<Derik> Only fitting that I chime in with a post on Fathers Day!

In total we've been on the island of Bali for 6 nights.  The first 3 in Amed which is about 3 hours by car to the northeast of Denpensar, and the last 3 in Kuta which is a pretty crazy place in comparison, filled with people on vacation/holiday primarily from other parts of Asia along with Australia/New Zealand.

Callie jumping waves at sunset

Our time here has been spent poolside at the hotel we're staying at our at the beach watching some amazing sunsets every evening.  The weather has been amazing at all our stops since we left MSP and Cath and I were just talking about how we haven't used a long sleeve anything yet.  We had fun tonight watching the sunset tonight during the summer solstice.

Bali has been a dream and both girls cannot wait to return.  The big challenge is the flight time and time change from the States to here as we are currently over 9,400 miles from home and 13 hours ahead. A tough one to do for a short trip.

Tomorrow we are heading to Singapore for a few days and we're really looking forward to the food and fun places to checkout from all of the good info we've received from friends and family alike.

<knock on wood>  Travel plans have gone off well to date.  The only snag so far is a our flight from London to Amsterdam got changed.  Usually not a big deal, however it was pushed back a full 24hours so I had to do some damage control there.

Camryn and her Brazilian friend Anna Clara

It is a ton of fun to watch the girls begin to earn their traveler stripes.  Callie is trying every food on the planet from crazy Japanese foods to Balinese style fish.  Camryn learned to count to 100 in Japanese, is making friends all over and even spent yesterday evening in Indonesia, with a girl from Brazil, speaking English and learning some Portuguese while having a blast dancing, watching a movie and playing games. Both are not afraid to try new things and are becoming pros at the ins and outs of traveling.  Our flight from Tokyo to Bali was 6 1/2 hours and they both said it felt a lot shorter than that.  I guess they are getting used to life on the road.  Next lesson to learn: the fine art of negotiation.

I may be the only guy on this journey, but God has blessed me with an amazing wife and 2 daughters that make me so proud to be their father.  I continue to be thankful and cannot believe how lucky we are to have the gift of time to get away from the daily grind and focusing on two girls who still love playing in the pool with me, telling jokes, and sharing places both new and old to me.  I am also overjoyed to be able to (re)connect with the love of my life. It is the first time in a long time where there hasn't been a constant need to check emails, respond to texts and voicemails etc.  These days will be cherished for many years to come.

Callie was kind enough to snap this shot while not be grossed out too much

Just a truckload of coconuts cruising down the road

                                                     Bali, Indonesia June 16-22
         <Callie> After we got to the airport in Tokyo we got on a 6 1/2 Hour flight (got hot chocolate on the plane!) and when we got to the airport in Bali (and the southern Hemisphere)we got picked up by someone named Katut and he was very nice. He brought us on a 3 hour very bumpy car ride to our Villa Batu Tangga. Camryn and I had no idea we were staying at such a nice place! It has 3 bedrooms, a pool and hot tub, a hammock, a cook, and a wonderful view of the ocean! We got there at night so you couldn't see the ocean but you could see the stars so well! It was the most stars I've ever seen!

 
     When we woke up the sunrise and ocean amazed us! That day we didn't do anything, we hung out near the pool, took a little walk, and had a great fresh fish dinner! Also Camryn and I had sunscreen on us and it was night so we decided to take a shower and our shower didn't work very well so we had to shower in another one. In the middle of it the power went out and Camryn screamed because she was scared then she got mad at me because she thought I did it but I told her the power went out the we just stayed there for about 20 more seconds then it went back on. We were scared!

     The next day, we woke up and I was going upstairs for some breakfast and on the stairs I almost stepped on a grass hopper about as big as a dollar bill. I've never seen a bug that big! There's also little lizards that crawl around on the wall an ceiling!  
      After breakfast we got picked up and went to a beach to go snorkeling. When we got in the ocean, Camryn and I were a little scared but  when we went farther we got used to it and enjoyed it a lot! The fish were so cool and different. Some had some really bright colors and designs! They were all in different sizes and shapes. We also saw some in schools. It reminded me of my 3rd grade teacher that likes to scuba dive. I had a waterproof camera and took a bunch of pictures but it was a camera where you have to go to a special place to see the pictures so I don't have them now. 

