At the "Big House"

Our friends in Portland are friends with a fire fighter who happens to be the head of Portland's emergency management system. On Monday afternoon, not all that long after a night shift during which he fought two fires, the lieutenant took the eight of us on an amazing and very thorough tour of the "Big House", Portland's fire station number one. He showed us all the fire fighting and medical equipment, answered scores of questions, demonstrated sliding down the pole (a fire station that still uses fire poles!), and even let us squirt the fire hose! Let me just say that even the smallest hose has quite a kick to it! 

Mount Hood in the Springtime

We spent Saturday on the scenic loop from Portland to Mount Hood and Hood River, and returning.  It was a beautiful day, sunny and hot, and Miriam and Hans got to play in the snow for the first time in a few years.  The people skiing at Timberline Lodge claimed the skiing was excellent, although it may have been more of the case it was simply awesome to be skiing, rather than the quality of the snow itself.  At any rate, we had a great time making snowballs and taking in the views. Joe's Doughnuts in Sandy, Oregon, is a must-stop for the doughnut fan, and Solstice in Hood River provided our evening meal.  The food there was also great, but we were seated in the blinding sun on their deck and had a hard time relaxing enough to enjoy it.  The gelato we stopped for after supper was refreshing, though!

And we're off!

Thursday morning we began our adventure with a flight out to Portland, Oregon.  It's been awhile since I've flown across the country, and definitely a long time since I've flown on such a gorgeous day.  The Rockies were simply stunning, and we got a wonderful view of Mount Saint Helens as we landed (no pictures of it, though).  Since then we've enjoyed time relaxing and catching up with our friends.

On Friday we enjoyed the city of Portland on foot with stops at Powell's Books, some food trucks for lunch, and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, where we stopped in at the "Art of the Brick" LEGO exhibit.  The exhibit is one of the art of creating sculpture rather than the engineering behind it, but we enjoyed it nevertheless.

The Big Apple



While it's true that Jake has been a few places I've never been, he does sometimes get a bit jealous of some of the adventures the kids and I have taken.  He's never seen the giant redwoods, for instance, and he didn't want us to get to the Great Barrier Reef without him.  But one fairly simple thing he had wanted to do (that we already had done) was take an overnight train ride in the US.  He's ridden Amtrak before, and has taken overnight trains, but no overnight Amtrak ride.  So we took the train, overnight, to New York City.  The timing was pretty great, actually, we got on, went to bed, in the morning had breakfast, and then found ourselves in midtown Manhattan. 

We had a wonderful week in New York City, staying in a VRBO in Harlem.  We took the ferry out to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and crossed the Brooklyn Bridge.  We spent plenty of time in Chinatown, looked down from Top of the Rock, and saw Matilda on Broadway and The King and I at Lincoln Center, and went to a puppet show in Central Park. 

We went a bit off the beaten path and found the oldest manhole in New York City, and visited the New York Earth Room (a room full of...dirt).  The sea-glass carousel in lower Manhattan was gorgeous and a great highlight, as was the NYC Skywalk. 

We slept well in the City that Never Sleeps, and ate well, too, eating in for breakfast and dinner, and enjoying some wonderful and varied restaurants (and a lot of bakeries) during the day. 

We did, of course, go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and to the American Museum of Natural History, as well as to the 9/11 Memorial.  We also enjoyed the National Museum of Mathematics, the Harlem Art Museum, and the NY Public Library.  We lit a candle at St. Patrick's Cathedral, and we even made about $1 in found money in front of the Stock Exchange on Wall Street!

Christmas in Merry Olde England (and Iceland)



I was admittedly feeling that my passport was beginning to rust from lack of use, and 2015 was a long year for us.  As I looked ahead to the holiday season, I decided that this would be a good year to “go big”.  So “go big” the kids and I did -- two weeks in Iceland and England!

On the last day of classes before Christmas break,  I picked the kids up from school at lunchtime and we began the hurry-up-and-wait part of travelling with a drive to the airport.  We had a lovely flight on Jet Blue to Boston, where we enjoyed a dinner at Legal Seafood and had time to relax before our overnight flight to Reykjavik.  The mysteries of time zones and jet travel meant that we left America at 8pm and landed in Iceland at almost 7am the next morning, after a five-hour flight.  It was a pleasant flight, and we hit the ground running.  We rented a car, drove into Keflavik, and ate a wonderful breakfast smorgasbord before heading to the Blue Lagoon.  I have lived in cold and snowy climates, and I know that winters are dark, but being in a place where the sun rises at 10:30am and sets at 4pm is a bit gloomy.  It's a good thing Iceland has so many wonderful features to make up for the sky color!

