Retirement Projects

Of course, my most special retirement project since last summer has been caring for our grandson, Hudson Gallagher Fors.  We joined the Kansas City Zoo and during the summer and fall we managed to visit the zoo at least once a week.  Although Hudson seemed more interested in watching the children, Joe and I enjoyed the walks.  The zoo is really a great walking zoo. Hudson always dresses for the excursions.

We will look after Hudson almost daily until he ready to transition to daycare and then preschool.  Since we live so close to these schools we will be able to do the drop off, pick up, and after school care.  Should be fun.  He is such a joy.

However, when we weren't watching Hudson, I enjoyed making things.  I made wine cork wreaths last winter.

Our daughter, Emily, loves to entertain, and is the hostess for many couples' baby showers.  I made a couple of diaper cakes, and my latest experiment was making a diaper trike.  These are really easy and fun to make.

Chimpanzee Escapes in Kansas City

Yesterday, I was whisked back in time by a news report about a chimpanzee that escaped from its owner and was chased, or rather it chased people, police, kicked in a police cruiser window and generally went crazy. Why was I taken back in time?  When I was young and living in Grand Island, NE only a few houses from my Grandmother's house, there has been severe winds one summer night.  In those times, everyone listened to the radio.  The next morning, a broadcast came on warning people to stay away from Ryder Park, a local ballpark near our house.  During the winds the night before, the Drive In Theatre had been hit hard.  So hard in fact, that the small zoo had blown over releasing several monkeys into the neighborhood.  The monkeys had been spotted near the ball park.

Of course my mother immediately jumped into her car, picked up her mother and headed two blocks to Ryder Park.  They had just pulled up along the street on the north side of the park and rolled down their windows when a flash jumped into the car.  Sitting in the backseat was one of the wild monkeys.  I'm not sure who was more scared Grandma, Mom, or the monkey.  The police were nearby and rescued the monkey.  Our family was showered with movie passes by Wally Kemp, the theatre owner for catching one of the monkeys.

I'm really glad I didn't hear about the escaped chimpanzee yesterday because I would have been compelled to go to the scene in memory of my Mom.

Hudson is the happiest baby ever . . .

Our grandson, Hudson Gallagher Fors, came into our lives on April 29, 2010.  Making his debut at St. Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, MO changed not only his parents' lives, but ours as well.

We had so much fun while his Mommy, Emily, was on maternity leave.  We went for strolls, shopped at the mall on really hot afternoons, and Joe and I "helped out" by watching Hudson so his Mom could train for a triathlon.  Hudson and his parents loved spending time at their country club pool all summer long. Aunt Maureen even got to fly back from Amherst, MA for a couple of weeks in the beginning and again in August for a week before her school year started.  Maureen made him a hat with ears to wear for his newborn photo session.

After his Mommy returned to work, Joe and I started caring for Hudson.  It is so much fun to watch him grow and change each day.  We go for strolls back and forth between their house and ours here in Prairie Village, KS.  It is a 2.5 mile round trip which is just perfect.  We also got a zoo membership, so now we can go to the zoo.  It is fun to pack a picnic lunch and spend time at the Kansas City Zoo.  There is a new polar bear exhibit which is our first and last stop when we go to the zoo.

Ready to go to the zoo.

Watching the polar bear wait for his fish.

We have lots of fun during the day.  Hudson loves to play, sing, read books, and kick and move.

Strolling to our house

Hudson is so happy, he keeps us all laughing.

Pudong Airport via Maglev Train

As we all gathered for our last breakfast in China together, we reflected on our wonderful experiences.  We exchanged email addresses and promised to keep in touch knowing full well that rarely happens but wanting to continue the bond the eight of us had shared over the past 9 days.

Our bus was loaded and headed out of Shanghai.  We drove by the site of the 2010 Expo which is almost fully built and will open on May 1.  Our guide had one last adventure planned for us and that was to ride the fastest, most expensive train in the world.  The Maglev train travels at 270 mph.  Our luggage headed on to the airport, as we boarded this world famous train.  Our trip of 19 miles took us around 7 minutes with the train reaching speeds up to 431 kmph  (267) mph.

We beat our luggage to the airport.  After checking in, getting boarding passes and going through immigration, we headed to gate C91 for Beijing.  A brief stop in Beijing had us boarding a bus to the International Terminal where we continued the 16 1/2 hour flight to San Francisco, leaving a part of us in China, but taking much more with us.

