Back from Korea

We just returned from a quick - five day - trip to Seoul. It was really nice to see Hyunjoo's parents, and her younger sister again. Nayoung is headed to Las Vegas to study for a year beginning this fall. She seemed really excited to be going. She is also excited to spend time with her nephew, Ryan, who's already in Las Vegas.

Unfortunately I was possessed by a stomach demon who had its way with my digestive system for a couple of days. I was outta the picture for a while recovering. I'm basically back to normal, but it was a pretty nasty part of the trip.

Tsurugi Insect Museum

This place is always a great time.
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Kickin' it in Kanazawa

Here are some pix from Lee and Elise's stay in Kanazawa.
Click on the scrolling banner to see a larger version of the slideshow. I highly recommend it!

Hanging around Mt. Fuji after the hike

We spend a few days at an awesome hostel in after we hiked Mt. Fuji. It was a great time to relax, if even for a couple of days.
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Finished Fuji

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We just woke up from our post-hike nap. Yikes it's midnight and we haven't even eaten yet.

So, we went up together and we returned together and had a great experience. It was a fantastic trip and well worth the effort.

We hiked the mountain within a 24 hour period from the "regular" Kawaguchiko 5th station trail-head and back. It was mostly cloudy and misty and we barely managed to miss the most recent "Number 4" typhoon.

It was a blast. I'll update the entry later with better details.

Takin Tokyo by storm

Today is my brother's (and mother) birthday... Happy Birthday!

Lee and Elise landed in Tokyo without a hitch a couple of days ago and we've been having a great time kicking around.

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This morning we went to the Tsukiji Fish Market for a killer breakfast. We've never had such a fanastic morning meal (besides all the home cooked ones from mom).

We'll be heading out for a special dinner for Lee in a little while.

Tomorrow, we head off for Mt. Fuji. Keep your fingers crossed fo us. A typhoon just swept through here and the weather is still a bit cloudy. We're hoping the rains stay clear for our summit attempt.

The plan is that we'll hike tomorrow to the 8th station and then sleep for a few hours before hitting the summit early on the 18th of July.

Wish us luck!

Vader calls Palpatine

Another good video recommendation from Martin...

Hangin' with Martin

I had a chance to hang out with my old friend Martin from High School. We checked out the new Midtown complex near Roppongi.

Vermont Sledding

It's a little out of season, but a little something for those with the endless winter at heart. Brought to you from my friend Phil.

Immigration Interview

We just finished at the American Embassy.

Hyunjoo's immigration interview is finished at last and all's well so far. If things continue to go well, we'll have her passport back when we return to Kanazawa on the 20th. There should be a shiny new visa for her in the passport and we'll be that much closer to getting her permanent residency status.

I'm not exactly sure what steps we'll have to go through once we arrive in the states. More bureau-crazy I'm sure. The guy at the Embassy wasn't even sure. He slid outta that one gracefully with a "well, that a different government agency..."

We started this process back in November and over $2000 later, we're finally wrapping things up. It makes me appreciate that the Immigration Bill didn't get passed a few weeks ago. We're going through all of these steps and everyone else should have to as well.