Our time in the water at the Blue Lagoon was all in darkness, which definitely added to the drama and adventure.  As we left, dawn was beginning to break.  It was still pretty gray, but I was thankful to be able to drive in daylight for a few hours.  Following our swim/spa experience, we made our way into Reykjavik to Whales of Iceland, a small but informative museum which bills itself as “perhaps the largest whale exhibit in the world”.   From there, we toured the Icelandic Saga Museum (a Viking Museum) where the kids got to dress up in chain-mail.  It’s heavy! We also visited the Hallgrimskirjka cathedral where we admired the pipe organ and went up into the tower to look out over the city before we made our way to our hostel, went out for a quick pizza,  and finally collapsed into bed.

Sunday was our only full day in Iceland, and we made the most of our time by joining a tour.  First thing in the morning, we went out to a horse farm where we rode Icelandic horses (not ponies, the locals are quick to remind everyone!) around the countryside for a few hours, through rain, snow, and sleet.  These little horses are so sure-footed, even on the icy hills, and have the smoothest gait and were a joy to ride...although we were cold enough at the end that we were ready to head inside.  After a lunch of hot soup and hearty breads, we left on a bus tour around Iceland’s Golden Triangle where we saw the tectonic plates (the divide between North America and Europe) at Thinvellir National Park, and then went to Geysir where we watched the Strokkur geysir erupt several times, and posed in front of a hot pot.  They last time we were in Iceland was 2005, and we weren’t the only ones who have changed since then.  The area around Geysir is much more touristy now, although still a great place to visit, and definitely a “must see”.  From there, our bus continued to Gullfoss, Gold Falls. 

By then, the sun was setting, and it was time for us to get back on the bus and back to Reykjavik.  That night we ate at a hearty Icelandic cafe where Hans enjoyed whale steak for dinner!

The following morning we returned our rental car and flew onward to England.  One particularly nice touch that Icelandic Air offered was that since the plane was an older one that did not offer in-flight entertainment, they handed out iPads pre-loaded with games and movies for use during the flight. 

While both kids were born in Europe and have technically seen a great deal of England, they have no memories of it, since we left there so long ago.  Also, Miriam has written several essays and done projects about England and Stonehenge over the past couple school years, and every time, we’ve pulled out the pictures from when she was 6 weeks old and tried to convince her that she had really been there (twice, if you include the time in utero).  It was very exciting on this trip to introduce them to the continent of their birth, and on the shortest day of the year, I got to fulfill their dreams by taking them to Stonehenge. As amazing as it may sound to say about a place almost 5,000 years old, Stonehenge has also changed over the past 10 years.  The visitor’s center received a fantastic make-over in 2013, and it now includes many hands-on activities, including cottages built in the Neolithic style of 4,500 years ago. 

The following day, we stopped at Leed’s Castle for a tour before heading up to Miriam’s native land of Suffolk.  We spent the next several days there with our dear friends.  The holidays were spent relaxing and playing board games, as well as visiting Norwich Castle and one of our favorite haunts while we lived there, The Waffle House (not to be confused with the American restaurant chain of the same name, they are not at all similar!) restaurant with another friend and her two delightful boys.  Other than church, Christmas and Boxing Day were spent relaxing, eating, playing board games, and going for a hike in Thetford Forest.

On the 27th, we said good-bye to our friends, returned our rental car, and boarded a train to London.  The following day dawned bright and sunny, for which I was particularly grateful since we had pre-purchased tickets to the London Eye.  After our “flight”, we toured Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, and watched the buskers in Covent Garden.  We wandered around London, found a few playgrounds and took pictures with some favorite English characters -- Paddington Bear and Mr Bean.

 
We began the next day by attending a service at Westminster Abby (note that while many churches including Westminster Abby charge admission to look around they are free to worshippers, which also allows a better feel for the place), and then took a boat-bus out to Greenwich, where the weather thankfully (and intermittently) cooperated for us to tour the Cutty Sark, a 19th Century sailing ship.  We also enjoyed the British Maritime Museum, and then managed to get to the Prime Meridian at the Royal Observatory right at noon, as shown on the sundial. After taking the bus back to London, we toured the works at the Tower Bridge, climbed up to the top, and took our time standing on the glass floor. That evening we purchased our dinner from the Selfridges Food Hall, which we preferred to the one at Harrod’s that we had visited the day before. 

Wednesday was an exciting day for my young Harry Potter fans, as that was the day we finally visited Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross train station.  (An important note about the platform photo op at King's Cross:  this never closes, so while there may be hours long lines in the afternoons and evenings, you can walk right up to the front early in the morning.  Plan to have breakfast in or around the station.) The kids wanted to head off to Hogwarts boarding school like Harry and Hermione, but did eventually consent to come home with me afterall.  After seeing Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, the Animal War Memorial, and Marble Arch, we headed for the incomparable British Museum.  That afternoon the kids spent at Kidzania, an indoor theme-park built to be a miniature city where kids role-play adult activities from shopping to learning various professions, from athlete to actor to physician to building inspector, while I wandered around a mall that was much too expensive for me to purchase anything in.  The kids had a great time, though. 

