August 30, 2023

Wednesday - Hot and Sunny

I managed to get to bed just a little early last night and this morning I didn’t wake up to watch the news. I got enough sleep which is a good thing. I got up a bit after 9 a.m. and got dressed. F made his mother some breakfast and then we left the house.

We were still a little close time-wise to the deadline, but we made it. I had the scrambled egg with bacon and sausage breakfast and F had the salmon breakfast. His didn’t please him, sad to say. 

We got on the road just after 11 and made good time to Yamagata. We stopped on the way at Sagae as usual but kept it brief. 

We went to the mall in Yamagata city and did a little shopping. I was a bit surprised at F as he didn’t park near the shops we wanted to visit. He parked at the far end of the mall. Luckily, it is a smaller mall. In Aeon, we split up. He looked for men’s stuff, I looked for something for me. I found the same shirt I bought in Mikawa a couple of weeks ago, and others that were the same pattern but in a different colour. I didn’t buy them. I did get a nice dark turquoise shirt with a pattern on it though. F found himself a jacket that he had been looking for for ages. Yay. I checked out Kaldi the foreign import store but didn’t buy anything and also the 3 Coin shop, but didn’t buy anything. We walked back to the car and then got back on the road to Costco. 

We got a great parking spot in the area of handicapped parking. It wasn’t explicitly marked as such, but F is still having trouble walking far so it was nice to be so close. We grabbed a buggy and went in. F and I spent a bit of time together for a bit, he picked himself up a caddy for the car and I got a new portable battery for my phone. F went to have a seat and I did a bunch of shopping. I pretty much stuck to my list, but I did add on a box of fancy rooibos tea for me and some guacamole in mini containers. I often buy avocados but I mess up when to use them and I have to throw them out. I thought the guacamole might just be a little less wasteful!

So, I went through the checkout and paid. I renewed our membership for another year too. I had texted F but he didn’t see me. I had to find him in the food court!  We took the stuff out to the car, packed it away and then came back in. I got a hamburger and a drink and bought an ice cream for F. When I finished my burger, I went back for my ice cream too. It was half pineapple and half Hokkaido milk. To be honest, it tasted good, but the pineapple doesn’t like me too much!

We got on the road back to Tsuruoka. F kept asking if and where I wanted to eat, but I wasn’t hungry. He said he wasn’t either but kept asking me. It was annoying. I finally suggested going to a tonkatsu place a bit out of Yamagata City.

Leaving Yamagata, there was an amazing sunset. It looked like it was on fire.
I took this through the car window, so not perfect, but the colours...!

We did make a quick stop in Yamaya. F picked up a lot of stuff, I just got some sports drink for myself. 

We finally arrived in Sagae and found the restaurant. We went in and even though I wasn’t that hungry, I did eat. I had a meal which was a tonkatsu on rice with salad. It was rather nice. It came with chawanmushi, miso soup and pickles. I got dessert too, which was a surprise. F had a tonkatsu meal and it looked nice as well.

Afterwards, we got back in the car and continued our drive back to Tsuruoka. I dozed off after a while but woke up before we got all the way back.

Back at the house, we unpacked the car and put things away. I came back upstairs and tried to chill out. It was hot in here though. I watched Grey’s Anatomy and then the news that had surprisingly recorded itself today. F took a shower and a bit later I did too. It was very late but so necessary. It was so hot and humid today.

Anyway, that was it for today. We did have a good day but we have no plans for tomorrow. Hopefully, things will work out and go well! I can’t believe that August is almost over. Oh my. My trip is getting closer. I’m getting a bit nervous about the whole thing!

Come back later if you like and hear all about my day. Until tomorrow….