February 1, 4am: Our son, Beau Chiyofuji* Hoover was born during the wildest snowstorm to hit Tokyo in 6 years. 24 hours and 4 minutes after his birth, the strongest earthquake in 6 years shook Tokyo. Wow!
Beau was delivered with the help of his exultant dad (he cut the umbilical cord) and a gentle midwife, in the intimacy of her traditional Japanese home. Tokyo was magically quiet; the snowfall had drastically reduced normal traffic, and muffled what little was left. We felt truly blessed.
*Chiyofuji means "an eternity of (Mt.) Fuji" and was adapted from Chiyonofuji, an awe-inspiring Grand Champion sumo wrestler. This legendary athlete had his retirement ceremony the day Beau was born.
June 22: We embarked on our 2-month journey across Siberia and Europe for home. With 200-plus disposable diapers, we traveled on a Russian boat from Yokohama Harbor to Vladivostock, a former military port city newly opened to the West.
June 25 & 26: We walked the crumbling, bustling city goggle-eyed. Impressions: Wide streets with huge pot holes and buckling sidewalks... Used Japanese cars (with ads in Japanese) and clunky Soviet cars (spewing foul exhaust)... Fashion-conscious women with western values (bleached hair, lots of make-up and lacy panty-hose)... Imposing Lenin statues and Stalinist mosaics (locals ignored them)... Shopping challenging, but prices very low (for us)... Lines for bread... Mounds of blackening cabbages and bruised fruits for sale... For-show-only (i.e., broken) TV in our $120-a-room hotel...
Siberia in late June, as seen from the "Trans-Siberian Express", looked heavenly. We watched mighty rivers, infinite trees (a third of the earth's), and lush green meadows graced with colorful lilies and irises blurring by us. It goes on for thousands of miles. Thanks to Ambassador Beau, we befriended Russian passengers easily. What other American tourists got the privilege of hearing Russian children's songs?
We traveled on the Trans-Siberian Express in two three-day segments. On the unbearably hot Day One, Beau wore just a diaper. Soot (coal is used for the samovar) flew in from the open window and blackened his sweaty body as well as his teething toys. Day Two was nicer, with occasional stops at stations where we bought steaming potatoes from enterprising babushkas (older women). On Day Three, we disembarked at Irkutsk, to check out this former "Paris of Siberia" and the nearby Lake Baikal. Imagine, a lake with 20% of the world's fresh water! Regardless of the reports about the pollution there, it is magnificent.
In Irkutsk, we tried to picture the dusty city in its hey day. Stalin ordered churches and the cathedral blown up, but we saw several boarded-up churches in disrepair with ornate details (some now under renovation). The boulevards with noisy, dirty orange street cars must have once sported fine carriages with fancy passengers... Then, we reboarded the Trans-Siberian for Moscow. When we reached Novosibirsk, this 3-day leg became more of an adventure than anticipated. Like in a nightmare, the train left the station a few minutes earlier than scheduled. We were stranded.
July 2 & 3: Ugh! No passports. Three diapers, credit cards, some change, and a phrase book in our fanny pack. A kilo of cherries that we just bought. Were we insane traveling with our 5 month old son? After some desperate pantomiming and quickly learning words in our phrase book (e.g., "Help"), we found that Novosibirsk had a competent English-speaking travel agent and an airport. What came next was a test in endurance and trust. This ordeal included two taxi rides (one through a downpour and one at dawn), four weary hours at a dark Soviet-style hotel for Aeroflot employees (80 cents per person), begging a pilot to let us board a plane filled to capacity, a wild 4:40 am flight (Nathan rode without a seatbelt with the navigator in the transparent nose of the plane) to Sverdlovsk (now renamed Yekaterinburg), a grueling 9-hour wait in its train station, and a 100 meter dash on a crowded the train platform. Then, after 21 incredible hours, we were thankfully reunited with our first class cabin (with the rest of Beau's diapers) and a very relieved train conductor. We were worn out but Beau was fine!
This experience, more than any other, helped us to get a glimpse into the hardships of the average Russian. The airport was littered with sleeping passengers contending with undependable schedules. Mothers traveling with babies had the hardest jobs of all. Since diapers are non-existent, moms are constantly washing and drying baby tights; there were four pairs drip-drying from the luggage rack in the plane. Occasionally, we'd hear a trickle, and it's the babe in mom's arms. (Too bad about that new dress, but it'll dry...) We watched families sharing meals, brothers and sisters playing and fighting, beggars searching through the garbage, and teenagers playing 80's Japanese video games. Smiling was uncommon, and exercising patience routine.
July 4-6: Two full days in Moscow was too short, but it was great. The Kremlin and Red Square was impressive, but we were more moved by the vitality (& necessity) of people selling things everywhere. We felt really special because Jhenia, a wonderful tour guide, took a liking to Beau, and had us at her apartment for tea and pancakes.
We had a scenic, mostly rural 1-1/2 day train trip to Bucharest, Romania. Things went OK until we got to the border. At 1am, we sleepily handed our passports to the customs officials for inspection, and didn't realize they got off the train with them until 7am. (Oops. We forgot the bribe!) We retrieved them two days later, but only because Ambassador Beau had befriended and enlisted the help of a bilingual Romanian man, and the American Consulate intervened. But if they can't get you coming, they'll get you going. The custom official who "forgot" to return our passports pre-dated our entry by a month, making it seem like we had overstayed our visa. Needless to say, we learned a bit about how Eastern Europe operates. Eventually, we escaped Romania, by slipping two $5 bills to a drunk train conductor. We rode in his compartment while he passed out in the tea room.
