Rat Bait

 After parkrun, we went to the bakery that we had found the day before. I was keen for Warren to have something to eat and an energy drink before driving to Melbourne.

 These were on display. I asked if I could take al photo while they were making our coffees. I got Warren a pastie and I had one of the rat baits. It seemed that there was something like corn paste under the grilled cheese, very tasty.

There is nothing like a South Australian pastie but it was too heavy for me for breakfast.

The Blue Lake

 While Warren did parkrun around the top I walked about half way, 3.3kns in all. There were so steep bits at the start and I nearly gave up and turned back, then I realised that Warren had to run it so the least I could do was to walk it.

I had walked the whole way around some years ago, I didn't remember the steep bits.

The lake was quite blue, it turns grey around November depending on the temperature 

I had to take a photo of the tower that is in the distance. Pretty sure the idea was to walk up and take photo but it didn't say that so this was the pic I took.

Airports

 Got to love 'em.

We left our air bnb early even though we were supposedly 12 minutes away but we had to fill the car with fuel, take it back to the depot and wait for a shuttle to take us to the airport.

I guess we arrived around 7.30am, flight was at 10.05. Breakfast!

Some place had coffee and a muffin for $8.50, pretty reasonable for airport food. I wondered if there was a cache or two, I can live in hope.

Ha, an adventure lab, a virtual and a letterbox all within walking distance. Nearly stuffed up the virtual even though it was easy, take a photo of the Melbourne sign. Yep we saw one at the International and grabbed a photo there then I realised that we were 90 metres away so had to find the correct one. 

Time to go through customs, no dramas as Warren had a backpack and I had a small suitcase and my tote bag. No need to take tablets out of the bag but we both had to take off our jackets and Warren had remove his belt but he could carry it through. We had to go through the body scan, I was asked to step aside. I was not wearing the bra with the zip nor was I wearing the pants that had zipped pockets. Apparently something triggered on my left side near the pocket, a quick pat down and I was free to go.

Watching our luggage come through and my case gets deverted and goes to the right instead of coming straight down. I was told it had to go through the detection device again and then a second time. After the third time, they scanned something in the tray that my bag was in and then said I was right to go.

I was expecting to have to open it and display everything that was in it. I did take my crocheting, going down that was in my tote bag. It was a mystery but there were quite a few other people's stuff that had to be scanned again.

Mount Gambier

 It was cold, we knew it would be and packed warmer clothes.

We had the morning free so set off on a walk visiting hertigage buildings, luckily there was no wind at 8am.

These two churches were onopposite sides of the road.

This was a barber shop with motor bike in the front window.

A laneway with two wooden seats and two brindle posts from a bygone era.

The railway line has been turned into a walking parkway with some sculptures along the way.

We ended up walking 5.14kms, completed two adventure labs, got our caches finds up to 5000 and found a bakery to enjoy breakfast all before 10am.

Chicken legs and then some more.

 As Lucy was going to the dog sitter, I wanted to make sure there was enough food for her. Her dinner is a chicken leg and a cup of pellets, so I shopped for some and bag of pellets, a day earlier than usual. 

Wow,my grocery store had $2 days, Must download their  app to see when they are scheduled.

First fridge in the door heldchicken legs at $2 a kilo, bargain as that was exactly what I wanted. Fridge had bulk purchases only, 12 kilos worth,if smaller quanties were required they were in other fridges down the back. Headed there then changed my mind, 12 kilos was only $24, I went back to the bulk area and hauled a blue plastic pack up out of the fridge, then I realised it was one plastic blue bag in a cardboard tray. Yep, that makes sense. Chicken was already

out of the fridge so I wrangled the cardboard tray out as well, not as easy feat and placed said blue plastic bag into tray.  Not as easy feat. Hum, empty trolley, 12 kilos of chicken legs of top of freezer. I didn't want to drop it (definitely wasn't up to placing it in bottom of the trolley, manhandled it on to the baby seat. 

A few more things to gather, luckily not a full shop as we were going away and headed for the checkout. This place scans items and repacked them into another trolley. I pushed my trolley through leaving neat still in the baby seat. Checkout chicks had piece with the scan on it by the till so big box didn't have to go anywhere. 

Straight into the car boot and home. It was a two man job to pack them, we do two in a pack for Lucy and then into freezer. I also packed meal sizes for us in containers. No idea how many chicken legs there were but at least they will be off my shopping list for quite awhile.

