Tokyo, Japan

In mid-Dec, Merck Japan brought Mommy and her two coworkers/friends (Kelly and John) to Tokyo to present to their doctors. The flight was long and the trip was exhausting. But Mommy, Kelly and John managed to fit in a little fun too. :)

We had 1 free day and hired a local guide to show us around the city including 2 ancient temples (Asakusa and Meiji jingu shrine - we saw a traditional wedding here), the famous Tsukiji fish market, Hamarikyu garden, a tea ceremony, an open-air market, a river cruise and some quaint districts along the way...yes we fit a lot in for 1 day.

That evening we also got tickets to see the very interesting art of Kabuki at the Nissei theater (a highly esteemed type of Japanese theater with elaborate make-up and costumes in which all the actors are men and they specially train their voices to have a very unique high-pitched sound)...we definitely didn't fit in and were completely lost with the storyline, but it was fun all the same.

Our hosts (Merck Japan colleagues) were very excited to have us visiting and enjoyed taking us to a hibachi grill (laughably American) and "Ninja" (sister restaurant to the famous NYC location, which was laughably touristy)...but they tried. Every other part of our experience was totally authentic Japanese....it was amazing.

Vancouver

For our family vacation this year we went to Vancouver, Canada at the end of October (ok, ok, so just a small delay in getting these photos posted). Mommy was attending the IDSA conference so we added some days before the meeting to enjoy the area.

Our first stop was Victoria. We took the ferry across and spent the weekend in the beautiful city, staying at the historic Empress hotel. We had some great food including the freshest fish & chips and best fish chowder from a little shack where you sat on upside-down buckets right on the pier.

Our favorite activity in Victoria was a whale watching boat trip where we saw several different species of whales (including a beautiful Orca - killer whale - that was actually spotted by Mommy!), dolphins, sea lions and birds. The dolphins were especially neat because they would come right up to the back of the boat and play in the waves...what a show! Morgan had a blast.

Following Victoria, we took the ferry back (barely making it on the boat after waiting over an hour!), stopped at a cute fishing village for lunch (with the best Greek food), before passing through Vancouver to take the gorgeous Sea-to-Sky highway to Whistler for a couple days.

On the route, we stopped at a public park with a large suspension bridge, went hiking to see a few beautiful waterfalls, and passed by some amazing scenery.

It was off-season at Whistler so it was pretty quiet, but still a really neat place with beautiful scenery and colors. And we could picture what a great ski town it would be in the winter with all the luxury ski-in-ski-out resorts, spas, restaurants and stores.

Throughout the trip we also saw some neat totem poles which are native only to this area.

And then soon it was time to head back to Vancouver for the rest of our trip and Mommy's conference. The hotel was beautiful and we had this great corner room with windows overlooking the water. Morgan and Daddy had a few fun excursions to the aquarium, local park, and science museum. We also had some family time walking around the marina, taking a boat trip to an eclectic/market area, and exploring the city a bit. The best part was the food (have you noticed a pattern on this vacation? It's amazing we didn't gain 50 lbs! Must have been all the walking.)...we definitely felt like "foodies" eating at some amazing restaurants and trying all kinds of delicious food including Italian, French, Pacific-Northwest and Japanese fusion.

Overall, Vancouver was a great trip.

Baby Cousin Jackson

Right before Thanksgiving Morgan's new cousin Jackson was born. We went to Ephrata/Lancaster to visit him and his family (Aunt Hillary, Uncle Owen & Cousin Sophia) in the hospital. He was so cute. And so little. It is was hard to believe that just a few years ago Morgan was that small. Morgan was thrilled to meet him and was so gentle...it was really sweet.