Our First Cruise
Last summer we celebrated my mom and dad's 50th wedding anniversary. We had everyone up here to Utah for a celebration and then we all went on a cruise together. My parents love cruising and it was the first cruise for all of us except them. We had a great time. We did the short California to Mexico cruise. We went to San Diego first and took a tour of the Midway Aircraft Carrier. My dad was in the Navy so we loved going on the Navy ship. We, then went to Catalina Island where we did Kayaking and snorkeling and then walked around and enjoyed the cute, quaint little town there. We went to Ensenada next and there we had so much fun bargaining and shopping on the main drag there. I loved the cruise and would love to go on many more cruises. We had Daniel, Nicole, Devin, Steve and I there from our family.
Alaska
Also, last summer Shauna and I went on a cruise to Alaska. I flew to Seattle to meet her and spent a few days there while she was working. I love Seattle. Then, we drove to Vancouver, Canada to catch our boat. We went to Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchican. We had a great time and with Shauna, every day was an adventure. She had me riding bikes on the Klondike trail, zip-lining through the rain forest, and hiking all over the place. We rode the train that followed the Klondike trail too. On our zip-lining adventure we saw lots of wildlife including a bear and some eagles. We had fun shopping and eating all the yummy food on the ship. Our favorite night was lobster night. We each had three lobster tails and probably could have had more but decided we better stop. It was a wonderful time and a good chance for Shauna and I to have some time together. The highlight of trip was cruising through the Hubbard Glacier. It was one of the most spectacular sites I have ever seen. Going through the ice was a little eerie as you could hear the ice cracking as we cruised through. Watching the glacier calve was amazing. We thought we would only get to see it happen once if we were lucky but we got to see it happen over a dozen times and it was so cool.
China
The past April I got the chance to go China with Shauna and my sister, Linda. Shauna had to do some more work in Shanghai and so she invited me to come along and Linda tagged along too. We had such a great time!
We first flew to Hong Kong and spent two days there. The first day we took the ferry to Victoria Peak. It was very foggy and so the view was not too great until a little later. We waited around for the fog to lift and then were able to see the great view of Hong Kong. We went to the little fishing village of Aberdeen and got to see the fish market. The fish were all around in buckets and tanks. It was pretty cool. We also rode a SamPan and ate Dim Sum on a floating restaurant. We went to visit a temple and then the clock tower. We saw some great Olympic stuff too. The highlight of Hong Kong was attending the temple the next day. We got to wear the head phones and even took a family name through the temple for a sweet little Chinese sister that we met there. We took the cable car up the Big Buddah and then had to head to the airport.
Our next stop was Guillen. A quaint little town of 700,00 people. It was my first experience of the crazy driving in China. Horns honking, cars, bikes, motorcycle, and buses all going every which way. The next morning we took the river ride up the Li River to a little town called Yangsho. The trip down the river was beautiful. Mountains like I have never seen before. One of my favorite parts of the trip was this river ride and the time in Yangsho. We saw a show on the river that night that was directed by the same guy that did the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics. We rented bikes and rode to this bridge to watch the sunrise. It was a little overcast but it was still a beautiful site. We rode bikes all around this little town and hiked Moon Hill, spectacular view. We ate rice noodles at a little hole in the wall and went to this really cool water cave. We could touch all the stalactites and stalagmites. They had a big mud pool and Shauna was the bravest of us all and got in. It was cold and so I was not too thrilled about it. It was a fun experience.
Linda and I were on to Xi'an to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. The warriors are a fairly recent discovery and they were very interesting to see. We loved it but it was fast. We we there only one day and then on to Beijing. We saw the Forbidden City, Tianamen Square, and the Summer Palace all in one day. It was raining the whole day so we were drenched when we got back to our hostel but we loved it. All the history was fascinating. The next day we went to the Great Wall. What a spectacular site. We walked for two and half hours and seemed to go nowhere. I learned a lot about myself the three days we were not with Shauna. I learned that I can survive in a country where there is huge language barrier and that I can manage to get myself around. It was out of my comfort zone and we went in circles a few times but we did get to go everywhere we wanted to.
Then we were onto Tunxi. Shauna was supposed to meet up with us again but had flight troubles. Her blog tells you about her adventures when she wasn't with us. Linda and I went on to Tunxi by ourselves. We were getting better at getting around by ourselves. We booked our transportation up to Huanghan Mountain (Yellow Mountain) and hoped Shauna would catch up with the next day. We rode the Cable Car up the mountain the next morning. It was beautiful as we ascended up the mountain and got into the fog. We checked into our hotel and hiked around. It was amazing as we would stand in one place and watch the fog move. It was beautiful! Shauna was able to join us the next morning and we hiked the remainder of the day all up and down the mountain and then took a different Cable Car down the mountain. I would love to go back when it is not raining and foggy.
