You know how well networked computers work pretty well most of the time. But then sometimes you can't open an attachment you get from your friend or the formatting of the text is different or you can't open a site everybody else can open. Well unfortunately, the same thing happens in Healthcare IT. Except its your urgent heartscan or a list of your allergies that can't be handled.

Sakakibara-san and me working on our ultrasound machine

Glacier is truly a spectacular National Park. What struck me the most about it was the size of the peaks. Huge glacial peaks that made me feel like an ant.

Unfortunately, there were fires in the region when we were there. I don't think the smoke had a big impact on our enjoyment of the park, but it did affect the photos quite a bit.

The main feature of Yellowstone is the geothermal activity. Though the park does have a tremendous amount to offer all round.

By far the most popular part of the park is the Old Faithful geyser. There is a board up in the visitors center saying roughly when it will erupt. This geyser is neither the most regular of the largest geyser in Yellowstone. Its so popular because it erupts frequently.

On the way to Grand Tetons.

This picture was taken in Helper near the norther border of Utah. We took it because it was the 1000 mile point of our National Park tour.

On the way to Arches!

This was the first stop in our departing USA National Park Tour. We left our appartment with camping gear for a one month trip and enough clothes and other items to last us a month in Japan. The car was jam packed.

For the first time ever we didn't stop in Las Vegas. We stopped near St. George as we entered Utah.

Not really a vacation. The AIUM meeting was on in Phoenix and Cassandra and I took
the 6 hour drive over. It was pretty desolate country but well worth the drive to see all
the cacti out there. We stayed in quite a nice hotel/resort but unfortunatley we didnt
take many photos on this trip.

Memorial Day is a holiday in USA where they remember those who have died in the nations service. Its also a long weekend and we decided to set off to see the sandstone slot canyons at Lake Powell. Its an 8 hour
drive to Lake Powell and we tried to set off early enough on Friday
afternoon to beat the traffic. But we failed so we didnt even make it to
Las Vegas on the first night. We decided to stop in Vegas for a buffet Lunch
the next day. But made a big mistake when we decided to try out the MGM buffet

New Orleans

Our friend Michele (pictured below eating a beignet with Cassandra) asked us to come to New Orleans for Jazz Fest. It seems like most Americans either love or hate the place. We think its great. We love the different style of the place. Like being in another country. This would have to have been our event of the year.

We drove up to Santa Barbara for a long weekend not quite knowing
what to expect. Santa Barbara turned out to be the California that I
was expecting to find in Orange Country. Laid back and easy going.

We pretty much set off without any idea what we were going to do
and had a very nice trip. Santa Barbara had lots of nice restaurants, a
pretty decent mission and a beatiful courthouse.