Climbing Little Fuji

Today I took Colette to climb what people call Marugame's "Little Fuji". There are many mountains in Japan called Little Fuji named after the much larger and more famous one. Yesterday I attempted the climb but ran out of time and had to turn back so Nicolle would be on time for work. This picture is of the two of us after we'd started the trek up the mountain. We'd biked to the base from our house, a few miles away.
Here's a view of little Fuji from near our home, taken yesterday when it was a little clearer. These lilypad leaves are each over 2 feet across.
Taking a break at a bamboo bench by the trail. Carrying Colette up a mountain reminded me of when Dad would carry us when we were younger. Now I'm the sweaty red-faced father and the complaining child is my baby. She was pretty good except near the top she got tired of being on my shoulders (she got tired of being in the baby carrier about 1/2 way up). We saw lots of butterflies and birds so she was generally entertained. Also most of the trail is shaded by overhanging trees so it wasn't too hot for the baby. It's been hot here but nothing like the sweltering Texas July we left behind.
A nice man took our picture at the top. There wasn't really a view from the top, it was pretty smoggy and besides there were thick trees all around. There were a multiple shrines around the summit. As we climbed up the trail, each person or group we saw went crazy when they saw Colette, all saying "kawai" of course. I've found that people are more friendly if I greet them in Japanese and bow my head as we approach each other, then most start saying other things in Japanese then when they see I don't understand most switch to English. Most don't speak fluently but know a few simple phrases. It's refreshing how nice and friendly people are, contrasted with Americans' indifference to others they meet in the street. They seem like wise grandfathers, aunts, etc, who are very happy to see you, possibly for a chance to practice their English, but even if they don't speak English they are very happy to see us.
Besides the main trail which we took, there were smaller steeper trails leading off in all directions from the top, which crossed our trail which spiralled around the whole cone, giving us many views as we climbed.
Also on top were a few cats which a pair of ladies fed while we were there. Colette was very interested and we fed them a little snack from another bamboo bench.
Here's a view about 1/3 of the way down of the surroundings. Yesterday when I made my first attempt I couldn't find the trailhead in the midst of an elaborate shrine. I met an old man who said he'd been a junior high English teacher 20 years before but now was a farmer. He said that the shrine was his family shrine which he maintained. Then he showed me a hidden shortcut to the trailhead behind the shrine, I followed the stone steps up and around to the main trail. It reminded me of the secret stairs from Lord of the Rings, except a lot shorter.
Between biking to the base and carrying Colette to the top and back, I was pretty tired when we made it back to our bikes. Luckily nearby was a vending machine and I bought a drink which boasted 9 amino acids, it was very good. There are vending machines all over the place, along a deserted stretch of the road, by some random house, etc. They sell everything from cigarrettes to t-shirts, so I've heard. I've only seen vending machines that sell beer, food, drinks, and cigarrettes so far.
Colette refuses to ever be put down, or not have 100% of my attention on her for even a second, unless it's really enterntaining stuff, like Sesame Street or some other show involving muppets. Anything that keeps her occupied for even only a few moments is great, so while I do the dishes I set up a chair so she can help. She got really involved tonight so I had to throw another towel down, she's still learning how not to throw the dishes on the floor after she bangs them around in the sink a little.
I stopped by a Jazz club near the school downtown today, and luckily ran into the owner along with someone who speaks fluent English. I gave him a card and he invited me to sit in with a group that's playing Saturday. I've been practicing a bit but Colette doesn't allow it for very long, not even while she sits in the crook of my arm anymore. I'm not sure it's worth the effort to keep my chops up, if it means a crying baby who feels so sad because Daddy's not giving her 100%, so we'll see what happens. I've been content the past few months to not have to worry about keeping up and developing my sax chops. but it would be nice to make a little extra money and since I'm a blond-haired blue-eyed American it could be a sort of a novelty which could allow them to overlook my rough sound from not practicing so much.
I also emailed some modeling agencies about Colette. It seems that there should be some way to capitalize on how cute everyone thinks she is. We really stand out here, the only non-Japanese I ever see work at our and one other English school, and they live in another town. As far as I can tell the agencies are mostly in Tokyo or Osaka, but there may be something in Takamatsu, an hour's drive away. It would be nice to supplement our income and pay off our student loans sooner, besides the fun of trying something new. Since we have a family work visa we're covered as far as documents go, too!