I'm back! I've arisen from the not so dead and am ready to fill the internet with stories of excitement and adventure through my stories of travel. Please note this was written primarily in 2019.
Through my day job I became fortunate enough to start running education based tours for young people. As such, I got to go to Rome for free back in January 2018.
It was in late October of 2017 when I was contacted by the company that I use for these tours with an offer for a "training tour". I was a bit incredulous at first. I mean, nothing's free, right? So after they assured me that the tour was in fact free, I had a choice of three European cities to go to. I chose Rome because I had been to Paris and Barcelona isn't high on my list of destinations. Also, I'm Catholic so I wanted to see the Vatican. So Rome it was.
The trip over was normal. I met several other teachers in Atlanta and enjoyed dinner and drinks with them prior to boarding our plane. The flight was normal. No crazy antics, just me, some movies, and Sweet Water 420 (an Atlanta brew and favorite of Delta Airlines).
Arrival in Rome was weird for me. It had been 20 years since I had last set foot in Europe. I wasn't used to the strange yet familiar hustle and bustle of a European airport. We found our guide and were quickly ushered to a random spot in the airport and eventually we were herded to a bus and headed to our hotel.
Italy looks like no other place I've been so far. The fields look different. The roads look different and the buildings look different. It was charming and magical. Something about that place spoke to me. Staring out into the distance from our speeding bus, I felt some connection to the place. It's hard to define it, but it felt...comfortable.
After a quick change of clothes and some freshening up, we off to the Spanish Steps! We began our tour of the city at the top of these famous steps. A little side note here, the Spanish Steps are so named due the Spanish embassy to the Vatican located just off the Spanish plaza. Anyway, we meandered down the steps and into the plaza below. One of our tasks was to get lunch so I joined a group of ladies and we wandered through the narrow avenues that shot out from the Spanish plaza. We eventually settled on a little cafe located on a nice little road. I had bruschetta (slice of French bread with various toppings on it). It was fantastic. One had a pesto sauce, one had tomatoes and olive oil and the other had ham. They were amazing. It was so good. I washed it all down with a nice glass of wine (day drinking is acceptable there). I also had an amazing apple strudel. So far, I was loving Rome.
After lunch we headed to the Pantheon. The Pantheon is an old Roman temple and from the descriptions I had read on the internet, I wasn't excited to see it. I thought "What's so special about it? Just another old ruin." Nope. I was way wrong about it. First, this place is huge. Huge and stunningly beautiful. It's one of those things that just makes you feel small and insignificant. We rounded a corner and there it was. Huge. Majestic. It projects an aura of greatness. The inside was a whole different story. It's hard to convey just what it's like. It's just immense. The larges dome in the world makes up the ceiling of this church. It is just awe inspiring. I walked away with a totally new appreciation for this wonderful building.
Dinner was at a small pizzeria. They served us a variety of pizzas and all were great. I usually don't go for mushroom only pizzas, but it was good stuff. After several pieces of pizza and glasses of vino, we headed back to our hotel.
Something that I like doing in the countries that I visit is to check out their grocery stores. I just happened to be lucky enough that there was a grocery store right next to our hotel so a few of us wandered over to have a look. It was a pretty typical store set up, but the food was different. I was surprised to see so many frozen things. I think my impression of European food was that it was generally fresher than what we have here. But they had frozen pizzas and other convenience foods too. I think the biggest culture shock was that there was no beer cooler. The beer was kept out on a normal shelf and was thus warm.
Saturday morning began with a nice breakfast buffet (one of my favorite kinds of buffets) and then several hours of training. Training wasn't so bad, we did some ice breakers and group building exercises and then talked about leading trips with students overseas. It was very helpful and informative.
After our morning seminar we were herded back onto the bus and headed to the Vatican. I entered
the Catholic Church at the Easter vigil mass in 2017, but I had always appreciated Christian art and had always wanted to see the Vatican. It is absolutely gorgeous. The art, the architecture, the gardens, everything was spectacular. We were lucky, Michelangelo’s paintings in the Sisteen Chapel had been restored and was simply spectacular. It was awe inspiring to see works of art that were created centuries ago by a guy who was in his twenties. You aren’t allowed to take pictures in the chapel. I don’t need to. I will never forget what I saw. The greatest part of the Vatican was St. Peter’s Basilica. This was probably the largest church I’ve ever been in. This place was HUGE! When you wnter and turn to the right, you see one of the greatest works of art in the world, Michaelangelo’s La Pieta, the Pity. It’s a statue of Mary cradling the body of Jesus, carved out of a single block of marble. It was just awe inspiring.
One of the most amazing things about traveling is the human connections you make. On this trip I became fast friends with several people. Not a quick, temporary friendship that falls apart once you board your planes back home. No, we made real, solid connections. Many of us still talk over a year later. I met one lady who lived literally right around the corner from me when we were kids. I had even been swimming at her house before.
When I travel I like to enjoy myself and so I eat and drink whatever I want, I'm on vacation! This was no exception. I sought out all the food and drink I could. I did not taste anything bad while I was there. That's not to say there isn't bad food there, I just didn't have any. I had some great lasagna in this little restaurant near the Plaza di Fiori. Sadly, I did not write down the name of the place. I also had a pretty good kebab near the Vatican. I know I know. Why go to Italy and get kebab. One, kebab is awesome. Two, I wanted something fast and cheap. I didn't want to be late for our Vatican tour. Another culinary highlight was a simple sandwich I grabbed from a shop near the Colosseum. It was just meat, cheese and lettuce, but it was very tasty. Again, I did not record the name of the shop.
Thursday, October 19, 2023
The Return Part 3: Where Memories Live
I was back. I hadn't been here for 22 years. A lot has changed and a lot had been forgotten. My memory was blurry about this place. My wife was asking me a thousand questions on how to get places and where things were. I had no idea. I didn't drive when I lived there and only had limited knowledge of the area.
I was inundated with feelings of nostalgia. I could vaguely remember places and feelings that those places brought back. It was good to be back. It was as if I could see the memories walk past us. Ghosts.
I could see my stepbrother and I as nine-year-olds riding our bikes down little alleys in Imperial Beach. I could hear the shouts and laughs as my friends and I ran through a deserted tract of land we called "the swamp". Memories flooded back to me. Places where we'd go for Navy family picnics suddenly became familiar again. It was wonderful to be there again. It felt strangely like home even though it had been almost 30 years since I called it that.
Tuesday, the first full day in San Diego saw us waiting for my cousins to arrive from San Francisco. They had texted saying that storms back east had caused the cancellation of their flight and they were working to find another flight. So to kill time I decided to take the family on a little driving tour of the city. We drove up I-5 to the Coronado Bridge. That bridge had always been a subject of interest for me and my friends back in the 80s/90s. It something that we'd beg our parents to do if we happen to be going to Coronado. My boys enjoyed it too. It was interesting for me too as I had never driven over it before. I had always been a passenger. It was awfully narrow and the locals just zipped past me. A little unnerving, but not too bad.
