Expanded Horizons: Gardens and Public Transportation

Just as I never made the transition from SuperNintendo to Nintendo64, denying Mario the certain joy of racing diagonally across my television screen, I was left standing by the side of the road when someone - a nefarious cabdriver I bet - invented zone rates for metropolitan bus systems. The "exact change only" rule came into vogue around the same time. Since most transit authorities never got around to posting a fare schedule anywhere near a bus stop and since I would rather walk ten miles across a desert landscape than risk the indignity of being chastised by a bus driver in front of all those passengers who did not have the benefit of my superior education yet somehow managed to unravel the bus fare mystery, my bus riding days drew to a screeching halt in 1974 or thereabouts.

That's not entirely true. Twenty years later I spent four pleasant months riding buses in Baltimore, an eminently people-friendly city, at least in my memory. Riding the bus in Baltimore, especially changing buses in the heart of town, gave me a chance to rub elbows with all sorts of interesting characters while saving my family money. When people-watching and fiscal responsibility collided ("We're eating peanut butter sandwiches this week because you met a lady at the bus stop who needs a new winter coat?"), my bus riding days were officially terminated. By someone I don't recall electing king, but there you have it.

Enter Reiko. Last week she showed me how to use my PASMO card -- the prepaid card I use to ride the trains and subways -- to enter and exit a bus. I don't have to earn a doctorate degree in bus fare terminology because the card reader on the bus automatically deducts the correct fare. The driver did not chastise me. None of the other passengers solicited me for new clothing.

Now that my explorations are no longer confined to the three-mile radius of any given train station, the world is my oyster. First stop: Yokosuka's celebrated Iris Garden.

We will have to come back in a few weeks to see the irises in bloom. Reiko says we are not allowed to help the volunteers prepare the iris fields. Volunteers must apply at city hall and attend training sessions before they are allowed to groom city parks.

And we won't want to miss the wisteria when it's blooming. "What are those yellow plants to the right of the arbor? They look like weeds."

Reiko says the plant with the yellow flowers is the source of canola oil.

We find very large rhododendrons blooming on the hillside overlooking the garden.

We are surprised these daffodils are still in bloom - the ones outside my kitchen door bloomed in January - but they look charming next to that patch of grape hyacinth.

Some sort of yellow globe bush catches my eye. The flowers look remarkably like cherry blossoms except, of course, for the fact that they're a sunny yellow hue.

Speaking of cherry blossoms, the trees in the Iris Garden are about a week behind the ones on base. Something else to file away for future reference . . .

Reiko is a champ at combining exercise and pleasure. We have made a pact to go on a two-hour hike in Kurihama for our next adventure.