March 29, 2024 – Part 2
We tried to rest a bit after our busy morning. Larry read,
and I wrote my blog.
Our #3 Japanese daughter, Yuko, had made reservations at the
Hard Rock Café for dinner at 7:00 p.m. We weren’t sure whether she would come
to our hotel or meet us at the Hard Rock Café. We waited at the hotel until
6:45, and then we walked over to the restaurant. We had to hunt a bit. The
actual restaurant is on the 3rd floor, but we found it eventually.
Yuko was there to greet us.
We had last seen her several years ago when a business trip
brought her to L.A. We’d picked her up in town and brought her down to our
house where she spent the night before we had to take her back.
This time we only had a couple of hours, so we wanted to
make the most of them!
I had forgotten how noisy the Hard Rock was, or maybe it
just seemed noisier because of my deafness. (The hearing aids magnify the
sound, but it all runs together in a confused mess.)
We ordered and then caught up. We gave her the photos and
note the Larsons had sent with us and talked about how they were doing. Then we
caught up on our lives and Kim’s.
She had brought gifts for us: handmade soap from her mother
and chocolates. Our bags were beginning to fill up with gifts! (Misayo gave us
two bags of food and a beautiful scarf.)
What a joy to spend time with this special young lady. We
had lots to talk about as we ate. We asked when she might be able to visit us
again in California.
Right now, the exchange rate is not favorable for the
Japanese. (This worked to our advantage, but the rate needs to improve before
they will be able to spend freely again.)
Also, Yuko feels that her mother needs her to be near to
take care of her. She also feels she has reached the maximum position in her
company and it may be time for her to leave. So, her life is in flux at the
moment.
We finished our meals, and the noise seemed to be getting louder. We decided to go to a nearby coffee shop for after-dinner coffee where we could talk.
Yuko, me, Larry (I look really tired.
I was!)
We spent a bit of time talking until we noticed they were
getting ready to close and we were the only ones remaining.
Yuko had to get back to Shin Osaka where she was spending
the night before returning to Chiba the next morning.
As usual, the farewells were hard and accompanied by tears,
at least on my part and Yuko’s as well. But we hope to see her again in
California before too very long.
Marilyn again. I am loving these posts.
ReplyDeleteGreat. We had a terrific trip--but PACKED!
DeleteYes the Hard Rock is noisy it is not just your hearing aids...but when we were there in Aug. it was great to have AC as the park was very hot outside and they still gave us the same USJ discount and my friend also got one of those famous Bears as it was her birthday .....now she is 23......
ReplyDeleteWe also stayed out till it closed not realizing you could not go thru the park to get back to our car...We had a long walk around to get back to the parking lot where our car was...but we were very happy the parking lot was not closed along with the park hours.........so much fun for you JEALOUS
We loved getting to see her. Our after-dinner coffee was great. We could hear each other and talked a lot!
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