Our last day in London, New Year’s Eve, was designated a museum day, with a start at Kensington Gardens, where we enjoyed the swans in the lake and looking at the Fairy Tree.  We went to the Natural History Museum next, a fantastic place, surpassed only by its next-door neighbor, the Science Museum.  Our day, and our trip, culminated with dinner at Dans le Noir?, a restaurant that is kept in complete darkness and where the servers are blind.  While we have no pictures of it, this was one of our favorite experiences of our entire adventure.  After stowing our things in lockers in the entry-way, we were introduced to our waiter, John.  We lined up with our hands on each other’s shoulders, and followed John into the dining room, where he seated us at our table.  The dining room was literally in complete darkness, and we could not see each other across the table, our hands in front of our faces, or most importantly, the plates in front of us.  After clarifying our menu choices (fish for Hans and vegetarian for Miriam and me), and being advised to tuck our napkins into our collars, we were left to figure out how to get the water from the pitcher into our glasses, or even to find the pitcher on the table in the first place!  When the food arrived, we had no idea what it was, and getting it from the plates to our mouths was an adventure in itself (we admit we did not always use our knives and forks!).  The food was excellent and we enjoyed pretty much everything on our plates.  Once we were done and back out in the lobby, they showed us pictures of what we had been served, along with the menu descriptions...our guesses were mostly correct.  There are not very many of these “blind restaurants” in the world, but we heartily recommend going to one if you ever get a chance!

On New Year’s Day, we left jolly olde England for home, after a stop at Paddington Station to visit it’s most famous passenger.  We flew from Heathrow to Reykjavik, then to Toronto, and finally back to North Carolina, and made it home around 2:30 in the morning, exhausted, but very happy from our holiday adventure.

O, Canada! (Via Washington, D.C.)

I like sunshine and warm sand as much as the next person, but I readily admit that I am not a summer person.  What's more, as a proud Cheesehead, I prefer my summers to be warm during the day, cool at night, and pretty much lasting only for July and August, and even then, not too hot.  All that is to say, when we are living in the South, I have a very long spring during which I can plan my escape to a more temperate climate the minute school lets out for the summer. 

Once he began in an American school, Hans promptly forgot most of his Korean, but was in a Mandarin Chinese immersion school.  While looking around the internet in search of some moderately-priced way for him to keep up his language skills over the summer, I happened across a day-camp in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  A temperate climate in which to spend a month of the summer?  Sold!

 

I rented a downtown apartment via VRBO and began working on our itinerary -- a perfect chance to take the kids to Washington, D.C., and Niagara Falls along the way.  A family of bookworms (if we're not running/biking/swimming/ice skating or otherwise doing something athletic, we are probably reading something), the Library of Congress was very much a highlight of our stay in Washington.  Besides the exhibits, Gutenberg Bible, etc, it turns out they have a fantastic children's department.  The National Air & Space Museum and it's Udvar-Hazy Center was also a favorite, as was the National Zoo. 

Niagara Falls is always awe-inspiring, and we spent a wonderful two days there.  We were especially pleased to discover that we can offer to take pictures of tourists in seven languages, and were given the opportunity to do so!

As for Toronto, it was love at first sight.  It quickly became our favorite city in the world, and is one we would move to in a heart-beat.  Living there for a full month allowed us to feel like we got to know it well enough to call it true love and not a mere infatuation.  The views, the parks, the sports, the shops, the international vibe, the food!  O, Canada, our hearts are definitely glowing for you!

We wound our way home through the many, many miles and stops necessary to get from Toronto to central Wisconsin, and down to North Carolina.  Where school began again, but we still had another few months of summer.  Sigh.

The Great American Road Trip (or, "Getting Our Kicks")

After two wonderful years in Korea, it was time to move back Stateside.  We needed to pick up our car and most of our household goods from Idaho and transport them (or arrange for transport) from there to North Carolina.  Jake had to go directly to work, so I was going to take care of that on my own (well, on my own, with the kids).  Since it was spring, we decided that instead of trying to get the kids into a new school with only a few weeks left of the year, we'd "un-school" for awhile, and show Miriam and Hans (both born in Europe and in the process of moving back from Asia) the USA. So following a full school day, we said good-bye to South Korea with lots of hugs, kisses, tears, and last minute gifts shared with teachers, classmates, and friends.  Time for our next adventure:  The Great American Road Trip.

(The vast majority of our pictures from this year disappeared in a computer meltdown, but you get the general idea with these.  The photos of Crater Lake, however, were taken in a different season.)

We spent the first week in Idaho connecting with old friends and revisiting our favorite haunts as we attempted to get back on American time and into American life.  It took several days before we could sleep past 4am, and Hans, who by this time was fluent in Korean, was particularly amazed at the cars, houses, and people of all shades.  Eventually we were over our jetlag enough to venture out and we crossed our first state line:  Welcome to Oregon!

