Beijing

July 27th

We started with a 45 minute bus ride to a jade factory. It was really interesting to learn about the different types of jade and to see some amazing pieces carved out of one solid piece, such as this boat:

Mom and I each got a jade piece for our 'wire' necklaces. You will never guess what I got? A flip-flop, of course!

Next we went to Juyong Guan section of the Great Wall.
On our way, our tour director explained that there is not any air pollution in China - only fog. Because it is so humid, there is a lot of fog. (He also told us there were not any factories in China either)

Anyway, upon arrival at the Great Wall, we could barely see it due to the 'fog'. This part was very disappointing because not only could we not see it very well, the photos didn't come out well either.

We had 2 hours on our own to climb up to 5 towers. Mom and I figured we would reach at least 2. Until we got to the base. Oh my God! It was a good 3/4 of a mile to the first tower and it was completely straight up hill. To make matters worse, each step was a different height. One would be 6 inches up, the next 18, the next 12, then next 8, etc. So you had to concentrate on your feet and not the surroundings.

It varies in width as well. Tons of people stopping along the way. The railing was covered in other people's sweat which completely grossed me out. Due to my fear of falling and breaking arms/wrists, I had to suck it up and hang on to the railing. The other fun part is the height of the railing varies as well, so sometimes you are bent over hanging on to it.

Even though it was early morning, it was insanely hot & humid! By the time I made it to the first tower, I was dripping with sweat. I don't think I have ever been so hot in my life.

"Base" where I started in foreground; 1st tower at the top of photo

The bonus was inside the first tower, someone had peed - so when you finally get to your resting place, it wreaked of urine.

The way down was just as difficult as the ascent. Again, with the steps being different heights, you have to constantly watch your step. And even though you are going down, it's still hard work!

V iew from 1st tower looking down

It was a bitch, but I did it!

Only two of the 19 people on our tour made it past the 1st tower.

After the Great Wall, we went to a Cloisonne Workshop. It's where they turn copper pieces into vases and such. Amazing artistry!

While there, we had lunch. Well, everyone else did - I picked at some rice and onions.

That was followed by visiting the Ming Tombs. Here we saw amazing hand carved statues of guards and animals.

We had about two hours back at the hotel and then went to the Peking Opera. Which is not at all like the Opera we think of. It is a lot of miming. The girl sings, but it's very different. The facial expressions and makeup were incredible though. It was an hour in length - which the group decided was about 55 minutes too long!

Upon returning, we packed for our flight on Monday and went to bed.

Beijing

July 26th

On Saturday we joined our tour group at 8am.

The first place we visited was Tian'an Men Square. It is a huge open area with tons of people.

Mom & Nic

Our tour guide had warned us that people from all over China go there on vacation and frequently ask tourists from other countries if they can take a picture of you, especially with their children. It is often times the first time they have seen a foreigner before.

Sure enough within minutes a lady came up to me and asked to take my picture one at a time with the children. They were very excited to see a fat blonde American!

We then walked across the street to the Forbidden City. It is insanely huge! We only saw a small portion of it, yet it took a couple hours. It was a 2.5 mile walk in the blazing heat!

"Panoramic" View of when you walk into the Forbidden City

It has been closed for the past few years for renovations and just reopened 3 weeks ago. It will take another 16 years to finish renovating all the buildings.

Renovated Buildings

Non-Renovated Building (note the dull colors)

The Imperial Flower Garden was beautiful! (although my photos don't prove that)

Next we went to lunch.

I had approximately a tablespoon of rice and then a couple cups of tea. I did have a tiny bite of some sort of pork and beef. The chicken did not resemble any chicken I had ever seen before so I passed on it and a ton of other items as well.

After lunch we drove by the Olympic Village. We were not able to get very close. However, we could see the "Bird's Nest" which is where the Opening/Closings Ceremonies and the Track & Field events will be held.

Then we went to the Summer Palace which was quite interesting. It is an island that is surrounded by a fake lake. They pump water into it in the summer time and then it sits dry in the winter. This Palace was a like a summer home for the emperors. It is a mere 716 acres.

One of the many highlights is a boat made out of marble. (It obviously has never moved since it was built.) One of the emperors feared that the commoners were going to overrule him. There was a legend that if he was in a boat, they would come and overturn the boat on him. So he had the marble boat made because no one would be able to tip it.

We then went back to the hotel for a couple hours to freshen up after the long & hot day!

Next we joined back up and took the tour bus to dinner. It was our welcome dinner at a famous Peking Duck restaurant.

Thankfully the duck was not brought to the table in the traditional fashion - aka: the ENTIRE duck. It was carved before it came to our table so I didn't have to look Mr. Quackers in the eye while everyone else ate him. That was a huge relief!

I literally ate less at dinner, than I did at lunch. A bite or two of onion and then the smallest possible bite of the duck. Everything looked very nice and had excellent presentation, I just can't bring myself to eat this stuff.

We got back to the hotel around 9p and pretty much passed out immediately!

Beijing

July 25th

We started by having breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Again, struggled when ordering with the language barrier. But we both ended up with what we wanted - scrambled eggs, toast & coffee. All were similar to the Western versions for the most part. Coffee is a bit funky - but with a lot of milk & sugar, it helps get the day started!

We then decided (with the help of the concierge) to go to 3 places, all via taxi.

Each taxi ride was about 30 minutes and came out to $3 to $4 in US dollars each. Which is so cheap!!

The first place we visited was The Lama Temple - which was built in the 17th century.

It is still an active Buddhist Temple, meaning locals come to worship while you are touring. There are numerous places where they lay incense and pray.

The highlight is a 55 foot tall Buddha that is carved from a single block of sandalwood.

Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take photos of any of the Buddha's.

It was while we were at the Lama Temple that we experienced our first Chinese bathroom.

After that we took a taxi to the Temple of Heaven. Which is like a huge public garden with a Temple and various Temple buildings, gates, & altars. They did a lot of animal sacrificing there, so we didn't view many of the sections as that is something I didn't care to see.

It appears to be a park of sorts where locals hang out and take in the beauty of the gardens. To me, it seemed sorta like Central Park.

Much to my dismay, there do not appear to be squirrels in China. I searched for them in the Temple of Heaven - none! What kind of heaven is that? I have continued to search and so far China is sans "boys".

Right before leaving the Temple of Heaven we once again had the pleasure of squatting. The smell takes your breath away. We are still trying to figure out how they poop here?!
We have learned that the lower you squat, the less splash on your feet.

We then went across the street to the Pearl Market. Which to the Western world is like an indoor flea market. We didn't really like it there so we took a taxi back to the hotel.

All day it was extremely hot & humid. It's kinda like being in a sauna at all times.

We took showers and then ventured out to the shopping mall. Basically like our malls, however it was underground.

There was a supermarket in it as well. We spent a lot of time there looking at the products and found it very amusing. (We may have also bought a few adult beverages for our hotel room fridge) When the cashier said "Ni Hao" (hello) to me, I said it back. Apparently I said it good enough that she proceeded to speak to me in Mandarin and I had no clue what she was saying!

We eventually had dinner at a Pizza Hut - wow! Very fancy compared to ours.

We found the menu to be amusing - -
Atlantic Salmon Pizza:
salmon, octopus, assorted seafood, green pepper, mushrooms, crabsticks and wasabi sauce.
(what exactly is assorted seafood & crabsticks?)

Mom had some sort of crab bisque and a plate of shrimp (yes, at a Pizza Hut). The shrimp were pounded flat ? I went for the "American Special" (aka: pepperoni pizza)

We came back to the hotel.... fired up Slingbox (watched Seinfeld) and were asleep by 9pm.

Columbus > DC > Beijing

July 23rd & 24th

The much anticipated day had finally arrived.

Neither of us slept more than an hour or so since the cab was coming so early.


We had a few issues at the airport, but the very nice ticket agent at the United counter got it all straightened out.


Got to DC around 8am. We relaxed in the Red Carpet Club for 4 hours.


Decided to go ahead and get on the plane....... get settled and eventually our seat mate arrived. Great relief as she was very small.


In Economy Plus - we got 6 extra inches of legroom - but it's still coach!


