My Summer Vacation

I don't even know how to document the last few weeks. I have been on SOooo many adventures, it feels like I've been gone forever. I've packed and unpacked. I've logged, literally, over 8,000 miles. Travelled to FOUR different time zones. And it's all been good times. It really has. 

There is no way I can coherently document it all except in lazy slideshow format. Here goes.

Started off by decompressing from the July Maze concerts. That means unpacking. You wouldn't think doing a gig in Alameda would mean luggage, but it does. There are so many minutia involved in a gig for me. Just remembering to pack the right socks, and the bachi, and costume, water bottles, hachimaki. It's all so random, and it all needs to be put away and cared for. I take good care of my equipment--from the stinky tank tops to the too-long obi. Everything has a place, needs it's own special laundering and care.  

Then it was on to my Great Canadian Adventure. I've been looking forward to this trip for years. I've always thought of Canada as this wondrous far-off place. I wanted to see urban Canada, so it was off to Toronto. When I was about 14 or so I discovered the Cowboy Junkies, who recorded their landmark and what I think is their best album at the Church of the Holy Trinity. Coming here was kind of a mecca for me:

The hotel I was staying at was actually right beside the church. It was great to visit it. They had a concert series that I attended. It was organ music, and I struggled to maintain consciousness through it, but it was great to actually hear music in the church.

Next was a day trip to the great Niagara Falls. It's just a couple hours away from Toronto. I did the obligatory Maid of the Mist boat ride to the base of the falls. You'd be surprised at how heart-pounding the falls are when you get right up next to them. A friend of mine told me she was performing at about the same time I was down there in all the foam and mist, and I tried to channel some of the Niagara energy her way. She told me later that she felt a great "surge" of energy during her performance. I was worried my channelling from such a great and powerful place would have knocked her off the stage, but she said it was great. Go figure, the universe.

I also heard that a trip to Toronto wasn't complete unless you went up to the CN Tower. It was the tallest structure in the world until those folks in Dubai went and had to build something taller, but the CN Tower still has the distinction of the "Tallest Observation Deck." Whatever. It was WAY up there.

You see that big round thing? That's where everyone goes. It's got great views of the whole world. We spent some time there. They've got a place where the floors are glass and you can look straight down. I sat on the glass floors. It took me two or three tries to muster the courage to walk on them, and my hands were sweating, and I was reaching out for--what, handrails or something? But I managed to plop my butt down and said, Hey take a picture of me--quick, before I pee my pants!

I can't believe I'm smiling! But then there's an observation deck above the big bulbous thing. You have to pay extra to get up there, but I figured since we made it that far, eh, what's seven more bucks!?

Did I tell you that Toronto was in the midst of a messy labor strike? For us tourists, this amounted to a garbage strike, since it was the garbage that most people notice. But there must be something about the Canadian sensibility that makes the citizens proud of their city, their homes, their parks. While piles of garbage here and there were noticeable, it wasn't totally horrible. I was expecting something along the lines of what the San Francisco garbage strike looked like. But these people love their city, yo. I think Americans are willing to live in their mess and garbage because of notions of entitlement, but the Canadians, whoa. Even when we were driving through the neighborhoods after our Niagara tour, the garbage was organized, piled up as it may be, but not disgusting. Not gross. I have respect. 

This is me looking all Emo on the subway. Clean, tidy subways--trains arriving on time and often. Easy to navigate.

Went to check out a Korean pastry shop that sold these walnut cakes. Internationally renowned. Great cakes. We ate half a dozen and took another half a dozen to go. Yum!!

Toronto was great. But another great dream of mine was to visit Prince Edward Island. Yes the Prince Edward Island of Anne of Green Gables fame. When I was a kid I would watch the Anne series with my Mom when it came on PBS. We would just laugh and sigh over Anne's adventures and the beautiful landscapes. It would have been great to go with my Mom, but I did the second best thing, which was to just go. 

Everything there was a postcard. Everything was beautiful.

The airport was tiny. Smaller than Kona or Hilo:

I stayed at an inn with its own pond. It was beautiful. They had hammocks and a rowboat (which sadly, I didn't take out). But it was tranquil and idyllic. Everything you'd imagine PEI to be.

We did the Anne of Green Gables Thing. Here is me and the Anne House:

Me and Anne at the Anne theme park (Her head is bigger than I'd imagined):

The first thing I did when I got to PEI was get bit by a ravenous mosquito. That thing must have had cooties because the next day I was so sick and feverish, I thought I had West Nile. But a good fever and a hot bath will do wonders. Look at this monster bite. It looks like my knee has an extra knob, but no, that's the bite!!!

Weird Canadian canned meat. I love the "Kam," sitting right next to the more familiar, "Spam."

Then it was off to Greenwich beach, a beautiful spot on the Northeastern shore of the island. They built a boardwalk through the delicate dune ecosystem so that you could enjoy the view without trampling the land or getting your feet wet. None of the pictures did it any justice. It was beautiful, with such depth of the landscape and wondrous colors.

I sat on the beach, Japanese-style, on the Atlantic side of the continent:

The water was full of strange jellyfish, and the water was cold, yo! If the Canadians consider these the "warm" waters, I'd hate to see what cold waters are like!

Our last day was spent in Charlottetown, enjoying good eats (seafood balls and a lobster sandwich and a whole bowl of PEI mussels, not pictured):

And if Canada wasn't enough, I got home, unpacked, and then packed again for a trip home to LA to attend the North American Taiko Conference. It was great to reconnect with old friends, attend a workshop, and perform at Taiko Ten in front of all my peers.

Me and Lis at the opening session:

Me and Crissy right before Taiko Ten:

The whole Maze team (Plus Toni, who made our costumes and who inspires more than one of us) right after Taiko Ten:

Oh, and I saved the best for last. At Conference I adopted the latest baby in my little taiko family: it's an Okedo. Crissy and Janet both said it was a boy, and I got that vibe too. He'll balance out the girl vibe of my shime and josuke. Meet my newest baby:

I have so much I need to do now. Just the day-to-day stuff like balancing my checkbook and getting my car registered and mopping the floor. Hopefully I can start making a dent in that tomorrow, my last day of vacation. Can't wait to get back to teaching my taiko class (it's only been 3 weeks, but it feels like forever!!). Plus Maze has some new shows on the horizon and there's a race I'd like to run, and work beckons. I thought vacation was supposed to be restful, but I look forward to the normalcy of life again, not to mention getting everything unpacked! 

See you down the road, yo!