8:30am
There’s a typhoon arriving. We received notice at 6:30am that school has been cancelled for today, Tuesday, September 20. This is our first weather-related school closure ever. While that’s very exciting I also wonder how bad the wind and rain is going to get. The hourly weather report says that right now is the calm before the storm. It is 8:30am and it’s already raining fairly hard by our California standards. The real wind tunnel and downpour is forecast to start around noon.
It’s a good thing I biked to the store last night (in light rain) and made 2 pots of beef and veggie curry. We can have leftovers today. I also have a big box of Swiss Miss hot chocolate from Costco on hand. Stay tuned!
12:00 noon
Well that was crazy! We decided to head outside and experience the typhoon. Since Q’s Mall is only a 5 minute walk away I figured we could walk in the rain for 5 minutes. Only John has a proper Marmot rain jacket. Avalon’s friend had given her rain boots but they don’t seem to have made it to Japan. Darn. Everyone except Halyard picked an umbrella and headed out in the wind and rain. There was a big crowd at Aeon, probably buying last minute storm supplies for the pantry and fridge. Then we went to Sports Depo for indoor gym and tennis shoes for Kaiyo. He had a meltdown about shopping so we had to leave. Avalon and Kaiyo wanted to hit the arcade before heading home, of course, but the wind was getting worse by the minute. John and I tucked into Starbucks and gave them a 20 minute window to go to the arcade.
By the time they came back to Starbucks the wind was howling! We had been watching people walk by doing battle with their umbrellas and trying to walk straight. Some people had little babies in front carriers. Just another day for Japanese natives! We gave the kids a talk about how to hold an umbrella in the howling wind. Turn the umbrella into the wind. Hold tight with two hands. Close it a little if it starts to get out of control. It didn’t matter. Both of their umbrellas flipped inside out a few times. Avalon pretended to be Mary Poppins flying through the wind.
Rainy day thoughts from Avalon:
It was crazy choice, even though we got to go to the arcade, anyway, so at first it wasn’t so bad, but it also wasn’t good. In Japan right now it is Tuesday! Yesterday we had no school, due to a holiday called respect for the aged day and today we have no school due to bad weather! This is something that never would happen in Cal! So Kaiyo’s umbrella flipped out twice, mine (Avalon’s) flipped inside out three times! And my dad’s umbrella flipped out zero times and my mom the same. So on our way home we had to go through a parking garage short cut to get back. We got so wet that it was like a water park! So now the boys will give you more details!!! Love, Avalon
Rainy day thoughts from Halyard (no photo because he stayed inside in his PJs all day):
Well, Avalon’s gone, I guess that means I’m stuck here now. There’s a nice, calming effect that rain has, and I think it has to do with the fact that the only day you don’t fear melanoma in California is on days like these. Apparently there’s a typhoon outside, I wouldn’t know, cause the second best thing about rainy days is having an excuse to stay inside. There was supposed to be school but, I guess 60-mph winds are what it takes for them to realize that it might not be safe to go. So here I am, and surprise, surprise, actually enjoying myself on a weekday. Right now is the only time that I’ll probably ever say this, but I really wish we had a test today. Anyways, one of the many pluses to lazy days is not having to think, and this blog is making my head work way harder than I’d prefer. Maybe I can get Kaiyo to write my next post.
-Halyard
Rainy day thoughts from Kaiyo:
Today we had no school because of a typhoon. So we decided to go to Q’s mall, which is an outdoor mall, in the middle of it all!!! Going there wasn’t too bad, we got some groceries and hit up an arcade. At the arcade, there was a Pokemon game where you battle and catch Pokemon and at the end you can keep a disc with all the stats. You can also use the Pokemon in other battles. I caught a Prinplup which I evolved next battle into an Empoleon. Overall, it was lots of fun, all worth the journey in the typhoon. When we got home, our socks were soaked beyond belief. The umbrellas constantly flipped inside-out, but turning them back into the wind easily restored them. After around 10 minutes, but what felt like 30, we finally got back home, completely soaked.
From, Kaiyo
Now it’s time for a curry lunch and hot chocolate!
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