Happy Post-Thanksgiving Day!



It’s taken me a while to go thru all the Japan photos…and part of that was just figuring out how I was going to organize them.



The way I came up with was to split it into three parts, “Engrish,” “Cool Stuff on the ground,” and then the actual trip. So here’s

part 1- “Engrish”



It’s easy to laugh at the bad English translations in Japan…but they must laugh a lot at our translations of 
Japanes….oh wait. We don’t translate anything that isn’t Spanish.



But then again, they mix English and Japanese in the same sentence.




This bakery was delicious. 




Micah and I imagined what was 99.9% about this beer…

We think first he’s excited about it being 99.9% alcohol and then he can’t feel his face.




The Japanese are so romantic. They save seats for The Old, The Injured, The Pregnant, Those with Babies,
 and Those in Love.


No leering! Or groping! Or silhouetting!




Hops is sooo fruity.




And tasting.


This is a skirt. 


Tommy is Boss.


The mascots of the Tokyo Tower…seriously.



I’m pretty sure this is “me.” Or at least “St. Luke.” It looks like a variation on “Hikari” which is Light – 
and the best translation of “Luke.” (using this site as reference.)


 I’d forgotten, but that was actually the nickname an ex gave me…I suppose that could be my
 “Japanese” name…as “Luke” often comes out as “Ruke” anyways…

R=L…as evidenced by the “grass” of beer.





Quench baby.





I <3 this.





I’ve never wanted to eat a shrimp burger more in my life…they should call it “Mmmmmmdonalds.”




Is it a bad English person causing the trouble? Or an English speaker voicing their frustration 
natively? 




I think someone is missing their kitty.




They should just check the bank.




Beautiful Smiling Face!




Lolita Style. Harajuku.




Walk dirty.




um…yeah.






Next up…the trip begins! Tropical Storms! Horse Meat! Biru!




-Luke

The next leg of our adventure was a train ride from Anchorage to Fairbanks. We were
starting in the Costal region and traveling 300+ miles into the interior of Alaska.
 It was going to be a 12 hour train ride.


This wasn’t the first long train ride we’d taken together as a family. About 10 years ago 
We took the train from New York all the way to Washington state. That took almost
 4 days. So by comparison, this seemed short. We were all very excited about the
 ride. There is something so peaceful and serene about traveling by train. All the 
hustle, bustle, stress and anxiety of flying is gone. You don’t have to think about anything 
or stay seated like in a car. You just sit back, relax, read, wander, talk to people, have
a drink, stare out the window, nap, and day dream.

So when you combine that with a beautiful fall day in Alaska…and being with your family 
it’s pretty much perfect.

It was in a field very much like this that I saw my first…the first moose of the trip.

I was looking out the window and there I saw him. Large, dark, a immense rack, standing in a marsh.

“Moose! Moose on the right!” I yelled and pointed. He took off, not because of my yell, but the thundering train no doubt. As he ran through the marsh, his lumbering, off-kilter gait made him almost appear to be moving in slow-motion, water splashed up, each droplet caught by the low morning light.

It looked like a nature film…

but it was better. It was real.

Mt. McKinnley is almost always in clouds…once again we were blessed with amazing weather.

I <3 trains.

When I saw this car…I knew I had to get a pic. I always try and get shots of cool custom cars for Dave…since he builds them. The corvette with the even bigger engine and massive intake was too tasty to pass up.

In the hills behind my Grandparent’s and sister we saw some mountain goats…that’s sparkling cider they are drinking=)

I got my Dad a Corsican vineted, California bottled wine for his birthday…he saved it for the trip.


After the ride I was gloriously loopy. The way only a 12 hour train ride and incredible
sites can make you. We got some hand-crafted icecream and wandered around the hotel for a
bit. I rode the exercise bike that felt like each turn of the pedals was powering a band saw
cutting lumber next door. A rusty band saw. The crew from the train was in our hotel too
and I had half a mind to go drinking with them…but I didn’t really see the point.



Of course, now if I was in that same situation I would…but that’s another story all together.