The plan had been to take the Silver Strand back south and then go through Imperial Beach and back to the interstate. However, as we were heading south, we saw signs for the Silver Strand State Beach. We hopped off the road and decided to hang out at the beach. It was rather chilly. The skies were dark and it was windy. We shuffled up the coast picking up pieces of shells and other bits of former sea life. The boys loved it. It was the younger one’s first time seeing the Pacific Ocean from this side.
The boys loved collecting shells and being chased by the waves. They played the age old game of waiting for a wave to break and then running away, trying to beat the water. A day camp was there surfing. We wandered up and down for a bit, but kept an eye on the clock. Finally we decided that we had collected enough shells and that we needed to get on the road to pick up my cousins. But first, a quick detour.
We continued south on the Silver Strand. The Strand spat us out in Imperial Beach. It was instantly familiar and yet alien. I could see vestiges of what it had been. There were some buildings that had been repainted. A Taco Bell was now a normal Mexican restaurant. Streets were the same, but I was largely lost. I could remember riding my bike down these roads with my stepbrother. I could see us peddle our way up and down the thoroughfares. It was home, but it wasn't. It was familiar, but wholly different. We made our way through this land of ghosts and got back on the interstate. Twenty minutes later we were making our way through the San Diego airport's parking lot.
My cousins, Mike and Ben, arrived not too long after we did. After a brief walk back to the car we were on our way to lunch.
Living in Tennessee it's a bit hard to get quality Japanese food. And the stuff you get is usually sushi, teriyaki and fried pork cutlet. Not a whole lot of diversity. So when my cousins suggested that we go to a Japanese restaurant, we jumped at the chance. Long had I heard about West Coast Japanese food and how great it was. I was excited. For our meal we chose Ichiban (literally number one in English). They had a wide variety on their menu, but the spicy miso ramen caught my eye. So that's what I got. It was pretty good. Everyone else seemed happy with theirs too.
After lunch, we went to Balboa Park. I remember going here many times when I was a kid. I remember it stretching on almost forever. I remember the gullies and the hills and the Spanish influenced buildings. I remember the awesome museums (and they are pretty cool and I highly recommend them). It was a thrill to be back. Memories flooded into my consciousness. I knew where certain things were or at least their existence. The boys enjoyed running around and playing in the playground. We wandered around for awhile and then went to the Natural History Museum. I really like this type of museum. It's interesting to see the rocks and the fossils and other things of our planet. I never tire of going to them.
It was decided that we'd stop by the hotel to rest and get ready for dinner. Mike has friends in San Diego and we were going to meet one of them for dinner. I spent the time updating Instagram and mildly dozing off. The boys rested and so did the wife.
Dinner was pretty fantastic. We went to this little restaurant and as it happened, it was the Prime Rib special and I love that stuff. Good food and conversation was had. The boys did their usual and barely touched their food, which gets pretty annoying because they claim to be two seconds away from starvation and then suddenly their stuffed after one bite of chicken.
The next day saw us get a late start. Breakfast was at a local Denny's and it was pretty good. Service was outstanding and the food was great. After stuffing our faces, we began our plan of the day: The San Diego Zoo.
Again, I remember this place fondly. I remember spending many days there and always having a good time. I remember the two headed snake that was fascinating and creepy at the same time.
Monday, September 16, 2019
The Return Part 2: Caution! Dust Storms!
I hadn't really bothered reading the signs at first, but I slowly realized that they were repeated every 5-10 miles or so. When I finally took the time to read them, I saw that they were instructions on what to do in a dust storm. We so don't have these in Tennessee. Culture shock!
It was unnerving to think that there was the possibility of dust storms. I was worried for my kids. I did not want to lead them into danger. We drove on. El Paso was soon behind us and we entered into New Mexico. I pointed to the left of our car. "See those hills and stuff?" I asked my wife. "That's Mexico!" She was awestruck. She'd never seen the border before. It was pretty neat seeing another country so close, but we pressed on.
Our plan of having the boys eat and then sleep on the way to our next stop, Deming, New Mexico did not come to fruition. No, they remained awake the entire way. Every time a rest area came up, they had to stop. It made for a slightly longer trip, but we made it to a hotel (this time a Hampton Inn, our favorite while traveling) well before dark. I made a quick supply and gas run to Walmart and then headed to our room for some food. We brought with us, in addition to all the snacks and lunch foods, a healthy supply of camp food. We figured it would save money, which it did. I had lasagna. It was surprisingly good. After our bags of dinner, we swam a little and then tucked the boys into bed. Mama and I weren't too far behind them.
Sunday, day 4 of our adventure. We packed the car and ate the always awesome Hampton Inn breakfast buffet. Instead of continuing west, we took a detour to the southeast to a state park called Rock Hound State Park. One of the unique things about this place is that they encourage visitors to collect things. The only thing is is that you have to go off the train a ways to find the good stuff. We found a couple shiny rocks, but nothing too notable. We wandered up a path a bit and enjoyed the lizards and cacti. I was hoping to see a snake so I could get a picture, but that didn't happen. After about an hour or so of roaming around and an awkward conversation with what seemed to be an arguing couple, we headed back to Deming and the interstate.
The next leg was slightly more grueling that the previous ones had been. We were deep in the desert. The threat of dust storms keeping me in reality as I drove us towards Tuscon. My mind kept going back to what if one hit. I guess we'd just pull over and wait it out. Or at least that's what the signs made it sound like we were supposed to do.
Tuscon crept ever closer. The boys either watched videos on their blessed DVD players or played with the few toys that they had brought or read. My wife and I bantered about trivial things like what we'd do once in San Diego and stuff like that. I think the conversation of "what would you do if we won the lottery?" came up a couple times. I wanted to go to Saguaro National Park, but for some reason I hesitated. I think I was tired and wanted to make it to our next hotel. We passed the exit for Saguaro National Park East. No worries I thought, we'll just go to the western one. Well, that turned out to be for naught as it would take us at least half an hour off the interstate to get to the park. I decided that we needed to just get to our next spot. We couldn't risk being too far from San Diego on our last night before our hotel reservation started. So on we pushed.
The evening was spent with camp food and TV but this time I felt weird. I think the excess of salt was messing with me. I didn't finish my meal. The boys delighted in about 30 minutes of swimming and then it was bed for all of us so we'd be ready to make our final push toward our destination.
Upon waking up, we went about our routine for the trip: get dressed, eat breakfast, pack the car, have the kids empty their tanks, get in the car, head out. I made a quick trip to Walmart to get new sunglasses as my "nice, expensive" ones broke in my pocket (I still have no idea how they broke, they just did).