July 11-16: Bulgaria seemed less troubled than Romania. Still, it is Eastern European, and accurate information is often hard to come by-- you have to have flexible travel plans. We spent a few laid back days on the Black Sea coast. Nathan got pick-pocketed. Then we took an overnight boat to Istanbul, Turkey, where we had no choice but to bribe the officials to enter the country.
Istanbul seemed like Tokyo! Compared to Russia, Romania, or Bulgaria, it was the land of plenty (even disposable diapers were available), with crazy traffic and people everywhere. Inexpensive, exotic, and hospitable, we wished we had more than the 6 days there, and plan to go back for sure. From Izmir, on the Aegean Sea, we took a 3-day boat trip to Venice. This was the most relaxing part of the trip so far, with smooth sailing and scenic vistas of the Greek Isles.
Arriving in Venice by boat, gliding by San Marcos and the Grand Canal, was absolutely exciting. But, take it from us, summer is the wrong time to visit Venice. Humidity, heat, and the crowds drove us out in two days. We escaped to Lucerne, Switzerland, to stay with our friends Martin and Daniella for 5 days. With comfortable weather, swimming in the lake, mountain bike rides, fantastic meals and great company, we couldn't have asked for more.
When our train reached Salzburg, Vicky, Nathan's mother, met us at the station. She really loved seeing her first grand-baby again, and we spent four fun days being tourists in this amazing city. Beau went for his first swim in a Salzburg swimming pool and loved it.
Our next stop was Berlin, but the train schedule allowed us to pass through Czechoslovakia. We had one quick fun day in Prague -- what an enchanting city -- then pressed on for Berlin. There, we spent a day sightseeing with Bill, Nathan's father, there for a physics conference. Kids now ride their skateboards under the Brandenburg Gate, freely passing from East to West and vice versa. The souvenir stands are bursting with Russian military apparel and chips from "The Wall."
Our last stop in continental Europe was the city of Hamburg, where Nathan's grandmother was born and met Nathan's grandfather. The second day of our stay there was the hottest in 100 years, and we did little sightseeing, but the boat ride down the River Elbe and across to England was nice and cool.
What a relief to arrive somewhere where we speak the language! The 8 days in England was practically the only real "vacation" part of our whole trip. With a rental car, we had the freedom to visit friends, hike in the woods with the Kellys, and spend a few nights in amazing 400-year- old bed & breakfast pubs. We also got to skinny-dip in the Channel, explore Corfe Castle, Stonehenge, and even downtown London. We liked it as much as our last visit to England nearly ten years ago.
August 19: The last day in England was also our first day in America, and quite unreal. We said good-bye to the Cliftons, and drove to Heathrow airport. After an easy 10-hour flight direct to LA, we rented another car. Soon we were relaxing in Thousand Oaks with our friends Mike and Lisa, who just moved back from Japan in April. Such a strangely fun culture shock!
Next stop was Santa Barbara. There, Beau, the "Trans-Siberian Baby" introduced himself to his three California great-grandparents (he met his Japanese great-grandmother in May). We grieved that Beau missed the chance to get to know his great-grandfather, Bump, who passed away in July. We miss him. On Grace's birthday, August 23, we drove to the Bay Area to end our once-in-a-lifetime trip. Beau's Aunt Frannie and Uncle Billy (and their spunky cat, Spalding) in Oakland graciously welcomed us in their home while we set about starting a new life.
It turned out the odyssey wasn't over yet. During the next 9 days, we bought a new truck, Nathan started a new job at HaL Computer Systems, and we moved into an apartment in Los Gatos. Reunions with Grace's side of the family (Emery, Masako, Tom, Candace, Sarah, Hossein, Joseph, Mena, Mieko, Mitch, Micah) kept us busy, too. Our belongings from Japan arrived a couple of days later, but we had hardly unpacked when house fever soon overcame us!
By the beginning of October, we had a signed contract for a cozy and fantastic house in Los Gatos, and thought we had it made. We weren't prepared for all the hassles of loan approval, inspections, and the other endless details that go with buying a house. Then, finally, on Friday, November 13 (the 100-month anniversary of our wedding), the house was ours.
We moved that weekend, with lots of help from loyal friends. Buying our house was such a headache that we vowed never ever to sell it! Now, a month later, we're feeling a little more settled in, and we love it. The house is small (ample by Japanese standards), surrounded by lots of trees, and on a funky alley, which makes us feel at home. The detached studio doubles as Grace's consulting room and a guest house. So come visit!!!
Beau started the trip home as a 4 1/2 month old who would just lie where we put him. Now, at 10 1/2 months, he's taking those unsteady steps on his own and can spill red wine faster than an adult can blink. We spent 5 days in the desert at Thanksgiving, camping and climbing, but it was quite a job caring and watching out for Beau ("No, get away from that cactus!") We'll take a hiatus from travel, and concentrate on the new challenges of home ownership, parenthood, and restarting life in the USA. That will keep us busy throughout 1993! We wish you health and happiness for 1993!