On the Haruka Train

Posted on by Caroline
Our last morning in Kyoto and we’re headed to the airport. As we looked forward to this trip, we imagined a long leisurely time here in the city. Looking back, I feel like we packed our days full and we could have spent longer here if we’d had the time. I’m still hoping to do the longer posts that I mentioned before about goshuinchō and travel journals, but in the meantime, I have a few impressions of the city I’d like to share and a few recommendations I’d like to share. Kyoto is (of course) known for its beauty. We were hoping to see some cherry blossoms on this trip. We were lucky enough to catch some early blossoms, but...Read More

Spring in Kyoto

Posted on by Caroline
We have been busy in our first few days here in Kyoto. From the first day when we had to go searching for any cherry blossoms to the next day, the cherry blossoms are beginning to pop open more and more. Every one has been incredibly friendly. I'd like to do more in depth posts about the goshuinchō books and our evolving travel journal system, but I'll save that for later. In the meantime (in the spirit of sharing a little before we get ready for another full day), these are some of the highlights of our time so far: Pokémon Center (of course) Ramen shop Heian Shrine and garden Goshuinchō (honorable red stamp books) Japanese children's television Haru Cooking...Read More

The adventure begins…

Posted on by Caroline
The end of our first day in Kyoto and the 4 AM wake-up is definitely telling. But it’s been a great day. Planes, trains, vending machine capsules, buses, ramen, onigiri, a Pokémon Center, beautiful architecture, playgrounds. For half a day, it’s been full. I’m going to post a pictures and fall into bed.

Kyoto

Posted on by Caroline
We’re on board our flight to Kyoto. I’m not sure why this trip feels like the resumption of our original vision that brought us to Guam, but somehow it does. When we were first contemplating the wild idea of homeschooling, I was enchanted with the idea of visiting Boston when we studied US history. What better way to learn about the Boston Tea party than by standing at the Boston waterfront and imagining the Patriots sneaking out under the cover of darkness? Now that we’ve been studying US history all year, we started thinking about a trip to the East coast this spring. But… then we realized that this year may be an ideal year to see the cherry blossoms...Read More

Tokyo!!!!

Posted on by Caroline
I am vibrating with excitement. It’s been 991 days since we were last in Japan (not counting layovers). One of our major goals when we moved out to Guam was to travel to Japan as often as we could and that just hasn’t been possible. Up until today. The borders opened to tourists last night at 12:01, and now this morning we’re at the gate, waiting to board our flight to Tokyo. We’ll only be there a few days, and it’s forecast to be rainy, rainy, rainy. But we’ve got umbrellas and rain jackets and a raft of enthusiasm. We’re planning to visit Disney Sea tomorrow. We’ve heard it’s a phenomenal park. On Thursday we’ll explore the city, visit a...Read More

Leaving Thailand

Posted on by Caroline
Here we are, sitting in the Phuket Airport, waiting for our flight to Bangkok. We’ve fallen in love with Thailand - the people are incredibly kind, the service is attentive, the food is fresh and flavorful, the fruit is sweet, the landscape is stunning…. we’re already looking forward to our next trip to Thailand. When I started this blog, I imagined writing the kinds of posts that I wrote when I was traveling in my 20s and 30s - longer, thoughtful posts that gave me a chance to share my reflections about the culture, history and architecture of wherever I happened to pass through. But I’m slowly realizing that kind of travel belongs to a different phase of my life....Read More

Phang Nga Bay

Posted on by Caroline
We took a little mini-trip within our trip. We chartered a sailboat for a two-day exploration of Phang Nga Bay, and some of the treasures there. Our captain was amazing - attentive and thoughtful, and willing to work with us to find the best opportunities. It’s jellyfish season here, so we couldn't spend much time actually in the water, which made it all the more enjoyable to spend the time on the water. The highlights of the trip were the island resort on Ko Yao, watching the kids kayak in Ko Hong, the floating village of Koh Panyee - especially the school, and the fresh, delectable seafood and fruit….

Out Sailing…

Posted on by Caroline
We have found a boat that will take us around some of the local islands and sights. We’re on our way this morning, we’ll stay for the night at an island resort, and then we’ll come back here to resume Tim’s Deep Week tomorrow night. Which all means that we’ll be offline for a few days! See you soon!

Exploring Phuket

Posted on by Caroline
Ahhh…. Now, what a lovely day it’s been! My original plan for the day included an early start with a GrabCar (the Thai equivalent of Uber) into Phuket City so that the kids and I could get a glimpse of the Sunday Walking Market and be back in time to meet a local guide for the afternoon. But as I was trying to figure out where to go so I could book the car, I happened across the critical information that the market doesn’t open until 4 PM. And I felt immediate relief - I knew that it was too much to squeeze into a day, and it would probably stress me out. (I don’t know how to explain why...Read More

Quieter Day

Posted on by Caroline
Yesterday the kids and I had a quieter day, exploring the Boat Lagoon Resort while Tim started his classes. I let the kids sleep in a bit (it had been a late night and a full day the day before) and then we had a late breakfast. We checked out the resort bicycles and tooled around the lagoon. The kids and I had sooo much fun on the bicycles! There weren’t any bikes that were small enough for Duke, so he mostly rode behind me on my bike. There’s a grocery store here that it is probably used mostly for provisioning the yachts that are here. To our Guam eyes, it was a lovely grocery store, with all kinds of...Read More