Checklist For Our Trip

We don't need to pack much - we'll just bring maybe two t-shirts and an extra pair of jeans for each of us. We can alwaysdo the laundry there or go shopping for new clothes in Japan.

A few more days before our trip so better make sure important stuff are all in order.

Passports and visa :check

e-tickets printed out : check
 
yen exchanged : check

JAL coupons : check

Hotel reservations : check

Omiyage for friends - Raya cookies : check

Luggage : check

Essential medicine : check

What else that I need to do? Call limo service a day or two before our flight to pick us up to go to the airport.

Can't wait for our vacation! Wohoooo!

Flying to Alaska for a Wedding, Part 1

After one summer month in Alaska last year (please see my last post in  April, Part 1, and my second post in May, Part 2, of this year), we thought we would not be coming back till maybe after five years because it is too costly to get here, whether by land, air or sea! But here we are again because, Cristine, Bill’s youngest, emboldened by our success, finally went to the Net where she met Mitch. On Sept. 6 they ventured on a first date (the same day we were at the Arctic Circle!). Exactly a year after, we are attending their wedding at the Upper Perennials section of the Alaska Botanical Garden!

That morning, low clouds hovered around Cristine’s home in Anchorage.  It was a very pretty sight but not good for a garden ceremony.  Lo and behold!  At around 2-3 PM, the time of their wedding, the sky cleared and smiled at all the pretty blooms around. The small happy party proceeded to have great steaks at the Lone Star SteakHouse.  Then the couple disappeared for their honeymoon at the Alaska Frontier B&B noted for the jacuzzi and sauna right inside the matrimonoial bedroom.

In over a year, from Alaska to Mexico, Yosemite to the Everglades, and the Smokies to Yellowstone, we had seen elk, deer, bear, alligators, python, mountain goats, dall sheep, wolves, etc. but had not seen a single moose!  There was one time in Northern British Columbia but we were not that familiar with our Nikkon SLR yet and he escaped! This time around though, they were right in Cristine’s lovely backyard (Cristine is an exceptinal plant lady) and our rented RV was parked there!  We were so happy!   

You can join a cruise ship through the Inside Passage to get here but not only does it cost a lot but you also lose your freedom to roam the last frontier. Driving your RV through the Alaska Highway allows you to go to more places but, with the cost of gas at $4.50 to a gallon in some parts, it is not only a very expensive way, but also the slowest!  Flying is costly but, since we are holders of Alaska Airlines loyalty cards, we got a companion certificate for just $99 or a little more than buy one get one free.

So we stored M’A ‘turn at Thunderbird Resort in Monroe, Washington and flew to Anchorage on Sept.3. But we had to figure out how to lower the cost of lodging (0 on a cruise or if you brought your RV).  All rooms for two were from $99/night and up plus more $ for a rental car. So we saw the beauty, and the logic, of renting an RV (many Europeans tour North America in RVs)!  Since it was almost off-season, the rates are from $79/night + mileage or, what we finally got, $89/night (unlimited mileage), for any size RV.  

 

We chose a small 22-foot Class C because it would 1) fit nicely in Cristine’s driveway, 2)have reasonable mpg, 3) be easy to maneuver even in city streets, and 4) be self-sufficient to take to places we were not able to go to the year before.  In short, as we have become accustomed to, we rented an apartment and a car all rolled into one.  It was a brilliant decision because when Cristine used it to make her finishing touches.  And when they went for their honeymoon, we also took off to see Soldotna/Kenai, Seward, and Talkeetna (Part 2). 

Next Stops: Soldotna/Kenai, Seward, and Talkeetna, Alaskao

Redeeming Our Pooled Mileage

For the past few years, we've been choosing Japan Airlines (JAL) over any other airlines for our trips to Japan. The promotional airfares from JAL are always more enticing and we do like the service we get on JAL flights. JAL is also quite generous with their mileage accumulation. No mileage for you on SQ with SQ's promotional airfares, you know.