We proceeded to Portland where we spent a long weekend with some more wonderful friends and enjoyed plenty of recreation, highlighted by the first of our many educational tours:  Bob's Red Mill, where we learned about grains, the milling process, and gluten.  From Portland, on to Crater Lake, one of the world's most beautiful places, and a fascinating study on one of Miriam's favorite subjects, volcanoes.  Then a tour of Harry & David's, where we learned about baking for millions, selecting fruit, and assembly lines.  After seeing and smelling all of that wonderful chocolate, we probably ate a bit more than our share of Moose Munch.

California here we come! We marveled at the Pacific Ocean as seen from North America, learned about trains at the California railroad museum in Sacramento, and spent two days amazed at the giant red woods.  We then arrived at Yosemite National Park, where we lived in a platform tent while spending 3 days hiking, rock climbing, and looking for wildlife.

In Nevada, we visited friends, explored Area 51 (where we did not find any aliens) and learned about the engineering marvel that is the Hoover Dam.  Then in Arizona we joined historic Route 66.  The Grand Canyon was magnificent, but was too cold and windy for the several days of hiking and camping we had planned, so after one night we continued on our way and warmed up at the Planes of Fame Aviation Museum.  We spent another several days in Arizona, where I ran a marathon in Prescott, we saw a ghost town, learned about cacti and desert plants, and played at a natural swimming hole at Slide Rock State Park.  We then visited friends near Phoenix before heading on to one of our favorite places of the entire trip, and the 4th national park of this adventure, the Petrified Forest.

New Mexico greeted us next, and we eventually found some proof that we really were making progress on our way east as we crossed the Continental Divide.  We had spent a week exploring the "Land of Enchantment" shortly before moving to Korea, so this time we made a beeline for Albuquerque and friends, and revisited some favorite places like the children's science museum and zoo.

From New Mexico, we proceeded across Texas, with stops at the Cadillac Ranch and the Big Texan Steakhouse, where we did not eat their famed 72oz of steak within one hour, and continued to Oklahoma.  There, we visited the Gen. Thomas P. Stafford Air & Space Museum in Weatherford, and spent the night in Tulsa. 

Then into Missouri for a restful week in the Ozarks, where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived and wrote the "Little House" books, of which Miriam is a devotee.  Across the state in St. Louis, we went up in the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, better known as the Gateway Arch.  Also in St. Louis we toured a sculpture garden and Grant's Farm.  (On subsequent stops in St. Louis we have become huge fans of the City Museum, although we did not go there on this trip.  If you have any opportunity to be in St. Louis, make sure the City Museum is at the top of your list of things to do.).

Once in Illinois, we went to Lincoln's Tomb and Lincoln's New Salem, and stopped at the Peoria Zoo.  Soon afterward, the first part of our journey was completed as we entered the great state of Wisconsin (and in an amazing coincidence, at the state line rest area ran into an acquaintance from our church in Korea).  The Dairy State was our home for the next 6 weeks as we relaxed with family and friends.  While there we also managed to fit in a couple more marathons and visited historic Lambeau Field, the Jelly Belly Distribution Center, and the ever popular National Mustard Museum, among other places. 

After a lovely Wisconsin (with quick trips to Minnesota and Iowa) vacation full of tree-climbing, swimming, a high ropes course, and Hans' exploring construction sites with Grandpa, we set our sites for North Carolina.  After a stop in Chicago, we ventured into Indiana, home of the Motor Speedway and one of the world's best children's museums.  From that point, we lit out for home, crossing several state lines in the process, and finally arrived in North Carolina -- and back to Jake -- two and a half months after beginning our trip. 

The trip was an adventure, but I was surprised to hear so often that people felt I was "brave" to be taking it...my country, and even my own car, with my family.  Head out and get your kicks!



Hong Kong (or, "Disneyland, condensed version")

We left Korea in a snowstorm and arrived 3 hours later in warm, sunny Hong Kong for a week of relaxation and family time.  Oh, and a brutal 100km (62 mile) footrace for Jake and me.  But first things first:  Disneyland!  The day was beautiful and we had a delightful time at the "Happiest Place on Earth".  And let me tell you, going to the House of Mouse in Hong Kong is the almost perfect Disney experience.  It takes all of the highlights of a week at Disney (Cinderella's castle, Space Mountain, the spinning tea-cups, the jungle ride, etc.) and condenses them all into one location that you can see in one day, at a quarter of the price, with no fuss, and you can take the subway from the city right up to the gate. 

Beyond Disney, we enjoyed Hong Kong by simply riding the public transportation, and Hans, especially, is a huge fan of the cross-harbor ferries and double-decker busses and trollies.  We also saw more fancy cars than we've ever seen -- not just the basic expensive cars, but Mazeratis and Lamborghinis, too.  We wandered around the island and appreciated the green trees and colorful flowers.  We ate a ton and enjoyed both authentic Chinese food and lots of gelato (we very rarely pass by ice cream shops and bakeries without a purchase while travelling).  Most of our time was spent simply soaking up the city and its sights, including riding every inch of the longest escalator system in world!  We also hung out on the rooftop garden of our rented apartment, playing board games and watching the ships in the harbor.

