Byodo-In Temple and the nut farm

Continuing our Majestic Grand Circle Island Tour, we visited a Buddhist Temple established around the turn of the century by a Japanese monk.

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Quite beautiful don’t you think?  And that’s a million-dollar backdrop…

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A little closer and different angle.  What you can’t see from the photo (or in real life for that matter) is the nails used for construction.  That’s because no nails were used.  Don’t ask me how, maybe it was a freakin’ miracle.

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The Temple’s primary resident…

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There was of course the traditional bell…

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…well I’m not a particularly religious man, but nothing ventured nothing gained…

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…I mean happiness and long life are worth the effort…

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Of course, some would argue I’ve already had a long life, but why take chances?

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Next stop was the nut farm, but I escaped.  Not before buying some chocolate covered macadamias for the folks at the office and a bag of nuts for my pal Jenn of I Got 2 Shoes fame.

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If I understood correctly, these are the founders of the nut farm.  The current owner greeted us warmly, gave out free samples of Kona coffee and various varieties of his nutty concoctions.  Real friendly guy and seemed genuinely happy to have us visit.  But then again, we all were spending money.   But I’m sure he would have been nice regardless.

Anyway, that’s it for tonight.  I’m off to the first round of the playoffs which will feature the Rubbies versus Cake Mix at Dillinger’s Bar.  I’m there as a fan rather than a player this time…

Alastair the Scot ties the knot

I had the honor of attending the wedding ceremony of a great couple, Alastair Tarbett and Juri Jeon.  I’ll let the pictures tell the story…

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As Joe Walsh REO Speedwagon (thanks Nomad) said, “you can tune a piano but you can’t tuna fish”.  We did however enjoy tasty morsels from this one after the ceremony.

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Some of the guests hanging around outside on the deck.  The wedding took place on a floating wedding hall docked alongside the Han River.

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Alastair’s parents flew in from Glasgow, Scotland for the big event.  Another big event, the Iceland volcano, almost prevented them from getting here, but they persevered through various trials and tribulations and made it to the “church” on time.

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This trio regaled us with fine music…

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Jee Yuen poses with the parents of the groom…

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One of the more handsome guests in attendance…

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Alastair awaits his cue…

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The bride is escorted up the aisle by her soon to be father-in-law.

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Ain’t she sweet?

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I’m not sure what is going through Alistair’s head as he makes his way up the aisle…

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The traditional bow before the vows…

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They both said “I do”.  Well, technically Juri said “nea” which we all understood to be “yes”.

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A kiss for the bride…

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…a bow to the parents…

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…and a demonstration of strength as required by Korean custom…

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The cutting of the cake which symbolizes the joining of the two families…

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I’ll be attending Margaret and Matt’s wedding in June…

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The Orrico family minus Dan who had TDY in Hawaii…

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Jim Dewey looking dapper as usual…

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Even all the ducks were in a row… (ahem).

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The newly married Alistair demonstrating his ability to multitask.

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Juri and Jee Yuen.

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The bride shows off her sexy shoes…

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Alan’s kilt was a real chick magnet.  I’m thinking I should celebrate my Scottish heritage and get one too….

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So the wedding party moved from the Han river to Dolce Vita…

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…and of course a dart tournament broke out…

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…and a good time was had by all…

Congratulations to Alastair and Juri!