Ume Blossoms at Odawara

 This week we had several rainy days but on Saturday the sun came out we couldn't resist getting outside. We decided to visit Odawara to see the Ume (Plum) blossoms. Last time we went to Odawara we rode the Romance Train, but right now we are not allowed to use public transportation so we took the Purple Grape on a roadtrip!

It turns out we were about a week early on the blossoms, but it was still worth the drive. Beautiful day and the sun felt so good!



The orchard we visited has about 35,000 trees. It should be quite a lovely site, next week - haha







We strolled through the orchard and came upon a map of the area showing points of interest. There is a view point just up on the hillside across from this orchard. According to the map there are roads that lead to the view point, but we found that was not quite the case.

After making an interesting turn, we found ourselves struggling up this tiny dirt road in a very undersized car. The tires on the Purple Grape are maybe the size of the hubcaps on the Suburban. Towards the top of the hill we were getting very limited traction and then we hit something....Dad managed to keep us from sliding back down the hill, but when we got out of the car we realize we had been stuck up on a rock. It mangled the Grape's back left hubcap pretty good, but we made it to the top!




 After making the top of the hill, we parked and walked the rest of the way. The view really was awesome. I told Dad we have turned in to Fuji worshipers.








 

After the view point area we drove into Odawara to find lunch. We decided to park the car and have a look around. Without realizing it we pulled into one of those elevator parking garages. Dad was able to snap a pic after he got out. It's so cool the way they can stack cars.



We found a restaurant that did take out -because I know you love to hear about the food -  I ordered a salmon bowl (chirashi style) and dad got beef curry. The challenge is finding a place to EAT it. We are not allowed to eat inside a restaurant, our car was 10 stories up, and there are no picnic tables to be found. Finally we decided to walk down to the ocean and see if we could eat on the beach. 

We actually found a great spot on some huge rocks. There were guys fishing with the super long fishing poles on either side of us. I felt so ocean-y eating raw salmon on the beach!





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