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?

"Downwards Is The Only Way Forwards."

    I really thought things would be colder by the time we got to this part of the journey. I'm so glad it's not, though. Because cold is the worst. It's December. Always pick hot when it's a would you rather question between hot and cold. It's really only been cold when the sun is down and when we begin riding for the day. Other than that "everything else is cream cheese" (Teen Woof got it.)

If you remember a few months ago when I debuted our new bikes we purchased. HQC and I rode back through the Kitakyushu and showed off our mileage and gear. They were quite impressed and gave us some free repairs. They took turns taking a spin on Holly's bike astonished at the heavy weight of the load.

The Japanese like to protect themselves from sunlight and use these to cover their hands while riding. They also help keep them warm in the winter. 

Some winter flower is blooming now and it makes for a pleasant ride.

Kinda like my dad's toilet in Coolidge with all the quotes on the wall.

See that gate behind the bike?

We were fixing a flat on The Status Quo's bicycle and this Old Bag gets after us because the bike is preventing  the gate from being opened. She's so dumb and impatient she can't see that the tire is off the bicycle and we can't move it until we finish. It's people like that whom I hate in life. 

Futagoji temple didn't disappoint. Worth the climb.

I'm enjoying more Mikans.

I like how they decorate the outsides of the tunnels.

Look at that big hornets nest.

I love the neat Cemetery Gates. This is a lone grave. There was even a Mikan tree next to it that I gratefully accepted. 

Look at her go.

Walking up the path to the temple.

This had better be me when I'm a father, dang it. "I want 100 kids so I can have 100 friends and no one can say no to being my friend."

Someday it would be nice to know what each building's purpose was.

A statue looking out at us.

Fall colors are still going strong in December. 

Far view of the castle in Kitsuki.

It's a little ney-ney castle but it had WiFi. 

I like the Hello Kitty song.

Early morning rides to get to Joe's!

Very nice bike path on the road from Beppu to Oita. 

Look they actually call the soda, Pop. Remember when people did that in the Olden Days?