You know it’s an awesome day when…

…you get a phone call informing you that your Thursday just became your Friday.

…the following Monday is a National holiday, which means a four day weekend.

…you get a phone call from a co-worker asking if you want to go hiking at a national park.

I was working one Thursday when the phone rang.  It was my manager telling me that, since I had attended all three of my schools’ sports days, I was getting Friday off.

Awesome.

This was particularly awesome because I had just been invited to go hiking at Oze Naitonal Park on that Friday.  Now I could say yes, I would join that hiking party.  Unfortunately because of such late notice, Karl could not get the day off.  Next time.

Friday morning we drove north to Gunma-Ken.  When we left at five in the am, the weather was beautiful.  Cool, crisp and clear.

Then we got to the mountains.  A massive dark cloud was looming just over where we were headed. 

We crossed our fingers.

When we reached the trailhead, it was pouring, cold and windy.  We waited till the rain let up, then started-hoping the weather would take a turn for the better.

We reached the first visitor center and met up with the rest of our party.  It started pouring.  We took a break and had some hot udon for breakfast. 

After a while, the sun briefly broke through the clouds.  We set out again.  

  

The sun dipped in and out of the rain clouds, teasing us for the next few hours.  We stopped at the next rest house to eat lunch.  It started pouring again.

We decided to cut our hike short and turn back early.  When we were almost to the parking lot, the sun came out to stay.  

Figures.

On the way home we stopped at a farmers market that had an outdoor foot onsen.  After hiking in the cold wind and rain, it felt amazing.

All in all, a fantastic day one to a four day weekend.