Mission: Get a Tan

It's an absolutely gorgeous Saturday, and I made it my mission today to get some sort of tan that did not resemble the t-shirt I was wearing. Another part of my goal for the day was to avoid driving my car. Last week I went over the 14,000 "free" km, and I will have to pay for anything over that. My new car arrives tomorrow, so I have been doing as little unnecessary driving as I possibly can!

I started my day bright and early (Bryn had to start even earlier...different story, different blog). I was out of bed just after 7 this morning. Seems ridiculous to wake up so early on a Saturday when I have absolutely nothing that needs doing, but that was actually sleeping in for over an hour! After Bryn left the house, I rolled out my yoga mat and hooked my computer up to the tv. See, I've become slightly addicted to yoga, so I've downloaded several videos and have been doing them religiously!

After yoga I cleaned the house some (we have guests coming next week :D) and made myself some breakfast. I am on a fruit kick this year, and believe me, it is not an inexpensive "kick" to be on!!! I splurged and got myself a mango and some blueberries...it hurt paying for them at the store, but I can't bear to go another year without fruit just because it is ridiculously expensive here.



I took advantage of our friend the sun and did some laundry that could hang out to dry, then took a shower and readied myself to go in search of sun.

Now, I can't really go out in the parking lot, set out a beach chair and sit out there in my bathing suit, so I had to go elsewhere. I also no longer live a two minute walk from the beach. Since I wasn't driving anywhere I had a bit of an issue. It was easily solved by riding my bike to the station, and catching a little blue train to Amanohashidate, which is not only one of Japan's top 3 views, but conveniently is home to a sandy beach as well! Also, seeing as it's a top tourist spot, I probably wouldn't stand out as the lone foreigner on the beach.

The bike ride was really nice. The rice is at it's prettiest stage right now (if you ask me). Some people like the reflective stage when it has just been planted, and some like it as it turns golden just before it's time to harvest, but I like the wavy-green sea effect it has right now.



I had allotted myself a good amount of time since I had never ridden to the station before with intentions of catching a train. I was quite early, so I went a bit further down the bike path than my turn off to take some pictures of the lotuses that are starting to bloom.


I still made it to the station with 20 minutes to spare, but there was a really nice breeze so it was quite nice to sit on the platform and read while I waited on the train.



Once at Amanohashidate I laid out my towel (some really crappy ones Bryn and I got at Ikea a while back) and sat in the sun reading for the better part of two hours. It was really nice and relaxing. I certainly wasn't the only person there, but no one seemed to care too much about me at all (a refreshing break from everyday stardom)...well, accept for the scantily bikini clad girl next to me who stared and stared...I smiled at her after a while and must have embarrassed her horribly...don't stare at me!


A super-white girl like myself can't sit out in the sun all day long though, so I called it quits after a couple of hours and got myself a vending machine ice cream while I waited for the train home.

Upon closer inspection, my tanning day was a success...I do indeed have a bit more color (and am surprisingly not burnt to a crisp!) No, I'm not posting any pictures of it though, you'll just have to take my word for it.

Now I'm home and relaxing for a while. I was given a big bag of onions and potatoes the other day, so I have decided to make potato salad, since it's too hot to eat them any other way. I also got some corn on the cob this morning, and maybe I'll get some hamburger meat and make burgers to go with it...(see, I'm working on the Japanese wife thing! but still no rice...)

Next week Bryn and I are off to Tokyo to meet mom and Prad, then we'll go to Hiroshima, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe...not really sure where else! Then it's up to Tango for some beer gardens, okonomiyaki, sushi and festivals. It should be a really fun couple of weeks and Bryn and I are really looking forward to it!

Anyways...it's too hot to type, so that's all for now!