Lunch & a museum on a rainy Sunday

A great combo: pine cone artwork and beautiful spring blossoms!
Last Sunday morning just before I left for church, my phone rang & I got an unexpected, last minute invite for a hike, lunch, and a museum tour from friends I hadn't hung out with since last fall. Deciding the day's plans could easily be rearranged, I said "Yes!" and got picked up an hour later. We enjoyed a fun (small) hike, sukiyaki for lunch on the mountain side (the rain stopped just in time), great conversation, history lessons, and an amazing tour at the Tokaido Hiroshige Art Museum (showcasing wood-block prints from an Edo era painter, Hiroshige Utagawa).

What's sukiyaki?? Beef, vegetables, mushrooms, mochi (compressed rice)--each bite dipped in raw egg before popping it into your mouth--delicious! At the top of the mountain. On a clear day, Mt Fuji would be majestic, but unfortunately, the clouds didn't part enough for us to see Fuji-san. Maybe next time.

As I paid the entrance fee to the art museum, I noticed an older man looking at me strangely (not such an uncommon occurance). But he looked familiar, and a few minutes later, when I saw him and his wife watching me again, I realized I knew them both! They are my teacher's in-laws--back in November I'd spent the day picking oranges at their farm! I introduced them to the friends I was with and we chatted a tiny bit (limited to my Japanese conversation skills since they don't speak English). It's a small world I tell ya!

What a fun day full of surprises!