We were served a few glasses of wine and then our first meal. Ugh. I can usually tolerate First Class meals - but there was definitely a difference with these!


After picking thru our meals and having a couple more drinks, we decided to settle in.

We napped for about 3 hours. Mom didn't have much success, but I did.


We then decided to walk around the plane as we were in the 7th hour and our bodies were aching. At one of the exit areas we were able to look out the window for a while. Very cool! We were over the North Pole.


Here are photos from the left side of the plane:










Here are photos from the right side of the plane: (more melted?)






Shortly after our walk and seeing the North Pole, we were served our snack of Chinese Noodles. Which is basically ramen noodles in a styrofoam bowl. They come by and pour hot water in it. You wait a few minutes and slurp away. The noodles are so intertwined and long that you can't really break them apart. We we the only ones who ate with spork - everyone else used chopsticks.


We worked on another nap that I think was for about 3 hours. When I woke up, we were about 10.5 hours into the flight and I was for the first time, officially miserable! I was hot & dehydrated. But mom was on the isle seat sleeping, so I had to wait for her to wake up before I could get some air & water.

Eventually, I got cooled down and felt ok. Of course they then fed us again. Meal was much better this time.

We still had a couple hours to go and we dozed off & on until we landed.


Couple of bizarre things on the flight - everyone kept their window shades closed. We later realized why - it was never dark outside. Which is pretty amazing that we were on the plane for over 14 hours and it was never dark.


Here is the plane we were on:

The architecture at the new Terminal 3 in Beijing is truly amazing.
(guess I should of taken a photo of that too!)

They had a normal bathroom, however, 1 of the stalls is for the Chinese culture... It's a stall that has a hole in the floor and you squat over it.

From what we have been told, once we leave the places that have been Americanized (airport, hotel, restaurants, etc) we will only have the squatting stalls. So chances are you will be reading that update soon!

Anyway, Immigration took a while as there was confusion over my Visa. But I think that all got resolved because they let me in. (I don't have an actual Visa - my Olympic Credential acts as both a credential & Visa)

Then we waited quite a while for our luggage. The luggage area was very hot & humid. But we made it thru. Next was customs, which we cleared.

After that, we exited to the hundreds of people with signs - not sure if we would see our name or the tour logo. Found our guy. He spoke no English. He handed us a note - the note was from our tour guide explaining that this guy would take us to our hotel and Tony (our tour guide) would see us on Saturday morning in the hotel lobby.

Once we were in the car, it was so hot, my ears were sweating and don't ever remember feeling that before!

So yes, everything you have heard about smog & heat - all true!


We got to our room around 4:30p local time on Thursday (4:30a your time).

Checked things out a bit and went back downstairs to ask about getting Yuan (money). We also bought bottled water that I swear is Dasani. It is called Ice Dew - but it has a coke logo on it and takes just like Dasani.

We then took a couple hour nap - we both slept like rocks.

We made our phone calls (using Skype) to call home. Which is amazing how clear it sounds.


Then we went to the hotel restaurant for dinner. Too exhausted to venture out into the city when it was dark. It was a predominately Western menu. I chose to go very bland with a side Caesar, no anchovies, no egg, no dressing. The server had no idea what I meant when I asked what other dressing could I have? Then when I asked if the spaghetti marinara had meat in it, she had no clue. She got her manager to come over... I explained again and I think the "no meat" concept worked that time.



So yes, the meals came and were fine. No adventurous meals yet. We need to keep our bellies stable for a day or two.


We sat at the bar for a while. No TV!? Oh my!
We tried Tsing Tsao beer and we both really like it.
There was live music in the bar and she was singing in English most of the time. Made me think of the CBJ Production favorite CD - "On Top of da Word" by "If I were a Carpenter"

Got settled in around 12:30a local time (Friday) which would of been 12:30p Thursday for you guys. It was easy to sleep because I have my Sling Box fired up and slept to 926 music channel, just like I do every night.

Not sure what we are doing today.
We have found one of the people at the front desk who speaks and understands English very well. He was most helpful. We hope to talk to him in a little while to plan our day since we don't meet up with the tour until tomorrow.