We found a babysitter through friends we had met on the Mongolia trip, and the kids had a great time with her while we were at the race, going to church, visiting the aquarium, an amusement park, and the zoo.

The race course was gorgeous, up and down the mountains and along the seashore.  And when we say up and down, we do mean quite literally.  The course goes to the summit of the 7 highest mountains in Hong Kong and back down to the coast after each one , and is amazingly more rural than you would think it could possibly be in a territory with a population of over 7 million, but it was.  I have never felt as alone as I did up there on top of those mountains in the middle of the night!  Earlier in the day when we were still running together, Jake ate a candy bar and had to wrestle a monkey for the wrapper to keep from littering.  The imagination works like crazy in those conditions, and I couldn't help but wonder what else there was around.  Anyway, Jake had a fantastic run and finished strong in 21 hours 35 minutes (coming in approximately 500th out of 850+), but the night took its toll on me and I was one of the 220+ people to drop out, having made it to the 83km mark with some minor injuries.

All in all, an exhausting trip, but definitely one filled with a ton of memories.

In the Land of Genghis Khan -- Mongolia

 

The summer school holidays in Korea are only about 4 weeks long, but we made the most of them with another amazing adventure:  Mongolia!  Landing in the capital city of Ulaan Baatar at midnight, we found ourselves in a tiny airport where the driver our hostel sent for us was able to park right at the curb.  Right from the start, Jake and I felt like we were back in Kazakhstan (where we lived for awhile right after college), and all the similarities made this a trip down memory lane for the two of us.

We spent the first couple days exploring the city of about 1 million.  Mongolia is the home of Genghis Khan, the warlord/emperor who united central Asia and essentially invented modern diplomacy before his death in 1227.  Isolated, Mongolia has been open to tourists only since the 1990's, and we didn't exactly have to fight any crowds!  We did some shopping and saw the sites, including Buddhist temples, an art museum, the Museum of Natural History (Mongolia is home of some of the best dinosaur finds in the world), and a small amusement park. 

The next morning we visited the market (more memories of Kazakhstan!), and after lunch met up with the group of runners and families heading for the Mongolian Sunrise to Sunset Marathon and 100km race.  Security was surprisingly tight as our group filled a plane for the 90-minute flight to Maron in northwest Mongolia, where we actually had to show our baggage claim tickets to retrieve our luggage.

We climbed into several vans for the 3-hour drive straight north over gravel, and then grass, roads, to Lake Khovsgol.  We then spent a week living in a yurt (which is called a "ger" in Mongolian) with nothing more taxing to do than decide if we wanted to hike, kayak, canoe, throw stones into the lake, take a horseback ride, play on the swingset, read, or draw pictures.  We met some very interesting people from all over the world, and were especially excited to discover some other kids were along for the trip.  Hans taught several people how to play "Uno", and Miriam got a kick out of herding the yaks and the cows out of the living areas.

This was truly "Outer Mongolia" -- we were remote and it was quiet!  No phones, no computers, no planes flying overhead.  There was electricity from 8-11PM, showers with trickling water, and flush toilets that emptied into a holding tank which daily was driven 100 miles to be dumped.  We were fed two meals each day in the dining hall and received box lunches, and all included homemade bread and jam, plus fresh-from-the-cow milk and yogurt for breakfast.  On the evening before the race, the staff gave a concert of traditional Mongolian music and talked a little bit about the animistic religion they traditionally follow as they offered prayers for our safety to the forest, lake, and mountains.

Most of us assembled at Camp Toilogt on Lake Khovsgol were there for the marathon and ultramarathon, billed as the world's most beautiful 100km race.  We were awakened by the sounds of traditional Mongolian music at 3:30am.  (Miriam and Hans thankfully slept through the commotion and enjoyed another day of relaxing around the camp).  Jake and I didn't know how far we'd end up running, but were eager to join our new friends and greet the day.

We began the race at precisely 4:30, the only thing on the clock for the entire week.  The first couple of miles were rather a slow hike for most of us as it was pitch dark and we were climbing over logs and ducking under low branches by the light of our headlamps, but once the sun came out, we had a very beautiful day, not too warm, but not chilly, either.  Due to the remote nature of the race, all participants were required to carry a pack with not only food and water, but also raingear and even a compass!  But the trails were well marked, and we didn't need to dig into any emergency supplies.  Much of the first part of the course is not runnable, with extremely steep mountain passes.  We climbed above the tree-line, and then of course had to come back down!  We ran along the lake through alpine meadows, through tundra and pine forests, on springy moss and dry creek beds, and along dirt and gravel roads.  It was so amazing to realize that we were walking where very few people had ever stood, and the last time these trails were used was probably during the previous year's race.  Those trees have stood hundreds of years without being disturbed, and many without ever having been seen before!  The views were all gorgeous, and the mosquitoes were hungry.  The people working the water and aid stations got there on horseback, and they boiled the water over camp fires!  It was a very tough race, but also incredibly fun.  I stopped after the marathon and Jake continued for the ultra, completing his first 100km (62 mile) foot-race in 17 hours and 40 minutes.