The desert was beginning to get old. Just shades of browns, blacks and other earthy tones. I was also anxious as I did not want to miss check in at our hotel. Shortly before lunchtime we arrived in Yuma. Yuma was an old west town and a place I had been once before way back in 1997. One of its main draws was the old territorial prison. Again, I had been there once before and thought it was cool so I thought the boys would like it. They were slightly too young, but they enjoyed it anyways. In the last decade or so I've become fascinated with the old west so being able to once again see this place and actually appreciate it was welcomed. It's a cool museum and has exhibits outside where they have recordings of "inmates". Pretty cool and a little creepy. If you're roadtripping through the Southwest, I recommend it. It's a pleasant little spot and has lots of cool history and old west things. Go here to check it out.
We ate lunch in the parking lot and continued on. I forgot how beautiful the eastern edge of Southern California was. The boulder encrusted mountains were breathtaking and amazing. It was like driving through another world. It had been some time since I had last driven through mountains so I was taking my time and letting all the maniacs fly by me. The oldest boy began complaining about his ears so we taught him the old trick of pinching your nose and blowing. As we climbed higher and higher I kept my eyes peeled for something I ran across on Google Maps, a tower. I was beginning to think that we had passed it, but nope, I caught sight of it up on a ridge. Signs soon pointed the way and within 5 minutes we were climbing out of the car.
The Desert Tower is a bit campy and a lot interesting. I can't remember how much we paid, but there is a small charge to go up. It's worth the expense. The views are gorgeous and it provides a nice reprieve from the road. The boys loved it so much that they didn't want to go back down. Finally we did and took the chance to explore the caves (just passages between giant boulders). I hiked around a bit alone because there was a beehive nearby and the boys don't like bees (bad experience).
The Desert Tower now behind us we headed further and further west, the miles on the signs getting smaller and smaller. Finally the GPS chirped with instructions to get to our hotel. It led us through interstates and highways and around curves and loops. I had a bit of trouble following it. I was not very familiar with the area since I had left it nearly 28 years ago.
We pulled into the Best Western Marina Gateway. We had made it. After five days of driving we had made it. We spent the evening resting. We found a little park nearby for the boys and had dinner at the next door restaurant. I was amazed at how chilly it was there. Though I had not called that place home for nearly 30 years, something felt familiar and right about it.
We all pooped out early. Not a problem as we wanted to be rested for exploring.
It was unnerving to think that there was the possibility of dust storms. I was worried for my kids. I did not want to lead them into danger. We drove on. El Paso was soon behind us and we entered into New Mexico. I pointed to the left of our car. "See those hills and stuff?" I asked my wife. "That's Mexico!" She was awestruck. She'd never seen the border before. It was pretty neat seeing another country so close, but we pressed on.
Our plan of having the boys eat and then sleep on the way to our next stop, Deming, New Mexico did not come to fruition. No, they remained awake the entire way. Every time a rest area came up, they had to stop. It made for a slightly longer trip, but we made it to a hotel (this time a Hampton Inn, our favorite while traveling) well before dark. I made a quick supply and gas run to Walmart and then headed to our room for some food. We brought with us, in addition to all the snacks and lunch foods, a healthy supply of camp food. We figured it would save money, which it did. I had lasagna. It was surprisingly good. After our bags of dinner, we swam a little and then tucked the boys into bed. Mama and I weren't too far behind them.
Sunday, day 4 of our adventure. We packed the car and ate the always awesome Hampton Inn breakfast buffet. Instead of continuing west, we took a detour to the southeast to a state park called Rock Hound State Park. One of the unique things about this place is that they encourage visitors to collect things. The only thing is is that you have to go off the train a ways to find the good stuff. We found a couple shiny rocks, but nothing too notable. We wandered up a path a bit and enjoyed the lizards and cacti. I was hoping to see a snake so I could get a picture, but that didn't happen. After about an hour or so of roaming around and an awkward conversation with what seemed to be an arguing couple, we headed back to Deming and the interstate.
The next leg was slightly more grueling that the previous ones had been. We were deep in the desert. The threat of dust storms keeping me in reality as I drove us towards Tuscon. My mind kept going back to what if one hit. I guess we'd just pull over and wait it out. Or at least that's what the signs made it sound like we were supposed to do.
Tuscon crept ever closer. The boys either watched videos on their blessed DVD players or played with the few toys that they had brought or read. My wife and I bantered about trivial things like what we'd do once in San Diego and stuff like that. I think the conversation of "what would you do if we won the lottery?" came up a couple times. I wanted to go to Saguaro National Park, but for some reason I hesitated. I think I was tired and wanted to make it to our next hotel. We passed the exit for Saguaro National Park East. No worries I thought, we'll just go to the western one. Well, that turned out to be for naught as it would take us at least half an hour off the interstate to get to the park. I decided that we needed to just get to our next spot. We couldn't risk being too far from San Diego on our last night before our hotel reservation started. So on we pushed.
The evening was spent with camp food and TV but this time I felt weird. I think the excess of salt was messing with me. I didn't finish my meal. The boys delighted in about 30 minutes of swimming and then it was bed for all of us so we'd be ready to make our final push toward our destination.
Upon waking up, we went about our routine for the trip: get dressed, eat breakfast, pack the car, have the kids empty their tanks, get in the car, head out. I made a quick trip to Walmart to get new sunglasses as my "nice, expensive" ones broke in my pocket (I still have no idea how they broke, they just did).
The desert was beginning to get old. Just shades of browns, blacks and other earthy tones. I was also anxious as I did not want to miss check in at our hotel. Shortly before lunchtime we arrived in Yuma. Yuma was an old west town and a place I had been once before way back in 1997. One of its main draws was the old territorial prison. Again, I had been there once before and thought it was cool so I thought the boys would like it. They were slightly too young, but they enjoyed it anyways. In the last decade or so I've become fascinated with the old west so being able to once again see this place and actually appreciate it was welcomed. It's a cool museum and has exhibits outside where they have recordings of "inmates". Pretty cool and a little creepy. If you're roadtripping through the Southwest, I recommend it. It's a pleasant little spot and has lots of cool history and old west things. Go here to check it out.
We ate lunch in the parking lot and continued on. I forgot how beautiful the eastern edge of Southern California was. The boulder encrusted mountains were breathtaking and amazing. It was like driving through another world. It had been some time since I had last driven through mountains so I was taking my time and letting all the maniacs fly by me. The oldest boy began complaining about his ears so we taught him the old trick of pinching your nose and blowing. As we climbed higher and higher I kept my eyes peeled for something I ran across on Google Maps, a tower. I was beginning to think that we had passed it, but nope, I caught sight of it up on a ridge. Signs soon pointed the way and within 5 minutes we were climbing out of the car.
