Found a fine spot between flights at LAX for refreshments. The glass wall is open at the top, so we get doses of fresh air and whiffs of aviation fuel. Our flight leaves tonight (Tuesday) and touches down in Auckland on Thursday morning.
Category: Travel
Travel essentials
Started gathering items for our upcoming trip to the Southern Hemisphere summer. The currency is left over from a trip in 2020. We use the detergent sheets both at home and while traveling; there’s enough here for 14 loads. The Japanese coffee filters have become an essential part of our gear. Our entire packing system relies on Ziploc freezer bags ranging from one pint to two gallons.
Snowbird prep
In about two weeks we become snowbirds, which means it’s time for the ‘Clustering of the Rolling Plant Racks’ and the ‘Tipping of the Fridge.’ Our plants are now all connected to the drip irrigation system, while some are also periodically misted. Tonight’s dinner features carnitas I made and froze a month ago; other delights will be making encore appearances in the coming days.
Travel wabi-sabi
In a moment of boredom, I mapped out the Japanese prefectures I’ve visited (blue), many of them multiple times. While I’ve traveled through the yellow prefectures near Tokyo, I don’t count those. The younger me might’ve felt the need to visit every prefecture to ‘complete the set,’ but these days I embrace the imperfection: a bit of travel wabi-sabi.
A morning of fine print
Spent most of the morning reviewing our insurance. I confirmed our home’s “All Perils” policy doesn’t list covered events; instead, it only lists exclusions. For example, damage from a burst pipe is covered simply because it isn’t excluded. I also checked the fine print for our 2026 health plan to confirm it provides worldwide coverage and purchased an annual medical repatriation subscription, something we had allowed to lapse during the pandemic.
Next stop: the world
Family get-together at Misono. This was one plate among many. It’s definitely American sushi, but I’d like to think even Japanese people would enjoy it. Enjoyed the company, including my nephews, now 17 and 18. I encouraged them to travel to Sweden, Hokkaido, or beyond… I’d gladly pay for their tickets.
Tail end of our trip
At Palm Springs PSP, enjoying the warmth for a little while longer. Behind us, a Delta tail peeks out through desert vegetation. Delta’s nonstop PSP/MSP service makes this an easy warm-weather destination for us.
The ripple effect of travel: pourovers and TOTOs
In Japan, we buy packs of these pourover single-serve coffee filters prefilled with coffee to use in hotel rooms. On Amazon, I buy boxes of empty single-serve filters to bring when traveling, filling them with locally bought ground coffee. Here, I’m using one left over from our recent trip. Just one example of how travel changes behavior. A more significant example is the ubiquitous washlets in Japan. We liked them so much, we installed TOTO washlets in our home.
Keeping track of time
It’s Tuesday evening in Tokyo, but it’s going to be a long Tuesday, 39 hours to be exact. We arrive Minneapolis Tuesday afternoon.
Wandering feudal streets without the crowds
Spent the day exploring Hagi’s feudal past, including wandering quiet streets of well-preserved houses in the merchant and samurai districts. Very few other tourists were in evidence; most visitors to Japan stick to the “Golden Route” (mainly Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, and Osaka via bullet trains), drawn by its popularity and the expectations set by social media. Hagi can only be accessed via slow routes, which guaranteed our quiet explorations today.