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This past weekend Mike and I went to Zhangjiajie. (J-ang-Jia-Gee)
A place the Chinese claim parts of Avatar was filmed.

Or at least that what we think this sign says...

It was super fun! After 7 hours on the bus Mike and I were glad to arrive in the city. There were loads of men with taxi's waiting outside the bus terminal, and normally these are exactly the type of taxi's you avoid.($$$) But as it was nearing the haunting hour...or midnight, we figured we'd better not take our chances. 

Once our taxi driver saw the address to where would be taking us, he just kept repeating, "Boo how, boo how!" which means "No good", But we had reservations, so he would be taking us there. Grudgingly he abliged and after arriving, and still ranting at how terrible our hostel would be, we paid him, and went up the elevator to the fourth floor to find a surprisingly cute little hostel. It kind of looked like a log cabin on the side of an aparment building. And! Our room had a duvet. How I miss duvets.

p.s. that's me moving at inhuman speed out of the picture

So after a glorious nights sleep in our duvet, we headed out to the Zhangjiajie National Park. 

Our first attraction was the Yellow Limestone Caves. