35th anniversary tour of Jesus Jones! Finally came to West Coast! I happened to see their show poster on Whisky a go go’s email news letter otherwise I never knew it! In fact I missed their last year’s November shows in Japan when I was even in Japan at the same time
Although there was equipment problems, Mike’s vocal was great! He was in and out before the show and I got to take a picture with him. He looks the same as 35 years ago! What a nice guy! He let me hug him I love artists who are nice to their fans. He is the coolest
Last two months past so quickly being extremely busy with ups and downs. On May 15th, we had Mr. Big concert. Mr. Big is the reason why I met my husband. He was playing with the singer, Eric Martin, at that time and I was a big fan of the band. In the morning, he woke me up saying “Chihuahua is in the backyard”. Our community is located next to a state park so a lot of animals such as rabbits, squirrels, rattle snakes, possums and skunks come but no dogs! He came from the broken part of our fence. Since we received two emails of found dogs from the community, I thought our HOA would take care of him. I caught him and put him in our sunroom. Skinny but beautiful. He was shaking just like chihuahua.
Immediately, I knocked my neighbor’s door. She has a Chihuahua but her dog is female. We asked around our neighbors who walk dogs regularly. Also spread community emails twice to find his owner. No reply… I fed him cat food and we had to take off for Mr. Big concert. The band got aged but their sound was the same. I thought I would cry when I listened to our special song, “To Be With You” but I was preoccupied with the dog
I named the dog Lucky because I thought he was lucky to be taken care of by us. At the same time, he had a strong characteristic of the chihuahua on Taco Bell commercial, so his middle name became Diego. Cute looking dog which slept on my lap but I didn’t like the spelling of Diego so I never called him Diego. I don’t know why this name came up and I had some doubts of new encounters this year according to the horoscope Rokusei senjutsu.
I took him to a vet and found out that he had no microchip. Also he had a condition called cryptorchildism. He had only one ball and another one was stuck inside of his body. Neutering him would be challenging.
5 days later when I tried to play with him with a ball, I got bitten It seemed like he had a resource guarding problem. Once the ball was his possession, he didn’t like anybody to touch his toys. It happened so quickly and I was shocked Because we don’t know where he came from and smelt like a skunk, I was so worried about rabies. After I researched on internet, I went to ER for the shot. However, ER doctor discouraged me to take the shot saying rabies in dogs are extremely rare besides painful shots need to be taken 4-5 times afterwards. I came back with just antibiotics. 2 days later, I brought him to a vet for the vaccination. He could take only part of all shots since his weight was only 5.6lb. I chose rabies shot first and other shots after two weeks. He would be fine but my risk wasn’t eliminated. Later I really regret that I didn’t get the shots at ER. First shot has to be within 24 hours after the bite. 10 days later, we were still keeping him separating from our kitty cats. He was barking a lot as usual but this was the reason why he was barking My kitty cats are indoor cats so the cat door was open for Lucky only. But this stray cat came in! No wonder he was barking
He loved this bed that my kitty cats never used. He also got some toys that were too big for kitty cats.
I drove him to take a walk first time on a trail.
On my rebirthday which was my 13th anniversary of cancer free, we spent time with Lucky.
Later in the afternoon, we took him to OC big park. Since he barked so much, we had to avoid people and other dogs, forced to walk on lawns where a lot of filthy feces impossible not to step on. I didn’t let him stay inside the kitty cat’s living space to protect them until I was certain that he had no harm to them including diseases. It was before all of his shots were completed. I was stupid to choose a big park without full vaccinations. I thought the previous owner who dumped him gave vaccines.
He had been coughing, sneezing, twitching, and unbalanced occasionally from day 1 but he liked my home cooking meal and had a big appetite with high energy. He learned a command “sit” before meals. He got accustomed to use urine pads better.
My favorite pic. It was so rewarding when he waved his tail and stood on his hind legs to welcome me.
