Chongqing China

I am thankful for water you can drink from the tap in my country.  This is a really big city.  It is amazing the modifications that can be made to bikes and cycles.  Gas is expensive, so fuel efficient transportation is the rule.

We visited the General Stilwell museum and Flying Tigers, local artists, and Er-Ling park overlooking the confluence of the rivers.  It would have been a beautiful view if you could have seen across the river. 

The local markets were facinating.  The fresh meat market was a huge indoor building with row upon row of marble counters with different vendors.  The meat & poultry is brought in fresh daily and sold out same day.  Every part is there, from snout to feet, meat and internal organs.  No refrigeration. 

The outdoor street vendors sold everything!  Live fish in buckets, spices, fruits, everything. 

A kind lady posed showing her rattan baby carrier.  The baby wasn't so agreeable posing in the carrier.

Chungking People's Grand Auditorium was a wonderful square where locals gathered.  The one child per family rule was apparent as we never saw families of children.  Mostly just single babies with grand parents. 

Beijing, Forbidden City, Tian'An Men Square, Cooking school, Temple of Heaven May 2010

I am thankful we can't see the air we breath at home. 

We arrived in Beijing after a long, but uneventful flight.  The first impressions of the city were of run down tenements, brown smog and traffic.   Not as many bicycles or single cars as I thought there would be.  But the bikes are used for everything in every possible configuration. 

Beijing has a good public transportation sysem and there were LOTS buses.

We started our tour the next morning at the back entrance of the Forbidden City and were able to visit the residences with relatively few people. 

The crowds were thick when we got out to the palaces, squares and ceremonial buildings.  Lots of wooden structures, but no trees or gardens because fire has destroyed the city so many times. 

The restoration of the city will take years to complete, but what has been done so far is in exquisite detail. 

Tian'An Men Square has two HUGE TV screens you could see for blocks and lots of people milling about.  Lots of guards and police, but we were not allowed to take pictures of them.

We had a chinese cooking school demonstration  and then were allowed to cook the dish ourselves.   I learned how to make tomatoe and pineapple flowers; and cucumber leaves too.  I'll need a bit of practice!

The Temple of Heaven was lovely.  It had a long covered walk leading up to it with a green tile roof. 

Locals would gather there to play music, cards, dance, or visit.  Crowded, but everyone was having fun.  The long row of incense pots were great.

Oceanside and San Diego

We left Anaheim on Saturday and drove down to Oceanside. 

On Sunday we went to San Diego Wild Animal Park.  I loved the aviaries and spent quite a bit of time talking to a hyacinth macaw.  He wouldn't even look at another person until the keeper came in with food. 

Michael loved the elephants.  The keepers were trying to separate some of the animals and it was like herding cats but very entertaining for us.

I enjoyed the ride into the savanah area seeing several different species of Rhino and one that is the last of seven known of her kind.   It is so nice to see grazing animals in a savannah like area much like in the wild. 

On Monday we drove to Balboa Park and Michael flew 18 holes of disc golf. 

Then it was on to Old Point Loma.  Nicely restored building and fresnel lens displays there.  We left as a thunder storm hit, but got totally soaked just walking to the car.  We drove by new Point Loma and got rainy pictures.

Tuesday we headed to the airport in another storm.  Twenty mph on the freeway and spinning cars.  By the time we got to LB airport, the side streets were hub cap deep and many curbs and sidewalks were covered with water.  We had just gotten through security when the power went out at the airport.  Our plane waited 45 minutes for the passengers who couldn't get through security, but finally left them behind.  I'm glad to be home since southern California is expecting mud slides and more rain. 

Happiest Place on Earth

We are sure happy today, but not just because we are at Disneyland. 

Brandon got a job!!  Yeh Brandon.   He starts tomorrow and will be training in Seattle next week.  To bad he was supposed to pick us up at the airport.  Oh well.

We saw a live demonstration of a Honda robot named Asimo.  He could walk up/down stairs, dance and run.  Really run, with two feet off the ground for .8 seconds.

Michael and I went on California Screamin (roller coaster) three times.  Won-der-ful. 

We got wet on Grizzly River Rafts and Casey finally found a hat.  Don and Casey enjoyed California Soar'in.  Michael and I go on the roller coasters, but stomachs can't handle the simulators that Don and Casey love.  Fun.

California here we come

Right back where Don came from! Well, almost.  He was born in San Francisco. Michael and Casey joined us for a very early flight and flew into Long Beach.  We viewed Long Beach and LA Harbor Light houses, but the smog colored the sky brown and hazy, so pictures were not good. 

Point Fermin and Pt Vincente had much clearer air. Both had beautiful sites and Pt Fermin had great restored gingerbread.  Michael and Casey played a 9 hole disc golf course, then we shopped and checked into our time-share.  Nice two bedroom, 2 bath with full kitchen.  One mile from Disneyland with a bus stop right out front. 

