a hop and skip to Georgia

April 22

This past week, Carol and I caught a cheap flight to Georgia to visit Aaron, Michelle and Preston. The flight seemed short, but we've really spent a lot of time in airplanes lately............

It was great to see them all again.

We had the whole week to just enjoy the small town of Thomaston, do some work around their home, cook some meals for them and enjoy their company- all the things we like to do.

In their dining room, Aaron and I added ceiling moulding to their beautiful remodel job.

We started by going to dinner at La Fiesta, a great Mexican restaurant in town. Ray joined us and we got into the weekly trivia game which we would have won.......if only we would have listened to Preston on that last question!!

AJ had to do his paperwork and Michelle enjoyed the help in the kitchen.


The pecan tree in front of their house was just beginning to bloom. Its half the size it was a year ago, probably a good thing with the winter they had.

Their pool was beautiful as usual and Preston and I were the first ones in for the season. They spend a lot of time out there.......

Lacey and Cody are great pets and inseparable....

Carol and I love to drive around in the country. This is a favorite of ours, a country mill stream with a dam. This mother duck, with the male above watching out, paraded their ducklings around.

For our last day, we drove the countryside with Aaron and the three of us took Michelle out during her lunch time to a country buffet. It was Bulluchs Country Buffet in Warm Springs, the town where President Roosevelt had his summer White House in the 30's and 40's.

It was another great visit and we plan to do it at least yearly!!

Faster than a MagLev bullet!!!

Monday, March 31
Day 9

All of our hotel breakfasts were great, offering both western and oriental fare.

We spent our final morning in China walking around the hotel area. We happened upon this park where many people were doing their Tai Chi. We kept hearing birds and thought the sound was piped in, but when we walked around the trees, we saw all these bird cages. The local people take their birds to the park and "air them out". Actually we saw this done in a few places.
A highlight of the trip, especially for Duane and myself, was the MagLev ride to the airport. Seven minutes instead of 30 minutes by bus.

That's 431 kilometers per hour or............... 260 miles per hour!!! Keeping up with all the stretching and exercise that we saw, the airline would always have stretching exercises prior to landing. A great idea.........There are so many ways that we are different, but also so many ways that we are the same. A local paper questioned the need for a citizen's travel report considering the Chinese actions in Tibet. I wonder how a foreign newspaper might respond to one of their citizens traveling the USA considering our actions in Iraq?

People are people- "Can't we just get along"...........?

from my sister Judy-

Monday, March 31

Even though we were allowed to sleep in this morning, I think that most people got up early to enjoy our last morning in China. After breakfast, Paul and I took a walk around the neighborhood. The block around our hotel seemed like a delightful, well-kept, middle-class neighborhood. We have noticed that the pavements and public areas are frequently swept, which is in contrast to the occasional piles of trash and garbage that we sometimes encounter. Mark and Carol told us of a park they had found so we walked off in search of it. We obviously took the wrong road because the only thing we discovered were adult stores and x-rated shops. This was interesting to find because Emily told us that gambling and prostitution are against the law in China. The government also has very strict penalties for drunk driving. We decided to take the first right hand turn we could find and ended up in an alley which contained a local farmers' market. Fresh fruit, vegetables, chickens, turtles, fish and eels were all displayed on the ground. It looked like the elderly were out shopping for the day's meals. At the end of the alley we ran into the park and it was a delightful contrast to the city streets. Lush green trees and flowering shrubs edged the rock-lined stream that contained bright orange koi. Many elderly Chinese were exercising and new mothers were wheeling their babies through the park. We were especially aware of the songbirds in the park and were surprised to find that they were all in cages. We found about 8 or 10 small, wooden cages hanging in various trees and each contained a lovely bird that was singing its heart out. We asked the elderly men, who were sitting and listening to the birds, if we could take their pictures and they agreed. It turns out that these men actually own the birds and they take them to the park in the morning. They hang the cages from the tree branches, uncover the cages, and the birds sing their beautiful songs. What a delightful scene for all of our senses! Back at the hotel, we packed up our luggage and headed for the airport. Along the way, we drove through the PuDong area, which is full of high rise apartments and skyscrapers. Everywhere we looked there were large building cranes putting up more skyscrapers. Emily said that China uses more building cranes than any other country in the world. She said that the building crane has now become their national bird. This area used to be the garbage dump for Shanghai. Many of the apartments had laundry hanging out of the windows. Emily, jokingly, said that Chinese laundry is now their new national flag. The bus driver dropped most of our group off at the train station and we took the high-speed MagLev (magnetic levitation) to the airport. This ultra-modern train reached a speed of 431 kilometers per hour and completed the trip in seven minutes. When another sleek MagLev train passed in the other direction, it was a sudden, startling experience. What fun! With Emily's help, our check-in went smoothly. It was sad to say good-bye to her because she, in large part, was the reason for our delightful and memorable trip to China. It was a 5-star experience and one of our more unique trips. We boarded the plane around 3:00 PM and flew for a very long 11 hours. In the process, we somehow found the Monday that we had lost last week. We landed in Los Angeles at 11:30 AM on Monday. Does that mean that we arrived back in the United States before we left China? Amazing! What a wonderful trip and what wonderful memories!