Eventually I head to bed…I remember in our bathroom, the toliet was low and tilted to one side.
So sitting on it made you feel even loopier then before. hehe. Also, there was about
 4 different shades of paint on the walls, cream, white, eggshell, and just a spot of blue.


The next day we’d be flying to Barrow, AK. The most Northern US city…and well above the Arctic Circle and next to it…the Arctic Ocean.




-Luke

My Mom and have birthday’s right next to each other…I’m the 10th and she’s the 11th. So we always try
and do something together to celebrate. This year, she had the idea to take a trip.



All she would tell me was


• We were going to a museum

• It was in the continental US

• Not somewhere you’d normally think of going



I didn’t get any clues and I even didn’t look at my boarding pass as I walked thru the security
at LAX.



It wasn’t until our gate that I saw “Minneapolis-St. Paul”…which it turned out was only where we 
were transferring. Mom wanted to talk about the trip on the flight, so she told me where we were
going.



Des Moines, Iowa.



The moment of surprise at LAX.




wow. talked about surprised. I’ve never been to the Midwest – besides taking the train thru it,
but I’ve wanted to go…now I was on the way.



At the Minneapolis airport I decided to get some Mexican food. It seemed like a good idea at the 
time. However, I got a pretty nasty case of food poisoning. Not only was I sick for the entire trip -
but basically since then, over a month ago, my stomach has been messed up. Interestingly enough,
I think Japan helped because it was so each to eat simple rice, noodle, and fish dishes.



Whatever it was must have been pretty nasty. I’ve eaten at Taco trucks in LA for 4 years without ever
getting sick…then I go to a “real” restaurant in the Midwest…sheesh.



Anyhoo…in addition to being the swinging-est airport in the US, Minneapolis should also be known
for it’s high standard of food cleanliness.



Our first day we went and toured the Iowa state Capitol.



What a gorgeous building. Built around 1900 with all hand carved marble, local wood, and hand 
painted stenciling. In fact, 2 men had been working on restoring the original stencil designs.
Someone had decided to paint over them…oops. These guys have been working on this same project
for over 20 years.





They were in the midst of restoring the dome for a big World Hunger Conference. It was costing several
million dollars. My Mom wondered why they didn’t just use that money to feed the starving people…




Our next excursion was to a real prairie. As you may know, prairies used to cover most of the midwest.
Now they cover about .01% of the midwest. They’ve been plowed under, paved over, and 
replaced by stripmalls and corn fields.



It’d be like going to Washington, cutting down all the trees and then pushing the mountains into Puget
Sound. Ok, I exaggerate a little. But still. Prairies are the treasure of the midwest – and were
mostly destroyed.



There is a 5000+ acre prairie restoration project near Des Moines…we drove out there and visited it.



The Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. (http://www.fws.gov/midwest/nealsmith/)



Mom and some Big Bluestem. I saw this grass over 6′ high.




The Bison fur is really soft…mmm bison.




We took a walk thru part of the prairie. It was really windy and as the wind went thru the grass
it made this sound…it was beautiful, like a symphony almost. Music of the prairie.




We didn’t actually see any…d’oh.



The following day we went to Madison County.



Yes. “The” Madison County.



I’ve never been somewhere in the US with so many unpaved roads…




Mom took this one. I really like it.




A covered bridge in Madison County, Iowa.



Apparently, graffiti isn’t just for “punk” kids anymore.


Heading back to Des Moines…drinking Malted Milkshakes…mmmm.




Kind of America-centric…but heck, it is Middle America.


The Museum we went to was The Art Center (
http://www.desmoinesartcenter.org/ It was a really nice, well rounded modern art museum.



The didn’t really have anything older than 1920…and they had a bit from basically everyone you’ve heard
of since then. Maybe not their best piece…but a piece by them non-the-less.



John Singer-Sargent is a favorite of Mom and I’s.




This one was about 6′ tall. A photograph reproduced in actual size of Pantone Color squares.