Dinner in a Japanese home.

 As we had wound our way down Japan from Tokyo west to Kansawa then East to Kyoto, Hiroshima and Fukuoka we had to return to Tokyo which meant a five hour train trip. 

The boys had secured our return trip as soon as we arrived in Fukuoka and our train left around 9am.

Lots of stops but the train didn't stay long at each place, we had bought some snacks to eat, back to Tokyo's station around 2.30pm, grab a taxi back to the same hotel.

Bit of a rest and a change of clothes and we were off out again to visit a couple that we had taught with in China. 

Dinner was to be early as Warren and I had an early flight the next morning, leaving the hotel at 5am. 

It was so nice to be going to a locals home. Like China it was shoes off at the door and there was a selection of slippers to choose from. Rooms seem smaller than we were used to but as there is only the two of them, it was certainly large enough. Very bright colours on the walls, they had been renovating when we first arrived in Tokyo, they took us to a traditional old Japanese restaurant.

Food was different but tasty. Both speak quite good English of course with an accent and sometimes they had to check with one another about the right word to use.

It was an enjoyable and fitting end to our holiday.

One of the dishes, seaweed, swede and a hard boiled egg.

This photo was taken from their front room, which had a small shrine on one side and a computer on the other with photos of both parents above the door.

 

Our last day in Fukuoka

 Warren and I did a 9km walk, here are some of the photos.

We walked through a shopping mall, very few people around as we were early, this is about 9.15am. Most stores don't open until 10am but they do stay open for longer often til 8pm depending on the store.

A quirky piece of artwork along a waterway, there was a restaurant behind on the left that looked over the water. Can just see the hand rail of the stairs on the left of photo.

Another odd piece of art

This was a lovely park with quaint carriage lights on the columns, we had to find a number on a particular light.

Interesting story on these gold figures but can't remember it now.

Another park with strange sculptures, Warren is trying to fathom the sign.

Needed a selfie here to prove we had visited

Nothing like a little green frog in the garden.

We couldn't work out what was happening here, people were lined up for a block and a half. It was just on lunch time so maybe some place had a special for lunch. The line got bigger with no movement, we were looking for a cache at a subway station just behind the lines of people. It was lightly raining so the umbrellas were up but that didn't seem to deter them. One of life's mysteries.

Graffiti in Japan

 Basically there is none but we did find this.

Don't see much of this but it was a painted building.

Many restaurants and bigger cafes advertise their food in their windows with plastic models. This store sold the plastic models and the window display was fruit and vegetables.

The wedding islands

 After the lying Budda we made our way to the coast to see the marriage or wedding islands and a white gate.

So two lumps which is the husband and wife, joined by a rope. Lots of couples come to visit for good luck.

Warren went down on the sand, it meant walking down about 20 steps to get on to the sand.

Warren waving to us, easier to see the rope joining the two. Don't know if people go from one to the other or even if people go out there. It was a warm day but not quite like a swimming day.

A country drive.

 We set off looking for the largest prone Budda. We saw it first when we were several kilometres away but then we had to get there. GPS and road numbers came i n handy.

Parked the car and headed to the entrance first problem, several stairs and no shorts or sandals, that excluded two of us.

I wandered down the street narrowest footpath I have ever been on, I guess they used an old single track to bitumenise not realising in years to come it would be a tourist attraction, both sides was only about two foot wide.

I discovered another smaller Budda and a nice shaded road to walk up, several tiny shrines along the way. I didn't loiter for long as the others were only going to take some photos and go back to car.

Tiny footpath

Standing budda

Cooling waterfall with the pipes sending the water back up the hill again

Another smiling budda

Stone steps up to this one

Nice shady area

Baseball.

 We got interested in baseball while we were in Hiroshima, we were having dinner at a pub and it was on the TV. It was the local team playing the Hakatta Hawks. We discovered that they play three games in three days often Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Hakatta Hawks were from Fukuoka our next stop. Most of the TV we couldn't understand but scords etc were displayed so it was easy to follow. 

Warren follows the Hawks in AFL and he was interested to visit the Hawks store. He researched how to get there and we caught the bus with several people wearing baseball jumpers.

Chips with tomato sauce and mustard and melon soft drink.

