Our Last Post from China

This is what is so cool about China...in the middle of a city of 9 million people...look at this beautiful park!

A beautiful stroll through the park!

From Pete: Well, we are in the final stage here…we are packing for home. Do we want to pack the half bag of gold fish crackers or the half bag of cheerios…hmmm…which weighs more, take which ever is lighter. We bought a ten dollar suit case on the street today just to cart home all the stuff that we “acquired” as we rolled across China…from souvenirs, to a package of jeans to deliver to a Chinese student in Canada, to a box of “dirt and sand” from Quanzhou…sheeesh…

Our final full day in Guangzhou was fun…we spent the morning shopping. It’s a week long holiday here so the “pearl market” (think lots and lots of little jewelry shops) and the “market street” (think outdoor shopping mall) were packed with wall to wall shoppers…it was fun, but very crowded. Some of the day-to-day goods the Chinese buy are pretty darn affordable…like $5 jeans and $7 men’s dress shoes. But, the best part is the people watching! You gotta’ feel a bit sorry for Charlie, being carted along on shopping junket after shopping junket…but he still seems to get a kick out of seeing all the people, experiencing escalator rides, and hopping in and out of the “tour van.”

Shopping on 9th Street...talk about crazy!

Oh, and meet "chicken man"...not sure what he's doing!

After shopping we went to a really nice restaurant our tour guide Connie recommended…it was traditional Cantonese cuisine…we were fortunate to share the lunch with Joe, Jody, Chloe and Caleigh (thanks guys). After lunch Lisa, Charlie and I decided to check out the neighborhood around the restaurant before heading home…we were glad we did, about a block away we entered what we thought was a small park, but it turned out to be a very large park with a beautiful lake in the center…we were the only westerners there and the park was bustling with folks (again, since it was a holiday). The park had beautiful gardens and all the typical dancers, card players, and singers…well not necessarily the typical singers…as we walked through the park we heard this odd singing…kind of a combination of Milton Berle and Ethel Merman…only from an Octagenarian Chineses couple…Karyoke style…really odd. After the park we hopped a cab back for a leisurely afternoon of napping, shopping and an attempt at swimming in the pool…but Charlie will have none of the pool…so we’re not sure if he’ll follow in his older brother and sister’s footsteps as members of the Chase Club Shark’s Swim Team.

Pete and Joe braved eating "fried pidgeon"

But, the best event of the day has been Charlie's bedtime…yes, bedtime…that moment of dread this past week when the tantrum and tears would start at the slightest hint of heading to the crib…well tonight after we did some packing…Charlie walked over to Lisa and basically “asked” to be put to bed…AMAZING…and what a relief…not even a tear…wow…its time to head home.

Some final pictures from China...Don't ya just love it!!