Today we had a blast in Disneyland and California Adventure!!  Don and Casey like the same rides and Michael and I have same likes.  So, we went together or split several different ways and still had fun.

Michael got soaked on Splash Mountain, but it was warm in the afternoon, so he dried quick enough. 

Casey was able to see her favorite Donald Duck and I found my favorite Eyore!

 Michael and I capped the day by going on the Tower of Terror. 

Visiting with relatives in Maryland

Several different things to do this trip. Last but not least we visited with my aunt and uncle in rural Maryland. They have a lovely old house on the historic register that I have heard about for decades. It was good to see them and eat Maryland blue crab cakes!

They took us down to the Calvert Maritme Museum and we went inside the Drum Point Light. The museum was a suprise. The local Calvert cliffs are a renouned area for fossils and the interpretation and displays were very well done. The weather is better and we were able to visit Sandy Point Shoal Lighthouse. Fun time.

Washington DC and Rebuilding Together Conference

What a great city. We spent Wednesday at the Smithsonian visiting the Native American building and just part of the natural history building. It rained all day and every day since, but we are not outside much with the metro just a block away from our hotel in Alexandria.

The Rebuilding Together conference was Thursday-Saturday and it has been invaluable. So many sessions and we wanted to go to all of them. Between the two of us, we did cover many. I concentrated on board, compliance and administration matters while Don took on practical and building related classes. If we can implement just a fraction of what we learned we will have a stronger affiliate.

The wilds of Virginia and Maryland

We left the Baltimore area for Chancelorsville Virginia. How remote can Virginia be? Well, actually, pretty remote. Lots of horse farms and lovely 2 lane rural roads. Lots of deer on the road to. I thought is was bad on the peninsula. From the evidence we saw, I wouldn't want to drive far at night here. No internet or cell service where we are staying, but it is a great lodge with two bedrooms, kitchen and a fireplace on a lake. Nice drive down visiting two lighthouses.

The next day we drove to the bay and visited Piney Point light and museum; and Lookout Point which was open for the last weekend of the season. We were able to see Point No Point in the distance from here.

Then it was on to Drum Point and Cove point. The gates were closed at Cove Pt, but they really should clean the keypad because Don could tell which buttons were used and scared me half to death when the gate started to open. I was too much of a scardy cat/anal to enter the grounds. Lovely drive through the Maryland and Virginia countrysides.

Monticello was the next destination. This plantation was on the top of a large hill and was very impractical for farming. There were terraced fields, but it was not suprizing that Jefferson died in debt if he was trying to farm a mountain side and build and then spend years extensively remodeling his home. We learned Jefferson was not the inventor we had thought, but he was an avid user of technology. The weather has been grand so far. Today it was 82.

We are staying in the middle of Civil War battlegrounds. On Monday we visited some of the sites. Although abolition of slavery was a just cause, and there was interesting history, the glorification of war and battle strategy was a bit much for us.

All day Tuesday was spent at the Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport. Wonderful exhibit! We had a tour of the WWII section by a docent that flew in WWII. He must have been 90, and walked like a snail, but had great information and made all the planes in that section (German, Japanese and US) come alive.

We will be staying in Alexandria until Sunday. Great room with full kitchen, living, dining and bedroom. I feel like a queen here and we are a block from the metro stop.

Lighthouse Heaven

We flew into Baltimore yesterday on a very interesting flight. About 1/2 hr into the flight, a man collapsed in the aisle next to Don. The young man at the window seat next to me jumps up and wants to get out - in a hurry! We are quickly unhooking headsets, belts, books, drinks, etc. but the steward won't get out of the way so Don can get out. Finally, the steward moves when he realizes the passenger next to me is a doctor. All is well, the man was seriously dehydrated and passed out from low blood pressure. The doc had him drink 1/2 gallon of sugar water and apple juice. After 45 minutes, Don moved to the man's seat and the doc and the man moved next to me. He was able to walk off the plane. Needless to say, we didn't sleep much on that flight. But, if I ever need an allergist/internist from Vancouver, I know who I'll check out!

Today we visited downtown Baltimore, took walks in the countryside visiting six lighthouses and one light ship; and saw the last of lovely fall colors.

The Baltimore Aquarium has a wonderful pedestrian dock and waterfront area with numerous ships on display as well as the Chesapeake Lightship and Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse.

Lazaretto Point is now a cement manufacturing plant that is considered a non-public and secure facility. We thought the road was public, but no. We were able to snap a couple of quick photos before security escorted us off the premises.

We walked about a mile out to Turkey Point light through meadows, forest and along cliffs overlooking the bay.

It was almost sunset when we got to North Point State Park and walked out to see the CraigHill Range lights. The rear range light was very unusual with a square stone pillar, skeleton legs and a lovely lantern room. Check out the Bald Eagle on the rock below the tower. The front range is a great spark plug with and outhouse hanging over the rail. Cute but not environmentally sound.