4/30/2025

4/30/2025

This morning we drove from St. Regis to Kalispell, Montana. We stopped by the National Bison Wildlife Refuge on the way. Unfortunately, we didn't see or get many chances to photograph the Bison. I got some photos, but nothing great. I will go through my photos later and see if I have anything decent. But I did get some great landscape photos. I am in awe of the Rocky Mountains; they're just stunning, and I love the scenic landscapes everywhere. 

 

Can't wait to start photographing the wildlife tomorrow.

4/29/2025

4/29/2025

From The Dalles, Oregon to St. Regis, Montana. We drove for over 6 hours across Oregon, Washington, Idaho and into Montana. It was a long day on the road. But the scenery along the way was amazing!

4/28/2025

4/28/2025

 

Today we drove to The Dalles, Oregon. We will stay the night here and continue on our road trip to Montana tomorrow. I think we will be staying somewhere around St. Regis tomorrow, and then drive into Kalispell the day after that. 

 

Somewhere near our next stop is a Bison Wildlife Refuge that we will go to on the way and photograph the Bison there as well. Really looking forward to the photo opportunities on this trip. We had dinner at a place called the RiverTap Restaurant & Pub. I had the Canon Ball Burger with fries. It was a beef patty with pulled pork, which was quite delicious. I had an Ash Cloud Amber Craft Beer to drink that was also quite nice. 

 

There will be a longer day of driving tomorrow, so I am going to get some rest tonight.

 

4/27/2025

4/27/2025

Today we went to breakfast at Panera Bread. Afterwards, we bought some groceries and things to prepare for the road trip tomorrow as we prepare to head out on our way to Montana to do the photography. 

 

My stepbrother came over in the afternoon for a late lunch/dinner, and we sat around and chatted and caught up. It was a nice family time. In the evening, we finished watching the remaining episodes of Zero Day on Netflix. It was pretty good. 

 

The trip to Montana will be broken up over a couple of days on our way there. We will leave the house around noon and plan to stay in the Dalles on the first night. Then, continue on further the next day or two until we reach Montana.

4/26/2025

4/26/2025

Today was a more relaxed day. Woke up around 10 am, slept in a bit. I woke up around 10 am and didn't do much of anything special. I edited and processed some more photos. I woke up around 10 am and Just ran some errands in the afternoon with my mom, had a conversation with my stepdad's friend, who stopped by to drop something off. He talks a lot and talks about various things. It was interesting for me to hear about it because it was my first time getting to know him more, but he did talk for hours. 

 

After he left, I started to peel and cut the vegetables and prepare the ingredients to make curry rice for my mom and my stepdad for dinner. They really enjoyed experiencing some Japanese food. I made a lot, so we have leftovers for later too. 

 

After dinner, we chatted, watched some more of the Joe McNally workshop from KelbyOne, and then my mom and setpdad wanted to watch an old movie in B&W from 1937 called Lost Horizon. By the time the movie finished, it was already 11 pm. We have to get up somewhat early tomorrow for breakfast, so I am going to keep this update short. I need to pack and prepare for my trip to Montana tomorrow so that I am ready when we leave on Monday.

4/25/2025

4/25/2025

This morning we went to breakfast at Brail's with friends and family. After lunch, we stopped by Sunrise Asian Market to pick up a few things. Snacks, ingredients for cooking, etc. Then we stopped by Albertson's and Bi-Mart to pick up a few more things we needed to get. 

 

In the afternoon, we made some sandwiches for lunch, I worked on editing and processing some more photos from the last few days to prepare and share them, briefly hopped onto FFXIV to join in the Cosmic Exploration F.A.T.E. to expand our moonbase via the crafting and gathering jobs.

 

Just snacked and had a light dinner. Then we sat down and talked a bit and watched some TV, as well as some more of my Joe McNally workshop courses.

 

No major plans for the next couple of days, but we do need to pack and prepare for our trip to Montana because we leave on Monday.

4/24/2025

4/24/2025

 

Had a relaxing day of rest today. Slept in and woke up around 10 am. I talked with my Aunts in NY on a Zoom meeting and had a nice small family reunion. 

 

Afterwards, my mom and I called my wife in Rwanda, and we talked for a while. It was wonderful to have a chance for my wife to talk to my mom. She was able to answer a lot of my mom's questions about what its like being in Rwanda so far. 

 

Then I spent time editing and processing some more photos from the last couple of days before we went to dinner.

 

We went to Ta Ra Rin, a Thai restaurant, for dinner this evening. It was really delicious. I got the green curry with jasmine rice and Thai iced tea. 

 

My mom had a meeting to attend, so my stepdad and I started watching my photography course by Joe McNally that I purchased from KelbyOne. I am enjoying it so far. We will watch more later.

4/23/2025

4/23/2025

 

Today we woke up early and went down to Wildlife Safari to do some photography of the wildlife there. I think I got at least a few decent shots there. Spent most of the day there and returned home in the late afternoon. 

 

Ate some dinner and discussed preparations for the upcoming trip to Montana. We are leaving on Monday, and may be gone up to 10 days or so on the road trip there to do photography. 

 

I am taking a lot of photos, but I haven't had enough time to process and edit all of them. I will try to share more photos as they become available. 

 

Finished off the evening with a couple of local craft beers.

4/22/2025

 

4/22/2025

 

This morning, I slept in a bit and rested. I woke up around 9 a.m. I ate some breakfast, then went to run some errands with my mom. I went to Costco to pick up some things to prepare for our trip to Montana, etc. We ended up getting a hot dog and soda at Costco for lunch. Such a great price, and the food is good.