We stopped and went to a cafe. It was a bit early for lunch but it was nice to sit down. No problem to get a table. Different story when we came out as there was a line up, by then it was about 11.45am and the crowds were building. I asked when the game started, it was to start at 3pm and a sell out. Old games were being played on the screens and the wait staff were dressed in their favourite teams shirts.

 This is the dome called the Pay Pay Dome. We went up the escalator it was like two flights and were able to walk all around the dome. We counted six stores all selling merch.

Shrines

 Shrines are in abunance in Japan, large and small, they could be set on large plots of land or nestled between houses.

We had the opportunity to visit this particular one in the old city of Hakatta/ Fukuoka.

Houses one side and there were office buildings with the steel staircase going above it on the right.

Across the road, there was an old traditional post office, still in operation although closed for business when we were there as it was after dinner.

In the same area was this large shrine which covered the block from one street to the next. This was the front entrance and a couple of days later, we went to get a cache and came into it via the back entrance. People were stopping by, I assume on their way to work to light a candle or a quick prayer and then off they would go again. 

 He? Was near the front entrance with gilded face.

Three hundred year old forest

 This forest was planted as a windbreak for the castle on the hill.

We couldn't see the ocean from the road but we walked across the road following the GPS and suddenly there it was.

Of course there was a cache here and another one by the sea. Can't quite remember the name of this one but it was something like man's butt upside down, with a name like that we just had to stop.

Cache was at the base of the tree to the left of the guys.

Many of the trees were twisted but given  that they were so old and had been used to counteract the winds, they were doing alright.

An English pub in Japan.

 We were looking for somewhere to eat dinner, Warren did a search on Google and found this about 750 metres from the hotel. Interesting so we decided to check it out. 

It was a tiny place.

Our first sight of it.

The inside, we were early for dinner, I think we were the first to order dinner, there was another table occupied with a group who looked as though they were having a drink after work.

I had fish and chips like you do in an English pub, I enjoyed mine. Warren ordered chicken and chips but said the chicken was a bit dry.

We had been asked if we had booked a table so when we decided to go back with friends, we thought we should book but we couldn't get a table until the following Tuesday. 

Ahh, the penny dropped, we were there on Thursday night and Friday Saturday and Sunday, the local baseball team, the Hakatta Hawks were playing on those three nights and the pub was closed on Mondays.

As we left, the wife was outside drumming up business.

Finding relatives

 In one of my nights of not sleeping I was thinking about a cousin of mine. There had always been a glossy photo of him and I at home. He looked about 24/25 dressed in a suit and I was dressed in a lacy dress and bonnet (I know, hard to believe but I was about eight months old. Mum had always said that cousin Bill was only about 16, I decided to use Mr Google to see if I could find him and his age. I do have his brother and sister as part of my Facebook family but that would be too easy besides I wanted to know then, at 2am.

He was named after his father William and also had his maternal grandmother surname as a second name. His father had been given his mother's maiden name as his second name. Why I know these things and remember them, I don't know. It did make it easier to locate him, he was the first William Riley Wilson to surface. 

Lo and behold he had written a book, in two parts, I was able to download and read it, finishing the first part at 5am, then I slept.

Some places I do remember going to visit them, they had a farm in Kennedy's Creek Victoria. We visited for a few days and it took so long to drive there, distance now is about three hours, then it would have probably taken twice the time and a bit more, I told my teachers at school that we had been to England. My reasoning that it took so long to get there, it must have been England, I was about eight at the time.

This is the web site and a little about his book but I can't seem to make it bigger.

Yes, I can and yes he is fifteen and a half years older than me.

Castle by the sea

 Another day of driving took us to a castle perched up on a hill. 

Didn't take any photos looking over the side, probably because I didn't want to go too close.

We had to park across the road and go down stairs, through an alleyway and up the other side. Fascinating murals on the walls under the road.

Once we got to the other side, we could see lots of steps, groan, I hate steps but a sign pointing to the left advising of a lift 100 metres away. Ah, just the ticket.

The lift needed to be paid for but because we were over 70, it was free. We must have looked old as we didn't need to show ID, cost was 200yen about $2.20 and it didn't go straight up it went diagonal.

Before we got to the town of the castle we drove through a forest of very old trees that were very twisted because they were planted as a wind break for the castle.

Actually I did take some photos over the side but I didn't get too close to the edge.