Beth Ann, co-owner (with husband Michael) of The Flying Pig Ranch (est. 2007), threw a big camping party and BBQ to celebrate Michael's 50th birthday. Complete with T-shirts, a horseshoe contest, and individually-boxed cupcakes, it was fantastic.
By Saturday evening, we had erected a small city of campers. Here is a view from the hillside above.
So many family and friends were there, and a good time was had by all. Thanks for a fabulous party, Beth Ann, and Happy Birthday Michael!
It wasn't just the bunny who had fun in Japan. Our colleague Reina took Vanessa and me out for a wonderful dinner of traditional Japanese food. We had salad, sushi, tempura, and shabu-shabu. Shabu-shabu is one of my favorites. They bring raw veggies, thinly-sliced raw meat, and noodles for you to cook in a pot of boiling water. Then you dip in sauces. It is very very tasty.
Thanks to Vanessa, I rode the subway all over Tokyo while still managing to eat regular meals and find my way back to my hotel after an evening of drinking beer and eating yakitori (skewered grilled chicken). We tried doing yoga on a moving subway train. Vanessa managed a nice Tree pose, but my balance was not so good that day.
This is me at the yakitori restaurant in Ginza. Vanessa was brave and ordered chicken kidney and chicken liver skewers. They were pretty good, actually! 
Last month I traveled to Japan for business and decided to stay for the weekend to do some shopping in Tokyo with my co-worker, Vanessa. At the Boise airport, I bought a Happy Meal. The toy was a small stuffed bunny with a halter dress. I strapped her to my backpack and took her with me to Japan. She had a great time.
While we were there, the bunny (who doesn't want me to publish her name), had many yummy things to eat, like green tea flavored soft serve ice cream...
...and cold soba (buckwheat) noodles and beer. (She drank the whole glass!)
But her favorite thing was the view from her hotel window at the Century Hyatt Shinjuku. She stood there for hours gazing out at the city.
Where will the bunny go next?
