Cousin Lynne Turns 50

We went to Paw Paw Michigan for Cousin Lynne's 50th birthday. As you can see it was a Halloween Party. It was fun to spend time with family.

Another meeting, another aquarium

The NHP meeting was in New Orleans. I got to go for a day. The Banquet was at the Aquarium. BP had a big exhibit on how oil drilling platforms are so good for sea life in the gulf of Mexico. Unless there is an oil spill, I guess.

Another Teenager in the House

Alex's 13th birthday. We had dinner at Maggiano's. Alex loves their calamari!

Fall Fishin' at Silver Lake

It was the fall opener for trout at Silver Lake. 2800 trout were stocked at the start of the month. We got there about 7am and everyone was catching trout. We got in on a bit of the action as you can see. Once the sun hit the lake the bite slowed tremendously. We need to get there earlier next Spring when they do it again.

Quality Family Time!

It was Columbus Day weekend. The fall is such a nice time we have been doing some kind of family outing over this three-day weekend. Last year it was Mammoth Cave in Kentucky (see blog Oct 2009 "Mammoth Weekend"). This year were we not up for a big tip but wanted to do something fun together. So on Saturday we went to Six Flags Great America. It was FrightFest. Lots of Halloween Fun! Although the haunted house that Bart and I did was not very scary. This guy was pretty hilarious.



Here is Bart and Diane on the Big Drop.



We got home late and woke up on Sunday in time for football. The Bears beat the Panthers (Yeah, they are 4-1)! We have 4 games coming up. On Monday I came home early and we went to Brookfield Zoo. We loved the new Bear Wilderness Exhibit. We also got some wonderful fall colors.

WHALESHARK!

The HIV Vaccines meeting was in Atlanta. There was a banquet at the Atlanta Aquarium. Very cool. I think they have the largest tank in the world. Holds 2 whale sharks about 15 feet long. The boy would have loved it.

Back in Japan

I was able to visit Nara, the first capital of Japan. It was founded in 710, which makes this the 1300th anniversary of Nara. 1300 years, thats a long time and the city is celebrating. Nara is also notable for two other thing, its concentration of ancient Buddhist temples and its deer. The deer are believed to be angels sent by god. No hunting here There are hundreds of deer around the temple ground of Todaiji. As you can see the deer are very friendly. I don't think I would like to pet the deer in our back yard like this.




My guides for the trip were Ken Kono, his wife Kay, and 3 year old son Leo. Ken had spent 3 months in my lab spring of 2010. It is so nice to visit interest sites with locals. They were wonderful hosts.



A nice picture of the main temple at Todaiji. One of the most popular sights to see in Nara.




In the main temple at Todaiji is located the largest Buddha in Japan. Known as Daibutsu or "Great Buddha" it was built in the 700's and is almost 50 feet tall. It is still one of the largest Bronze statues in the world. An amazing sight to see.



As you can see in this short video the deer act a bit like pigeons. Vendors sell small cookies to feed to the deer. They seem to love them. I am surprised that more people don't get hurt



A picture of me making the movie above. Swarms of deer.



Two of the structures at Horvuji Temple. Location of the oldest wooden structures in the world. The building on the left is about 1300 years old. The 5 story Pagoda, although partially original was rebuilt in the 1400's. Very amazing structures. There were also beautiful gardens and a museum full of old statues and art. Much of it more than a thousand years old. Sorry, no deer here.



Here is Leo and Sento Kun. The mascot of the 1300th anniversary of Nara. Notice the Northwestern tee shire. It was a wonderful day of culture and history.



In Tokyo I visited NIH Japan. After I gave a talk at NIH a fun group went to a Yakitori bar. The food and company were excellent!