Columbus

July 21st - 22nd



Mom flew up on the 21st to join me on the first leg of the China trip.



We have spent the past 2 days preparing the house for my absence and packing, packing, packing. Okay, a little shopping too!



As usual, I have completely over produced for this trip. I have spent countless hours over the past year plus thinking about every possible item I will need while there. Yes, I know, there are stores there. But with my allergies, I have to be careful about what products I use.



I am packed and ready to go with 6 hours to spare before the cab arrives.



Shockingly enough, all our bags are 'under weight' - which is huge!

Put-in Bay

July 18th-20th

Went camping in Put-in Bay with Dave, Cliff & Boo.

Arrived on Friday afternoon and got our 'houses' set up.





Thanks to Cliff, we had a fabulous dinner cooked in pie irons over the fire. Pizza, grilled cheese, grilled ham & cheese, etc.




After dinner, we rode bikes downtown to the Beer Barrel Saloon where we enjoyed a night watching Cincinnati's own... "The Menus".






This was Cliff & Boo's first time seeing them, so we were excited to share the bands antics with them. It had been a year since Dave and I had seen them - they were better than ever!








After the show, we rode our bikes back to the campground. Not nearly as dark as it was last summer when Dave and I did the same. We had dawgs & brats when we got back and then settled in for the night.



On Saturday morning, it rained for a while. We piled in the Pilot and drove around the island for a while. When we returned, Cliff & Dave went golfing while Boo and I relaxed.



It rained off and on all day.



In the evening, we walked around downtown and went out on some of the boat docks. Wow! What a adventure that was! Lots of drunk 50+ year olds. It was a scene man!



Due to the weather, we took a cab to the Beer Barrel Saloon and had another night of "The Menus". They set a record of over 3,000 people there for the show. Which is pretty amazing for a cover band.




The cab ride back to the campground was interesting to say the least. Drunk people are so annoying (not us of course)!




We invited some of our 'neighbors' (students from Kent St.) over for dawgs & brats when we got back.



It continued to rain off & on all night.


We got up around 7 on Sunday - packed up and headed home.



It was a fabulous weekend with friends - the perfect sendoff for my trip to China.



We are already planning our camping extravaganza for next summer!

Cleveland

July 10th-13th
Tampa Bay vs Indians

I filled in again on the Indians show for STO. Always a nice time with that crew.

The Indians swept the series - which they REALLY needed!

On Saturday, I met up with Jonny & Amanda. We went to the Farmers Market and ate breakfast at a fabulous diner. Then walked around the market for a while. It really is a very nice market with so many fresh foods. Wished I was going home with them to cook and not to work!

During most of my freetime on this trip, I worked on my Mandarin lessons. It's not going well at all.

Fun things I missed by working this weekend:
- Traubie's wedding
- Melf & Jess's Housewarming Party
I hear that both were a great time for all!

Worthington

July 4th

Actually spent a weekend with my friends for once!!


Continued our tradition of the Colonial Hills 5K on the morning of the 4th.

Followed by a cookout at Dave's and watching the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest.


Enjoyed the Worthington fireworks with Mefi, Jess & Dave.



Dave


Nic & Dave

Columbus

July 2nd-3rd

Spent a few days in Columbus finally!

Worked Red, White & Boom! again this year.

It's a fun event for me because it takes me back to my news days.

Fort Myers

June 23rd-30th - I went home to visit the family.

Thanks to Delta, Dave was HOURS late due to endless delays and equipment changes. He missed the family seafood feast, but we saved him plenty of leftovers.

We spent a day touring my ‘hometown’ and all my high school hangouts, including EHS itself! It was in the midst of a remodeling project, so we snuck in and I showed him around. It was very bizarre as it was the first time I had been back since graduating.



It was interesting looking at the trophy case in the gym and photos of former students who played on college teams or even made to the pros – as when I was in high school, I had no clue that my life would be all about sports!

We spent a day on the boat – and stopped for a little snorkeling (saw nothing but sand).

We also visited the Edison Mall where we happened upon a sports memorabilia vendor. We were shocked and amazed that he was selling a game worn Columbus Blue Jackets jersey?! He told us someone won it in a charity raffle and didn’t want it!