Team Schmidt Travels

Monday - June 30th We got up early and had breakfast at the Air BnB. It was nice to just eat a bowl of cereal and keep things simple this morning.  We walked a short ways and were picked up by a small tour bus by 7AM.   As advertised, the tour took us all around the island. It was fun to see less populated areas and what our guide kept referring to as “real Hawaii.” It was beautiful.  We stopped a number of times for photos and to look around. One of these stops was at the Halona Blowhole. It is a lava tube that is right by rhe ocean, so when there are waves, steam and water comes up out of the hole like a geyser. We munched on donuts with purple bread inside as we watched.  Some of the stops had gift shop options.  Desmond found himself a shark tooth necklace, and bought it with some souvenir money he had gotten from G.B. (my dad). He wore it happily the rest of the tour.  I had purchased a flower for my hair last night, so I was happy he found someth...

Sunday June 29, 2025 We did a slower start today. It is going to be up in the 90s again today, and we will be going until we get on the plane around 10PM today to leave Japan. So we wanted to save up some of our energy for later in the day.  After breakfast we packed up, left our bags with the front desk of our hotel, and rode the trains out to the bamboo forest.  I have not been feeling the best yesterday and today. But when I was in the forest, I felt better. We walked along and took some photos. Then we came out along the river. There were little fish swimming near the edge of the water. We walked along the water, watching the boats glide along, and listening to the pair of buskers singing.  Bryan looked along the street for a restaurant that would be air conditioned. He didn’t find anything promising. So we took a taxi to Hard Rock Café Kyoto. The taxi that arrived was the first we’ve seen all trip that could fit all six of us (thank you, Lord!). We rode in the comfor...