The Desert Tower is a bit campy and a lot interesting. I can't remember how much we paid, but there is a small charge to go up. It's worth the expense. The views are gorgeous and it provides a nice reprieve from the road. The boys loved it so much that they didn't want to go back down. Finally we did and took the chance to explore the caves (just passages between giant boulders). I hiked around a bit alone because there was a beehive nearby and the boys don't like bees (bad experience).
The Desert Tower now behind us we headed further and further west, the miles on the signs getting smaller and smaller. Finally the GPS chirped with instructions to get to our hotel. It led us through interstates and highways and around curves and loops. I had a bit of trouble following it. I was not very familiar with the area since I had left it nearly 28 years ago.
We pulled into the Best Western Marina Gateway. We had made it. After five days of driving we had made it. We spent the evening resting. We found a little park nearby for the boys and had dinner at the next door restaurant. I was amazed at how chilly it was there. Though I had not called that place home for nearly 30 years, something felt familiar and right about it.
We all pooped out early. Not a problem as we wanted to be rested for exploring.
Sunday, September 15, 2019
The Return Part 1: The Largest Spring Fed Swimming Pool in the World
San Diego. The place of my birth. A place that I had not been to since the summer of 1997. Since connecting with my oldest and dearest friend, Pierre, back in 2011, I have. yearned to go home, to go back to this place I hear so much about and yet know little about. So in January of this year my wife and I decided to do it. Go back to San Diego and see the land of my youth.
I hate flying with my kids. Why? You ask. Simple. I have to carry all their stuff: the backpacks, the car seats, the snacks, the stroller and whatever other crap my wife says the kids need/want. I did it once with one kid and I swore a private oath that I'd never do that again. At least not until they are older and don't require so many support items. No. We would be driving West. That's the way I was raised to travel and that's how I want my kids to travel. Not only do I have more control when driving, but you get to see more of the world and create more stories and memories. I think this is more important than quickly traveling to places.
We departed somewhat early on a Thursday. We were fortunate to miss the rush hour traffic of Memphis and to make it through West Memphis, Arkansas with very little issue. The road went by in greens and browns and grays. Little Rock came and went and we finally stopped for lunch. To save money we packed sandwich fixings and a ton and a half of snacks. We pulled up to a rest area and began our first lunch on the road. The kids were happy with the sandwiches and stuff that they usually don't get to eat in their day-to-day lives. Back on the road.
The hours went on. The sun was getting dangerously close to the western horizon and we weren't near Dallas yet. The oldest boy began to get restless and wanted to stop. We pulled over and got gas and saw the golden arrow of In-N-Out Burger.
Some may say this place is overrated. Say what you will. We don't have these in Tennessee and I have great memories of eating here when I was a kid. Whenever I get a chance to stop at one, I take it. We popped in and in no time we were eating those delicious burgers with animal style fries and sweet sweet Coca Colas. It was awesome. The feeling of being on vacation finally started to spread through my mind.
Another plus to our dinner stop was that by the time we got back on the road the dreaded Dallas rush hour was over. Huzzah! We made it through Dallas and then Ft. Worth. I was surprised that there seemed to be wilderness between the two as I always thought they basically clumped together into one mega city.
I was getting tired. The boys were getting tired and so was my navigator, my wife. We had originally thought to camp along the way, but our gear wouldn't fit in my wife's car with all the other stuff we needed to bring. So we abandoned that idea before departure. We pulled off the interstate in Weatherford, Texas, a place that I had been to a few times as my grandparents used to live in a town close to it. We found a Super 8. It was decent. The rooms were clean, they were close to shopping and food, and the staff were friendly. Also, the free breakfasts are worth it.
Day two saw us depart a bit earlier than the day before and we drove into West Texas. Desolate. Hot. Brown. That sums up this region of the Lone Star State pretty nicely. Not that it's not without it's own beauty, but it is a stark place.
By lunchtime we were rolling through Abilene. Using the modern miracle of the smart phone, we found a nice little park to eat lunch. It was actually right next to the Abilene zoo, but we did not stop there. The play ground allowed the boys to run off some of their massive energy stores and gave me time to make their sandwiches. We ate, ran some more and went to the bathroom before heading back West.
As the hours ticked by I became a bit more worried about our accommodations, or the fact that we had no plans for such. I made a couple phone calls just before reaching Pecos, TX. A gruff voice answered for the second number I called.
Hotel guy: "Yes?"
Me: "Yes, I'd like a room for the night."
HG: "What?"
Me: "...A room? For tonight?"
HG: "Oh. How many folks you got?"
Me: "Me, my wife, and two little kids."
HG: "Weeellll. I only have one queen bed left so..."
Me: "We can squeeze in. The boys are small."
HG: I don't know. I don't mind kids, but I don't y'all to be uncomfortable."
Me: "It's fine. We just need it for one night."
HG: slightly irritated "Well okay. About when can I expect y'all?"
Me: "We are just about to Pecos and will cut down state road 17. I guess we'll be there in about an hour or so."
HG: "Y'all be careful on that road."
Me: "Thanks"
It didn't click with me about what he said until about 1-2 minutes later. Why did he say that? Suddenly visions of The Hills Have Eyes started playing in my mind. I could just imagine us getting a flat and ending up the main course in house full of mutants. Great. I white knuckled the steering wheel as we drove down the lonely road. Trucks would pass us. Oil derricks pumped rhythmically as we wound our way south toward Interstate 10. Finally, we turned down another small desert road and soon found our way to the town of Balmorhea, Texas.
I had been there once before in the late 80s. My grandparents took my mom and I there on the way from San Diego to their home in Mineral Wells, TX (the aforementioned town near Weatherford). I loved to swim and somehow my Granddad found out about this pool near Balmorhea that was absolutely huge. It's the largest spring fed swimming pool in the world. It's located in Toyahvale, TX and is housed in the Balmorhea State Park. This thing is pretty big. It's shaped somewhat as an L with a large circular pool where the two arms meet. The circle is about 20 feet or more deep. I think it's actually 25-30 feet, but can't quite remember and I don't know where my notes are for this trip. People were scuba diving in there. There's also turtles and fish living in it. I loved it then and have spent the last 30 years talking about it. It is one of my best childhood memories. It's something I wanted to do with my boys since before the oldest one was born.
We found the hotel and checked in. It truly was small, but only $74/night it wasn't bad at all. We had been pretty good about not buying food out so we decided to do dinner at a restaurant. We chose a Mexican place down the road called La Cueva de Oso and it was pretty tasty. Food sizes were good and it wasn't too expensive. Since it was about a million degrees we decided an ice cream treat was in order. We walked down the road to the small ice cream shop and each got a cone. By the time we got back to the hotel most of us has rivers of melted dessert flowing down our arms. My youngest son also had the cutest chocolate goatee.