Meanwhile we were looking for his owner, my dog bite wound started to be painful. I went to see a doctor and got another antibiotics, still worrying about rabies. Our love to Lucky was growing and deciding on keeping him although there were difficulties with our life styles with him. Having a small dog was always my dream but it would have never come true unless this kind of forceful situation. We didn’t want him to be killed at a shelter. Even he had some conditions, he was doing well until this park visit. After the second vaccine shot, he wasn’t feeling well for a couple of days but got normal on this day. We took him to Laguna Beach Top of the World park. What a beautiful view! Later this picture became our best family shot with Lucky. Looks like he was smiling
Because of his aggressive barking and pulling behavior, we tried to make him worn out by visiting other locations: Main St and Beach park. Dogs were not allowed on the beach
After this day, he got very quiet and started having black stools. I wonder if his immune system got declined. Also wondering it was psychological because we didn’t take him to walk and I was busy with my job.
I couldn’t wait for his regular vet’s appointment because he stopped eating, I took him to an urgent care where I paid close to $1000 on bunch of tests. His liver number on the blood test was abnormal and got a referral to a specialist. We were observing him for a while until his antibiotics treatment was done. His distemper test result was positive but the vet thought it was from the vaccine. When I gave him a medication orally, I got bitten again exactly one month after the first bite and went to an urgent care again. About a week later, his resource guarding hadn’t been fixed. When I brought him a treat to his bed, he didn’t eat it. So I picked it up then he bit me It was my second antibiotics was just finished. I got the third antibiotics. I started to wonder if he was suitable to our living situation but I had to finish his antibiotics which was prescribed for 2 weeks before we find his new owner. I loved him so much regardless of the fear of rabies and bites. He bit me because there were reasons but I was mad at the third time. I threw him away to our deck wrapped in the blanket and locked the cat door until I came back from the hospital. One day when I was sitting in the sunroom with Lucky, I saw fast flying birds in dusk, looked like bats! High possibility of rabies in bats and made me even worried. Back and forth of hospitals, vet visits plus regular routine with pain from bites, I needed a break. I rented a cabin for my birthday and brought Lucky with us. I believe it was one or two days before my BD, my sandals were destroyed by him. Big parts were missing but I thought we would find them somewhere else. We were uneducated dog owners, my excuse. I should’ve checked carefully. I loved the cabin called Blue Jay in Lake Arrowhead. Creek was next to it and cool temperature under all the trees was so nice in July of Southern California. Less people! Perfect for Lucky!
We cooked steaks on the barbecue grill outside. It was my first experience using it and the steak tasted so flavorful
Lucky’s energy level was mild but he ate dinner.
Next day, breakfast outside the cabin. He was always sensitive to cold and loved sunbathing on our deck.
This is the best shot with Lucky as a family.
We found pink sandal pieces in his feces. I thought they would pass naturally but surprised at the same time how big things could come out from this tiny body. I thought dogs were strong. Later ER vet told us his liver condition made him eat uneatable objects. July 3rd, his antibiotics was finally done. People were ready for 4th of July weekend. It became his habit to sleep until I came back home from work which was about 7pm and went for a walk. I thought it was his routine but now I think that he was lethargic. Vacation time of doctors.
Following day, we took him to a park in Newport Beach. As usual he barked at strangers. He tried to bite window shield wipers Although his energy wasn’t 100%, he was quite strong. We were afraid of him biting other people. It could be a lawsuit.
He was so so that weekend but he became so active and lively after he passed another sandal piece with his droppings. When he felt good, my days brightened so much. Couple of days he felt so good jumping, barking and running just like he had a brand new body. We thought finally he got well. Ken suggested a chewing toy since he ate sandals. I gave a big stuffed chewing toy. We were wondering where he hid it. It was missing and we still can’t find it.
This is the last picture he looked well on Thursday in near by park.
