In Tokyo we visited a site called TeamLab-Planet, a name that was completely meaningless to us. The place had been recommended, so we were going mostly on trust. When we arrived, they asked that we take off our shoes and socks, and roll up our pant legs. That's different! Obviously, this was going to be fun! The experience involved wandering through rooms covered with mirrors, wading knee deep through a room filled with water and disco lights, playing with giant colored spheres, and much more. The name is still a mystery, but if you're ever in Tokyo, don't miss it!

Blue, But Definitely Not Sad, In Tokyo

News & Notes

• In March we visited our friends Beth and Dale in Charleston SC. Charleston has a long and fascinating history that dates back to the founding of the colonies. It also has very interesting biology, especially their Live Oaks. We saw several enormous Live Oaks, but the Angel Oak was beyond description. It's huge and it sprawls across the countryside. It was a delightful visit and we're eager to return.

  

  Dale, Beth and L at the Middleton Place Plantation's Huge Live Oak

  
  

• Next, we spent four weeks in Japan. Our goal was to visit the top 10 Japanese Gardens; we'd seen a few, but we needed to complete the list. The task gave us a good chance to travel around Japan, because only a few of the best gardens are in the "usual" cities. In addition to Tokyo and Kyoto, we trained to Mito, Nara, Okayama, Yasugi, Takamatsu, Naruto and Matsuyama. A few details about some of the gardens and the other things we did in Japan besides TeamLab-Planet are described in our ePostcards from the trip.

  

  Katsura Imperial Villa Garden, Kyoto

  
  

• All excited about Japanese gardening, we returned to Spring rains in Seattle. So, we left for Catskill, New York to see Dave and Anna and her dogs Charlie and Frankie, two good boys. Though Anna and the pups had been part of our video chats for nearly a year, this was our first time to meet her in person. We had a terrific week together, including morel hunting in the early Spring Northeast Forest, a visit to the 1820 house they are rehabbing, visits to the cidery, where we checked out the view from the front door across Catskill Creek, a hike up to Vroman's Nose (a prominent mountain outcrop with spectacular scenery), and general hanging out. We even got a chance to tour an American Garden ... not the same.

  

  Charlie, Dave, Frankie, Anna, L