I've written about the JAL Mileage Bank and JAL Family Club (JALFC) membership and you can check it here.

Although we need to pay a yearly renewal fee of 3,150yen for the JALFC, it is worth it. Accumulating mileage with JAL is easy. Apart from flying with JAL, there are other options to accumulate mileage as mentioned in JAL's website.

With JALFC membership comes the advantage of being able to pool our mileage with family members, as per the diagram below:

I just renewed my membership and a couple of weeks ago, I redeemed the miles we've accrued from our flights the previous year. 10,000 miles is worth 15,000yen in JAL coupon which is around RM550.00 at the current exchange rate. Sweet.

It took JAL only a week to process my request and have the coupons delivered to me!

We will either use coupon to pay for one of our hotel stay or dining at a JAL Hotel or use it for a spot of inflight shopping.

Our Anniversary Dinner At Midori, Putrajaya Marriott Hotel

It was our wedding anniversary on Sep 4th. I was fully expecting a quiet anniversary this year and celebrating it at home. I even got annoyed when Zaini turned down my intention to cook dinner that day. He didn't even want to buy any food for breaking fast at the nearby Pasar Ramadhan. Not allowed to cook yet not interested to go out and buy dinner?

It turned out he already made dinner reservation at Midori for the evening. To think I was so  pissed off with him not wanting to tell me what he wanted for dinner! ^-^!

We arrived at Putrajaya Marriott Hotel at around 6.40pm and decided to walk around first before entering Midori.

My oh my! Look at the number of tables for the Ramadhan buffet downstairs. We "kaypoh" around and there were 416 tables reserved for the night! Such a HUGE crowd for breaking fast. If I have to pay for my own dinner, I'd avoid such places - think of how many people will be queuing for the buffet spread!

Midori on the other hand, was relatively quiet and cosy. When we went in, there were only one table occupied. The place was filled up soon, but since the place is not too big, it wasn't crowded at all.

Zen gardens under the escalators and in front of Midori

Midori's entrance

We get to sit near the fake bamboo trees. Nice view I guess. :D 

It was a perfect table for us, not too far from the buffet spread and not too near the traffic to have people passing by us too much. Raimie of course, was happy to go out and eat Japanese food.

How was the food? Well, I let these photo do all the explanation.

and for desserts - mochi for Raimie and what else for my hubby? Macha ice cream of course!

The staff there were attentive and helpful, our plates were cleared quickly and our green tea cup were filled timely too. I certainly have no issues with the food there. The quantity and selection of food may not be a lot, but the quality of the food offered was definitely good. But it was rather funny for a diner seated behind us grumbling because there was no Teh Tarik served in the Japanese restaurant! Honestly though, will you look for a Teh Tarik at  places like this or say, Sushi King?

I would've eaten more but in the middle of our meal, Raimie wanted to go to the toilet to do his "big thing". This boy of mine never fails having the need to go to the toilet every s.i.n.g.l.e. time we go out and eat somewhere nice. You know how spending a few minutes in the toilet waiting for someone to poop can kill you appetite, right? XD

I even accidentally dropped Raimie's watch outside the toilet afterwards. Luckily, when I went to look for it (after Raimie asking for his watch back), the cleaner on duty had picked the cheap watch up and was on her way to put it at "DM" which I assume the lost & found.

All in all, a good evening for us. Thank you Hubby for a nice dinner. *Gochisosama deshita. It was a good meal.*^-^* <3

Japanese lesson for the day :

Gochisosama -  good food/good meal - for more detailed explanation check out the second comment of this post. ;)

Returning to Seattle Briefly Before Flying to Anchorage

Cristine, Bill’s youngest daughter is getting married on Sept. 6 in Anchorage, Alaska, so we took M’A ‘turn to Seattle for a brief visit before flying there.  From Moses Lake, we drove on I-90, seeing some unique hay factory along the way. When Snoqualmie Pass came into view, we knew we were almost ‘home’. Our first campground was near Fall City.  It was recently bought by ELS Properties, owners of Thousand Trails and Encore Parks (our network) and we wanted to see how it was, being the nearest to Trisha (my eldest daughter)’s home.

