Biz Trip to Kentucky!!

By the time you read this post, I will likely be on a plane over the Pacific Ocean! I'm heading to Erlanger, Kentucky this week for a big work meeting.
Since I know you will miss my posts for a week, I will share some recent Nagoya photos with you. It's a hodge-podge of random things, but nonetheless I hope you find it interesting!!
First is a really sweet outfit I saw at the bar one night. This lady has on her cowboy hat and boots. I really like that look with the shorts, but I think the best part is the furry fanny pack!!And let's not forget her friend in pleather pants or the one with the flannel shirt and trucker hat. I'm really confused with this whole table!!
It's been raining this week, and I simply think it's awesome that each store, restaurant, and workplace has an umbrella stand at the entrance. I am still amazed at the honesty in Japan. It's shocking that someone doesn't just walk off with an umbrella that doesn't belong to him or her. But actually the tricky part is to remember to grab your umbrella when you are leaving. (Mine is the one with the light blue handle.) If it has stopped raining, I have a problem with that. I'm on umbrella #4 already because I constantly leave mine at work or home, so I just buy a new one for $5 whenever I get caught in the rain... I haven't quite figured this statue out yet. He's obviously a leader dog for the blind, but why is he 3-legged? Either the statue is falling apart, and no one has bothered to repair it, or he's really a remarkable dog. I wish I could read the Japanese plaque next to him...

Here's some special Pringles flavors I've never seen in the US... Mozzarella sticks, Onion blossom, Mexican layered dip, and Tomato. But at $4 a pop I haven't tried them yet. Some day maybe I'll be hungry enough...

I found this sweet old fashioned Pepsi-Cola can in a vending machine one night!! Hello, 1985! I even checked the date on the bottom, and it was not expired! My companions thought I was a total freak show for getting so excited about this. Who knows?! Maybe you think that, too!!

I saw these mini brown cartons in the grocery store, and immediately thought: chocolate milk!!! But nope, it's coffee. Maybe I will have some chocolate milk in Kentucky... yum!!

No attempt in creative naming here: Cocktail Partner. I guess it's not meant to be drank straight up. Only good with booze!!

Here's a tiny watermelon for just over $20. But it does come with a pretty sweet twine handle - maybe that's why it's so costly?! I am still waiting to see the legendary "square" watermelons that Japan grows in order to fit in their small refrigerators better.

Speaking of fruit, Japan's strawberry season runs from January 5th to May 10th, and everything from candy to dessert to KitKats are flavored with strawberries right now. I thought about going to a strawberry farm here for picking. However not only is it a long and costly bus ride, but you can't take your strawberries home with you!! The rule here is you have to eat everything you pick while at the farm!! So bizarre. Again, some people in Japan like to work really hard for their food, I guess. I heard some of my co-workers talking about going. They make sure they don't eat any breakfast or dinner. Just gorge themselves on strawberries all day!!