He started to show decline and stopped eating. We waited one day hoping he would pass another sandal piece. Instead, he had a huge black diarrhea in the morning. We rushed to animal emergency care and took X-ray and blood test costing another $1000. X ray showed two stones and full of stuff in his stomach. I thought he ate the toy! We were referred to a bigger facility for a surgery. Then the surgeon suggested to go to an internal specialist because he didn’t think Lucky could handle anesthesia and something else was going on internally but we thought stone removal was the primary concern for his comfort. The surgeon told us to come back to remove stones within 2 days. If we had to do the procedure in such a short time, I preferred to remove stones first and go to the specialist. Anyway it was weekend and no specialists were working any ERs. I thought he might not wake up from anesthesia so we requested to see Lucky before the surgery. Kissing his head many times with a lot of emotions was too much for him. He bit my upper lip
Meanwhile we were at the urgent care for my lip, the surgeon tried about an hour and half to remove stones but Lucky couldn’t handle anesthesia anymore. All he got was grass he was eating aggressively for nausea and stones remained, costing another $2000. We got a blood thinner prescribed for him and came home around midnight. It was a true nightmare. Saturday we were observing Lucky being so lethargic but still restless trying to throw up or pooping. On Sunday afternoon, he couldn’t stop walking because of pain. I called all ER in our area but no internal specialist was on duty, even 1 hour away drive. He started drooling but he still stood on his hind legs looking at me.
We took him to another ER for comfort. He got a fluid shot and anti nausea medication and pain killer was prescribed as needed. He had bleeding in GI. Asked the doctor if he was dying. He said no. However, his condition kept getting worse and finally he bit metals, destroying things, and black liquid was coming from his end while walking. I thought it looked like he had rabies but medical assistant on the phone said it could be anything because of the extreme pain. I gave him the pain killer orally but it seemed like not working with so much drooling on his mouth. Hours later, he pushed himself into the corner and finally became quiet. Since he was still breathing, we thought the sedative pain killer was finally working. If he survived through this condition, I thought he was the toughest dog in the world. We let him stay there and cleaned up the room and decided to wait until in the morning. It was July 15th. Exactly 2 months after we found him. In my sleep, I heard the voice saying “dead”. I was afraid of checking him but I went to put a blanket on him after a few hours of sleep. When I saw him at 3:28AM, he was already stiff and cold. I believe he was already gone when he turned his neck before midnight (7/14). Because of his liver condition, no doctors wanted to give him pain killer. It must be such a horrible pain he had to go through. Now he is pain free in the heaven. I can’t believe that he showed up like a tornado and left us like a tornado. Ken said it was like 10 years of experiences in 2 months. I don’t know if we were meant to encounter him but I have so much nice memories with him. He opened us new opportunities that we never knew about. I love him so much. Still moaning. We brought him to the same ER for his cremation before my work. Our house is so quiet without him. When I went to work, I couldn’t get into the building because police were blocking the whole building complex. Something happened.
Since the investigation would take a whole day, I got unexpected day off. Our life is back to the same way as two month ago. Later I saw the news. It was a fatal shooting at the second floor of the building I work on the first floor. It was overwhelming after all the things happened but it took my mind away from thinking about Lucky for a second. I came to work today. Looks like businesses are back to normal. I am writing this thinking about my baby, Lucky. So angry toward whoever dumped him in the first place. Lucky, I am sorry that I couldn’t save you and my lack of knowledge about dogs. I miss you so much. Rest in peace, Lucky I love you.
I believe Lucky came to save us. He took all the bad luck away from us. Thank you, Lucky
We had a great time at Kogetsu hotel. They prepared Ken’s breakfast less sodium, too.
Checking out
First we visited Iyashi no Sato. I used to see these roofs when I was a kid. Now we hardly ever see them.
Then caves were near by so we stopped at both caves: Wind cave and Ice cave.
Glowing green moss is food for creatures without eyes in the cave.
On the way to Fuji Subaru line.
Google map took us to the place where we couldn’t go on Subaru line. It was closed for winter. We gave up and headed to Lake Yamanaka. It was foggy by the time we got to the lake. We decided to have dinner. This restaurant was crowded so we thought the food was good. Some famous people visited there such as Kumiko Goto, Michael Fujioka etc. but they weren’t my favorite except this guy I liked in the past
Yamanashi’s famous Hoto. Just a thick udon noodles
We asked for no source for tempura and fried egg plants for Ken, successfully less sodium.
Checked in this hotel. Mostly foreign guests were there. View is obstructed but still a huge Mt. Fuji.