On to Shanghai

We gathered our belongings, met in the lobby, and headed for the airport for our early flight to Shanghai.  Flying within China seemed easy, however, our guides took us to check in and walked us to the security gate each time, so we never felt vulnerable or insecure.  Joe and I were lucky enough to have an empty seat in our 3 seat row which allowed me to have a window and Joe got the aisle.  Since Xi’an is in the geographic center of China, having a window seat gave me lots to look at.  Lunch on the flight was a very spicy red pepper mini-wich which I eagerly offered to Joe.

Upon our arrival in Shanghai we walked at least a mile to baggage claim.  The airport is extremely modern and beautiful.  This time we had added a third bag to our collection of checked luggage.  We were met outside the gate by our guide, “Annie”.  Our bus was waiting to take us to Pudong  to the Oriental Pearl Tower (the highest tower in all of China).  To the Chinese it is known as “two dragons playing with a pearl”. This was a great starting point, and a very popular place for tourists.  It has several observation decks at various heights.  We went to the deck with not only floor to ceiling glass, but the floor was also glass.  It was dizzying, but interesting and allowed us to get a 360 view of the city of Shanghai.  We spent lots of time there viewing and going through the Shanghai History Museum. Pudong is the fastest growing urban area in the world. The Pudong district sprang up from farmland in less than 20 years. Pudong houses some of the world’s most architecturally innovative skyscrapers. One looks like a bottle opener with a large trapezoid opening near the top. The Pudong New Area is larger than Shanghai itself. There are more than 6,000 skyscrapers which serve as the headquarters of international banks and Fortune 500 companies.  Most of these building also have light shows and colorful lights at night which we found out and got to see first hand later.

Our bus crawled into Shanghai through one of the three tunnels and headed to the restaurant and theatre.  Since we were a bit early, we were allowed to go to a Silk Factory which happened to be on our way.  We got to see the process of soaking the cocoons of the silk worm, the spinning, and we even got to experience the stretching of the spun silk. There was even a bit of time to shop for the handmade silk products.

The restaurant was a noisy, rowdy, popular place with lots of people there for a company celebration.  This restaurant was once again family style with unusual and very tasty dishes.  From here we went to the famous Shanghai Acrobatic show at an old theater.

All of us were pretty spent, a few slept or dozed during the amazing performance, so we were all really happy to arrive at our hotel around 9:30.  This hotel is the Central View Suites located along Nanjing Road.  This is a well know location.  Nanjing Road is like the 5^th Avenue in New York City, only longer and with more world famous brand stores. It has long been the main shopping street in all of China. In addition to individual shops and boutiques, it is home to several of Shanghai’s most notable department stores, shopping malls and supermarkets.

Joe dashed out to get beer and coke before retiring to our luxurious suite.  Tomorrow we have Shanghai to explore all on our own.  Before Annie left, all of us asked about going on a river cruise.  She delightedly offered to not only hire a van/cab, but to get the tickets and accompany us to the dock and go with us on the cruise. 

Our group met at breakfast and made plans for the day.  Some of us wanted to go to the Cyber Mart, so we decided to start with a taxi ride there.  The concierge arranged a cab for us and we were off – on our own in a very foreign yet western seeming crazily busy city.

We enjoyed looking and being badgered to bargain and buy.  We purchased a Canon battery pack for our digital camera,  a couple of solar chargers for various electronics and Joe got some headphones.  Most of these were name brands that may not have been real name brands, but the price was right.

After gathering for coffee at the corner Starbucks, we headed out to walk to the Yu Bazaar. This turned out to be quite the foot expedition as we wandered through neighborhoods packed with little shops and people.  The streets were winding, narrow and busy.  We finally reached the Yu Bazaar. This area is complete with ceremonial gateways, rosewood lanterns, traditional pagodas. However, it was constructed to look this way intentionally in the 1990’s. It is one of the best places in Shanghai to shop for gifts and souvenirs.  Haggling is expected. A man talked me into following him down some alleyways to a house.  Once inside the courtyard we saw lots of watches, bags, luggage, wallets, etc.  I scored two Prada bags (I’m sure they are not real Prada, but they look perfect) and we were off.  Later, I found some other requested items to take home for souvenirs.  I was relieved and excited to find these items.