Shanghai/ the Bund

March 30, Sunday
Day 8

Shanghai is so big!! Its tallest sky scraper is 101 stories high with many more close close behind/ below. The national bird of China is the crane- that's building crane! China has 80 % of the world's building cranes in use right now. Seriously, it has over 20 million people (and its not the largest Chinese city) and its apartment building are like our high rises.
Our first stop was the Bund. Its a waterfront park across river from the tall building and its just an amazing spot.

Next we visited the government Shanghai Silk Rug Factory, where we saw rugs being made by hand. Like all the other places we visited, what we saw was only a small demo type factory, the high volume factories are outside the city and mostly in south China.

After a Mongolian BBQ, which was great for a change!!, we enjoyed the Yu Garden in downtown Shanghai. Its a maze of marvelous pavilions, ponds, rocky works and over arching trees.

For free time, we explored the old town bazaar- watch your wallet there!!

This guy is making me a personal "chop" for my woodworking.

We had our final dinner upstairs in this good department store.

Later that evening, we settled into our hotel's bar and enjoyed traditional music by these three lovely ladies............what music??!!

from my sister Judy-
Sunday, March 30

Our first stop this morning was the Bund, a famous waterfront park and walkway. The area is considered the "Wall Street of the East" because of the skyscrapers and high-tech businesses that populate both sides of the river. The area was crowded, so Emily reminded us to be like "sticky rice" so that we could all stay together. She pointed out the wide variety of architectural styles in the buildings that bordered the area. Before striking out on our own, Denise organized a group picture along the seawall with a variety of unusual skyscrapers in the background. Good keep-sake! While strolling on our own, we were surrounded by vendors that Emily referred to as "mosquitoes," because they swarmed around you. The vendors wanted to sell us shoe skates, kites, postcards, watches, splatter balls, and crystal T.V. towers. Mark attracted quite a crowd when he started bargaining for ten kite sets. Trying to bargain for a good price and also trying to figure out the money exchange in your tired brain can be quite a daunting task. Hopefully, the kites Mark bargained for will fly. Emily collected everyone and walked us to the bus. Along the way, we found four lost passengers from bus 2, so we took them along with us when we went to the Shanghai Silk Rug Factory. The ladies later said that they thought our bus was especially friendly and that the group was cooperative and cohesive. They also liked our guide, Emily, because she was so friendly and also because she would sing to us. Thinking back on it, we did have a very nice group. When we got to the rug factory, we saw several women sitting at large looms where they were weaving and/or knotting intricately designed silk rugs. The local guide explained the tedious and time-consuming process that could take up to a year to complete. We also saw a woman sculpting a finished rug by cutting patterns with electric scissors. The process is called aubissonae. Before taking pictures, Emily recommended that we ask permission. She said that even though the women are low-paid laborers, they still should be treated with respect. The rugs were beautiful and quite varied in size, design and price (although, most of them were very expensive.) We did wonder, however, about the lack of adequate lighting for the women who were doing such fine work. After viewing hundreds of finished rugs and cashmere sweaters, we were escorted to a different style of luncheon ~ a Mongolian BBQ. We picked up an empty bowl and filled it with a variety of raw meats, vegetables, and sauces. We then handed the ingredients over to three chefs who cooked our selection on a large, round grill. The chefs all worked on the same grill and simply passed our food around the perimeter of the grill until it was finished. With a flourish, the last chef filled a clean bowl with our food and handed it to us. Our meals was quite tasty and a welcome change from our usual fare. As with most of our meals, we were offered beer, soda, or bottled water. We have, incidentally, become quite proficient at using chopsticks. For the remainder of the afternoon, we had free time to explore the Old Town Bazaar, which is also referred to as the City God Temple area or Shanghai "China Town." The architecture and roof lines were especially unique, as were the abundance of shops and food booths. Since it was a Sunday, the narrow streets were overflowing with families and groups out for a stroll. Emily also took us on a tour of the Yu Garden which was also located in that area. Besides the dragon wall and the crooked bridge, we also saw koi ponds, pavilions, sculptures, and the unusual rock formations. In most of the Chinese gardens that we have seen, large, misshapen, holey, gray rocks have been prominently displayed and seem to be greatly admired. Some of us had trouble seeing the beauty in them, but the Chinese consider them to be quite beautiful. I guess that it's all "in the eyes of the beholder." Surprisingly enough, we found a large Macy's store in the middle of the bazaar. We went in for a cup of tea and were treated to a tea ceremony and tea tasting. It was similar to the one we experienced at the Tea Farm and gave us a chance to sit and relax for a few minutes. Several bus groups met at a local store and restaurant for our evening meal. We rode a questionably-safe elevator to the fourth floor and then walked up to the fifth floor where we enjoyed a slightly upscale version of our previous, family-style meals. Our after-dinner walk back to the buses took us through one of Shanghai's back streets where some of the group purchased extra luggage. Who would ever have thought that we would be walking through the back streets of Shanghai in the dark? Most of the tour group attended the ERA show, which was advertised as a multi-media theatrical spectacular with acrobats, jugglers, motorcycles, and other circus-type acts. Our small group opted to listen to the three-member trio at the hotel while we had drinks. The three young women, dressed in long Chinese dresses, played the piano and two, traditional, Chinese, stringed instruments. They were delightful. Everyone had to pack tonight and make sure that we could get all of our clothing and souvenirs in our suitcases and bags. When did we find time to buy all of that stuff?

