Becky's five day blitz of Shanghai!

Hard to believe that at first when we found out I was heading to China for work that Becky wasn't sure she'd fly over here to join me for a little while....she's so much more into 'cultural trips' than I am and she really hasn't done much travelling that wasn't sport related in quite some time.   Fortunately she decided to head on over and hang out with me for a little while.

Saturday, we walked all over the city, and sampled some truly amazing fried dumplings..
Photos from day 1



Sunday, we hopped a bullet train to the nearby city of Suzhou to check out some gardens and a museum designed by I.M. Pei.
Photos from day 2



Monday, I had to return to work so Becky hit a couple museums and in the evening we took the subway over to the 'Fabric Market' where she met with a tailor to get measured for a custom-made cashmere coat.
Photos from day 3



Tuesday, the weather was a big improvement from the drizzle on Monday so Becky was able to get back out and do more urban hiking...this time armed with my slr camera instead of her point & shoot (i think she got some really nice pictures).  We finished off the day with a trip to a nearby Taiwanese restaurant where again we filled our bellies with all sorts of food that would be hard to find back home.
Photos from day 4



Wednesday, another day of perfect weather for Becky, so more sightseeing, checking out neighborhoods, galleries, markets... I think at this point she's seen more of Shanghai than I have!  My coworker Nancy and her husband Gummi took Becky and I to a Hunan restaurant for lunch where yet again we ate all sorts of culinary treats that we'd never had before.   That evening, we braved the Shanghai subway at rush-hour and headed for the airport.
Photos from day 5

Aimless wandering through Shanghai....

Having walked around a lot of downtown Shanghai, the French Concession neighborhood, and the wacky new area of Pudong, I took the subway over to the YuYuan Garden, tourist market, and just kinda wandered aimlessly for most of the day...
Its tiring walking around the touristy parts of town, constantly saying 'may-yo' ("no" in chinese)...to every offer for a watch, a tea drinking scam, or a massage....but getting off the main drag everyone pretty much leaves you alone and you get to see the city.

Morning jaunt across the Huangpu River

Finally had a half day free and took the subway over to Pudong...the 'new' part of Shanghai.  Big, big architecture over there....funny though that I think the most therapeutic thing aboiut heading over there was the lack of honking horns.  Throughout most of Shanghai there is a near constant din of honking car horns, but traffic in Pudong was so light, there weren't any horns....peace and quiet...or at least pretty close to it.

exported...

Five days after getting home from Kauai, I was back at Seatac....off to Shanghai for six weeks.    At this point, its two weeks down, four to go....so far so good.   The work is great, the city is fascinating, the lack of mountains, fresh air, and exercise is a little depressing at times, but it is certainly one heck of a cultural experience and the whole world seems a lot smaller and more easily accessible than I ever thought before.

Kauai...the calm after the wedding...the calm before Shanghai

Two days after the wedding, we were Hawaii bound.
Kauai seems like a bit of an unoriginal destination for the honeymoon...but after a week there, we definitely understood why so many people go there.
lounging at the St.Regis, backpacking the Kalalau trail along the NaPali coast, more lounging at the St.Regis, surfing, snorkeling with sea turtles, more surfing, driving up to the top of the Kalalau overlook and Waimea canyon, more lounging, then home....

its about damn time :)

link to photo album

Becky and I got hitched...shoulda done it a long time ago....

where did the summer go?....Mt.Hinman climb

link to photo album

A rather brief backpacking season this summer with travel, wedding plans, and a lingering snowpack in the Cascades, but Becky and I knocked off Mt.Hinman a few weeks before the wedding.  The approach was longish, not particularly scenic, and once at treeline the mosquitoes were incredibly thick.  We kept climbing and climbing, hoping to eventually get above the bugs. Once above treeline the views opened up and the scenery was amazing...but the skeeters were still biting any exposed flesh.
Finally, just a few hundred vertical below the summit we found a small spot amongst the rocks to set up the tent that was above bug territory.
The evening was quiet, warm, and with a full moon it was a good opportunity to try some night photography.
Sunday morning we took the quick walk to the summit of Hinman and then reentered the buggy realm of the forest for the hike back out.