The Great Wall of China

Our driver winded up the mountains outside of Beijing though lush green foliage. It felt so good to be back in the mountains again. We got on a gondola at the Mutianyu entrance of the Great Wall. I chose this entrance because it was the farthest out of town in hopes it would have less of a crowd. It was pouring down rain but it wasn’t cold at all. After a look around we decided to head out to the left. We could only see about 2 towers. Each tower is 2 arrow shots away from each other. They built them this far apart so they could get their enemy from either tower. Each tower has several archways that are very short so Will worked hard on minding his head. We continued out and went through 10 towers and by the time we made our way up to the farthest tower I was crawling up the last bit. The Wall is in ruins past this tower. The weather did cooperate and stopped raining and cleared up long enough for us to see into the valley and back 8 towers for a distance of 3 miles. If it were not overcast it would have been baking hot. This way we had the wall practically all to ourselves. We made our way back to the gondola to find it closed down. We could see another gondola in the distance but it too had stopped running. There were only 4 other people on the wall and we caught up with them and they showed us how to climb down. My feet did not fit on the steps as they are size 11 and most Chinese have very small feet. We made our way down the mountain and it was like climbing down Mt Tallac. At least my legs feel like they did. Climbing the wall was incredible, ominous and Will compared it to walking up to the edge of the Grand Canyon and looking down, you can't get the impact in pictures. I look forward to the day I get to climb it with Annalise.

Jade/cloisonne/Ming Tomb

We started bright and early by stopping at a jade factory. It was beautiful and incredible what they can make from Jade. When we left the rain started to come down and we took a detour to the Ming Tombs. Then we stopped for lunch at a cloisonne factory that had everything and anything a tourist may want to buy. I did very well at keeping my RMB’s in my pocket. The cloisonne is beautiful and a symbol of Beijing. Boy would I love to bring this vase home. Then it was off to the Great Wall of China rain and all.

Beijing

It feels like I’m dreaming. Could it be the jet lag? We hit the ground running. We had enough time to shower and change and then it was off to the old town Beijing. We took a tour around this little town and was taken in by a family and shown around their home. We then walked the streets and it sure does smell, lets say different here. We then were in search of a glasses store for Will. Our guide and driver took us across the street and let me tell you pedestrians do not have the right of way. I’m not sure who does. It must be the one that pushes the most. Our guide said that streetlights are just a suggestion in China not the law like in your country. They then took us to a famous Peking Duck restaurant for dinner. The duck was carved for us right at our table. We are definitely the different ones here. This little one could not take his eyes off me. I don’t think he has ever seen a blond hair blue eye woman and was so enamored he would not turn around and join his family for dinner. I am so in love with everything the people are just wonderful and all the children so beautiful. My dream is just about to come true.

We Made It!

We have landed in China and are in Beijing. The flight was not too bad, we slept for the first part of the trip. Will reached for his glasses to find them without a lens. He is blind as a bat and with the cabin lights off we were searching for his lens. Thanks goodness I found it and the screw was still in the frame. As you can imagine we had nothing to fix the glasses with and if you know Will he can fix anything so I was not too worried. With a toothpick he was able to get the glasses back together again. He is a true MacGyver. I did have a bit of duck tape with me. I read somewhere to bring some but I was not sure why. It was our fall back plan.


As we waited for our bags I struck up a conversation with another American couple. She asked me if we were adopting and so were they. Their daughter has just turned 2. I asked if she was on the SN list and they said yes and she asked me what our SN was and can you believe this, their daughter and Annalise have the same SN. Wow God really brings those people together that need to meet. They will be at the White Swan 2 days after we get Annalise so I look forward to running into them again.

I am so close to Annalise now 4 days to go!

This sign is for Will he is 6'2" and towers over everyone.

Reno To LAX

It's time to relax and enjoy all the hard preparation. The bags came to 43.5 lbs so hope the China Southern scale is calibrated the same. After the bags got loaded up in the truck and we were ready to go we couldn't find Lilly. She was under the steering wheel in the truck. She did not want to be left it was so sad. I miss her already. She will be with Jax and her 1 year old Lab Echo for the next 3 weeks. Gearing up for some peanuts on the quick hop to LAX.

Weighing the Bags

Will came up with a great way to weigh the bags. We are at 42lbs with a 44lb weight limit. We leave in 30 minutes keep us in your prayer.

A Date In China

We leave for China on July 11 and Gotcha day is on July 17. I have posted the itinerary for now in the side bar. Next is purchasing the tickets and getting all the reservations played for. Hope to only have one more stop at the bank to inspect the money.
They seem to not know what an un marked bill is and we are on week 3 of collected money. Today is also my last day of work until January. I have been doing a bit of summer school. Now its time to pack an hope I can stay under 40lbs per bag. The new pictures really give me the boost I need to get through this next week.