Another powerful memory of my first trip here was that my Granddad loaded us all up in the car a little while after dinner and drove into the middle of the desert. He had us get out and look up and bam! The Milky Way! It still stands out in my mind. It's something that I didn't fully appreciate or understand at the time, but now it's something that thrills me. So I wanted to check out the stars. After our ice cream trek, my wife went about bathing our monkeys and I went looking for a place to see the stars. It was still fairly light out so I wanted to track down a place so I could find it. I asked the guy in the office where I should go and he directed me down the road to a chapel. I found it with no issue and returned to the hotel. I helped put the kids to bed and read for a little bit. After awhile I could tell that it was dark out so I got ready and headed out into the desert. The little chapel was perfectly charming...in the daytime. Now, however, it looked like something out of a horror story. The wind whipped through the dark desert and carried with it the cries of coyotes. I stared up into the heavens. I couldn't see the Milky Way just yet, but several stars were visible. It was beautiful. I wanted to take some pictures, but the eeriness of being by myself out there and the potential for not-so-friendly critters lurking about gave me the drive to get out of there. I got back in just a few minutes. I wanted to be well rested for the pool.
The water was cold. Don't know how cold, but it was teeth chattering cold. We all splashed around and swam. I dove in a few times and BSed with the dads near us. It was fun trying to stand up because the ground in the pool is covered by a slimy film. I towed my oldest son out to the circle so he could see the turtles. I loved being there and sharing it with my family. It was so great and fun. The boys, being small and skinny, got cold quickly and wanted to leave (Where's their sense of adventure!?). We made lunch and ate while we dried off. We were back on the interstate and heading west by 12:30pm and began our third day of travel.
Something important to note is that Balmorhea State Park advises you to buy a day pass. I highly recommend it. By the time we arrived at the park, there were already signs out saying that the park was full. If we did not have the pass, we would not have been able to get in. Here's a link to their website.
I hate flying with my kids. Why? You ask. Simple. I have to carry all their stuff: the backpacks, the car seats, the snacks, the stroller and whatever other crap my wife says the kids need/want. I did it once with one kid and I swore a private oath that I'd never do that again. At least not until they are older and don't require so many support items. No. We would be driving West. That's the way I was raised to travel and that's how I want my kids to travel. Not only do I have more control when driving, but you get to see more of the world and create more stories and memories. I think this is more important than quickly traveling to places.
We departed somewhat early on a Thursday. We were fortunate to miss the rush hour traffic of Memphis and to make it through West Memphis, Arkansas with very little issue. The road went by in greens and browns and grays. Little Rock came and went and we finally stopped for lunch. To save money we packed sandwich fixings and a ton and a half of snacks. We pulled up to a rest area and began our first lunch on the road. The kids were happy with the sandwiches and stuff that they usually don't get to eat in their day-to-day lives. Back on the road.
The hours went on. The sun was getting dangerously close to the western horizon and we weren't near Dallas yet. The oldest boy began to get restless and wanted to stop. We pulled over and got gas and saw the golden arrow of In-N-Out Burger.
Some may say this place is overrated. Say what you will. We don't have these in Tennessee and I have great memories of eating here when I was a kid. Whenever I get a chance to stop at one, I take it. We popped in and in no time we were eating those delicious burgers with animal style fries and sweet sweet Coca Colas. It was awesome. The feeling of being on vacation finally started to spread through my mind.
Another plus to our dinner stop was that by the time we got back on the road the dreaded Dallas rush hour was over. Huzzah! We made it through Dallas and then Ft. Worth. I was surprised that there seemed to be wilderness between the two as I always thought they basically clumped together into one mega city.
I was getting tired. The boys were getting tired and so was my navigator, my wife. We had originally thought to camp along the way, but our gear wouldn't fit in my wife's car with all the other stuff we needed to bring. So we abandoned that idea before departure. We pulled off the interstate in Weatherford, Texas, a place that I had been to a few times as my grandparents used to live in a town close to it. We found a Super 8. It was decent. The rooms were clean, they were close to shopping and food, and the staff were friendly. Also, the free breakfasts are worth it.
Day two saw us depart a bit earlier than the day before and we drove into West Texas. Desolate. Hot. Brown. That sums up this region of the Lone Star State pretty nicely. Not that it's not without it's own beauty, but it is a stark place.
By lunchtime we were rolling through Abilene. Using the modern miracle of the smart phone, we found a nice little park to eat lunch. It was actually right next to the Abilene zoo, but we did not stop there. The play ground allowed the boys to run off some of their massive energy stores and gave me time to make their sandwiches. We ate, ran some more and went to the bathroom before heading back West.
As the hours ticked by I became a bit more worried about our accommodations, or the fact that we had no plans for such. I made a couple phone calls just before reaching Pecos, TX. A gruff voice answered for the second number I called.
Hotel guy: "Yes?"
Me: "Yes, I'd like a room for the night."
HG: "What?"
Me: "...A room? For tonight?"
HG: "Oh. How many folks you got?"
Me: "Me, my wife, and two little kids."
HG: "Weeellll. I only have one queen bed left so..."
Me: "We can squeeze in. The boys are small."
HG: I don't know. I don't mind kids, but I don't y'all to be uncomfortable."
Me: "It's fine. We just need it for one night."
HG: slightly irritated "Well okay. About when can I expect y'all?"
Me: "We are just about to Pecos and will cut down state road 17. I guess we'll be there in about an hour or so."
HG: "Y'all be careful on that road."
Me: "Thanks"
It didn't click with me about what he said until about 1-2 minutes later. Why did he say that? Suddenly visions of The Hills Have Eyes started playing in my mind. I could just imagine us getting a flat and ending up the main course in house full of mutants. Great. I white knuckled the steering wheel as we drove down the lonely road. Trucks would pass us. Oil derricks pumped rhythmically as we wound our way south toward Interstate 10. Finally, we turned down another small desert road and soon found our way to the town of Balmorhea, Texas.
I had been there once before in the late 80s. My grandparents took my mom and I there on the way from San Diego to their home in Mineral Wells, TX (the aforementioned town near Weatherford). I loved to swim and somehow my Granddad found out about this pool near Balmorhea that was absolutely huge. It's the largest spring fed swimming pool in the world. It's located in Toyahvale, TX and is housed in the Balmorhea State Park. This thing is pretty big. It's shaped somewhat as an L with a large circular pool where the two arms meet. The circle is about 20 feet or more deep. I think it's actually 25-30 feet, but can't quite remember and I don't know where my notes are for this trip. People were scuba diving in there. There's also turtles and fish living in it. I loved it then and have spent the last 30 years talking about it. It is one of my best childhood memories. It's something I wanted to do with my boys since before the oldest one was born.
