August 24, 2011

Rollin', Day 4


Looks a little unstable, but at least it would be a soft landing!

August 22, 2011

Rollin', Day 3


What's not to love about a bike full of flowers?!

August 19, 2011

Rollin', Day 2


You think you're carrying a heavy load?!

August 18, 2011

Rollin'

I decided this week that it might be fun to share some of the more interesting photos we see during our daily life here in China. You can find just about anything rolling around on wheels over here.


Seriously haven't seen one of these since I played my Huey Lewis and the News cassette tape back in 1985. Awesome.

August 14, 2011

camping in china

As hard as we've tried...we just can't seem to find that same 'out in the wilderness' feeling on our camping trips here in China. This weekend we ventured to a nearby, very large lake to try and find something simple and quiet for one night of tent living. It started with just 3 couples, but the further we drove, the more people & cars we had to stop and wait for to join our party. Our final numbers were 10 adults, 4 children, 6 tents. The drive was nice - right along the edge of the water, well maintained road, blue skies above. We dipped in and out of small villages and finally began to stop at a few spots where one of our friends had said 'he knew of the perfect spot'. Turns out, there were about 4 of these spots to choose from, none of which came close to our idea of 'perfect' camping. Jon and I like to be fully self-contained when camping - all gear fits into our backpacks, we park the car, and walk into the woods at least one hour, so we can't hear cars & don't see people. This trip was not that kind.

Each time we saw our self appointed "group leader's" car brake, we held our breath to see where he was taking us next. It was basically a series of beach-side, drive-in campgrounds that were filled with people frolicking in the water on a lovely Saturday. The kids in our party wanted to swim, so we landed on the busiest beach, chock full of people, blow-up toys and grilled Chinese meats. We parked our row of cars snugly between the road and the sand, within 6 footsteps of where we stuck our tent stakes in. All 6 tents fit neatly at the edge of the parking lot, just barely on the sand. Between honking cars, passing tractors and excited people, it was not the peaceful spot we had dreamed of. HOWEVER, when the sun went down, our crew began to trail off to bed, and we hopped into our cozy Marmot tent...all I could hear was the sound of sweet waves hitting the shore as I drifted off to sleep...and then a big truck roared by.