November 17, 2014 is National Take a Hike Day. As much as I might want to say this as a practical joke, I’d much prefer taking a real hike with backpacks and muddy hiking boots. But, alas, my bills I must pay, therefore, I cannot take a hike today. Instead, I’ll have to imagine I’m savoring a picnic lunch by a waterfall, listening to the crashing water, and reveling in the still of the woods. Oh so rejuvenating. Darn, I need to get back to work.
Chuck, Terry and I got up and headed to the airport, so that we could fly to northern Japan. The trains at rush hour are quite hectic. They actually have employees who push the people into the train and close the doors when it is so crowded. We ended up squashed on one side of the train with our bags at our feet. At every stop, we hoped that the doors would open on the opposite side of the train. We knew that the minute the doors opened, we would flood out, as though a dam broke.