After another day of relaxation and celebration at the camp, our group returned to Ulan Baatar, and we continued on to Seoul.  Now that we've experienced two very different running trips, we continue to be devoted to marathons and ultras, and are enjoying using running as an excellent way to see the world.  And hey, now that we've taken our kids to Outer Mongolia, everywhere else may seem pretty tame in comparison!



The Great Wall of China

When we arrived in South Korea, one of the first things that Miriam asked was "Now that we live in Asia, can we go and see the Great Wall of China and the Terra Cotta Warriors?"  Her kindergarten teacher was a bit of a Sino-phile, and all of the global studies she learned apparently sank in.  Thank you Mrs. Mayes!  At any rate, I told her that I would see, and I began to research a potential trip.  Soon afterward, a running acquaintance mentioned her family was going to the Great Wall of China marathon, and said that if I wanted to run, her daughter would be happy to babysit Miriam during the race.  That settled it, the trip was on.  Jake and Hans held down the home fort for this one.

We dropped Hans off at his kindergarten on our way to the bus station.  The timing of the bus was perfect, and we quickly boarded our plane to China.  A short 2-hour flight later, we landed in Beijing, cleared customs, and met up with our tour group.  (Although we usually travel independently, non-residents of China are only allowed to enter the Great Wall Marathon through tour groups).  After meeting up with our friends, we spent the afternoon exploring the neighborhood around the hotel, buying snacks, and looking through the Silk Market before dinner.

Morning dawned and after a huge breakfast of both Asian and Western foods, we set out on one of the most anticipated days -- the inspection of the Great Wall of China.  The part of the wall that the race is held on is away from the area most commonly seen by Westerners, and we took a 3-hour bus ride to see what is described as one of the most beautiful and well-preserved sections of the wall.  The inspection tour is considered an integral part of the race, a day during which we could take our time along the wall, stopping to snap photos and take in the scenery...and also find out just what would be in store for us during the race.  Namely, many of the 5,160 stair steps along the route!

Inspection Day brought gorgeous weather, and we thoroughly enjoyed our 2-mile hike.  Many people spent the rest of the day (and day after!) wondering what they had gotten themselves into and massaging their aching legs, but Miriam is a little mountain goat and scampered along the path and scrambled up thigh-high stairs in her moccasins, and still had plenty of energy left at the end of the day.

After the 3-hour ride back to Beijing, we had the first of many late nights (by Miriam's standards, at any rate), and spent an exciting evening at the theatre watching Chinese acrobats.  We loved watching the girls swing around on ribbons and the men doing diving forward rolls over chairs and through hoops, but the highlight was the finale -- 5 motorcycles zooming around the mesh "sphere of death".

The following day was spent site-seeing in Beijing, visiting Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and an interesting tour of a silk factory before a carbo-loading party at the hotel.

Then it was race day!  We received a wake-up call at 3:30am and were on the bus with sack breakfasts by 4:00.  Without traffic to contend with, the journey from Beijing was a bit quicker than it had taken the last time, but it was still plenty long.  We arrived at the Wall with just enough time to use the facilities (such as they are!) before getting Miriam to the start of her 5K race.  That race began with the 2-mile section we had hiked previously, along a section of the Great Wall and 2580 of its stairs before finishing up with a mile around a fort.

Meanwhile I started the marathon (26.2 miles or 42.2km).  The race begins with about 3 miles on the road from the fort up to the Wall, then sections of the Wall, followed by about 16 miles (most of it uphill) through villages and farms around the fort, before returning to the fort and retracing our steps in the opposite direction along the Wall, and 3 miles downhill back to the finish line.  This race ranks as one of the most difficult marathons, and it was hot, reaching over 90F.  Many people did not finish the race, and I took about 3 hours longer than my best marathon time.  I found Miriam shortly after crossing the finish line and we jumped on the first bus back to Beijing, and when we got to the hotel, Miriam collapsed into bed without supper.

The following day brought more site-seeing in Beijing, visiting the Olympic Park, a pearl factory, the Summer Palace, and the panda exhibit at the zoo.  The next day we visited a temple, a tea shop, and a park where we joined thousands of Beijing residents in their morning exercises. On Tuesday we flew to Xian where we saw another temple, the ancient city walls, and spent about $0.10 on the biggest cone of cotton candy I've ever seen!

And then came our last day in China.  We began at a clay shop where we watched terra cotta statues being made, and then the other major highlight of our trip -- the Terra Cotta Warriors!  We finished up with a trip to an art museum where Miriam impressed the docent with her knowledge and experience 

I'm sure no one in our tour group expected to spend their trip to China with a 7-year-old, but we greatly enjoyed ourselves with a wonderful group of people.  We said good-bye to our new friends and spent the evening relaxing at the pool of our hotel before an early start the next day with flights from Xian to Beijing, and then on to Seoul.  Our trip home went as clockwork, and even better than originally booked as we were able to get on an earlier flight and even made it home in time for dinner.

