🎶
Goodbye 2017
“New Years Soba” Cedar Park, 2017
こんばんは。Or maybe おはようございます？
Happy New Year! I’m writing this very early in the morning… the first day of 2018! But this post is about the last day of 2017, so let’s go back a bit. 😀
First of all, today is super-cold. Below freezing. In fact, we had snow here this evening! And like a crazy person, I was outside barbequing burgers for lunch. But anyway, on to the new year’s activities.
Dinner was a traditional dish of soba with tempura. The long soba noodles symbolize long life, so there’s that bit of consideration… I like that, but I like even more that the noodles and tempura are tasty treats!
After dinner, Koa went off to a friends house to party, while Mariko, Bay, and I relaxed at home and watched Kouhaku Uta Gassen as is our tradition. And of course drink saké. 🍶
“Kouhaku Saké” Cedar Park, 2017
The show was pretty good, with some fun and interesting performances, some snoozers, and lots of silly comedy. Some of the standouts for me were:
- Perfume – Cool roof-top performance with synchronized city lights
- Takehara Pistol – Heartfelt and powerful voice
- TWICE – Multi-cultural girl group with great dancing and singing
- Ringo Sheena – Eccentric and cool as always
- Sandaime J Soul Brothers – Best dance skills of the evening
- Shishamo – I love them; great band
- Kuraki Mai – She still has a fantastic voice
- Oka Midori – My favorite enka tune this year
- Matsu Takako – Nice version of Warotenka’s theme song
“Kouhaku” Cedar Park, 2017
After ringing in the new year, we are usually kind of hungry and we usually make a food-run for tacos or burgers, but everything seemed to be closed. Plus with icy roads it was better to stay inside. So we broke out the Jamiacan patties to satisfy our late-night munchies. Yum!
“Patties” Cedar Park, 2017
It was a nice day and a truly happy new year!
おやすみ！
Oyakodon Nite
“Oyakodon” Cedar Park, 2017
Yummy dinner tonight! This time my favorite oyakodon also had some gobo and pickled veggies. Mmmmm.
The year is winding down… enjoy the weekend!
Back to Texas
“Airport Life” Los Angeles, 2017
こんばんは。How’s it going?
Well, today we flew back home to Texas. It was a wonderful trip, and we miss California and our family, but it’s nice to see our kitties again. 🐱❤️
Until next time, California! 😎🌴☀️
“California” Los Angeles, 2017
UCLA, Bowling, and Curry
“UCLA” Los Angeles, 2017
こんばんは。How’s it going?
Today we took the high school kids (Bay and his two cousins) to the UCLA campus to check it out. There were actually quite a few people there visiting, unlike the ghost town that Cal Poly San Luis Obispo was, so that was cool. Unfortunately, almost all the buildings were closed for Winter break. Still, it was fun to walk around one of the top schools in the country.
“UCLA” Los Angeles, 2017
For myself, it was very 懐かしい (nostalgic) because I used to work at UCLA for a couple years in the mid 90s. There were quite a few changes, but for the most part, it felt the same. Lots of memories came floating back to me, especially remembering places we used to rollerblade, the route we used to take when we went running, and the places we used to get lunch. Good memories for sure!
“Let’s Bowl” Torrance, 2017
In the afternoon we hit the bowling alley, then it was time for dinner at one of our Torrance mainstays: CoCo Ichibanya. When you order curry there, you can specify the level of spiciness, with 1 being the mildest and 10 the hottest. I usually get 10, and today was no different. I’d have to say it was the mildest 10 I’ve had there so far, but it was still satisfying and yummy. 🍛
“Level 10” Torrance, 2017
I hope you had a nice day!
おやすみ！
Stadium Tour
“Stadium Tour” Los Angeles, 2017
こんばんは。How’s it going?
Today we made a pilgrimage of sorts to the home of our favorite baseball team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. We’ve done the tour before, by it was my nephew’s first time so we decided to all take it again. I’m glad we did, because the tour has been improved since we took it a few years ago, with more interesting historical facts, a tour of the press box, and generally more time to spend in each location, including the dugout.
It was a great little highlight of the vacation! I definitely recommend the Dodger Stadium Tour to any baseball fan. ⚾️
“Historic Logos” Los Angeles, 2017
“Cool Car” Los Angeles, 2017
“Dugout Family” Los Angeles, 2017
Taiwanese Breakfast, Escape Room, and Mexican Feast
“Taiwanese Breakfast” Monterey Park, 2017
こんばんは。
Today Bay, Mariko, and I drove up to Monterey Park so Mariko could meet up with her friend. Bay and I decided to join them for a light Taiwanese breakfast. It was pretty good, although it was more fried food than I was expecting.
After that, Bay and I visited a record store where I bought a few albums for myself and a couple gifts for friends, and then we met up with my family for a trip up to an escape room in North Hollywood. It was lot of fun, and we successfully escaped!
“Mural” Los Angeles, 2017
After the escape room, we asked the guy working there if he knew a good Mexican restaurant, and he immediately recommended Salsa & Beer. His suggestion was right on, as it was an excellent meal! I’d have to rate it towards the top of my Mexican restaurants. Delicious, inexpensive, and huge portions. Definitely worth a visit!
“Mexican Meal” North Hollywood, 2017
Now, I must sleep… take care!
またね～