Our friends Peter and Dana, and Joe and I hailed a cab back to the hotel.  We took a 7 minute break to drop off bags and we were off for more adventures.  I was determined not to waste a minute of our time in this amazing city.  We grabbed some lunch at Wagas, and then began our walking journey to The People’s Park.  Along our walk we noticed many vendors selling merchandise and even one group offering French wine tasting.  This turned out to be a 1 to 1 ½ hour walk.  In the Square, there was a silent protest taking place.  I think there is a protest there almost always.  The people gather, hang their complaint on a wire, or bush, and walk around in front of the government building.  We were told that occasionally, an official will come out and ask what their grievance is.  That’s it.  The area is interesting and a very quiet, beautiful, park to enjoy. In the late 1800’s this area was a racecourse. The park has been created now to include trees, a small lake, flowerbeds, and manicured lawns.  There is also a Chinese garden, a rock formation and a lotus pond.  Groups of retired Chinese play mahjongg and chess, ballroom dance play with their grandchildren and enjoy the outdoors. 

We all met in the lobby at 6:20 to head to the river boat cruise of the Huangpu River.  The boat departed shortly after 7:00 and traveled along both sides of the busy waterway; first on the Pudong side to view the lighted, Times Square like skyscrapers with ever changing light shows as well as the Oriental Pearl Tower and the returned along the Shanghai side which in front of what is known as The Bund, colonial era government buildings.

We arrived at the hotel around 9:00.  Some of the group met for drinks, went our for massages, or just headed to their rooms to pack for the long day heading back to the USA tomorrow.  Big event tomorrow: riding the Maglev Train to Pudong to the airport.

   

The Terra-Cotta Warriors Day Xi'an, China

Xi’an is located at the beginning of The Silk Road directly in the geographic center of China.  It was one of the largest and most cultured cities in the world during the Tang Dynasty. The city became an important center for the arts.  Many cultures came as the result of the trade from The Silk Road.  Now, most visitors come to see the massive terra-cotta army that guards over the tomb of China’s first emperor.  The city still is surrounded (city center now) by its original wall. The city walls are 39 feet tall and were constructed at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. Xi’an’s wall is now China’s only remaining example of a complete wall dating to this dynasty.  We were able to drive around it all lit up later on our way back to our hotel.

Our first stop was The Big Wild Goose Pagoda which is a very tall pagoda (leaning) on the grounds of an active Temple of Thanksgiving.  The pagoda was constructed to house scriptures brought back from India by monk Xuan Zang and was build adjacent to the once Tang palace in the 7^th century.  It has been rebuilt many times. Locals gather here after work to fly kites, stroll and practice calligraphy. I ordered hand-carved chops which were delivered to the hotel later in the day.

We stopped for yet another delicious, family style lunch along the way to The Terracotta Warriors Museum. The warriors were discovered in 1974 by farmers digging a well.  More than 8,000 soldiers have been discovered standing guard over the tomb.  1,000 of them have been painstakingly pieced together and there is so much more work to be done.  The scientists work at night. There are archers, infantry, charioteers, and cavalry. Each life-size soldier is unique with different mustaches, beards, and hairstyles.  No two are alike. The warriors are located in 3 pits.  One building houses two miniature bronze chariots.  A large tomb (burial mound) has been located about a mile from this site, so there will be even more to discover. 

We were told that the three farmers who discovered the warriors weren’t all in agreement about disclosing the discovery.  Two wanted to cover it up and not tell anyone.  They knew it meant their life and city would change forever. The third farmer wanted to tell because it was the right thing to do.  He eventually fled to live in the mountains, but did tell the truth.  Over time, he was welcomed back as a hero.  He is the last remaining farmer alive.  AND he was at the museum the day we were there and signed my book that I bought about the warriors!!! We were told he is very old and doesn’t come out often.

We did lots of walking through the grounds and pits.  This site is beyond belief.  Apparently it took over 700,000 workers to construct the army and guards. Each life-size warrior is accompanied by a life-size horse.  I’ve read that the workers were buried alive in the tomb. I could have stayed here forever staring at the massive undertaking and wondering when the reconstruction would be completed.

Our day wasn’t over, yet.  We were being treated to a famous dumpling banquet followed by a performance of The Tang-Dynasty Palace Music and Dances at the Shaanxi Grand Opera House Xi’an, China.  The dinner started with hord’oeuvres followed by a 15 course dumpling feast.  The dumplings were filled with various mixtures of meats and vegetables.  Some dumplings were shaped to look like fish with fan tails and others like little ducks.  The dinner was very tasty, and the performance was excellent. Gorgeous theatre, set, costumes and wonderful music and dancing.  Definitely an exceptional experience.

