Little Tokyo: first day of North American Taiko Conference (NATC)

Well, the Odaiko Sonora advance guard (Rome, Karen, Nicole, and Kate) have arrived in LA, with Tracy and Sonya arriving later today. We just had an-pan and curry doughnuts for breakfast at Yamazaki Bakery in Little Tokyo, and are digesting whilst blogging.

Yesterday was uneventful. I mean, 8 hours of driving, how eventful can that be? Our highlight was to be letterboxing-- Karen thoughtfully printed out the directions to 3 letterboxes on the way. But, it was 109 degrees when we passed through Avondale, and experience has taught us that letterboxing when it's over 100 is a recipe for a cranky Rome. So we passed that one up. 

Then, in reviewing the other directions Karen printed out, we realized one was in a public library that was going to be closed by the time we reached it. That left only the box at the General George S. Patton Memorial Museum at Chiriaco Summit, CA. We pulled in at 4:45 PM, excited to walk their grounds, see some tanks up close, and stamp our books. Alas-- they had closed at 4:30 PM! See our distress for yourself in the photo below. (Kate's not quite as upset at Nicole and I. She hasn't letterboxed before, she doesn't understand.)

The disappointment sent Karen back to Atlas Quest to find another box. Within minutes she was fuming about some box in Redlands with the directions "Drive to California. Park by the Oak Tree." I mean, seriously, we'd been in the state for 3 hours by then, and seen hundreds of Oak Trees, THIS was a clue?!? But, when we got to Redlands, Nicole noticed Tennessee Street. Then Alabama Street. Soon, California street! Karen cut across 4 lanes of traffic to make the exit, and we headed into town, scanning street signs. Maybe there was an Oak Tree Street?

After about 8 minutes of driving, we turned around-- no Oak Tree street had been found. Nicole: "Hey, wait a second, guys-- could that huge tree in the distance be an Oak?" It was! Karen parked illegally by the side of the road, Rome stayed with the car, and the others went to scrabble around the 40 foot base of the tree to look for a box.

Here's the punchline: we didn't find it. But we did find the Oak Tree in California, and that's kind of good enough. 

Our sound track for the drive included Beatles, india arie and, of course, Chicago. The musical, not the band. Rule #1 of road trips with Rome: Chicago will be played. Original Broadway cast recording. Accept no substitutes.

We checked in, and went for a drink in Little Tokyo. We wound up at the "Sports Bar," which is nothing most Americans would identify as a sports bar. Up 2 flights of red velvet stairs, with the steps individually wrapped in industrial strength saran wrap (I'm not kidding), to a small dingy room with shabby overstuffed furniture, a karaoke machine, and 6 Japanese men. There were 4 TV screens, and 3 were dedicated to the Karaoke video-- only 1 was showing sports. They put on a Madonna retrospective CD just for us. 

That's about all so far. Leadership forum this afternoon. The reunions have started-- so far, we've run into Meg from San Jose, Joe Small, John Paul from Edmonton, Linda, the Stanford Taiko advisor, and Jon and Skyler from Smokin' Bachi. Which is why we all love conference. Along with the great workshops, and great discussions, and amazing workshops, it's a time to catch up with all those other crazies who just don't feel right without a pair of bachi in their hands. 

—Rome