Kamakura

I've never been very good with directions. Ask any one of my friends who have been on road trips with me and they can attest to that fact. Every time Mike and I go on a trip where I have to navigate, I get cranky and pouty about having to do so, but really it's just to cover up my nervousness.

Because Mike has been out of town and my mom is only here for a few days, we couldn't wait until he got back to start exploring Japan. I had to step up and try to overcome my lack of direction sense. Which is much, much harder to do in Japan where trains are the favorite mode of transportation and I can't understand the language.

I almost failed in my goal to take my mom and Josh to see the Great Buddha in Kamakura. But after a typo on the direction sheet which caused us to go back and forth on the wrong train for an hour, asking for directions and then being told to get on the wrong platform, going up and down flights of stairs with a stroller, and dealing with a moody thirteen year old who kept giving me the 'you're an idiot' look, I finally got us there. I tried to convince my mom and Josh that you can't have a true Japanese experience without getting a little lost on the train system.

We almost gave up, but there was no way I went through all that and NOT make it to the destination. I would never hear the end of it from the thirteen year old. Not to mention my husband.

At least my sweet baby was a good sport through it all. She babbled and smiled and charmed all the people around her on the train.