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1 March 2002
It's hard to believe that our time at Misawa is coming to an
end. Since January 1999 we've called Misawa home - and it has been
a terrific three years for our family.
Admin details first:
We're departing for our new home - the island of Oahu, Hawaii - on 21 March - and thanks to the international dateline, we'll also arrive on 21 March. For the first 30 days or so we'll be staying at the Discovery Bay condominiums in Waikiki - no - not on the beach - but across the street from the Ala Moana Marina. The condos sound nice - two bedroom, two bath - fully furnished. That will have to do until we find a rental property - which will be the first order of business upon arrival. You should be able to reach us at (808) 941-2102 - a number apparently assigned to the condo unit. For mail - use our interim address - we'll be checking the post office every few days. For emergency contact you can call our sponsors at 808-677-0042 and they can relay a message to us.
Terry and Patti Howard
PO Box 894786
Mililani, HI 96789
We'll retain our hotmail email account (trhowar@hotmail.com) until we get settled in a rental and can acquire CABLE MODEM!!!! PLEASE refrain from sending us large attachments to our hotmail account since our email becomes disabled when the inbox reaches 1MB. Make sure to check out a few of our recent pictures from Japan at our WEB site "http://andhow.freeservers.com/".
We packed out our household goods in mid-February to make sure they arrive in time for us to furnish a house that we hope to occupy by 1 May at the latest. We'll be focusing our search to single family homes in the Mililani area. Mililani is a highly sought-after community - mostly for its mild breezy climate and the public schools. Some people stay away from Mililani because it reminds them of American suburbia - sprawling housing developments, chain and outlet stores. A flat on the north shore might have appealed to us in our DINK days (double-income-no kids) but Mililani suits our lifestyle just fine. Of course we'll look elsewhere - but mostly on the south-center part of the island which will be a short drive to Pearl and Waikiki no matter where we end up.
In early February Patti and I abandoned Christopher for the first
time as we spent three days in Sapporo at the Ice Festival. Christopher
was in good hands with friends of ours in Misawa and he barely missed us.
The Mommy unit was a bit of a wreck though leaving her son behind. We had
a great time touring Sapporo and we even ventured out of the city on a
40-minute train ride to the north to a small port city - Otaru. Otaru
is heavily influenced by Russian culture and economy since it is a major
trading port with Russia. Otaru is also a favorite tourist destination
due to the city's many museums, arts, and crafts. Of course we made
a point while in Otaru to go to the famous local brewery. The snow
and ice sculptures in Sapporo were in miserable condition due to near record
moderate temperatures in the week preceding our visit. Daily highs in the
40s turned snow sculptures into snow blobs and ice sculptures into rapidly
melting ice cubes. Fortunately I have several rolls of pictures from
my trip last year when the sculptures were preserved under perfectly chilly
conditions.
Patti and I have also been trying to squeeze in every opportunity
to enjoy our favorite snow sports - snowshoeing, skiing, and cross-country
skiing. The local resorts are finally in good-to-excellent condition
- but the areas near sea-level like Misawa have experienced unusually high
temperatures this winter - along with a snow drought. The last three
winters here have been produced snowfalls dozens of inches higher than
the average. This year we are well below average snowfall accumulation.
Our last measurable snowfall was several weeks ago and unseasonably warm
temps and the lack of snow cover makes it feel as if Spring has already
arrived. Thankfully the nearby mountains still have several feet
of snow for us to play in.
Christopher is anxious to get to Hawaii - though he may be in for a bit of a disappointment when he realizes we won't be living in a place with a pool and built-in waterfall with nightly hula dancing (which apparently is his favorite memory from our Hawaii vacation last year). Christopher is growing like a weed - having just hit the 43" mark. When I carry him up to bed at night his head is on my shoulder and his feet are dangling past my knees. He is as skinny as he is tall. He had managed to put some skin on the bones this summer but the recent growth spurt has really stretched him out. Christopher has also proven that it is possible to live on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for months at a time.
We'll be enjoying eight (8) weeks of leave in Hawaii before I report for duty sometime around 20 May. Believe me - I'd rather have the money than the leave - but I don't get to make the rules - - yet. We're selling both our current Misawa vehicles (right-hand drives) but we're shipping Patti's car (Dodge Intrepid) to Hawaii from it's current storage location in my Grandmother's garage in Iowa. What will I drive you may ask? I ordered a NEW 4WD Ford Explorer Sport Trac (half SUV/half truck) which is being built in Kentucky this month for shipping to Honolulu for pick-up no later than 18 May. The vehicle is more versatile than a Swiss army knife and has a full back seat. Of course I plan to use it to haul GEAR - in addition to getting me to and from work. I plan to learn to scuba and also plan to trade in my ski's and snowshoes for trail biking. Oh - I suppose the truck will also be able to carry a bag of golf clubs if needed.
We'll remember our time in Misawa fondly. We managed to
turn the few challenges attributed to a tour in Misawa (heavy snowfall
& isolation to name two) into advantages. We threw ourselves into winter
sports; we traveled throughout northern Japan and hiked extensively in
the Hakkoda mountain range; we both found time to focus on hobbies - Patti
picked up the violin and I managed to bring my golf game full circle in
Misawa - going from bad to very good and back to lousy just before the
close of last season; Patti traveled to China; and we purchased enough
oriental furnishings, dishes, and prints to last us until our next Far
East tour. Perhaps the most amazing part of our Misawa experience
was watching Christopher transform from a baby into a boy.
We also feel fortunate to have significantly enlarged our circle of friends
on this tour. Several of our Misawa friends will be with us in Hawaii
for the next few years - and we are looking forward to joining up with
several of our friends from Maryland who have since moved to Hawaii.
For those of you in Iowa, Maryland, and Pennsylvania we hope
to see you later this summer or perhaps early in the fall when we come
back for a visit.
So - Sayonara and ALOHA from Terry, Patti, and Christopher in Misawa, Japan.
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