One last adventure: After the performance we drove along the lighted city wall on our way back to the hotel.  We stopped at a light and a drunk guy tried to board our bus thinking it was a small city bus.  All he wanted to do was to go to his home, but he didn’t understand we were the wrong bus.  We ended up calling the police and waited for them to come and take care of the man.  It was an exciting 10 minute mini-adventure added to our long day of discoveries.  Tomorrow we leave for Shanghai

Leaving Beijing-Headed to Xi'an

On our way to the airport we had one last stop at The Temple of Heaven. This is a magnificent blue-roofed wooden tower in the middle of the park.  This tower was build with no nails, and it is designed around the calendar.  Although this structure is impressive, what impressed us all were the large group of dancers (couples, singles) all dancing outdoors to a variety of music.  We were told that the majority of the group were seniors gathering daily in the park to dance, sing, play cards and chess, talk, drink tea, and engage in other activities.  It was such a busy yet relaxing place.  Once again we were witness to the importance of exercise and community members actively living out of doors.

We checked in for our flight to Xi'an arriving there an hour late and although we were met by our bus and guide, May, we were too late for dinner.  We made it to our hotel, The Empark Grand Hotel, which was truly grand in elegance, size of rooms, and style.  We could easily have had dinner in the restaurant at the hotel, but the group decided to chance going out to a neighborhood family restaurant.  This experience turned out to be a highlight of our travels.  We entered the restaurant and were immediately escorted to a rather large dining hall upstairs.  One waitress spoke a tiny bit of English.  After much laughter and pointing, she brought us a large notebook that we surmised the cooks used in the kitchen, so they would know how the dishes were to look - it had pictures.  We all took turns pointing to a selection.  Much gesturing and laughing on both sides of the aisle and we managed to each point to one choice to be shared.  After that ordeal, we smiled and laughed to the "crowd" of workers gathering around our table staring at us and laughing.  Eventually, dish by dish began to arrive.  The first 4 dishes were great and we shared and passed them around, however, the dish I chose turned out to be chicken claws (chicken legs) and another dish was piles of red peppers with some sort of meat mixed in.  A few of us tried these dishes, but most of it was left on the plate.  It must have been near closing time as the neighboring tables began to fill with workers and their bowls.  We found ourselves dining with the help.  Finally, one chef with his hat on turned around and looked at us and said in clearly a western accent, "How do you do?"  When we responded, he took off his hat and shook his head that he only knew those words.  It was hilarious and a never to be forgotten experience.  We tried to tip, but they would not accept it.  Instead, they discounted our bill because we were so patient (I think) or we were the entertainment.  Total cost of six of us turned out to be the equivalent  of US$39.70.  We found out later that chicken claws are delicacy.

We headed home to enjoy our hotel and get ready to go see the Terra-Cotta army the next day.

The Great Wall at Badaling, China

It was a sunny, slightly windy day with temperatures in the 30's as we headed to The Great Wall section located at Badaling, China. After a brief stop at a jade factory and making some small purchases, our group headed on to The Wall. Badaling is a very popular section of The Wall and is the highest section in all of China. We began our climb. It is so steep at times with uneven steps (in both height and from being worn down). As we climbed higher and higher we were actually very warm. Since both Joe and I are so competitive we tried to keep up with our younger counterparts. At times it was just me telling myself to keep going one step at a time, one more step, one more step. I made it to tower 6 and with lots of encouragement, Joe went on to tower 8 which is as high and as far as you can go from this point. The good news is how high we climbed and the success one feels, the bad news is that one has to climb down. The descent took its toll on our already spent legs. We were very happy to finally reach level ground and drag ourselves to the bus. It (The Wall) can't be described. There are no words sufficient. We climbed and descended for over 2 hours. We were so lucky to be there in winter with less people, so we could really take our time and enjoy the experience.

Everyone was ready for lunch. It was at a dinner theater, great food, shared as a group. We were all so proud of ourselves, still reveling in the thrill of where we had just been and what we had done.

Next stop, The Hutongs on Beijing. Our group piled into pedicabs two by two for our tour through the 200 - 300 year old Tang Dynasty Hutongs. In 1949 there were 1300 of these Hutongs, and now there are only 31 remaining. Those remaining are protected. We were in a key part of them near the Forbidden City. These are courtyard style homes built off of narrow alleyways. Beijing is one of the last know places where these exist. Many have been torn down and there is now an effort to save those remaining. We stopped along the way beside a frozen waterway where many people were out playing on the frozen water. They were walking, skating, and gliding across the ice on what looked likes chairs on skis. It was very cold, but what surprised me were how many people love to be outdoors. Exercise is a huge part of Chinese life. We were fortunate enough to be invited into a Hutong. A retired archaeologist and his wife allowed us into their "home" which one enters from the inner courtyard. It has a kitchen, livingroom/lounge area and one bedroom. Off this same courtyard are three other doors where his two sons and their wives live (each have a kitchen, small living area and bedroom) and the third door (windows and doors covered in lace) belongs to the only grandchild, a 16 year old girl. We were able to ask questions and look around the main quarters. No cars for this family, it is the standard Hutong family with 7 bicycles for 7 people. We had a wonderful conversation through an interpreter, our local,local guide named "Victor". Back into the pedicabs for our remaining trip through the Hutongs.