We found the hotel and checked in. It truly was small, but only $74/night it wasn't bad at all. We had been pretty good about not buying food out so we decided to do dinner at a restaurant. We chose a Mexican place down the road called La Cueva de Oso and it was pretty tasty. Food sizes were good and it wasn't too expensive. Since it was about a million degrees we decided an ice cream treat was in order. We walked down the road to the small ice cream shop and each got a cone. By the time we got back to the hotel most of us has rivers of melted dessert flowing down our arms. My youngest son also had the cutest chocolate goatee.
Another powerful memory of my first trip here was that my Granddad loaded us all up in the car a little while after dinner and drove into the middle of the desert. He had us get out and look up and bam! The Milky Way! It still stands out in my mind. It's something that I didn't fully appreciate or understand at the time, but now it's something that thrills me. So I wanted to check out the stars. After our ice cream trek, my wife went about bathing our monkeys and I went looking for a place to see the stars. It was still fairly light out so I wanted to track down a place so I could find it. I asked the guy in the office where I should go and he directed me down the road to a chapel. I found it with no issue and returned to the hotel. I helped put the kids to bed and read for a little bit. After awhile I could tell that it was dark out so I got ready and headed out into the desert. The little chapel was perfectly charming...in the daytime. Now, however, it looked like something out of a horror story. The wind whipped through the dark desert and carried with it the cries of coyotes. I stared up into the heavens. I couldn't see the Milky Way just yet, but several stars were visible. It was beautiful. I wanted to take some pictures, but the eeriness of being by myself out there and the potential for not-so-friendly critters lurking about gave me the drive to get out of there. I got back in just a few minutes. I wanted to be well rested for the pool.
The water was cold. Don't know how cold, but it was teeth chattering cold. We all splashed around and swam. I dove in a few times and BSed with the dads near us. It was fun trying to stand up because the ground in the pool is covered by a slimy film. I towed my oldest son out to the circle so he could see the turtles. I loved being there and sharing it with my family. It was so great and fun. The boys, being small and skinny, got cold quickly and wanted to leave (Where's their sense of adventure!?). We made lunch and ate while we dried off. We were back on the interstate and heading west by 12:30pm and began our third day of travel.
Something important to note is that Balmorhea State Park advises you to buy a day pass. I highly recommend it. By the time we arrived at the park, there were already signs out saying that the park was full. If we did not have the pass, we would not have been able to get in. Here's a link to their website.
Discovery Park of America
Ah Spring Break! The well deserved and much needed respite that teachers and students get between the 3rd and 4th quarters of the school year.
There is a dark cloud, however, a trouble that plagues those with kids: no school!
Kids get a little crazy when they are home for a week with not much to do. As such I try to plan ahead and have a lot of things of various sorts ready to go beforehand. This past Spring Break I had scheduled a couple hikes, a movie or two, some fun lunches, a visit to the library, and a trip to the Discovery Park of America.
Discovery Park of America, or DPA for short, is a wondrous place located in Union City, Tennessee (Northwest Tennessee). It's not a super huge facility, but it is jam packed with fun and adventure.
We were a bit unlucky in that the day we picked for this trip was during the one rainy day of the week. However, the mix of outdoor and indoor activities provided an amazing time for my two kids. Both boys like different things. The older one likes cars, science, space and stuff like that whereas the younger boy likes dinosaurs, machines and rough and tumble antics. Both were satisfied with the DPA.
Upon entering you are greeted by a stuffed or heavily tranquilized Grizzly Bear. From there they have natural history displays, military vehicles from history including replicas of the atomic bombs used in World War II. There is even a section on torture. They have classic cars, dinosaur skeletons, a giant slide in the shape of a human body that kids can use to go from one level of the museum to the one below. Outside there is a garage with several vintage farm equipment, a reproduction of an old American town, different gardens (one is a Japanese garden). There is also a church and old rockets from NASA from the 60s.
The two boys had a blast and wanted to stay longer. Sadly we had plans for the next day. This is a great place that is not too far for either Memphians or Nashvillians. They have a variety of tickets that allow you to see what you want. I recommend the all access pass so you can do everything. There is also a pass that allows you to have two days. Might be good especially if you want to kill multiple days. I highly recommend this awesome place that has something for everyone.
There is a dark cloud, however, a trouble that plagues those with kids: no school!
Kids get a little crazy when they are home for a week with not much to do. As such I try to plan ahead and have a lot of things of various sorts ready to go beforehand. This past Spring Break I had scheduled a couple hikes, a movie or two, some fun lunches, a visit to the library, and a trip to the Discovery Park of America.
Discovery Park of America, or DPA for short, is a wondrous place located in Union City, Tennessee (Northwest Tennessee). It's not a super huge facility, but it is jam packed with fun and adventure.
We were a bit unlucky in that the day we picked for this trip was during the one rainy day of the week. However, the mix of outdoor and indoor activities provided an amazing time for my two kids. Both boys like different things. The older one likes cars, science, space and stuff like that whereas the younger boy likes dinosaurs, machines and rough and tumble antics. Both were satisfied with the DPA.
Upon entering you are greeted by a stuffed or heavily tranquilized Grizzly Bear. From there they have natural history displays, military vehicles from history including replicas of the atomic bombs used in World War II. There is even a section on torture. They have classic cars, dinosaur skeletons, a giant slide in the shape of a human body that kids can use to go from one level of the museum to the one below. Outside there is a garage with several vintage farm equipment, a reproduction of an old American town, different gardens (one is a Japanese garden). There is also a church and old rockets from NASA from the 60s.
The two boys had a blast and wanted to stay longer. Sadly we had plans for the next day. This is a great place that is not too far for either Memphians or Nashvillians. They have a variety of tickets that allow you to see what you want. I recommend the all access pass so you can do everything. There is also a pass that allows you to have two days. Might be good especially if you want to kill multiple days. I highly recommend this awesome place that has something for everyone.
Tuesday, May 31, 2016
The Kamakura Adventure
My wife graciously allowed me to buy a two week JR pass due to the fact that we ended up having to stay in Japan longer than anticipated. I tend to get a little antsy and depressed if I stay in one area too long, which had happened during our trip two years ago. So in order to keep my wanderlust in check and possibly to get me out of her hair for a bit, she allowed me to do some traveling on my own.
I have traveled pretty extensively throughout Japan. I haven't been everywhere, but I've been to my fair share of places. I've tapped out most of central and Western Japan. Since we were going to be staying in Nagoya, I needed to make sure that my destinations were all in easy striking distance from my home base. Therefore, I couldn't realistically travel to Kyushu or Shikoku. Tohoku was also out. I poured through Wikitravel and my old copy of Lonely Planet Japan and Google Maps to determine my journeys.
