Zip lining

For my birthday this year Brandon arranged for us to go zip lining.  It was one of those things that I have on my bucket list and this seemed like a good excuse to go.   We were also using this as a Recon mission to see if we thought Reagan could handle it.  She has expressed interest in going, but we weren't sure if she could do it.  On this particular course, she doesn't meet the height requirement, and even if she did, I don't think she could do all the climbing to get up the poles.  

We had to go through a short training session and then we were off on our own.   Here Brandon is getting strapped in.  

This is the baby course, where they taught us how to use the clips.  

Mixed in with the zip lines, were some obstacle type things.  

 This one kicked my butt.  It was a lot harder work climbing up this than I thought.  

Right before the last zip line, they had a rest area with sodas and tables.  While we were enjoying out break, we saw this huge banana spider.  It was easily the size of my outstretched hand.  Gross!

Not a very lady-like pose, but after landing backward several times and being drug through the dirt/wood chips, I finally figured out how to run into the landing.  

We had a great time and I would  definitely go zip lining again! 

Kyoto Day 3

Day 3 was overcast and rainy like the past two days.  On the agenda today was a trip to the Golden Pavilion, Nijo Castle and the Nishiki Market.  I was most excited to see the Golden Pavillion, so we started there.  Here's what Trip Advisor has to say about the pavilion.

"One of Kyoto's most famous attractions, this temple was originally built in 1397 as a residence for shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. The structure was completely covered in gold leaf, earning it the name Golden Pavilion."

Holy Cow!  Everyone's looking at the camera!

On the grounds of the Golden Pavilion there is a waterfall with a rock formation that looks like a carp jumping upward.  Reagan's in front of it, but you can't really see the waterfall, or the carp.  

This is Nijo Castle.  Nijo Castle is famous for its Nightingale floors.  The Shogun had the floors built to tweet when walked on so that no one could ever sneak up on him.  There weren't any photos allowed inside.  The floors were amazing in that they did tweet sweetly like a bird and didn't just squeak like old floors.  

Notice the rain!

After a hotel nap break, we set out for Nishiki market.   This is the "kitchen of Kyoto" and was a really neat experience.  We ran across this parking garage on the way.  Space is a premium here. 

These are tiny in the picture, but they are squids on a stick. 

Snails...mmm

No idea what theses were, but I liked the display. 

The kids relaxing in the room.  Reagan on the Ipad and Brock playing the phone.  Ahh...technology, how did we entertain our kids before it?  Kidding!

Kyoto Day 2

Day 2 started out with a train ride to  Monkey Park Iwatayama.  It was about a 20 minute ride out of the city.  Here are Brandon and Brock hanging out on the train. 

Once we got off the train, we had a 20 minute walk to get to the Monkey Park.  The walk was fantastic.  The photos below are some of the things along the way.  

Reagan had our small camera and tried her hardest to photograph this clown that we met on the other side of the street.  He posed for her for quite awhile since there were always cars blocking the way.  I laughed out loud when I saw that she cut his head off in this photo!

A store front along the way.  

I loved this parking spot. 

The entrance to the monkey park.  We knew it was going to be a bit of a hike, but were a little surprised with how much of one it turned out to be.  At one point we almost turned back, but I'm glad we didn't.  

Reagan along the way.

 Once you got to the top of the hill/mountain, there was a little fenced in hut.  You could feed the monkeys from inside the hut.  Here's Brock watching them hang from the fence. 

For 100 yen you could buy a bag of peanuts or apples.  We bought one of each for the kids to feed them with.  There is a warning about not staring at the monkey, and also the proper way to feed them.  

One of the workers took this photo.  As you can see, once Brock is out of the carrier, he doesn't want to be held :).    You can see a bit of the city of Kyoto in the background.  Also, on the climb up, there was a sign that said we had climbed higher than the Kyoto Tower.  

Brandon doing a flea check on Brock. 

We headed back to the hotel for an afternoon nap, then set out for Gion.  Gion is the Geisha district of Kyoto and was one of my favorite places to visit.  

Reagan on one of the Gion streets.  My guidebook had a walking tour outlined, so the pictures below are some of the things along the way.