home was in a building near the subway stop (very convenient!) on the 17th floor. The building had an open-air central corridor with a trash room and elevator access, with 6 or 7 units on each floor.

Their home was immaculate, I think they both cleaned extensively prior to my arrival. The front door opened onto a small atrium with a closet, where visitors leave their shoes and swap for slippers. The kitchen, dining room, and living room were behind a door, the sink and bathroom were behind another door, and the hallway led to three bedrooms and a small room with the toilet. I had heard all sorts of stories about tiny living spaces in Tokyo - this home was larger than I expected, and on par with condos I've seen in other metropolitan areas.

View of Urayasu
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Their view was amazing! It is a hazy day, but along the right edge of the picture, at the horizon, is Mt. Fuji.

The next morning, Emiko fixed me a traditional Japanese breakfast.

Japanese Breakfast
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

(Check out the image on flickr - I used the "add note" feature annotate items). Breakfast consisted of small portions of several foods: natto (fermented soy beans), fish, salad, spinach and eggs, carrots and noodles. The presentation made it look like artwork!

I can't post about a trip to Japan without mentioning the Japanese bath. The bathroom, even in the hotel, had a combined shower/tub room, except instead of the shower being in the tub, it was by the side. Also, the entire room was for bathing, so no shower curtain. By the shower head, which had a few fixed positions (low, medium, high), was a pail and stool to sit on. The idea was to soap and shower, sitting on the stool, rinse off, and then get in the bathtub for a relaxing post-shower soak. The tub had a lid over it, and was kept filled with hot (42 degrees Celsius) water. It is a nice way to wind down at the end of the day!

Race Day

On the morning of the race day, we got up to a few inches of snow on the ground, and more falling. All of us realized the half-marathon had just become a major adventure!

Snowy Day
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

URC members picked us up and drove us to the sports complex where the race starts and ends. Once there, we were led to a private room where we could spread out our stuff, stretch, and rest. We joked about how tough the race would be - none of us had done an event in the snow before. Heck, we were all Florida residents!! Even those of us that had lived elsewhere in the US hadn't done an event in weather like this. So we just took it easy.

Pre-Race Photo
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

The room didn't have any windows, so we couldn't see outside to tell if the weather was getting better or worse. We heard an announcement over the loudspeaker, and after a few minutes Kaki-san came in and told us the race had been canceled due to bad weather. We thought he was joking but he said he wasn't...

It actually wasn't that much of a surprise. We stepped out and saw that since our arrival, it had kept snowing and it just wasn't smart to hold the event: footing would be treacherous, volunteers would be miserable out in a snowstorm manning aid stations, etc.

Tokyo Bay Half Marathon Group
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

So our goal shifted - we put on our coats and plastic bags, and decided to do a short snow run to the Tokyo Disney subway stop (Marihama) instead, and head back to the hotel.

Imperial Palace

After the morning club run, we went to see the Imperial Palace and walk around downtown Tokyo.

Palace Grounds
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

The view from the original palace grounds, which burned down. What remains is a raised section of large stones.

Guard Building
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

This is no longer used, but it was originally a garrison where Samurai would check visitors before they entered.

Double Bridge
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Moat
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

While wandering around near Tokyo Station, I ran into Godzilla!

Godzilla
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

URC Meeting

The Urayasu Runners Club isn't that big, strictly speaking, compared to other running clubs I've been in. It is just that the URC has about 80% attendance at their events - making their active membership enormous, compared to other running clubs I've been in!

In the morning, a group met us at the hotel and walked with us to the park where they hold their club run. It was packed!

We started off with 2 or 3 laps around the park, for about a 1.5 or 2 mile warmup. Then the coach led us through at least 20 minutes of stretching. After that, we ran their training route (about 5K) to another park, where the cooldown workout was a relay event - teams taking turns running back and forth across a field. Then we walked back to the first park, for cooldown stretching and a group massage (so to speak) - everybody lined up in a big circle and we took turns pounding on each other's shoulders. It was pretty fun and felt good!