I reserved today’s accommodation over 6 months ago. I had to contact them by email because their website was always sold out. After the big breakfast buffet, we rented a car and headed to Lake Kawaguchi.
Shutoko (Tokyo highway), was so confusing because the rental car company didn’t include ETC card. Most of the entrances were ETC only. We drove extra 30 minutes to find the entrance without the restriction. After we got on Central highway, driving went smoothly. As we coming out from the highway tunnel, suddenly Mt. Fuji was in front of us. We were impressed of its size and beauty
Soon after, we got to Kawaguchiko area. Because we had extra time until check in, we turned back and visited Arakurayama Sengen Park. Google map didn’t take us to the right route. Streets were too narrow but we went as close as possible and found a parking that was offered at the local house for 1000 yen. When we got there, this show just started. “No” which is Japanese traditional play. I just took pictures and started the big climb.
Since Ken has his heart condition, we took many breaks and slowly went up stairs. His condition requires exercises.
Luckily the weather was perfect.
Even it was too early for cherry blossoms, we still enjoyed the incredible views. This view is one of the most famous views that represent Japan. It was one of my higher bucket list to take pictures of this view. We waited in line about half an hour to get to the observation deck and were only allowed to stay for 5 minutes.
I was cracking up Ken’s face for the shots for this important place. Now I think his medication was making him dizzy and unable to think well.
It looks like clouds came out of his foggy brain His blood pressure medication is very strong right after he takes it I worry.
We wrote our wishes
We arrived at our hotel! Incredible view and very nice room
I am glad that we didn’t eat before we arrived. Nice welcome sweets!
Looks like clouds evaporating from the top of the mountain.
Yukata!
Hot spring
Ken stayed at our room taking a brief bath considering his condition.
Dinner was amazing! It was my first time having a private in-room dining other than company parties.
Love Moon themed plates. Mom’s symbol
Cheers with Sakura sake. Cute rabbit and moon.
I want this plate for my mom’s alter.
Each luxury items such as sharks fin, Japanese beef, fatty tuna, abalone, Taraba crab, and more in tiny dishes making us full. The chef specially made Ken’s dinner less sodium.
And rice balls are for midnight snack. Wow!
Because of jet lag, we get sleepy around 6-7pm. I could hardly stayed up for the TV show Ryota was on. I feel so much luxury to see him on TV real time as I struggle to find him in US. It’s been probably about 3 decades since I saw this show with Shinsuke Shimada last time. Sanma’s show is totally different. I also half slept during Gene kou graduation
The market in front of the Toyosu Ichiba was so crowded that we could see from our room. We briefly explored but we didn’t eat there since we were full from the hotel breakfast.
I planned many months in advance to see cherry blossoms. Here we were at Meguro River Cherry Blossom Festival but no blossom
Then the second reason here to see my Oshi’s entertainment office. We planned to get coffee and take some medications at Amazing Coffee but it was so crowded. Pass!
Pink was only festival signs
It’s been about 6 months I started being a fan of their product
Ken was surprised how small the fire truck was! So cute
Next to Exile Tribe Station. No wonder there were less people because they distributed tickets for the entry. Next one was an hour and a half away. Pass!
Heading toward the festival beyond the chimney.
Max was this
We got free Häagen-Dazs ice creams at the festival and quickly left. Ume on the street?
I got tired of crowds and it was a wrong choice to come on Saturday. We tried to go to Shibuya Sky but it was sold out. Just for a little break from walking, we had fruits and left Shibuya quickly. It is so hard to find Ken’s special diet food.
I wish we knew the market in front of our hotel was still open. Already got back to the hotel room and prepared to watch the last show of Gene Kou at my first time watching live. Congratulations on completing 7 years of the show! Love Generations and Ryota
I didn’t have a chance to write blogs for a long time. Ken was diagnosed with heart failure and got out of hospital in January. Ever since I have been cooking no salt, limited proteins, less potassium/phosphorus food for him. I didn’t know if this trip could come true but we made it to Tokyo last night. This time we chose a hotel at the bay. The famous fish market is in front of our room. Because of the jet lag, we woke up early and caught the tuna auction, Maguro seri.
Since we saw it from the second floor over the glasses, it wasn’t exciting as I thought
Ken is much more slim now.
