Staycation

It's holiday time again around here starting with National Day on October 1. The girls and Larry are on vacation and we decided to stick around and explore the surrounding area.

Things didn't start off too well as Larry, Katie and Sarah developed a mean stomach bug Friday. Katie wanted to go to TGIF for her birthday dinner. We usually stay awhile, but Larry looked almost green. Sarah recovered quicker and was raring to go the next day. Larry didn't eat for a couple of days. I made a birthday cake and it hardly got touched as nobody felt like eating.

Thankfully, we all felt better by Sunday. We'd made plans to go to the Shanghai Westin for the brunch. Larry and I went in June and told each other we had to bring the girls. There is food galore, drinks galore and entertainment galore. We arrived when the doors opened and didn't leave until the food was taken away. Four hours of food bliss. The free flowing champagne didn't hurt either. Afterwards, we went to the Bund, which is along the river and sports some of the prettiest views in Shanghai. There were plenty of people, all of whom wanted a picture with the girls. They posed with folks for a good ten minutes before we pulled them away.

Monday, we went to the city of Hangzhou. It's about the same distance away as Shanghai, but once we got to the city it took another hour and a half to navigate to West Lake, where we met up with Linda and her friends. We had no idea the city was so huge. There's plenty to see and do, but definitely not during the holiday week as there's just too many people. The walkways along the river were packed. We took a twenty minute ferry ride out to one of the islands. Like everything in China, the lake has a long history. The Mid-Lake Pavilion, on the earliest of three islands, was built in 1552. The folklore surrounding the various bridges, ponds, archways and statues is staggering. Most involved emperors, princesses, secret romances and lost loves. Linda tried to keep us educated, but even she wasn't sure of some it. We left her with her friends and headed back, only to get stuck in a traffic jam at the toll booth entering into Jiangsu province. Eight lanes down to two, the toll booths were staggering the entrance for all the cars. We sat for close to an hour and a half.

Larry's quality team invited us for an adventure out at Lake Tai on Wednesday. We again, weren't sure where they were taking us until we pulled into the aquarium parking lot. Twice is ok, but not three times. We told them we'd just been a couple weeks prior. We asked about the chairlift ride and scenic vista at the top of the mountain. Ask and you shall receive. I'm not sure how old the chairlift was, but it looked suspiciously like the one I used to ride at Mt. Tom in Massachusetts in the early 80's. The view from the top was beautiful. Even though it was hazy, we could see the surrounding hills and the lake, which encompassed three quarters of the area. The girls were more excited about how we were going to get down the mountain. A 1.2 kilometer alpine slide weaved its way to the bottom and the girls were chomping at the bit to try it. Sarah went with Larry, Syd came with me, while Katie braved the ride on her own. It didn't take us long to get the hang of it. Squealing the whole way down, we hardly noticed the lack of safety nets as we banked high on the steep cliff. We were going too fast to worry about it all. Larry's co-workers weren't as daring as us and it took them a good seven or eight minutes where it took us only two to get to the bottom.

Lunch was at one of the many restaurants found on the first island. Owners stand out on the road and flag down cars as they pass hoping they'll stop. We walked through the little restaurant's kitchen and prep area to the garden seating in back. There were a half dozen small gazebos set up amidst the sweet smelling tea olives and trees. We didn't look too closely, though, as lunch could have easily escaped from the backyard and ended up in our gazebo. Most of the lunch items came straight from the lake or various streams running through the island. Small fried fish, a large steamed one, river shrimp, and plenty of fresh vegetables. There were a couple of mystery meats, from which I stayed away. Sydney once again tried just about everything and amazed us all when she ate about a cupful of snails. She said she really liked them, but I think she enjoyed the notoriety more.

Our adventure continued over to the third island, Xishan (West Hill). We'd driven by the area last year, but I was too chicken to stop. Linwu Caves was supposedly a haven for Taoists during the Tang and Song Dynasty. I tried to overlook the lack of safety railings as we explored the caves and then climb the hill to the Jiafu Tower. Katie and Larry didn't go to the Tower and by the time I'd made it back down I'd wished I'd abstained. My knees were screaming at me. The view from the top was almost worth the climb.

Larry had to go back to work on Thursday, so the girls and I caught up on some much needed housework. The weather has been delightful, hindered only by the bloodthirsty mosquitos. A much needed staycation for all...well, not really for me as I feel like I've been on one for a year now.