 

We came back in the afternoon, I worked on editing my photos some more, and rested a bit. My mom bought a new iPad at Costco today because her old iPad was too old and couldn't use certain apps that she wanted to install on it. I spent some time assisting her in setting up the new iPad and getting it working how she wanted. 

 

In the evening, my niece is in the Shasta Jazz Band, and they had a fundraiser concert today at Roaring Rapids Pizza Company. So we went to see her perform and support the Shasta Jazz Band. They were spectacular! I was so thrilled to have the opportunity to hear them play! Quite impressive! I highly recommend anyone here in Eugene, if you have a chance to hear the Shasta Jazz Band play, definitely check them out! 

 

Tomorrow is going to be another busy day. I am planning to go to Wildlife Safari with my stepdad to photograph wildlife. Animals can be very challenging to photograph.

4/21/2025

 

4/21/2025

 

In the morning, I went to the camera club meeting with my stepdad. Unfortunately, only one other person showed up, and one person stopped by briefly and then had to leave. I had hoped to meet some more members. 

 

Afterwards, my stepdad and I went to the William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge to try and photograph some wildlife. There were not as many animals there and around as we had hoped to see and photograph, but I got some decent photos. I am still processing and editing my photos from today, so I will share them later once they are ready. 

 

After we got back to the house in the afternoon, I sat down at my computer and spent some time editing and processing my photos from the last couple of days, getting as well as get started on going through the photos that I took today. Before I knew it, it was dinner time. Heated up some lasagna and had some Umpqua ice cream. I got Oregon Bing Cherry this time. Last time I had Mountain Blackberry Revel. 

 

At 7 pm, my stepdad's Camera Club had a Zoom meeting with other photographers and a camera woman who was speaking and discussing her work and what she does as a photographer. 

 

Her name was Susan Dimok. She was originally from Bandon, and most of her photography is from the Oregon Coast. Mostly Rock stacks along the beach and the birds. I liked some of her photos. She had some great shots. 

 

After that, my mom, stepdad, and I sat around and chatted and watched some stuff on TV together.

It was a pretty busy day, and I did a lot. I think I am going to call it a night, and I will share more tomorrow.

Happy Easter!

 

4/20/2025

 

Happy Easter everyone!

 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter to those who celebrate it.

This morning, I went out to Brunch with my mom and stepdad at Elmer’s. I was surprised by the size of the portions of food. Huge!

 

Then I went over to my dad and stepmom’s house to celebrate Easter with my stepbrother's family. There was an Easter Egg Hunt, appetizers, delicious lunch/dinner, fun and laughter and good times all around. Some critter’s even chewed up the Easter egg and took what was inside. It’s a mystery as to what did it. Maybe a squirrel or a bird?

 

It was a busy day, but good times were had by all.

4/19/2025

 

4/19/2025

 

Woke up and ate some leftovers from the breakfast at the Glenwood from the other day.

It was a bit overcast in the morning, but then it cleared up and was sunny from the afternoon. Another beautiful day outside. 

 

Around noon , my mom , stepdad and I headed downtown to where the protests were happening and the Saturday market. It was nice to see the people and vendors at the Saturday Market. 

 

We headed back home around 2:30 , Went to Barry’s for lunch, got it to go, since I was heading over to my dad’s house to meet up and go see my niece play soccer out at LCC. I took some pictures of the game, but I will need some time to process them. 

 

It was a great game! Her team won 5-1!

After the game, my dad, stepmom and I dinner at Toxic Burger . It was the first time I had ever been there, but it was pretty good. I got a Blackberry Milkshake with a Spicy Cali Burger with some fries.

Went and got some ice cream at Daynight Donuts to finish up the day.

 

Still a bit jet lagged, but I have been improving.

Going to spend some more time with my dad’s family tomorrow for Easter and I am looking forward to some more time with my niece and nephew.

4/18/2025

 

4/18/2025

 

Went to breakfast with my mom and stepdad’s friends at the Glenwood. I had a breakfast burrito but the size is way larger than what I’m used to eating in Japan. Brought home the leftovers for later. We had some great conversations about international travel stories. 

 

Came home and took a short nap in the afternoon. I’m stilling recovering from my jet lag a bit.

Then I went to meet up with my friend's mom at the Beer Stein and catch up on how things are going. It was really nice to meet up and chat. 

 

Ended up grabbing some fish and chips at Newman’s fish market for dinner before heading home for the evening.

Update

4/15/2025 

 

It’s been a while since I’ve shared an update about how things are going. I’ve been pretty quiet on social media lately because life has been busy—between work and personal matters, there’s been a lot going on. I wanted to take a moment to share an update and explain why.

 

After 22 years of living and working in Okinawa, I’ll be leaving for a while. My wife has been transferred overseas by her company for the next 3–5 years. She moved ahead in March and is currently living and working in Rwanda, where we’ll be living together for the foreseeable future.

I’ve been busy wrapping up my work, making moving arrangements, and packing.

 

Tomorrow, I’ll be departing Okinawa, Japan, and heading to Oregon to visit family and friends for about a month. While I’m there, I’ll also attend a photography workshop in Montana. After that, I’ll travel back to Japan—this time to Tokyo—for a short rest before continuing on to Kigali, Rwanda, where we’ll begin this new chapter together.

 

It’s been a long time since I embarked on a new adventure in a different part of the world. I don’t know exactly what the future holds, but I’m feeling a mix of anxiety and excitement as I step into this next phase of life.