Our next and last stop was Shanghai. Shauna had to work while Linda and I explore Shanghai. By this time we were getting pretty good at finding our way around. We went to the Aquarium, the museum, walked on The Bund, rode to the top of Pearl Tower, went to the Urban Planning Center and went to a really cool Circus show. We rode the subway everywhere. We ate all kinds of different foods but my favorite was all the seafood. On our last day we went Yi Yuan Gardens and then we went shopping. Shopping was an adventure because you can bargain with the people just like you do in Mexico. I had a cashmere coat tailor made and so we had to pick up my coat too. We bought all kind of souvenirs. We rode the Magluv train back to the airport for our return trip home. Shauna had to stay a few weeks longer to work. It was such a great trip I am ready to go again. I love to travel and Shauna is a great tour guide.
We first flew to Hong Kong and spent two days there. The first day we took the ferry to Victoria Peak. It was very foggy and so the view was not too great until a little later. We waited around for the fog to lift and then were able to see the great view of Hong Kong. We went to the little fishing village of Aberdeen and got to see the fish market. The fish were all around in buckets and tanks. It was pretty cool. We also rode a SamPan and ate Dim Sum on a floating restaurant. We went to visit a temple and then the clock tower. We saw some great Olympic stuff too. The highlight of Hong Kong was attending the temple the next day. We got to wear the head phones and even took a family name through the temple for a sweet little Chinese sister that we met there. We took the cable car up the Big Buddah and then had to head to the airport.
Our next stop was Guillen. A quaint little town of 700,00 people. It was my first experience of the crazy driving in China. Horns honking, cars, bikes, motorcycle, and buses all going every which way. The next morning we took the river ride up the Li River to a little town called Yangsho. The trip down the river was beautiful. Mountains like I have never seen before. One of my favorite parts of the trip was this river ride and the time in Yangsho. We saw a show on the river that night that was directed by the same guy that did the opening and closing ceremonies for the Olympics. We rented bikes and rode to this bridge to watch the sunrise. It was a little overcast but it was still a beautiful site. We rode bikes all around this little town and hiked Moon Hill, spectacular view. We ate rice noodles at a little hole in the wall and went to this really cool water cave. We could touch all the stalactites and stalagmites. They had a big mud pool and Shauna was the bravest of us all and got in. It was cold and so I was not too thrilled about it. It was a fun experience.
Linda and I were on to Xi'an to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. The warriors are a fairly recent discovery and they were very interesting to see. We loved it but it was fast. We we there only one day and then on to Beijing. We saw the Forbidden City, Tianamen Square, and the Summer Palace all in one day. It was raining the whole day so we were drenched when we got back to our hostel but we loved it. All the history was fascinating. The next day we went to the Great Wall. What a spectacular site. We walked for two and half hours and seemed to go nowhere. I learned a lot about myself the three days we were not with Shauna. I learned that I can survive in a country where there is huge language barrier and that I can manage to get myself around. It was out of my comfort zone and we went in circles a few times but we did get to go everywhere we wanted to.
Then we were onto Tunxi. Shauna was supposed to meet up with us again but had flight troubles. Her blog tells you about her adventures when she wasn't with us. Linda and I went on to Tunxi by ourselves. We were getting better at getting around by ourselves. We booked our transportation up to Huanghan Mountain (Yellow Mountain) and hoped Shauna would catch up with the next day. We rode the Cable Car up the mountain the next morning. It was beautiful as we ascended up the mountain and got into the fog. We checked into our hotel and hiked around. It was amazing as we would stand in one place and watch the fog move. It was beautiful! Shauna was able to join us the next morning and we hiked the remainder of the day all up and down the mountain and then took a different Cable Car down the mountain. I would love to go back when it is not raining and foggy.
Our next and last stop was Shanghai. Shauna had to work while Linda and I explore Shanghai. By this time we were getting pretty good at finding our way around. We went to the Aquarium, the museum, walked on The Bund, rode to the top of Pearl Tower, went to the Urban Planning Center and went to a really cool Circus show. We rode the subway everywhere. We ate all kinds of different foods but my favorite was all the seafood. On our last day we went Yi Yuan Gardens and then we went shopping. Shopping was an adventure because you can bargain with the people just like you do in Mexico. I had a cashmere coat tailor made and so we had to pick up my coat too. We bought all kind of souvenirs. We rode the Magluv train back to the airport for our return trip home. Shauna had to stay a few weeks longer to work. It was such a great trip I am ready to go again. I love to travel and Shauna is a great tour guide.
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