Trisha, husband DJ, daughter Yeye, and son Kenji came to visit.  (I took care of Kenji, now 3 ½, from the time he was born until Bill and I started our never-ending cruise. I have missed him sooooo much.) Fortunately, the campground had a mini-golf course which has become his favorite play! It was too cold and it would not have been fun in the pool so Bill and I and DJ and Trish spent fun time at the pool table instead!

Back at our campsite, Bill started a fire (in our portable fire pit) and we went on to make tons of gooey, sinful s’mores.  It was too cold, however, so we quickly went inside and to cap the evening, Trish and Yeye tried to outdo each other in karaoke.  The following day we took Yeye on a shopping spree for a belated birthday gift at the huge Westfield Mall in Tukwila.  Sadly, I lost my leather backpack, being so engrossed on Kenji who was an absolute cutie! 

Next it was Krishna (my eldest granddaughter) and Randy (her boyfriend)’s turn to visit.  They had planned on staying for just one night but decided to experience the unhooking, the drive to Monroe, and the hooking up of M’A ‘turn at the next campground which had a working hot tub, heated pools, and river frontage! Bill and Randy dueled at table tennis while Krishna labored on a puzzle and I took pictures.

Of course we soaked in the large hot tub, swam at the adult pool, and also played mini-golf at the ‘difficult’ course! (Kenji would love this one more!) Bill and Randy would have gone fishing, too, but the guys who were collecting data for the Fish and Wildlife agency said the Chinooks were a bad run (only 1500 returning salmon) but the Cohos which were just coming in would probably be a better run in a week or two (that’s when we will be back from Anchorage). To cap the evening we played Rummik-cube!

The last day we had a visit to the dentist in Fife (Mt. Rainier was aglow!) and that’s when we found out that fourteen months of no dental care has taken a toll, on my teeth especially. When we come back I would have to have a four quadrant cleaning while Bill has to have another filling. This is definitely one of the big disadvantages of the cruising lifestyle. It does not help that our dentist is way up at the northwest corner of the US. We need one at a more central location that we can easily run to for a quick visit.  

And so, after a brief six days, we are enroute to the SeaTac International Airport, seeing the familiar sights again, beckoning us to come back after ten days: the Evergreen floating bridge, the familiar Husky Stadium of UW, and the towering Space Needle looming over the Seattle Skyline.  We also spotted a single-engine Cessna float plane preparing to land at Lake Union (which is where we got married on board Champagne Lady at 8 PM on 8/08/08), a Disney! Plane docked at the airport and then……the onerous security lines at the airport!  Anchorage……here we come!     

KaTonga @ Busch Gardens to close on September 6

“KaTonga,” an Africa-inspired stage show that celebrates animal folklore which has been staged at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay's Moroccan Palace Theater, will end its six-year run on September 6 after 10,000 shows.

“KaTonga” follows African storytellers as they bring you on a magical journey of amazing music and colorful puppets . . . AWESOME!

My boyfriend and I plan on visiting Busch Gardens this week to bid farewell to one of the best stage productions I have enjoyed at the theme park through the years. It is one of those productions that I never tired of and have seen it more times than I can say . . . it will be missed!

“KaTonga” will be replaced by “Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy,” a Broadway hit featuring aerialists, contortionists, acrobats and musicians which was nominated for “best costume design” by the American Theatre Wing will debut sometime this winter.

結婚おめでとう To Us

11 years ago, on Sep 4th 1999 we made a commitment to spend our lifetime together.

Happy anniversary to us!

Where would I be without my pillar? Thank you for always being there and being the calming force for me.

No plan of going anywhere special for the day. We'll just enjoy each other's company, together with our son. That's what is important. *^-^*