The Valentines have arrived!

These roses were a gift from my Valentine today.

Matt and 4 of his Trumansburg friends finally arrived. They were supposed to get here yesterday, but their first flight was cancelled due to the high winds on Thursday morning. So they left Elmira at 7:00 p.m. instead of 10:00 a.m. and spent the night in the Detroit Airport. They caught Flight 11 on Friday instead of Thursday and arrived here this evening, exhausted, hungry and quite smelly. I strongly suggested they bathe,(they did)then they ate supper and now they are all tucked into their beds. It's 8:40 p.m. (!)

I think the thing that did them in was the sleepless night in Detroit. I think they snoozed some but they also danced in the deserted psychedelic tunnel at 2:00 in the morning. I did hear of a security guy in the airport who was very nice to them and gave them blankets... So they were tallying up their sleep in the last 36 hours and it amounted to less than 5 hours on average. It's a good thing they are all young and resilient and ready for adventure.

Thanks to the parents of these young boys (who have been very polite and friendly) for letting them come and stay. As Owen said, "It was a long trip, but it's totally worth it."

Tomorrow, after a long sleep, it's Harajuku Bridge to check out the local bizarre youth culture, the dancing Elvises, and other unique Tokyo sights.