     Then, we went back to our Villa  and swam a little bit, and that leads up to where I am now, I can see the ocean, our pool, and our Villa from where I am now!  Check back soon!                                                   

Konichiwa from  Japan! (Cathy)

We had some amazing adventures in Japan and want to give a shout out to Aaron M and Bela for their recommendations - they were spot on!  Given how many people live there, it is by far the cleanest (yet no public trash cans!!), most polite and respectful city I've ever experienced.  We stayed in a great apartment we found on Airbnb - centrally located, quiet, and all around adorable!  Our first full day started at the Tsukiji Fish market about 10 min down the road.  Its a buzzing hub for seafood vendors, fresh veg and fruits, plus things I couldn't put a name to if I tried.  Camryn led the charge in trying sushi that day - raw nigiri tuna! I also bought some edamame (sold with roots and leaves still attached) that we cooked up later that day.  Next we walked to the Hama-rikyu Gardens where we stopped at a tea house for a traditional green tea and cake (bean cake - a tough one to swallow).
Before wrapping up for the day, we took the metro to Asakusa and visited the Sensoji Temple.   Its Tokyo's oldest temple surrounded by some fun little shops (and great for people watching too!)

Sensoji Temple Entrance

Tea House stop

Tsukiji Fish Market

Ramen dinner!!

On Sunday, we took a day trip to visit Mt. Fuji via coach bus and bullet train.  It was a perfect way to share Derik's passion for the mountains in a way we could all enjoy.  Outside of Tokyo, Japan is amazingly lush and tropical with steep and rugged terrain.  Hard to believe you're only an hour or two away from Tokyo.  We stopped at a lake in Hakone with great views of Mt Fuji where we enjoyed the view (albeit a bit cloudy) from both a boat and cable car observation tower.  We went to station 5 on Mt. Fuji - the highest point a car can go - and took in the sights before heading back into town via a crazy fast ride on the bullet train.  Walking back from Tokyo station, we stopped at a Ramen restaurant and had the best bowl of noodles I have ever tasted.

Mt. Fuji from the boat

Mt Fuji

Monday was probably the highlight day in Tokyo for me.  We all woke up at 3:30 AM and headed back to the fish market in hopes of securing one of the 120 places available daily to watch the morning tuna auction which is otherwise closed to the public.  Tuna are flown to this market from around the world for auction.  Apparently, arriving at 4:10 AM for a 5:40 tour was too late as there were no spots left.  Boohoo!  But as luck may have it, there were some Germans being kicked out at the same time we arrived (rumored to be intoxicated) so they handed us their tickets.  I felt bad momentarily, but then was elated as I had really wanted to experience the auction which did not disappoint!  Once backstage, the buzzing of forklifts with workers shuffling fish at lightening speed was truly orchestrated chaos!  The auction begins with the sounding of the bell and the bidding begins -  a cross between Wall Street hand signals and a cattle auctioneer calling out the bids.  Highest bid sets the price for the day and the massive numbers of tuna on the auction block are quickly wisked out of the market and off to the consumer before you can blink an eye!  Its just exhilarating to watch.  Once we exited the auction and were back in the market, we all stopped for some amazingly fresh sushi which tasted great - even at 6:30 AM :-)

Getting ready for auction

Sushi breakfast after the Auction

We hit a few more highlights the remainder of the day: Hachiko Crossing - better known as the scramble crossing - where hundreds of people cross the street simultaneously, somehow safely.  There was a beautiful Shinto shrine (Meiji shrine) that was well worth the stop.
Our departure from Tokyo the next morning was early to catch our flight to the next stop on tour - BALI...See you there!

Sayonara Meg and Tokyo!

