Friday Morning

Only have a minute to say that we've been without internet access all week so this is the first opportunity to post a note. David went to Vietnam Monday, returned on Thursday and is headed out this morning to Ningbo and won't return until late tonight.

The rest of us have been having a busy week. Yesterday we went to a Confucian Temple which was really interesting. We had the entire place to ourselves....come to find out most Chinese don't think much of Confucious, they prefer the Buddhist temples. At any rate, it is the first place we've been that wasn't mobbed.

It's 5:19 am and DGF has to leave for the airport...TTNF! Today we're off to IKEA and the Bund.

Sunday Morning Snippets

• Let me stress the importance of ALWAYS SAVING YOUR WORK! I just lost everything that I've been working on since 4:30 am........and now only have a couple minutes to recap....aaaagh! DGF has to leave for Vietnam at 7am and will be taking his computer.
• Mea culpa, mea culpa....we've been bad about keeping up this little daily diary. Fact is, we have limited access to Dad's computer as he still works his long and crazy hours or the kids are plumb tuckered. They crash each evening as though they'd been on thirty mile hikes. They are up early which can only mean one thing....they aren't quite acclimated to the time change.
• The high point of the trip may have already come and gone for me....DGF scored three invites to the St. Regis for a Whiffenpoof concert. I was ecstatic and explained to them that the Whiffenpoofs are the a cappella group from Yale...they are wonderful. It turned out to be a small gathering invited, no more than fifty or so.......it was like a private concert! We had dinner afterwards and the new chef simply chose for us. It was course after course of the most wonderful food. It was the best snapper, and the best seafood risotto that I've ever tasted. The food coupled with the skyline of Shanghai at night and theWhiffenpoofs made for a very memorable evening!
• While at the St. Regis, Leslie Ann met the marketing director who offered to introduce her to a descendant of Confucious. Leslie Ann will be returning to China in the spring of 2006 on a Wentworth Fellowship to study Confucious and the Analects. She is thrilled to be able to meet this gentleman and it will certainly give new dimension to her project.
• Friday evening was wonderful, but Saturday afternoon falls not far behind. Molly and I went for haircuts. Now, most folk wouldn't travel to a foreign country and get a do...but we've never been most folk! Can you imagine....a thirty minute shampoo and head massage, followed by a thirty minute neck and back massage, followed by the best haircut you've had in ages..........all for a mere $6USD? It was FABULOUS, dahling....I know I'll be working in a trim before we leave! LA must go today!
• Leslie Ann learned a hard lesson last evening. We'd gone to market and she had her first enounter with beggar children. It is hard enough when adults approach you, but the tiny children will absolutely break your heart...and it did hers. I cautioned her that she could not give them anything or we'd be surrounded by a mob. She stood and just cried in the center of the square and all the way home. She has seen abject poverty in eastern Europe, but this was more than she could stand. It is a hard lesson that anyone traveling here must learn, but she must learn it well before we go to Vitenam where it far more prevalent.
• It's 6 am and time to send DGF off to the airport. I'm hoping the kids will sleep in and I'm heading to the 39th floor roof with coffee and paper to watch the city come to life. What am I saying? This is one of those cities that NEVER sleeps. Construction continues around us 24/7.....even jackhammers and huge cranes work all through the night. Some mornings I'm treated to fireworks...go figure, fireworks in the morning, but hey, this is one wacky but interesting place to be. I'll take it as it comes!

We've Arrived!

No matter how you slice it, it is a very long trip! Leslie Ann, David Garreth and Molly were in heaven to fly business class this time and it made for a much more enjoyable journey. We surprised them at the last moment with the news as they had steeled themselves for coach. We flew from GSO to DFW, then up to San Jose and onto Narita (Tokyo) we had a long layover and then a 3and half hour flight to PVG...Shanghai.

We arrived around 10pm (Shanghai time) and are settling into Dad's apartment. We did venture to the 40th floor lookout and were amazed to see how much has changed since we visited in 2004. It is hard to beleive that this section, Pudong, was a marsh land only a decade ago. The development continues day and night and from our vantage point we can see entire new sections of buildings, home and commerce all around us. Shanghai is the fastest growing city in the world and the excitement is palpable.

We'll call it a night and decide our game plan in the morning. Hope to get some pictures of Leslie Ann's first impressions uploaded. That is what is most fun for me, to watch the kids' reactions as they take it all in.

Click the "We've Arrived" title link above to see a panaramic view of Shanghai at night! When the page appears scroll down to Shanghai and click on The Bund.

Our Photo Album

Click the link to see the pictures we take along the way.
Updated frequently.

Gearing to Go!

I should specify that we are Shanghai bound by CHOICE and looking forward to a return trip to Asia. This will be a good opportunity for the crew to practice their web skills and keep a diary without Mommy-Dearest hounding them.

Hope you'll check back as we will try to post daily notes and pictures of our adventures over the next few weeks.

Intrepid World Traveler

"I looooove long intercontinental flights!"
Having just returned from a visit to Australia, Leslie-Ann can hardly wait to fly again!
Riiiiiight!

Future National Geographic Photographer

Molly Michaela will be posting lots of photos as we travel. 

Ready to Set Sail!

David Garreth rounds out our motley crew!

Molly at Badaling Spring 2004

Molly at her first visit to the Great Wall of China near Beijing. 

Soaked in Shenzhen

With our friends Patricia, Handy and Jennifer in 2004. It will be good to see them again!

April 2004

Molly and David Garreth at the entrance of the Ming Tombs.