IN HAWAII -- Five days of Pilot paradise (April 19-23, 2012)

Our lovely leis were gifts from  COED Treasurer Donna Kishi and COED Governor Elect Eve Hamilton, both members of the Leeward Pilot Club. Thank you!

The glorious beach! We could stay all day... Donna Kishi was so wonderful to show us around and act as our unofficial tour guide.

Here I am with COED Governor Nancy McDonald & Honolulu Pilot Janice at the Oahu Country Club. Nancy lives "20 minutes from Waikiki" and we feel so sorry for her! ;) 

National Monument/ Punch Bowl

Dinner with Leeward and Honolulu Pilots

Fireworks display every Friday night!! On Saturday, we would attend Special Olympics event with Leeward Pilots. (Photos of that are forthcoming...) 

And, I haven't even BEGUN to tell you about the flowers!

In Singapore

Tropical Singapore is beautiful!
Singapore Pilots, celebrating 18 years with the organization, are dedicated volunteers. Susan and I were fortunate to witness their dedicated service first-hand. Our first day included a visit to St. Joseph's Home & Hospice (est. in 1978), operated by the Canossian Sisters. This home for the elderly and infirm is a long-time project of the club.

Here we are with Singapore Pilots Pervin, (the remarkable) Trixie Eu, and May in front of the Apex Harmony Lodge. Our Singapore Pilots smile beautifully, don't you agree?

Susan and I ate a scrumptious lunch at the lovely home of one of the Pilots (above).

Singapore at night is exciting and breathtakingly beautiful...especially along the river.

To help celebrate the club's18th Pilot Anniversary, members brought 32 elderly residents to the Apex Harmony Lodge for a catered dinner... and a beautiful Pilot-themed cake! In the bottom photo, Susan is serving juice to some attendees.

Here's an enticing (yummy!) Bento box, artfully arranged.

The next day, Trixie (above, center) took us to the Orchid Garden at Singapore's noted Botanical Garden. (The tropics present a lush climate for cultivating the most beautiful flowers imaginable.)
 We spent the afternoon in Chinatown and went shopping...in "Little India"! Early tomorrow, we head to Honolulu.

Japan District Convention (continued)

I cannot express the sheer joy Susan and I experienced at the 2012 Japan District Convention, attended by 216 Pilots and Anchors. Every part of the event was well-prepared and impressive...

Above is a local group that danced to flute music during Opening Ceremonies.

2011-12 Japan Governor Kikue Uehara opens the convention. She is so gracious.

The "Anchor Song" written and recorded by Anchor Advisor Katsuya Suita of Tokyo, shown above (he is this year's 3rd Place Co-Anchor Advisor of the Year!), was performed by the 39 Anchors in attendance.

Our post-convention activities took us back to Tokyo, where we spent the afternoon and evening exploring  the exquisite National Theatre. After dinner at another excellent Japanese restaurant, where Susan and I cooked our own sukiyaki and shaba-shaba, we flew to Singapore...our next exciting destination!

2012 Japan District Convention

Here are photos from the 2012 District Convention...a wonderful event!
Last year's DAC members (in the photo above) were not able to convene until the Dallas Convention last July, due to the earthquake and tsunami. This is a brave and hardworking group that deserves our praise for all they experienced and accomplished under those dire circumstances.

Susan and I were excited to see our names written in Japanese...and so elegantly, too!

We rang cow bells to herald in the newly-elected officers. Great fun!! Because I hail (proudly!) from rural Mississippi, someone from the States later teased that I should have had a lot of experience with cowbells! I had to laugh!

2012-13 Japan Governor Tamii Uchida lights a center candle at installation. Susan and I lit the candles you can see left and right of Tamii's.

And here we are with Governor Uchida and the other newly-installed Japan District Officers, which comprise a remarkable group of Pilot leaders!

Hina Dolls

Friday, 4/13/2012 -- Here are photos of Susan and I receiving Hina dolls. Each year in early March, Japan celebrates the Doll Festival (known in Japan as Hina Matsuri). At that time, Japanese families decorate special "step" altars and artfully arrange Empress and Emperor dolls on the steps. The tableau is then decorated with lovely flowers such as peach blossom boughs. Rice cakes flavored with wild herbs, or colored and cut into festive diamond shapes, are presented as an offering to the dolls, which represent court nobles from Japan's Heian Period (A.D. 794-1185). Susan and I are learning every more day about this extraordinary culture! 

In Fukaya

Thursday, 4/12/2012 -- An exciting day! We meet with the Mayor of Fukaya at his offices, accompanied by Masako and 2011-12 Japan Pilot District Governor Kikue Uehara of Takasaki (in central Japan), and other members of the Host Pilot Club.

The group then participated in a Japanese Tea Ceremony. Susan and I are in awe of this amazing ritual. 

"City of Flowers" Hosts Japan District Convention

Here are some lovely views of  Fukaya, the City of Flowers, as written on the taxi sign (bottom photo above). Note the numerous cherry blossoms with the mountain range in the background (top image). The city is breathtaking!

Arrival

Tuesday, April 10 -- Susan and I left Tuesday from the U.S. and arrived at the Tokyo Airport on Wednesday, about 1 p.m. It was a longggggg, but pleasant, flight, and we were nearly too excited to sleep en route...but thank goodness we did -- there was much to see and do from the start!! Masako Kaneko, a past Japan District Governor, is chair of the hosting club for the Japan District Convention, the Pilot Club of Musashino. She is a most gracious hostess and her plans for us include time to relax and enjoy ourselves before I begin conducting the official business of Pilot at the 2012 Japan District Convention. Above is the lovely Fukaya Station, which is a replica of the Tokyo Grand Station from the Meiji era. 

We ate at a Chinese restaurant in Japan on our first evening in Fukaya. Here are Susan (seated, far left), and I (standing 3rd from left) with the Japan DAC. So far, we are enjoying everything about Japan! And thank goodness Pilot's official interpreter, Kiku Kubo, is making communication among us run smoothly.

We Begin!

  Pilot Presidents Post Travel Diary of Asian Trip

Pilot International President Beverly Wilkes makes her official ECR visit to three Pilot countries outside the contiguous United States April 10-23, 2012. During this 2012 sojourn to Japan, Singapore, and Hawaii, President Beverly was accompanied by Past International President Susan Hoffmann (2010-11), who had been unable to make her own official visits due to the earthquake and subsequent tsunami and nuclear meltdowns in the Pacific Rim last spring.