I got to sleep in this morning, and it felt great. The first thing I did in the morning was go on a hike to visit the local coal mine. There were some pretty big hills, so I got a fairly good workout. After my hike, Steve cooked up a big breakfast for everyone – homemade hashbrowns, thick bacon, eggs, and toast. It was excellent – the bacon was especially good. Afterwards, my folks called from San Diego, and we got to catch up and recap Christmas. They had finished their Christmas and it sounded like everyone was pretty jolly.
We took quite a long time to talk, and while I was yakking away Brenda made a bunch of sandwiches for a picnic. When I finished talking we jumped in the car for a shopping trip and a walk through a local rainforest.
The shopping mall was really crowded, and some stores were closed for Boxing Day. I went to Target first, but the layout and inventory was quite a bit different from Target stores in America.
I really scored in a grocery store in the mall – I picked up six cans of refried beans, three bottles of shampoo, post-it notes, a bottle of ketchup, some Turkish Delights, and some spices in little jars.
Combined with the bottles of wine that I already bought, the toothpastes and deodorant that I got for Christmas, my suitcase is really heavy and full of imported goods. I’m hoping it’s not contraband, but I’ll have to wait and find out. Last time I entered Japan I had no problem, but I was with a big group and nobody even checked. I’m pretty sure they’ll check this time – so I hope I don’t have anything illegal.
After shopping for a while, Steve bought us all a coffee, and we sat around while the mall buzzed around us. After the coffees we went back to the car, and then headed out to the rainforest.
The rainforest was beautiful – it was full of old trees and green, lush vegetation. The forest had a creek running through it, and we followed a wooden footpath through the forest in a big loop. Near the halfway point we stopped and had out picnic. The turkey sandwiches were quite good – they always taste great after Christmas.
We finished up our walkabout, and then drove through the small town of Jangaroo. The pub was open, but that was about it. We stopped and saw the building where Steve and Brenda were married, and then got back on the road and headed home.
After we got back we kicked around the house for a little while, and then went over to another neighbor’s house to have some drinks. It started out by opening a couple of wines to compare vintages, and it soon turned into a wine drink-a-thon. Other neighbors came by with wine, and we sat out on the porch in the warm night enjoying some great vino. After a final “cleansing ale” to clear my palate, I staggered back home, and the crashed into bed.
Tomorrow I’m off to the airport where I’ll join the rest of the gang and fly home to Japan. I’ve heard that snow has fallen while I’ve been gone, so I’m packing some cold weather clothes in my backpack to take with me on the plane.