Vic Muniz. Chuck




There’s something wonderful about a sculpture that is hermitically sealed to preserve the freshness…
of the vacuum cleaners.

John Koons. New Shelton Wet/Dry Triple Decker


We also saw an exhibit at their downtown branch which was all about signage. Kind of a graffiti inspired
sort of thing. (http://www.desmoinesartcenter.org/exhibitions/ex_downtown.html)

Ironically it was made up mostly of SF and LA based artists.



The day before we left we can across the biggest farmer’s market I’d ever seen. It was like 
a 37 county farmer’s market.



This place has: goats meat, foam swords, and marshmellow guns.




Downtown Des Moines.




On Sunday we visited this Methodist Church. It looked like it would be a rather large group,
but it turned out we were in the basement…the main sancturary was under repairs. The service we
attended probably only had 20 people in it.



The Pastor was a younger guy, but silver haired. He had a “soul patch” and wore a headset as
he did the duties of lead singer, keyboardist, worship leader, and preacher all at once. It was a 
nice service about financial responsibility. All though the flat screen TV’s with images of dollar
bills on them the whole time was a little distracting.





A innocuously racist poster print in downtown Des Moines.




3 things about Iowa that stand out to me:


Fried Cheese Balls.

White people.

Flat.



This last pic kind of sums up my thoughts on Iowa.




-Luke

so, I just got back from Japan…and before going thru the 600+ photos, I decided I should get these photos up and online.



In August I took a trip to Sheepranch, CA and met up with my Grandfather, Dad, Aunt & Uncle in order to do some much needed repairs on the family property.



In September I went on a “Mystery” trip with my Mom. It was to celebrate our birthdays and she’d been planning it since before July.



Then, in October I went spur-of-the-moment to Japan to visit Micah. Along the way I met up w/ my old classmate from university, Hiro and some friends, Jason and Erin from Seattle…but let’s start back in August.




This truck belonged to my Grandpa Guidici…now it’s Uncle Nick’s work truck.




Grandpa Fitzwater, Uncle Nick, and my Dad.

It’s a scientifically proven fact, sheep love fresh nectarines.




We had to fix a fence, rebuild the front steps, and replace part of the porch.




Everyday we’d start work around 7am. By noon it would be in the 90’s…the heat of the afternoon
 saw the needle reach 105. It was hot. And we worked our tails off. We drank a ton of water
and we ate like there was no tomorrow. (thanks Aunt Diane!)




Every night I’d go out into the meadow to sleep. It’s one of my favorite things about Sheepranch 
in the summer. It’s so warm you can sleep outside and the sky is so clear and so void of city lights 
that you can see the milky way. One night my Dad and I saw what we think was the International 
Space station and the shuttle…two brilliant white spots of light tracked each other across the 
sky – moving faster than any satellite I’d ever seen.



After a 12 hour day of manual labor…I was falling asleep at 9pm. No internet. No cell phone. No tv.



Heck. Some people pay for this kind of retreat.




My Grandpa is one heck of a carpenter. He gave me a simple task, just slightly above what I could
 do on my own. Cut and add the side boards to the stairs. We had 2×12x1 planks of antique redwood
siding that I had to cut down. Measure, cut, measure, cut – fit and nail.



I really appreciate what a good teacher he was, and how patient he was with me. It would have
 been faster I’m sure for him to do it himself, but he guided me through the process. And not only
did I feel like I contributed, and had a sense of pride of completing something, but I learned
 some carpentry skills as well.

He told a lot of stories this trip. I wrote some of them down in my sketch book…and I should type them
 up later. One that stands out to me right now is the story about when he first started in the wood shop at 
the shipyard.



Grandpa was trying to do something, a new task, and so he asked one of the older, more experienced 
guys how to do it.



The guy responded, “Fuck you sonny. You’ll learn the same way I did, the hard way.”



From that point on, my Grandpa resolved to not let that happen to others. And when he was Foreman 
of the shop, he made sure that all the new guys would get help. They weren’t there to work against 
each other – they were there to do a good job.



Iowa tomorrow.



-Luke