Going Inkless

     I couldn't count the times I've wished I had brought the camera when I was walking in some park, forest, or other natural area.  I couldn't count the magical moments I've missed capturing because I was unprepared.  For years, I never thought to bring a camera anywhere when the function was not specifically to photograph something.  I'd be walking along and happen upon a scene of such beauty, where the colours and shapes were so perfect and the light was at just the right stage, that I'd stop and marvel and long to share without the means to do so.  Or else, I'd be sitting quietly in camp and a deer might slip silently from the trees and cross only a few yards away.  I'd hold my breath and watch, but then the magic was gone.  All the time, whether walking or camping or even just living my normal routine, the universe was giving me amazing gifts I was powerless to share.      So, now and then, when I had the foresight, I s...

Day 9 The tone in the apartment in the morning was full of energy.  With a toddler running around and playing, there was plenty of activity.  He danced to his favourite songs on the children’s TV programs while we talked with his daddy Noboru, and then we all had breakfast together.  Soon, the time came when we had to go.  Noboru dropped us off at the Nagoya train station on his way to work.  Day 9 was to be a day to explore on our own.  From the landmark giant mannequin named Nanachan that Maki had shown us when we arrived three days before, we found our way to the bus terminal. We were to take a bus to Ise in Mie prefecture for a self-guided tour of Ise Jingu, a complex of Shinto shrines.  The bus ride was about two hours.  Thankfully, the bus was comfortable and not too crowded. Mist was rising in the mountains that we passed on the way, giving an extra dimension to the layers of green and beautiful scenery. In this smaller to...