<Callie> Today we woke up in Hawaii and rented a stand up paddle board in the lagoon at the hotel. It was really fun! After that, we went up to our room and packed up and headed to the airport. We got to the airport and  got on our plane, it was VERY big! There were two isles. It was one of the biggest planes I have ever been on! There were TV's in the seats again. When we landed in Tokyo, we had to go get our bags then get on a train.

Mom had us stop to go to the bathroom.  When it was my turn, I went to the stall and I looked down and there was just a hole in the ground for
a bathroom.  I had no idea what to do!  I went out of the stall and said to mom  "I'm thirsty" and mom looked at me like...what are you doing?  I

thought to myself that was a very bad excuse so I said " I don't know where to put my backpack."  The people in line started looking at me funny then mom walks with me to the stall that was just a hole because I was holding up the line then she looked in and said  " Oh, go in the next one."  The next stall was normal and mom went in the hole in the ground one. It was funny and crazy!

Later, we got our bags and went down an escalator, we were in a hurry because we had to catch a train. When I looked back, Camryn was stopped and the bottom of the escalator looking very frantic and mom was tugging on her shoe.  I realized Camryn's shoelace had gotten stuck in the escalator and lots of people started getting backed up behind her!  Camryn and mom had to pull  hard but finally got her unstuck. So let's just say the first 5 minutes in Tokyo were full of surprises!

We got on the train then at Tokyo Station we were picked up by someone named Meg and she brought us to her apartment where we are staying. The train station was really crazy with so many people moving in so many different directions!  Meg is really nice and told us lot of things about Tokyo and the apartment.  After Meg left, we saw some buttons on the toilet so I pressed one and the toilet it started spraying water everywhere!  Camryn and I jumped out of the way and it sprayed on the wall and floor, it was crazy.  There are some very interesting
toilets in Japan.  After that, we went to bed after a long day of traveling.   We are ready to do some exploring now so Sayonara! (goodbye in Japanese.)

<Camryn>

 Over the last few days we've had some great adventures! On Wednesday we woke up fairly early then called a cab to take us to the pearl harbor visitor center to get on a tour bus to take us to the USS (United.States.Ship) Missouri all so known as the Mighty Mo.


As we arrived we were a little bit late but made it just in time! our friendly tour guide named Ford seemed to know every single bit all the way down to even what kind of light bulbs were used in certain rooms!

It was very cool to see what life was like on the ship during world war II. So after the very fact filled tour of the USS Missouri we headed back to the hotel cleaned up then headed down the hotel restaurant for dinner. After we ate some very scrumptious food, we headed back to the room and slept like a log all night long! :-)

WWII Surrender Declaration

     <Callie> Aloha! Right now the time is 5:30 AM and I'm wide awake. The time change is so different and I'm sure the time for us will only get weirder.

Aloha!

     Yesterday, went by pretty well. We woke up and my friend Taylor and her mom, Karri drove us to the airport and we got on a plane to go to Seattle and from there we went to Hawaii! I drew some cool pictures with a new notebook I got and a plane we went on had TV's  in the seats!!! 

     We got to our hotel and swam for a while. Then grabbed some food and it was very weird because it felt like dinner but it was lunchtime for them. After that we walked around, then went up to our room, then watched the sunset.

     I had a molar that wasn't very wiggley at all, but I was pushing on it and it came right out! Well, I lost a tooth in Hawaii!

     Today we are going to hike a crater called Diamond Head that is very big!

I'll talk soon!  Aloha!

View from the top of the Diamond Head hike

Chillin by the lagoon

Looking for that pot of gold...

One day away and we're packed and ready.  Two rolling bags to check and a carry-on day pack per person.  Probably have way too much and i'm sure we have left out something important.  But Camryn has her blanket and Bunny and Callie has her books so I guess we're all set :)  Get ready for random updates and a plethora of bad grammar and mispesplled words :)

Day one is a very early and generous ride to MSP from Karri K--> Seattle --> Honolulu and if all goes well we will be on the beach with a fruity drink by 3PM....Cannot wait.

And thank you for all of the offers of help for Stephanie who will be holding down the fort at our house in our absence.

Here we go....