We did very little today, but got a lot done. Everyone is still recovering from their illnesses. Millie and I have bad coughs, and my dad is still very tired and now banged up from yesterday’s fall. We needed a day at home.

My mom entertained Millie most of the day so that Nick and I could get through our to-do list. It took us hours. To give you an idea of what planning this trip is like, we did the following things today:

• Researched lodging options for the dates we originally planned to go to Hiroshima, only to find that everything is booked up then. Researched and came up with Plans B & C, then found Airbnbs in new places
• Booked a hotel for only two nights in Hiroshima since we need to be there to catch a flight we bought a month ago (as a requirement to enter Japan)
• Attempted to book train tickets for tomorrow, only to find they can’t be bought online for the station we’re leaving from. Hopefully it will be fine to book day of.
• Applied for our Vietnam visa
• Created a skeleton itinerary through to the end of January. This lays out where we’ll go and how many days we expect to spend in each place.
• Filled out all the necessary healthcare.gov forms for open enrollment, and selected a plan for 2026

It was super productive, but we still have a lot on our to-do list.

While we were doing this, my mom and Millie drew comics, read books, played with dolls, played hide and seek, and watched some cartoons together. My parents went out for a brief walk to enjoy the beautiful weather.

Millie and I hung out in the hammock, chatting and avoiding the stink bugs that are everywhere here.

At 4:30 we all got hungry. Nick and I drove to town, 30 minutes away, and picked up some pizza from a little Roman-style pizza place. We waited 20 minutes for the pizzas to be made and then drove 30 minutes back home again. It was nice to spend time together even though it wasn’t a real date.

The pizza was surprisingly good.

We ended the evening how we have ended every night here, cozy and by the fire.