I'll take you in my backpack

Saturday morning I woke up and decided I needed a little adventure in my life! I have had the Chureito Pagoda pinned for a while as a "must see" place so this was the lucky winner for adventure time! Train time vs drive time was pretty close and after a debacle with getting lost in the tunnels of Tokyo the previous day, I decided to reduce my stress and take the train! The Chureito Pagoda is approximately 2 hours from Yokota Air Base via train. If you're taking the train the stop for the Pagoda is Shimoyoshida. I enjoy train adventures because it allows you to see some beautiful places, riding in to Shimoyoshida I passed through some beautiful mountainous terrain. At one point we were riding along with some of the most stunning shots of Mt Fuji. Times like this I'm constantly reminded of  how lucky I am, the beauty of nature, and just how small we are in this big beautiful world!  taken from the train, while moving. Speechless Shimoyoshida train station is TIN...

2/25/18 Find what you love, and never stop doing it! Yesterday I did something that I've wanted to do for a REALLY long time! I've seen photos and lusted over this adventure. Why it took me so long I have no idea, but I'm so glad that I cashed in on life'ing with this one! Seeing the snow monkeys in Nagano at the natural hot spring was something that I'll never forget. I highly recommend it for anyone who is in Japan (fun fact you don't have to go in the winter, they're open year round, the monkeys are always there (free range, not caged or contained). I would even venture to say that it may be better to visit during the "off" season because as you can imagine this place is riddled with tourists, which becomes annoying. My annoyance increased because some people literally have zero respect for animals, their habitat, and personal space. More often than not tourists would get uncomfortably close to the monkeys, babies, mamas with babies, in...

12/17/18 I will start this by saying that I am writing from the perspective of someone who has access to a Consulate within a close-ish distance, if you don't, this becomes more difficult. I'll also say that this is a giant pain in the ass, but it will save you money by doing it yourself vs going through a travel agency, and it's totally possible to do on your own, just prepare yourself for a bit of a headache (and well, dealing with a communist country!). I prepared, I had all of my documents, looked over the list of requirements several times on the website, I had it all. So I thought. Just go into it knowing that you probably won't and you'll probably have to change it all. Despite having literally everything, I had to re do the application when I got there, went through all kinds of interrogation from the ladies working at the office, they needed copies of my work orders (if you're military or working for the military bring this with you, it's not...

12/15/17 As much as I've thoroughly enjoyed sharing my "dating" with all of you, I'm also greatly looking forward to getting back to how this blog started, to my true love, travel. With that I'm off today an another adventure...Bali. This trip while AWEsome by all intents and purposes really goes deeper for me. Here's why. About this time I was supposed to be going to Bali to get married. Well life had other plans, and what I thought was a big shake up, was actually the best thing that could have happened to me. I remember my friends telling me at the time that I was so much better off. I can't tell you the number of times people (totally not connected to each other) told me "you totally dodged a bullet with this one". That saying. I remember hearing it, knowing their intentions, but also just feeling like, yeah that's not helping me right now, I kind of feel like shit thanks. Here's the thing. They were right. Every last one of th...

10/4/17 Today's the big day! I've had this little nugget in my back pocket eagerly awaiting it's release! This was recorded the same week my life made a drastic change (not something I had planned or a change I initiated) an engagement ended, but this turned out to be the biggest blessing and enabled me to open my eyes to the treatment I was receiving, the position someone was putting me in, and ultimately what I deserve in life. So when Natassia asked me to be on her amazing Podcast how could I possibly say no?! So I didn't! Give it a listen, it's on all podcast platforms, FREE, and available for download now... here is the link to the iTunes version: Brodette Nation And, have no fear, we have some things in the pipeline and I'll be back for season 2. Ever wonder what it's like dating at 37 years old, better yet online dating? Want to hear some of the bullshit and nightmares I've encountered? I assure you I can't even make some of it up! We...

8/12/17-8/14/17 So I had the opportunity for a nice little staycation and I won't lie, I was shitting my pants a little thinking about it because camping really isn't my jam! When I think of camping I think of a 3 star hotel type setting! But, since it's basically paradise, and camping on the beach, I figured I would give this a go. I'm so glad that I did, it was an amazing opportunity! I'm so glad that I did! The snorkeling was beyond any words that I can put onto paper! Ok so the not so glamorous part of it: the bugs and the heat. I won't spend too much time on that because there is SO much positive to touch on that it truly outweighed these two things, yes even for me, the person who hates being too hot and doesn't like bugs! I will never ever be able to properly describe the snorkeling. "Amazing" is doing it a disservice. When you have the ability to snorkel with sea turtles every single day, multiple times a day, you truly have to...

7/13/16 I'm not sure how you begin a post about an experience like this so I think I'll start by giving a little background about the epic Fuji-san. A volcano in Japan, it was officially registered as a World Heritage Site in June of 2013. It stands 3776.24m (12,389 ft) high and is the highest peak in Japan. It is considered one of three holy mountains (along with Mt Tate and Mt Haku). More than 200,000 climb to the summit of Fuji each year. The last eruption was in 1707-08 but in 2000/2001 there was increased seismic activity under the volcano, raising concerns about a possible reawakening. So let's get down to it! We arrived via highway express bus, it dumps you at the 5th station, where everyone starts their ascent. Now that I look back at that I had no idea what I was getting into (thankfully). It was pouring down rain when we got off of the bus so it was a quick dash into one of the shops to get our gear on and everything straightened out, purchase our sticks an...

7/12/16 When you think of touristy things to do in Tokyo you think of shrines, temples, the Tokyo Tower, and hitting all of the various areas that are a must see...but what you should be thinking about is getting your happy ass in a go kart, dressed in a costume, and cruising the streets. This was by far the best way to tour Tokyo, well worth every penny. We did the 3 hour option and it was 8000 yen (so about $80 at the time because of the exchange rate) you can use their GoPro or other camera things they have to capture the experience, or of course bring your own, I didn't want to mess with bringing my own, so I used theirs. You get a quick into, how to use the car, what to do, what not to do (ram bumpers and use the horn, except in Shibuya). Then we were off, which left me slightly nervous. Yes it drives like a normal car, sort if. Missing some safety features, like a seatbelt, and well, you're low to the ground, and mine was missing some working lights, minor detail...