The hotel front desk didn’t give us a water view room but the breakfast was wonderful! I am so glad that Ken can find no salt food.
It was raining in the morning and Skytree was covered by fogs.
When we left the hotel, extremely strong winds were blowing. It was my first time that my whole body was pushed hard by the wind The train was temporarily stopped and we heard emergency vehicles’ sirens. I almost cancelled the Skytree tickets but the train started moving. Whew!
It was supposed to be sunny after our ticket time. Right on schedule
Ken likes no torso characters
Tembo Kairo
My. Fuji wasn’t visible.
Glass floor
On the way back, we stopped Odaiba to find dinner. Fuji TV station. I came here over 30 years ago I guess.
We decided to get Shabushabu because Ken could dip thin pieces of meat into no salt broth.
After checked out, we walked around the hotel. It rained earlier but cleared out. Very beautiful day. USA is Independence Day.
Ken’s eyes look weird in all five pictures I took here. Was it because he was grumpy Oh well it’s on World Wide Web
We took an advice from the waiter at Stoos Lodge restaurant and tried to catch a lift from Morschach. At the station, nobody was there and our tickets didn’t work on the machine We had to go back to Schwyz to solve the problem. Google navigated us to skinny mountain unpaved roads and we had to go pass the narrow bridge which looked like only enough for bicycles. It was quite nice view but we were stressed out because the roads got narrower and narrower. Finally we arrived at the Funicular station and asked what was going on. They figured out that the all inclusive peak pass tickets had to be used FROM Stoos We ride the Funicular again to Stoos. The same location where I took a picture of Ken catching me up here previous day. He was leading me this time
I think it was the longest and steepest lift I have ever taken. The view was amazing!!!
Almost top!
Wow What a paradise!
When I saw Eze village garden in France, I thought it was the most beautiful view in the world. Then Santrini in Greece overwrote my top view then Villa Barbianello in Como lake in Italy then Matterhorn Rifflesee then this! Because this mountain is not as high as Jongfrau or Gornergrat, we can still see the villages underneath and color of the lake was emerald green Definitely worth the trip to Switzerland (I planned this trip around this activity).
We can see our hotel Seehotel in Brunnen.
Friendly cows
Nice pic!
Cow was licking Ken’s arm
Baby goats were so cute! They were playing on the top of logs until kids scared them away
Going back.
My phone battery was dead so I used Ken’s phone to take pictures.
Yesterday we got exhausted after a lot of activities. We went to Rhine Falls, the biggest waterfall in Europe. I thought these cows were so cute when I saw them online.
We took pictures on each spot as we go down the stairs.
Raging water
How to take a boat was ambiguous online, but it went easy. Yellow boat is the one which goes to the island in the middle. In order to get to the boat departure gate, first we had to get to the other side by the red boat.
Then yellow one departured soon after the red one arrived.
Arrived on the island! This experience is unique compared to Niagara Falls which we visited about 10 years ago. We were more excited at Niagara falls because it was our first time and I think the scale was bigger. We didn’t get wet on the boat here.
Now on the top. People took turns to take photos on this spot.
The person who took pictures for us didn’t do well
Time to go back
We quickly left Rhine Falls and decided to go to Funicular since a two day pass is only 5 Franc more.
Stoosbahn The world steepest train!
Going up
This shows how steep it goes up
At Stoos!
People were leaving since we arrived there in the late afternoon.
Then we took a wrong train and went back to the bottom station.
After playing these funny chairs and did some shopping, we went up again.
The ride feels like only a few minutes. The last car has a better view.
Here to eat dinner. I had such a great carbonara last Swiss trip but this time no no.
It is confusing to find another rides. We looked for the lift station.
Dokodemo door!
I became Heidi Oshiete ojiisan
Ken is tired after drinking. I left him up there
Finally found it, the station to go to Fronalpstock. This is for tomorrow adventure.
Almost time for the funicular.