Miriam declared the adventure everything she had hoped it would be, bookended with the two things she most longed to see in the world:  the Great Wall of China and the Terra Cotta Warriors of Xian.  Success!





Spiders, Snakes, Monkeys, and Elephants

In the summer of 2011, we moved back overseas, this time for two years in South Korea.  Once in Korea, we had a new continent to explore, and several new trips to plan.  A separate posting will be about our adventures in the Korean peninsula, but in the meantime, I want to tell you about our trip to Thailand.

The flight from cold, snowy Korea to tropical Thailand takes about 6 hours, and we arrived around midnight, when we inhaled the warm, humid air and made a sweaty dash across the parking lot to the airport hotel.  A gorgeous hotel and a peaceful night, the perfect way to begin our relaxing holiday.  In the morning we enjoyed the beautiful courtyard pool and fancy bathroom before picking up our rental car and heading out into Thailand proper.  No more fancy bathrooms!

Our first stop was in Kanchiniburi, roughly 3 hours northwest of Bangkok, famous as the town where the bridge over the River Kwai (of the 1957 Oscar-winning film fame) is located.  It turned out that the English-language version of our hostel was incorrect and a 2-hour comedy of errors ensued, but after much driving around, some friendly locals actually got in their pickup truck and led us to where we needed to go.  Our hostel was a cottage in a retreat center, complete with an open-air dining hall and playground, and was surrounded by banana trees.  Bananas picked fresh off the tree from hand-made bamboo ladders are so delicious -- so much yummier than Chiquita!

Thailand was already pretty idyllic for us with its warm sunshine and fantastic food, but now the true adventure was about to begin.  Next stop:  elephants!

We were picked up by a guide service and spent the morning on an elephant ride into the rainforest, where we trekked for about an hour to a delicious lunch of grilled chicken with rice steamed inside bamboo stalks and fresh pineapple, all served near a waterfall.  Our guides pointed out many interesting plants and bugs, and we sailed toy boats they made out of banana leaves.  A short ride in the bed of a pickup truck (one of Hans' highlights of the whole trip) took us to a small river where we got to play Huck Finn on a traditional Thai raft.  Off to a hot springs for a soak, then back to the hotel for the playground, a homemade dinner, and bed. 

As the next morning dawned, we returned to the playground to wait for our guides to pick us up again.  The first stop was a national park for a hike near a waterfall.  Here we saw some local wildlife:  some snakes and lots of monkeys.  And the fish.  The ponds of the waterfall are full of  "spa fish" which nibble on the swimmers.  It's a strange, ticklish feeling, but it does provide an excellent pedicure!

After lunch in the park, we were off to the activity where we took the most photos (thank goodness for digital cameras!) -- bathing an elephant!  This was amazing fun.  We walked down to the river with our elephant and her handler, where she sat down in the water and we clambered up.  Climbing onto an elephant isn't like mounting a horse, it's more like scrambling up a mountain, and their hair is wiry, like a pig's.  We spent a delightful 45 minutes scrubbing the elephant and being sprayed by her, followed by a bareback ride and hand-feeding her some tiny pineapples. 

Following the elephant excitement, we took a train ride on the "death railway", the railroad built by WWII prisoners, and spent time at the Bridge Over the River Kwai.  We said good-bye to our guide and spent another quiet evening back at our retreat center.  The next day we left Kanchaniburi for a few days at the beach at Hua Hin.  We didn't actually eat at McDonald's (we never do at home either), but we couldn't resist the photo with Ronald and his Thai greeting of "Sawadicrap".  We built lots of sandcastles, splashed in the ocean, and enjoyed the pony rides.  The shopping center was still lit up for the holidays, and the decorations almost made Rockafeller Center seem plain in comparison.

On Wednesday, we headed back to Bangkok where we turned in our rental car.  Once in the city, we could use the monorail, taxis, water busses, and tuk-tuks, and the public transportation was part of our adventure.  Over our days in Bangkok we enjoyed the markets, paddle boats, zoo, and snake farm, where one of the other highlights of our trip was holding the Burmese python. 

We flew back to Seoul overnight, and a quiet ending to a wonderful vacation that let us arrive just in time for Sunday School.  Thailand is a beautiful, friendly, country, and our trip was full of priceless memories.



Spring break...in Alaska?

In the spring of 2010 I was finally convinced that I should begin writing up all of our trips, so beginning with this post, I have notes about what we did, when, and where.  At this late date, I will not recreate the entire newsletter, but here is the gist of it.

For spring break that year, we decided to join my parents on a trip to Alaska, the 49th state for both my Dad and me (he never got Hawaii, and I still need Maine).  Our first flight out was on a little plane that only had 2 seats on each side, so Miriam got to sit by herself across the aisle from us, and she felt very grown-up.  Once in Seattle, we marched through the airport with Miriam holding my hand and Hans holding on to Miriam's elephant backpack (it has a nice long trunk).  He had on his own little yellow M&M backpack and pretended we were a train.  Our little caboose sang "chugga-chugga-choo-choo" most of the way.  I wish we had pictures, but I do know at least a dozen tourists have plenty!

