The best weekend ever!

Ok, so I went to Yokosuka this weekend and I finally got to see my old coworkers from Outdoor Rec.  I had so much fun!  I met my friend Tetsuya at the JR station.  We walked to base and he had someone from the Marina get me in.  Tetsuya, being Japanese can not bring guests on base.  Anyway, so we went to the Marina and rented a speed boat and took it out in Tokyo bay.  It was AMAZING!  How many people can say they spent the day boating in Tokyo Bay?  Plus it was such a nice day outside.  It was perfect.

Later we went to the mountain shop (just a small outdoor gear store that has a small bar in it) and had drinks.  I used to shop there all the time.  Tetsuya is friends with the owner and we always talked about going there when I was here before, but we never had time.  Now was our time.  We had some local beer and ate a really good smoked oyster salad.  It was so fun.  I also got to see my old co-worker Jumpei.  He had a baby about three months ago and he named her.......are you ready for this?..................Anna!  I am not saying that she is named after me, but I am so happy about it.  He said when I come to Yokosuka I can stay with him, his wife and Anna.  I am so grateful to have yet another place to stay in Yokosuka.  

Monday was a national holiday in Japan, so I didn't have school.  Me and some other ALT's in the area decided to climb Mount Tsukuba.  It is only about 2,800 feet, but it was a pretty good hike.  I went with Kevin from Scotland, Tracey from South Africa and Amber, a transplant to Australia from Taiwan.  It was a pretty diverse group and we had a pretty good time.  We made it to the top in about two and a half hours and for time reasons took the cable car down.  Mount Tsukuba actually had two "tops" for lack of a better word.  One is masculine and one is feminine.  The man side is a little higher and the trail is steep to get up.  The woman side the incline is more gradual.  On the top they are not that far apart from each other, but we only climbed to the top of the man side for time reasons.  Kevin said going to the top of the man side is "really climbing Mount Tsukuba" (verses just going to the top of the woman side) and he would vouch for us in saying we climbed to the top.  I am happy I did it, though next time I am climbing both sides.

So, I would love to show you pictures of my weekend adventures, but I regret to inform you that I LOST MY CAMERA.  Yeah, when hiking up Tsukuba we sat down for a rest.  I put my camera behind me while I sat on a tree trunk.  We got up and starting walking.  It wasn't even five minutes later when I noticed I had left my camera.  Kevin was nice and went down to see if it was still there.  (Trust me, when you are climbing up a mountain the last thing you want to do is turn around and walk down when you have spent all of your energy walking up, even if it was only for five minutes).  Needless to say it wasn't.  Later we checked at the cable car station to see if anyone had turned it in.  It was not there.  They took my name and phone number and will call me if I get it back.  It is Japan, so I won't be surprised if I do get it back.  In reality, I will probably never see it again.  So, my blog will be boring for a while.  I am sorry you guys.  In the meantime I think I might post pictures from when I was in Japan before.  Maybe for Christmas I will get a new camera *hint...hint*.  

Later!