Christopher's Blog

A few hours ago I arrived at my final duty station. If everything goes as planned I will be here for 10 days or less.

I have many mixed feelings about leaving Japan. Atsugi has become a huge part of my life. I've lived there for four years. Chances are I'll never return.

Originally I was supposed to catch a military flight out of Yokota Air Force Base but it was cancelled on Friday. The Costomer Service Desk (CSD) reserved me a ticket with United. I caught the Narita bus from Atsugi at 10 a.m. and said bye to Terri Lynn and Monsignor Walsh.

At about 1:00 p.m. I arrived at Narita and checked in to my flight. Since I had so much time to spare, I went up to the viewing deck and took a few pictures of airplanes. My flight left at 4:40 p.m. and arrived in Seattle at about 9:30 a.m. the same day. After collecting my luggage and going through costoms, I went up to the USO lounge to find out how to get to Bangor Submarine Base. They said I could catch the Bremmerton/Kitsap shuttle bus that leaves every hour, 20 minutes after the hour. At 11:20 a.m. I got on the $19.75 shuttle to Bangor and arrive around 1:00 p.m. right at the door of the TPU. I checked in, got a room with one room mate, locked up my things, and went for a five mile jog around base.

I miss the Pacific Northwest. It is beautiful here. There is no place like it. The air is so cool and crisp this time of year. The trees are tall and forests are lush. If I was staying in the Navy, I wouldn't mind being stationed here.

You know, it is quite a feeling to know that I served the country for almost six years, four years overseas. It's a good feeling. I still think I am ready to move on, though. I know that God has a plan for Terri Lynn and I.

Tomorrow is a day off and Monday I have to muster at 9:00 a.m. in uniform. I hope everything contiues to go smoothly.

Whew...we had our final inpection at our house today. For the last few days we have been cleaning like crazy in hopes to get some of our deposit back. To our surprise we got the whole $1540 back. But that wasn't the only surprise. The gas, electric, and water companies all came out to collect their final payment. It was a little higher than we expected. That's okay, though. Now we are completely out of our house.

We are now out of our home and living in the Navy Lodge on base. We'll be staying here for one week before I fly to Seattle to separate from the Navy. Terri Lynn will stay two weeks longer since her friends are coming to visit Japan.

The pack-out was on Thursday and yesterday. Everything went well. The movers came at about 9:00 and finished about 2:30. We had one room of things we didn't want them to pack. Everything else they put into boxes or wrapped up with packing materials and sent off. Two months from now it should end up in Buffalo, NY.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that my Canadian immigration application was approved. They called me last week to let me know that they will be sending it off this week. It should be in the mail now.

The Navy Lodge is nice. Terri Lynn will be writing about it soon.

My last few months in Japan are just zooming by. It has been great having so many guests because it has given me an excuse to get out and do touristy types of things again. It has also given my many opportunities to practice my photography and get some of my best pictures yet.

Yesterday Terri Lynn's cousin Aimee, Terri Lynn, and I went in to Yokohama to have a picnic dinner on the peir while watching the sun go down. Then we walked over to the large Ferris wheel and rode it.

Two days ago we rented a car from base and drove down the coast line of the Izu Peninsula. When we reached the Kawazu River, we went for a short hike and saw some nice waterfalls. We also got to see many blossoming trees including Sakura (Cherry Blossoms).

Two days before that Aimee and I had a full day of Tokyo. We started off the day at the Tsukiji fish market, the largest fish market in Japan supplying 90% of Tokyo's fish. It was huge! Then we went to the Imperial Palace Gardens where a police band was performing. After we had enough music and flowers, we moved on to Asakusa, which is the largest Shinto shrine in Tokyo. There we say a lady in a full Geisha outfit and got a picture of Aimee with her. Next was lunch, which took a long time to find since the Japanese love their seafood, and we don't. With our bellies full we caught the train over to Shinjuku and went up the Metropolitan Building and down to Shibuya to see the famous Hachiko dog statue and crowded intersection seen in so many movies. The last thing we did in Tokyo is find the Tokyo Tower, but it took us about five times as long as it should have.

So that was what we did Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.

(Photo albums)

It has been a great week with our parents. We were able to get to know each other better, and see much of Japan on our bikes. We don't want them to leave so soon.

Yesterday we went in to Tokyo and had a tour of the Imperial Palace. Of course, I posted pictures. After the Imperial Palace we walked though Ginza then came home to prepare for Sabbath.

After church today, they have to catch the train to the airport to fly back to Canada. No big deal, though, because if everything works out, we'll see them in a few weeks anyway.