Hangzhow/ Shanghai

March 29, Saturday
Day 7

We started our day with a trip to the government Longjing Green Tea Plantation. It was very misty, but we had wonderful views of the tea picking followed by some green tea and tea instruction. And.....of course, some high quality green tea to purchase.

This was followed to a visit to the centuries old Lingyin Temple with its 64.3' high camphor-wood carved Buddha.

By noon the mist had risen enough to take a boat cruise on beautiful West Lake and its jewel like pagodas.

Finally we bused back to Shanghai.........

from my sister Judy-
Saturday, March 29 After a large and impressive breakfast buffet, we took a bus tour of Hangzhou (hung-chow). Even through the fog and misty skies, the beauty of Hangzhou was apparent. Spring-green buds, forsythia, magnolias, cherry blossoms, and pansies added to the artistic landscape and abundance of trees. The city was beautiful, lush, and inviting. Emily has every right to be proud of her hometown. We soon realized that we were approaching our next stop when we started seeing fields of low-growing tea bushes on both sides of the road. Dozens of farmers in brilliant blue rain jackets and conical,straw hats were bent over the bushes picking the newest tea leaves. We entered the Tea Plantation where we examined the tea bushes and watched a farmer roasting slender tea leaves in a large, copper pot. He actually stirred the leaves with his bare hands. Our group was escorted into a small tea-tasting room where we all sat around a rectangular table. A pinch of grade A tea was dropped in the bottom of each of our glasses and then a small amount of hot (not boiling) water was poured in. After whirling the glass around, we were instructed to smell it. We then put the glass down and leaned over to allow the steam to sooth our eyes. It really felt quite good! Our glasses were then filled and we sipped the green tea and ate the tea leaves. The Chinese say that they "eat a cup of tea" not that they "drink a cup of tea." This green tea is supposed to be very beneficial to your health. We bought some of the tea and look forward to using it. We, and every other person in southern China, decided to visit the Lingyin Temple, which is a 1600 year old Buddhist Temple. Many, many Chinese Buddhists were making pilgrimages to the temple and there were large families going to the Temple to pray. The tree-lined pathways leading up to the Temple were beautifully landscaped and lined with statues and grottoes. Many of the pilgrims were purchasing packs of incense sticks from on-site vendors. They then lit the incense from several fire pots located in the courtyards by the front and rear entrances. Once the incense sticks were lit, the pilgrim would hold the sticks between folded hands and bow several times in all four directions. The smoke from the incense supposedly carried the pilgrim's prayers skyward. The golden Buddha, inside the Temple, was 64.3 feet high and carved from camphor wood. The pilgrims knelt on prayer cushions around the Buddha and also around the statues of his disciples. We also saw several young Buddhist monks wandering through the Temple grounds dressed in their saffron-colored robes and slippers. Our all-too-familiar Chinese luncheon buffet was held at an elegant hotel called the Lily Hotel. Fortunately, the intermittent showers finally stopped, but the sky was still overcast and the beautiful countryside was hazy. We drove to a popular area called West Lake,where thousands of people had come for a day at the park. This was the same lake that one of the emperors had recreated at the Summer Palace outside of Beijing. We encountered "an ocean of people," as Emily says. Our bus group boarded a small, enclosed boat for a sail around the lake. Every size and shape of boat imaginable was chugging or rowing around the lake. Families were having picnics and were strolling along the shoreline while kiters lifted their kites high into the air. Small buildings along the shoreline included pagodas,tea houses, and small restaurants. It truly was a beautiful sight. After disembarking from the boat, we walked through hordes of people to get back to the bus. We had a lengthy wait because of heavy traffic and felt completely enveloped by traffic and people. The feeling bordered on being claustrophobic. After finally boarding the bus, we drove for three hours to get to Shanghai. The landscape gradually changed from that of lush, green countryside to concrete, metal, and skyscrapers. Shanghai presented itself as a large, bustling metropolitan area with a glaring abundance of neon. The construction within the large cities was amazing and large areas of high-rise apartments were visible in the distance. Shanghai resembled every other large city except for the Chinese characters spelled out in neon. We stayed at the Crown Plaza Hotel,which was somewhat older, but still worthy of its five-star rating.