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Kyoto, Japan Sugary, fried, sweet potatoes.

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Happy Halloween!!!

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Idaho. One more time. This was a peaceful drive in 2014.

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Moved from a 1500sq ft to a 450sq ft space at the bottom of Muholland Hwy. Pathway for drifters, hotrods, and motorcycles 24/7, literally. Watching and listening to the zigzagging at 2am, sometimes.

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Back in the US

JUNE:  Back from Japan in June.  It’s funny how re-immersion makes me lose my Japanese faster than you can say sushi.  Goes to show that language is much more than just words.  I miss waking up in Tokyo, Kyoto, and anywhere else Japan.  The adventure of the semi foreign and the constant straining of the different vocabulary, food, and everything else culture.  I promise myself, I’ll be back to stay in Japan again.  June was about the start of looking for a new job and a new place to live.  Take off started off slow on both ends…..Liz on the other hand was about to start up her new academic venture.  The excitement was building.

JULY:  July came around and academics were fully settling in for Liz.  She was rocking it.  She’s so smart.  Me, job interviews, and house renovations.  At this point we decided that we were going to make the move from a 15OO square foot living space to who knows what.  I remember feeling like, “Camping and staying with friends and family was kind of simple and straightforward, but that season has passed and we need to set some roots down for a bit.”  Looking for a new place to live, while periodically crashing at my sister’s in Torrance, my mom’s in Monterey Park, some AirBNB places, and at our Agoura Hills home.  By the end of July we finally found a place to land.  There was a slight catch.  I had to give up a job offer in Ventura and we would not be able to move in until mid August.  To top it off, no job offer on this side of the hill yet.  We rolled the dice and signed a lease to move in on the 15th of August.  Job………not sure yet????  

AUGUST:  Liz still rocking the school.  Me, landed a job at a residential mental health/substance dependence program about 8 minutes from our new place that we were not living in yet.  Started work while still being nomadic.  Life is not perfect and if there was something that our nomadic camping adventures taught me it was the following: keep things simple and in the moment, live a day at a time (sometimes a second at a time), enjoy the imperfections (there are a lot), be flexible (with enough structure), plan well (enough), trust God to show up and blow your mind with his love and power (if you believe), and laugh (a lot) (and sometimes with tears).  So, yeah, until we moved into our new whopping 450 square foot living space of a studio in a mobile home park, we moved around a lot…..while starting a new job and not having WIFI all the time for Liz’s school stuff.  Hahahahahaha……..(tears sometimes).

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Chesebro Canyon. Nice to be back.

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Classic.

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Pt. Mugu fishing spot

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Kyoto, Japan. One of those many mini shrines. This one is in Gion, Kyoto.

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Gion, Kyoto. Where is the gyoza place?

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Very interesting. Miyajima, Japan

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Kinosakionsen. Fresh catch.

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Liz…..the kid whisperer…..Japanese students again.

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Acadia National Park, Maine 2014

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Kinosakionsen. Nostalgic for some. Cute to others. Comfortable? Never.

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Teramachi, Kyoto. Another one of those shops.

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Kinosakionsen.