August 6, 2023

Sunday - Hot and Sunny, with Thunderstorms

This morning, F and I slept in quite late. I got up first before 9 pm and went downstairs and also turned on the AC. It was already 28 degrees in our room, or something similar. Ack.

We had a quiet morning. I slept until the afternoon and then F went downstairs. He cooked for his mother and then came upstairs and we talked about going for lunch. As usual, he had no ideas, so I suggested going to Kissa Marina. He agreed and then off we went.

It wasn’t busy at Kissa Marina, so we got a table and ordered. I had my usual curry pasta and F had a katsu sand. The waitress from last time was there, but today her T-shirt was fine. It was a Betty Boop one, so no problem! Our food was okay. The meat in mine was a little tough, the soup was still salty, but not as bad as last time. F’s sandwich was cut very strangely. It made it hard for him to pick up. 

After lunch, we headed out to parts unknown. I asked F what he’d like to do and he suggested going to Mt. Gassan. I’d noticed from reading back in my blog that we often drive up Gassan around this time of year, so I was almost expecting it! I said it would be fine if I could use a washroom first! I thought we were going back to the house so I didn’t bother going at the restaurant. 

We made a quick stop at a drugstore where I used the loo and also bought us some drinks for the road. We drove up to Gassan and with the new car, it was a much better drive than usual. We did have a couple of hairy spots though. A city bus was coming down on a hairpin turn and F had to back up a bit to let them get by, and a guy on a motorbike was driving in the middle of the road and  he had to swerve to get by. 

As we got higher up the mountain we noticed that the clouds were getting closer. When we arrived at the top of the mountain, we could barely see anything. We got out of the car and walked around a little bit. A guy who was up there volunteered to take our picture for us, so that was very nice of him. 

A cloudy day on Mt. Gassan

After 15 minutes or so, we drove down the mountain. It was quite a nice drive and the views were great. The clouds cleared a bit after a bit at the top of the mountain. 

In Tsuruoka, we decided to pick up a bento for K. I got to go in the store and I picked up some food for her. I also got a salad for tomorrow’s dinner too. I’m going to “cook” because I have some bag curry that needs to be eaten soon. Tomorrow will be the day. 

For some strange reason, F had to watch a video in the grocery store parking lot and wouldn’t leave for a few minutes. We got back to the house and it was so hot. F made K turn on the AC in the living room, I heated up her bento and gave it to her. F spent an unknown length of time in the washroom. I changed my pants to something more comfortable and then went downstairs to wait for him. I was rather annoyed if I’m honest. F knew that I wanted to go shopping today and that I had asked to go to the mall early. We didn’t have time to faff around, and that’s exactly what he was doing.

We finally left the house and drove out to the mall. We went in and I went and bought the tickets to the movie. I made F wait outside the cinema on a bench. From there, we went and had dinner. I basically gave up on the shopping idea. I’d sweated so much in the house I couldn’t in good conscience try on new clothes and I didn’t have time anyway. 

I had my usual bibinba and F had some repacked yakisoba and okonomiyaki. He said he liked it, I quite enjoyed my bibinba. The guy that sold it to me was new though. I use my movie ticket to get a free drink with my meal but he wanted to take it. I hadn’t seen the movie yet, so I still needed it! I had to ask for it back and the lady had to come over and help the guy. He was fine really, just young and not very experienced!

After we ate, we wasted a bit of time and then went over to the cinema. I made F sit down until they opened up our theater. Then, I got into line for popcorn and drinks. I told him to go in, but a couple of minutes later I saw him waiting at the end of the concession line. I actually had to go over to him and tell him to go into the cinema. I don’t know what the heck he was thinking. I lost my place in the line too, so it took even longer for me to get done. 

I bought our munchies, went into the cinema and dropped off the stuff. I used the washroom and missed half of the previews which did not make me happy!

We went to see Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and it was fine. It was a bit silly, but quite enjoyable. I liked a few things about it. It isn’t my favourite film or anything, but for a check your brain at the door, it was fun. 

We came back to Tsuruoka after the movie and did make a stop at a conbini. I wanted to get a frappucino style drink I’d heard about. They didn’t have the exact one where we stopped, but I got it anyway. It was a chocolate drink that turned out to be very thick and quite nice.

Back at the house, we came upstairs and had a quiet evening in. It was late when we got back, so I didn’t watch any TV.

Tomorrow, we don’t have too much planned. We have the insurance guy coming back around 2 pm and then I’m not sure. I’m going to be cooking dinner, but I’d also like to make a run to the post office as well. I need to make another deposit. That should be fun!

Come back later if you like and hear all about my day. What do I get up to?  Until tomorrow….