On arrival in Fairbanks, we saw the only wildlife we would see for the entire trip -- two huge stuffed trophy bears, a grizzly and a polar bear.  The tiny airport makes quick work of claiming luggage and a rental car, and we had a quick but extremely expensive pizza before closing our black-out curtains and collapsing into bed.  Fairbanks celebrates March with an ice carving festival and championship.  The ice is cut into huge blocks, and is so crystal clear, you really can read a newspaper through several feet of it.  The entire city is decorated with elaborate ice sculptures.  We toured the festival grounds, played on the ice playground, and feasted on a lunch featuring reindeer sausage, before heading up to North Pole, Alaska.  We did find Santa's workshop, but unfortunately, Santa wasn't there.  Apparently he goes someplace more popular for spring break, like Fort Lauderdale...  But the reindeer were there, and we tried not to regret our sausage lunch too badly.

From North Pole, we continued to Chena Hot Springs, about 60 miles from Fairbanks, at the end of the highway.  There we relaxed in the hot springs, saw the Northern Lights (not a particularly stunning display of the aurora, but at least we did see them), toured their ice museum, and took a dog sled ride.  We did not, however, see any moose or bear, or even deer.  Two chickadees, one squirrel, and dozens of ravens...so much for seeing wildlife!  Chena is "off the grid" and heats all of the buildings using their own geothermal springs.  Which makes perfect sense, of course, but they were unable to control their available heat, and essentially the furnace is either "on" or "off".  We kept the windows wide open, and the staff told us that the doors and windows in the public areas are left propped open all winter, even when it's -50F.  The weather was very pleasant our whole trip, in the 20s overnight and into the 40s in the afternoons, with bright sun and no wind.  Miriam spent the following week telling people that Alaska was hot so that she had to sleep in just her underwear. 

After saying good-bye to the dogs, we headed back to Fairbanks, with another stop in North Pole on the way (Santa was still on vacation).  We were awed by the Alaska Pipeline, toured the visitor's center, a dog-sled racing museum, and found some cookies and fudge to round out our vacation.  Words that we live by:  a vacation is never complete without plenty of dessert. 



I Say "Aloha", Then They Say "Aloha"...

When Miriam was about four years old, she became obsessed with volcanoes, and we thought that might be a good excuse to plan a trip to Hawaii.  Shortly before we actually left on our trip, Hans learned to walk, and at some point managed to break his arm, so we got to plan our beach getaway with a toddler with his arm in a cast.  It worked out...did you know they make special water-and-sand-proof cast covers?

We spent about 10 days in Hawaii, divided between Oahu and the Big Island, where we did indeed see volcanoes.  We swam, hiked, ate tropical fruit, macadamias, and plenty of shave ice.  Miriam, especially, had a great time.  Our quote of the trip was from her:  "I say 'Aloha!', then they say 'Aloha', then I giggle, and then we're friends!"  And that is why we travel.

Europe: The Early Years

Miriam was born in spring of 2005, while we were living in England.  We made it to Stonehenge and the Cornwall coast yet that spring, followed by a trip to the US in June, Iceland in August, the Czech Republic (well, just Prague) in September, Croatia in October, and Hungary (Budapest) in November.  Babies are so nicely portable -- no school vacation schedules to worry about, food supply right there in mommy, they fly free, and their tiny little clothes take up no room at all in the backpack.  And diapers can be purchased pretty much anywhere.  So taking advantage of the really cheap airfares, we travelled as often as we could.  Jake came for the first few of those trips, but after that, it was just Miriam and me (someone has to work, after all).  A baby is totally the best prop for not looking like a tourist -- everyone assumes that a mom out alone with a small child is a local.  Walking around the parks, shopping, stopping at coffee shops and ice cream parlors...we fit right in!  I also mastered the art of packing light.  Over the years I've watched new mothers bring a bigger diaper bag into a restaurant than Miriam and I took as our only luggage for a long weekend.

 

 In 2006 we moved to Germany, but we took a detour across the United States first, and enjoyed the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas on our way.  Once we arrived on the Continent, there were more countries to pick up over the next couple years:  France, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, Holland, Belgium, Luxemburg, and Slovakia, as well as Spain (the island of Mallorca), and Malta.  Hans was born during the winter of 2007, and then we had to hustle to get him a few countries, too, before our looming move back to the United States.

 

We have some great stories from those years.  In Croatia, I stopped at a market and got a vendor to give me an empty banana box, which became Miriam's crib for the week.  The first meat she ate was in Budapest, some wild boar.  Her favorite food was (and remained, until she became a vegetarian last year) escargots.  As a two-year-old, she could throw tantrums in both English and German.  The memories...