Rain Rain, Go Away

Picture of the Day:



Yes, I know that you might have been expecting a very cool Great Wall picture, but there is a reason I picked the bird's nest as the picture of the day. My digital camera is acting up and won't charge or something, so I've been using the chrisPhone for my camera. That thing cannot capture the awesomeness that is the Great Wall of China. I tried, but they came out crappy.

Anyway, we got up this morning and had breakfast in our super-chic hotel restaurant and then loaded up for our Great Wall day of fun. I said it already, but there really is no describing this place. I wished it hadn't rained all day but a little rain should never stop someone from seeing one of the wonders of the world.

On the way back down, there are little markets that all sell the same stuff. One woman got my dad to come in her little "shop", and by "shop" I mean storage unit, and then body-blocked him inside. Well, if you know my dad you know "Rowdy Rod" wasn't having any of that and quickly made his way out (and by that I mean he pushed her out of the way). Anyway, we bought cheap t-shirts from the woman next door and I got to experience my first haggling experience.

Best story from the great wall: My stepmom, "Kamakaze Kim", apparently had an equilibrium disorder on the Great Wall and as Rowdy Rod, Atomic Ashlee (my sis), and I traipsed the wall like Chinese Warriors, Kamakaze was busy puking over the side of The Great Wall of China. I wonder if they saw THAT from space!?? She took it like a champ and promptly joined us for a beer on the way to lunch.

Lunch was very cool. We went to a place called "The Little Schoolhouse", which is actually a renovated schoolhouse at the foothills of the Great Wall. The schoolhouse was renovated into a restaurant and glass-blowing facility. The town it's located in is called "sustainable growth" and many of the residents are from America and Canada who have fallen in love with the area and invested in its future.

On the way back, we drove past Olympic village and saw the Bird's Nest, which will be the main arena for the Olympics this summer.

On another note, I have been in China for over 24 hours and have yet to eat any Chinese food. We are promptly correcting this tonight, so I'll let everyone know how that goes. Off to Chengdu tomorrow!

Get over yourself,

CH