The most obvious choice, to me, for my first jaunt was Kamakura. I had never been and it looked to be a reasonable distance from Nagoya.
Making my way to Nagoya Station and booking my seat on the shinkansen was easy. I bought some food for the trip and otherwise prepared for my trip. The trip to Shin-Yokohama station was uneventful. However, when I got to Shin-Yokohama I realized something. I had no idea how to go to Kamakura. I looked at the map with all the train lines on it and had a basic idea as how to go. I found my way to Yokohama pretty easily. The funny thing is that Yokohama Station seemed bigger and busier than Shin-Yokohama. Shin-Yokohama had only the shinkansen and one other train line going into it whereas Yokohama had several. I guess it was my mistake to associate anything with "shin" in its title to automatically mean it's better.
I found my way to a little tourist information center in Yokohama station. I really liked this TI because they actually knew how to do their job. Several times in several countries I have been led astray by idiotic TI staff members who had no idea about their city and would dole out useless or wrong information and cause confusion. Not the Yokohama TI staff. I asked about Kamakura and not only did they know exactly how to get there, they also had these nifty little cards with directions on how to get there! I have never seen this before, but I loved it! So many times I have had to go back to a TI to get new directions because I had forgotten something. I made my way to the appropriate train platform and began the final leg to Kamakura.
I arrived in Kamakura and for some reason I was under the impression that my goal, the Giant Buddha, would be right near the station. I was wrong. I found the handy city map (just outside of the station's main entrance, to the right) and found that the temple was just under 2km away. Rather than waste money on a bus, I decided to walk it. The walk wasn't bad. It was a bit hot, but other than that, it was good. After about 15 minutes or so, I found my destination.
One of the weirdest or quirkiest things I found about the temple area was that there was a little shop selling replica weapons. They had all sorts of things from samurai weapons to M1 Garands. 15 or 20 years ago, I would've bought something. As it is, I looked through it and went to the temple.
The temple was good. There's not much to it. You turn a corner and BAM! There's the Giant Buddah. It's a great statue and it was neat looking at. I loved taking pictures. It was so serene once you found a way to keep the other tourists out of your shot. Looking back at some of my pictures it almost seems like I was the only person there. But pictures can sometimes be deceiving. The place was packed.
I wandered a bit and decided that I should probably make my way back to the train station since I had a fairly long journey back home. On my way out I saw a large map of the area. I could see the path that I had taken to the temple, but couldn't help notice that there seemed to be a hiking path located near by. Never one to shirk an adventure, I went with the hike.
I got to the street and turned the opposite way from where I came and set out. I could see some distance away a road tunnel and right next to it, a very small path leading up the steep hill. The path was rough and a little steep. It was also obviously not heavily traversed. It was overgrown and generally unkempt. Immediately after cresting the hill, I saw a dilapidated, old house. I tensed up. This structure was unexpected and when I'm hiking I don't like seeing strange and unexpected buildings. It gave me the creeps as visions of J-horror flooded my brain. I pressed on and suddenly saw people approaching me. The path was not wholly unused. I was safe from the phantoms of my imagination.
The trail was nice. In parts it overlooked the town and you could just see a bit of the ocean. I chatted with the occasional fellow hiker, who was often just as surprised to see me as I was them. The trail seemed to run along the spine of a mountain (or tall hill). It was wooded and gave some nice views of the land below. After about 20 minutes, I suddenly emerged into a small residential area.
One of my whole reasons for choosing the hike was to see some more of what Kamakura had to offer. The main objective was to check out Sasuke Inari Shrine. It's a fox spirit shrine and an unofficial hobby of mine is to visit those particular shrines. Shortly after beginning my trek down the hill and towards the shrine I met a middle aged gentleman who stopped me and engaged in the typical conversation of where I was from, what I was doing and so forth. As I was edging away, he smiles and says "Please visit Zeniari Benzaiten Ugafuku Jinja" and proceeds to tell me how to go the aforementioned shrine. Since it was recommended by a local, I decided to check it out. And boy am I glad I did.
First off, I nearly passed the shrine entirely since the entrance was hidden from the direction I was coming. There was a torii and I thought nothing of it, but suddenly realized that Zenirai should be around there. I turned around and saw a cave behind the torii. Of all the shrines and temples I've visited in Japan this one is the most unique. It's in a hollow completely surrounded by rock. There is also a spring inside of another cave that according to legend, if you wash money in the waters it will multiply and return to you. Not wanting to be greedy, I only washed 1000 yen.
After a long while I decided to head out and begin the trek to the station. Along the way I finally found Sasuke Inari Shrine. It's a bit hard to find, being tucked way back in a neighborhood. In my opinion it wasn't worth the trouble. It was small and nice and totally deserving to be off the beaten path.
If you have not been to Kamakura, I highly recommend it. It makes for a really nice day trip, one that I wouldn't mind going back in the future.
I have traveled pretty extensively throughout Japan. I haven't been everywhere, but I've been to my fair share of places. I've tapped out most of central and Western Japan. Since we were going to be staying in Nagoya, I needed to make sure that my destinations were all in easy striking distance from my home base. Therefore, I couldn't realistically travel to Kyushu or Shikoku. Tohoku was also out. I poured through Wikitravel and my old copy of Lonely Planet Japan and Google Maps to determine my journeys.
The most obvious choice, to me, for my first jaunt was Kamakura. I had never been and it looked to be a reasonable distance from Nagoya.
Making my way to Nagoya Station and booking my seat on the shinkansen was easy. I bought some food for the trip and otherwise prepared for my trip. The trip to Shin-Yokohama station was uneventful. However, when I got to Shin-Yokohama I realized something. I had no idea how to go to Kamakura. I looked at the map with all the train lines on it and had a basic idea as how to go. I found my way to Yokohama pretty easily. The funny thing is that Yokohama Station seemed bigger and busier than Shin-Yokohama. Shin-Yokohama had only the shinkansen and one other train line going into it whereas Yokohama had several. I guess it was my mistake to associate anything with "shin" in its title to automatically mean it's better.
I found my way to a little tourist information center in Yokohama station. I really liked this TI because they actually knew how to do their job. Several times in several countries I have been led astray by idiotic TI staff members who had no idea about their city and would dole out useless or wrong information and cause confusion. Not the Yokohama TI staff. I asked about Kamakura and not only did they know exactly how to get there, they also had these nifty little cards with directions on how to get there! I have never seen this before, but I loved it! So many times I have had to go back to a TI to get new directions because I had forgotten something. I made my way to the appropriate train platform and began the final leg to Kamakura.
I arrived in Kamakura and for some reason I was under the impression that my goal, the Giant Buddha, would be right near the station. I was wrong. I found the handy city map (just outside of the station's main entrance, to the right) and found that the temple was just under 2km away. Rather than waste money on a bus, I decided to walk it. The walk wasn't bad. It was a bit hot, but other than that, it was good. After about 15 minutes or so, I found my destination.