Back to the beautiful hotel but no air conditioning It’s ok! I still love this hotel except the snobby mean asshole front desk old fart
I guess I do have a jet lag. I get so sleepy after dinner and sleep until 2:30AM or so. Then I start writing a blog. This time I took so many pictures and selecting good ones is a lot of work. If I don’t do it now, I will never do it I love traveling and making memories. Photos are important.
Hotel breakfast was in the same room. Without a reservation, we got the best outdoor seating. Last night was such a hustle. We had to battle to get a great table.
After checking out, we had to move our car. I thought all parking spaces were occupied but luckily we caught a somebody leaving one spot. We almost left for the next destination because of the parking issue. I am glad that we got to explore the town.
We started from a quiet street.
Then we took the boat from this spot. Just a great timing. It was about to leave and we were seated in the back. They are called Little Venice mimicking the boat ride in Italy. Ken refused to do it because it looked dumb but the ride was smooth and fun.
I guess these swans are always there.
Looking buildings from the different angles are also nice.
Our guide driving the boat. He said different colors of the buildings stand for different occupations:
Yellow = Butcher, Blue = Fisherman and we couldn’t remember others
Going under the bridges, we had to lower our heads in order to pass them. Not this one but we were approaching to our hotel.
I like cute iron plate signs.
The boat went to the calming area and turned around.
Passing in front of our hotel.
That’s where we ate dinner and breakfast.
Strolling.
So pretty everywhere! I get less crowded than Saturday.
This is where I got my souvenirs.
Inside the church, the service was going on.
Pretty window showcases!
Later Trolley guide said this building was from 1600 something with over 100 human faces.
Colmar is bigger than I thought. We took this trolley. It was reasonably priced 7.50 euro each.
Bye bye Colmar!
Wow! Our next hotel looks better than I thought
So calming and beautiful! I like countryside better than cities.
Again! They tried to give us a cheaper room I argued that I reserved Executive room which has two windows but they gave us one window room. Why do we have to go through this in this country (including Colmar) all the time? After all, we got the room we reserved. Quickly forgot about the bad start and had dinner.
Good salad!
Snow mountains!
Because we couldn’t read the menu, we ordered a 3 course menu. No more course menus, so expensive
I love artists who are nice to their fans. He is the coolest 
My kitty cats are indoor cats so the cat door was open for Lucky only. But this stray cat came in! No wonder he was barking 
It was my second antibiotics was just finished. I got the third antibiotics. I started to wonder if he was suitable to our living situation but I had to finish his antibiotics which was prescribed for 2 weeks before we find his new owner. I loved him so much regardless of the fear of rabies and bites. He bit me because there were reasons but I was mad at the third time. I threw him away to our deck wrapped in the blanket and locked the cat door until I came back from the hospital. One day when I was sitting in the sunroom with Lucky, I saw fast flying birds in dusk, looked like bats! High possibility of rabies in bats and made me even worried. Back and forth of hospitals, vet visits plus regular routine with pain from bites, I needed a break. I rented a cabin for my birthday and brought Lucky with us. I believe it was one or two days before my BD, my sandals were destroyed by him. Big parts were missing but I thought we would find them somewhere else. We were uneducated dog owners, my excuse. I should’ve checked carefully. I loved the cabin called Blue Jay in Lake Arrowhead. Creek was next to it and cool temperature under all the trees was so nice in July of Southern California. Less people! Perfect for Lucky! 
I work on the first floor. It was overwhelming after all the things happened but it took my mind away from thinking about Lucky for a second. I came to work today. Looks like businesses are back to normal. I am writing this thinking about my baby, Lucky. So angry toward whoever dumped him in the first place. Lucky, I am sorry that I couldn’t save you and my lack of knowledge about dogs. I miss you so much. Rest in peace, Lucky 
I love you.
We had to go back to Schwyz to solve the problem. Google navigated us to skinny mountain unpaved roads and we had to go pass the narrow bridge which looked like only enough for bicycles. It was quite nice view but we were stressed out because the roads got narrower and narrower. Finally we arrived at the Funicular station and asked what was going on. They figured out that the all inclusive peak pass tickets had to be used FROM Stoos 
We ride the Funicular again to Stoos. The same location where I took a picture of Ken catching me up here previous day. He was leading me this time 
The world steepest train! 