Club Photo
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Arrival

The flight from Orlando to Detroit, and then to Narita, was uneventful... but very long. After landing in Japan, we were met by a few URC (Urayasu running club) members plus two men who worked for the city as event planners. We loaded up our bags and drove right to meet the mayor, Mr. Matsuzaki, at city hall.

Welcome to Japan!
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

We had some tea and listened to an address from the mayor, welcoming us and giving us a brief history of Urayasu. The city was originally a fishing village, and over the past few decades, grew by landfill (reclaimed land from the sea). As a result, most of the city is quite new. The major attraction is Tokyo Disneyland, which I suspect has a large amount to do with the Sister City agreement between Orlando and Urayasu!

Meeting the Mayor
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

We were presented with the blue URC jackets, which would come in handy over the next few days. It was winter and cold in Tokyo!

Sister City Agreement
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

On display at the visitors center.

Following this, we checked into our hotel, the Emion Tokyo Bay. An hour after that, another group from the URC came to meet us in the lobby to discuss the itinerary they had planned out for us: sightseeing around the Tokyo area for Stacey, Eric, and me; Tokyo Disney for Tom and Michele. It was surprising how much work the URC had put into making sure our visit was filled with activities.

Then we were off to dinner, at an Italian restaurant, where we had a mix of Japanese appetizers and side dishes, with baked chicken and tomatoes for the main dish. And lots of beer.

Europe Trip

A list of links to the other posts:

• Lisbon
  
• Budapest
  
• Bike Trip
  
• Bratislava
  
• Czech Republic
  
• Prague
  

Lisbon

I had a day layover in Lisbon on the way home, so I made the most of it by walking around from my hotel, near the Marquês de Pombal monument, to Baixa, the historic downtown.

Marquês de Pombal
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Tile
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

This street had really wide sidewalks with some intricate inlaid tile patterns.

Obelisk
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Fountain at Rossio
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Praça do Comércio
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

After sitting for a bit in Praça do Comércio, I decided to walk over to São Jorge Castelo (St. George Castle), up on a hill. But, I got totally lost in the Alfalma district of Lisbon, which was a maze of narrow sidewalks with constant stairs and turns. I kept going up since the Castle was somewhere above me, but buildings blocked the view. Eventually I emerged and got my bearing, but I decided it was too late to go in the castle (the grounds were closing in 30 mins) so I headed back to the city center. Eventually I decided to just ride the subway back to the hotel since my feet were tired.

Budapest

I spent a few days in Budapest, mostly walking around with city with Eric, Kelly, and Jennifer. At this point I've actually walked around Budapest a lot more than I've walked around Orlando, FL!

Tile Roof
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

The tile roof on this building caught my attention. This is a city market, where farmers come to sell fresh fruits, vegatables, and meat. The second floor is more touristy stuff - souvenirs and so forth.

Synagogue
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

We passed this large synagogue on our walking tour. I think it is the largest one in Europe.

Freedom Monument
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

Built by the Soviets to commerate freedom from fascism of WWII. Of course, they didn't leave for another 35 years! Our guide told us the monument is locally referred to as "the bottle opener".

Danube River
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

The Danube River (Duna River locally) with the Hungarian Parliment in the distance.

City View
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

View from near Budapest Castle.

Hungarian Parliment
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

A few of us took a short tour inside the building, which consisted of the grand staircase entry (basically only used for heads of state), an atrium with some of St. Stephen's relics on display, and the Parliment chamber.

Flag
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

This flag is at the 1956 Revolution Memorial. The seal in the middle reminded people of the Soviet conquest, so they chopped it out.

Heroe's Square
Originally uploaded by klbarrus

This monument celebrates Hungary's millenium. The base of the column are seven horse riders, for the original seven horse tribes that conquered the Carpathian basin. Angel Gabriel is at the top.