One of the weirdest or quirkiest things I found about the temple area was that there was a little shop selling replica weapons. They had all sorts of things from samurai weapons to M1 Garands. 15 or 20 years ago, I would've bought something. As it is, I looked through it and went to the temple.
The temple was good. There's not much to it. You turn a corner and BAM! There's the Giant Buddah. It's a great statue and it was neat looking at. I loved taking pictures. It was so serene once you found a way to keep the other tourists out of your shot. Looking back at some of my pictures it almost seems like I was the only person there. But pictures can sometimes be deceiving. The place was packed.
I wandered a bit and decided that I should probably make my way back to the train station since I had a fairly long journey back home. On my way out I saw a large map of the area. I could see the path that I had taken to the temple, but couldn't help notice that there seemed to be a hiking path located near by. Never one to shirk an adventure, I went with the hike.
I got to the street and turned the opposite way from where I came and set out. I could see some distance away a road tunnel and right next to it, a very small path leading up the steep hill. The path was rough and a little steep. It was also obviously not heavily traversed. It was overgrown and generally unkempt. Immediately after cresting the hill, I saw a dilapidated, old house. I tensed up. This structure was unexpected and when I'm hiking I don't like seeing strange and unexpected buildings. It gave me the creeps as visions of J-horror flooded my brain. I pressed on and suddenly saw people approaching me. The path was not wholly unused. I was safe from the phantoms of my imagination.
The trail was nice. In parts it overlooked the town and you could just see a bit of the ocean. I chatted with the occasional fellow hiker, who was often just as surprised to see me as I was them. The trail seemed to run along the spine of a mountain (or tall hill). It was wooded and gave some nice views of the land below. After about 20 minutes, I suddenly emerged into a small residential area.
One of my whole reasons for choosing the hike was to see some more of what Kamakura had to offer. The main objective was to check out Sasuke Inari Shrine. It's a fox spirit shrine and an unofficial hobby of mine is to visit those particular shrines. Shortly after beginning my trek down the hill and towards the shrine I met a middle aged gentleman who stopped me and engaged in the typical conversation of where I was from, what I was doing and so forth. As I was edging away, he smiles and says "Please visit Zeniari Benzaiten Ugafuku Jinja" and proceeds to tell me how to go the aforementioned shrine. Since it was recommended by a local, I decided to check it out. And boy am I glad I did.
First off, I nearly passed the shrine entirely since the entrance was hidden from the direction I was coming. There was a torii and I thought nothing of it, but suddenly realized that Zenirai should be around there. I turned around and saw a cave behind the torii. Of all the shrines and temples I've visited in Japan this one is the most unique. It's in a hollow completely surrounded by rock. There is also a spring inside of another cave that according to legend, if you wash money in the waters it will multiply and return to you. Not wanting to be greedy, I only washed 1000 yen.
After a long while I decided to head out and begin the trek to the station. Along the way I finally found Sasuke Inari Shrine. It's a bit hard to find, being tucked way back in a neighborhood. In my opinion it wasn't worth the trouble. It was small and nice and totally deserving to be off the beaten path.
If you have not been to Kamakura, I highly recommend it. It makes for a really nice day trip, one that I wouldn't mind going back in the future.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
JR Railpass
Japan is a train country. You can get just about anywhere in Japan by train and indeed it is the most convenient mode of transport in that country. Something that makes rail travel all the more easy is the JR Railpass. It basically allows you to ride any JR train as many times as you want during the validity of your pass.
There are several different types of passes. First you have the general pass which allows you access to all of JR. Then you have an individual pass for each region of Japan (Hokkaido, East, West and Kyushu). Personally I don't know why you'd want to limit yourself to one region. I wander so much that picking just one region would be extremely difficult. The passes also have a time limit. They do not go on forever. You can choose a 7, 14, or 21 day pass.
If you want to see a lot of Japan easily and in a short amount of time this pass is the way to go. Not only will it save you money, but it will also save time. Instead of standing in line to purchase tickets, you just flash your pass to the station personnel and away you go. The JR pass is also very easy to buy. I went to JTBUSA, got the contact info and called the Chicago office. A fax and one more phone call and I had my passes (note that I had to do things differently because my wife is Japanese and you have to do some special things for Japanese nationals living abroad to get the pass, normal ordering can be done online with much less documentation). The documents you get in the mail are actually vouchers that you must use in Japan to obtain the pass themselves. Now, you must buy these passes before you go to Japan. They cannot be purchased within country and you must have a tourist visa. If you have any sort of long term visa (student, business, etc.), you cannot use the rail pass.
There is one other limitation to the pass: you can't use the Nozomi super express bullet train. The other two, Hikari and Kodama are able to be used. Also, keep in mind that not all trains in Japan are JR. There are other rail companies and you cannot use the pass with them, so please check to make sure that your destinations can be accessed by JR.
I will be using a 14 day rail pass this summer. I'm looking forward to being able to come and go where and when I please. It'll allow me to explore at ease and to have a general liberty. I've used the pass in the past and it was great being able to travel freely.
There are several different types of passes. First you have the general pass which allows you access to all of JR. Then you have an individual pass for each region of Japan (Hokkaido, East, West and Kyushu). Personally I don't know why you'd want to limit yourself to one region. I wander so much that picking just one region would be extremely difficult. The passes also have a time limit. They do not go on forever. You can choose a 7, 14, or 21 day pass.
If you want to see a lot of Japan easily and in a short amount of time this pass is the way to go. Not only will it save you money, but it will also save time. Instead of standing in line to purchase tickets, you just flash your pass to the station personnel and away you go. The JR pass is also very easy to buy. I went to JTBUSA, got the contact info and called the Chicago office. A fax and one more phone call and I had my passes (note that I had to do things differently because my wife is Japanese and you have to do some special things for Japanese nationals living abroad to get the pass, normal ordering can be done online with much less documentation). The documents you get in the mail are actually vouchers that you must use in Japan to obtain the pass themselves. Now, you must buy these passes before you go to Japan. They cannot be purchased within country and you must have a tourist visa. If you have any sort of long term visa (student, business, etc.), you cannot use the rail pass.
There is one other limitation to the pass: you can't use the Nozomi super express bullet train. The other two, Hikari and Kodama are able to be used. Also, keep in mind that not all trains in Japan are JR. There are other rail companies and you cannot use the pass with them, so please check to make sure that your destinations can be accessed by JR.
I will be using a 14 day rail pass this summer. I'm looking forward to being able to come and go where and when I please. It'll allow me to explore at ease and to have a general liberty. I've used the pass in the past and it was great being able to travel freely.
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