We stopped at an indoor Chinese souvenir market for bargain shopping before heading to a late dinner at a "green" restaurant which we found out was a famous Muslin restaurant serving vegetarian food. All items were either made from tofu, or vegetables even made to look and taste like things like fish and chicken. Very good food, family style. My favorite was a large fish made from mashed potatoes.

A few of us had watched a Samantha Brown segment on TV where she had gotten a massage at her hotel. A massage sounded pretty good to us and our spent muscles from the morning climb. Jerry, our Beijing local guide, was pleased to arrange massages for us. Around 8:00 there was a knock on our doors and we ended our day with an accupressure massage complete with foot soak in hot tea. Ow, ooh, oh, ow but it felt SO GOOD.

Beijing, China

Once we cleared customs and rode the train to retrieve our bags, we met "Jerry" our city guide. He had our small bus pick us up, and we were off to city center Beijing to check into our 5 star hotel, the Chang An Hotel. Jerry left us there with wake up calls set for 7:00 and instructions to meet in the lobby at 8:30.

Everyone was up well before 7 a.m. because of the time lapse on our bodies. The group met for breakfast (a wonderful combination of western and Asian foods complete with made to order omelets and soups, juices, fruits, breads, and steamed buns) and were ready to head out with Jerry for a 2 1/2 hour walk through Tiananmen Square (the Chinese translate the spelling to Tian An Men Square) and The Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square originally was the main entrance to the imperial palace in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. After Liberation, Tiananmen became the symbol of the New China. The Forbidden City is now called the Palace Museum, and is located in the center of Beijing. It is the largest palatial complex in the world. It served as the seat of imperial power during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368 - 1911). Our walk allowed us to walk through the outer court area, the inner court, glimpse into some of the temples and walk through the imperial gardens. Our experience was enhanced with Jerry's knowledge of history and his insightful narrative. We took lots of video and pictures and had a group picture taken in front of Chairman Mao's picture. Three of us purchased the photo which was placed in a tourist book and presented to us at dinner the same evening. The 34 degree temperature was great for walking. We were picked up on the other side of the Forbidden City and taken to a buffet for lunch. This just happened to be next to a pearl factory, so we were able to have a little lesson on growing pearls. Pearls are grown at the man-made lake of the Summer Palace. We spent the next couple of hours walking through the Summer Palace, a second version of The Forbidden City. The Summer Palace is the last imperial resort built in feudal China and consists of palaces, temples, chambers and kiosks. We walked along The Covered Walkway of The Summer Place which displayed individually painted murals all along the long corridor. There is a place called Longevity Hill and a manmade lake called Kunming Lake. The Marble Boat is located on the edge of the lake. We were continually awed by the gardens, the marble boat, art, architecture, symbolism, and expanse of these places. Jerry kept us entertained with numerous stories.

We saw so much on our first day in Beijing, and it wasn't over yet. We had time to stop at the Olympic Village and walk around. We saw the Aquatic Cube building as well as The Birds Nest. It was almost overload. We had only finished one day of our tour and already had seen and done so much. Being outdoors all day with lots of walking had the group ready for dinner at a very famous Peking Duck restaurant. We at family style, the norm for the trip, and observed the chef carving the duck into 120 small pieces. After a lesson on how to eat the duck (small pancake, pieces of duck dipped in sauce topped with tiny slivers of green onion, then rolled up using the chopsticks) we enjoyed this dinner and Great Wall cabernet wine, thoroughly.

The strategy of having us out and walking all day really helped get us tired and ready for bed and an attempt to adjust to the time difference. Upon arrival at the hotel, Joe and a couple of our new friends, went out in search of a small store to pick up water, wine, and snacks. The hotel staff really questioned them on where they were going. They would have preferred to get the items for them, but they reluctantly let them go. When they returned, they asked the concierge if they had a corkscrew. They sent two young women to our room to open the The Great Wall cabernet, and then Joe took them down to our neighbor's room to do the same for them. A good soak, a glass of wine, and we were ready for The Great Wall in the morning.