Crunchy shells and dead poultry

Off to the beach this weekend!
Yes, just ask Ira if you want to head to the beach here in Japan. He knows. He studied the map for 3 hours. And who cares that it would take 2 1/2 hours in some stand still traffic--we're going to the beach! It's sunny! it's warm ! the air smells sooooooo good with the humidity and everything blooming. I can't wait to get my toes into the sand. It's been so long. I think I may have gotten my toes in the sand in Guam last Feb, but I really don't remember. I was too consumed with giving all my kids massive quantities of childrens tylenol and motrin from the flu. I was also too consumed with happiness that there was a K-mart within walking distance of our hotel where I could buy more massive quantities of tylenol and motrin.
( I think I brought back to Japan about $900.00 worth of tylenol and motrin). ---I will continue my side note here---there are no over-the-counter child meds here in Japan. So if your baby has a fever, or teething pain or a headache or whatever, and you need a bit of relief, you actually have to make a Doctors appt.
After you get to the Dr., and get diagnosed, (assuming you go to an English speaking Dr, otherwise you just don't know what the diagnosis is) you then pay $900.00 for the 'diagnosis' (headache) and then get a prescription that costs about $700.00 for a powdered type something, which you then have to mix with a liquid and give it to your baby to drink. I was so scared I thought it was going to kill my baby girl. Everything is in decimeters and kilograms and milliliters and you have to measure and I JUST DON'T REMEMBER all that from the 2 weeks we studied it back in the 4th grade!!!!!!! So Ira and I kinda had to wing it and then just watched the baby closely in hopes she didn't start convulsing or something. I know---what the heck am I so worried about? You'd think we were living in the Congo or something. This is a civilized country with a very high birth rate and the average life expectancy is probably like 125. I guess when the Doctor speaks maybe 5% English which is very broken, he sounds like he just doesn't know what he is talking about. But you have to tell yourself- he is a DOCTOR. He speaks Japanese, in Japan. Because he doesn't speak English well doesn't mean he is an idiot. *I* am the idiot for thinking that. When I speak Japanese and string maybe a sentence of 4 words together and think I am brilliant, the Japanese are thinking "what an idiot". I am sure. But anyway, that's all over and I am well-stocked with tylenol and you can see why it brings me such pleasure. Back to the beach!

What a winner. Yes, that's where the crunchy shells and more part comes in. The visual imagery of this beach is really quite memorable.

I first got suspicious when I saw way too many rusted cans that looked to be 100 years old. And what do kids do when they get to the beach? 1) shriek 2) take shoes off


then came the bits of glass, cigarette lighters, and lots of dead things.






Which way to the better beach? That-a-way?


Taken from a bridge, the canal that fed into the ocean.









More finds.....A cute little boy who was running around while his dad fished
Heavy duty latex gloves? light bulbs? Any ideas? My guess is that much of this stuff washed up on shore from somewhere. And I don't know if those are "real" false teeth. Wasn't going to touch them. Even with a stick.
Kinda surprised...usually don't see trashy stuff like this around Japan. Made me feel like I was somewhere back home! A delightful day. Got home by 3pm. Oh, lastly-- the wind was blowing like 90 miles per hour so you had to scream like you were being murdered for anyone to hear you. fun.