Joe's Estate

     "Before all this, before Batman", Holly was doing her first biking trip in Japan. She stayed with a nice man named Joe and his wife at their farm in the woods. I had heard tales of them. While we were dining in Sendai, a friend I made at church, Hiro, took us out to eat and it turns out he also knew Joe. The plan was to meet up in Oita all together and have a splendid time. And so we did.

"Who's Joe?" you're asking. He was raised in Alaska, came to Japan a few decades back, married a hot Japanese lady, and now he cuts down trees and does other fine work.

    So we took a few days off from biking and enjoyed living in Decadence and swapping stories. The first story I will indulge with you guys is that Joe knows my dad. 14 years prior he was passing through Arizona with his friend. They were doing a quick ride across the southern tier with minimal equipment, finishing in 26 days. While going through Globe they stayed at my parents house. I thought that was pretty neat. To quote President Monson, "We had a nice little chat." 

Me and Joe.

Joe is either entertaining us with a fun story, teaching us astrophysics, or some other detailed history lesson.

Keith is taking a two month vacation from his job in Saudi Arabia and staying at Joe's house. He cooks really good food. 

This ham and split-pea soup was so dang good. People had it nice in the Olden Days.

Later that night we went to a Bolivian restaurant. Holly had been telling me for a few months

that she likes eating chicken feet. I tried to call her bluff.

But I lost. She really does enjoy eating them.

They had salsa dancing at the restaurant. Joe is putting on the moves.

It's fun to see the Japanese get excited about salsa dancing and mastering the Craft (my mom hates that word for some reason).

Look how great everyone is doing!

At the end we all got in a circle, traded partners, and practiced the moves we had learned. Great fun! Would love to be apart of a regular fun activity in whatever town I settle down in.

Look at this fun car.

Electric and expensive. 

There's Joe's dump truck. 

Somehow cars can fit through that slot.

The next morning we did a leisurely ride around the neighborhood with our friend, Hiro.

Nice to ride through the woods.

Joe took us to this ancient burial mound/look out point that is shaped like a keyhole. While there, he taught us the history of the thousands of keyhole mounds and how they were used to spot enemy/friendly ships coming into the area. 

Leftovers with other stuff mixed in!

Joe made Deviled Eggs. Why don't I eat these more often? They're so good.

Later in the afternoon We did some more slaving to construct a fence to prevent pigs from getting into their future garden. 

We're working hard.

This is the kind of life I need to have.

The next morning Hiro drove us to nearby Mt Aso - an active volcano.

You can see the plume of smoke coming from the top. 

This whole area is the caldera from a previous volcano. Love all the geography here. 

Look at the neat landslides that scar the terrain. 

Near the top of Mt Aso. The sulfurous vapor made it hard to breathe after a while.

Had we more time we'd have hiked to the opposite side and looked down in. That seems to always be the issue: More Time.

Look at us. 

The Quay is a Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepy Mushroom.

There's a fast food chain restaurant here called Mos Burger. They're good. 

And I love this new Pepsi flavor.

Keith and Joe entertaining us with their stories of the thousand lives they've lived. Really. They've done so many things in life. I loved it. Made me so envious. 

Here's a fun video I'll share with you before I send it out to social media. There are roads that play music as you drive over it. Give it a listen.

And some humor to finish off your day. Did it make you laugh?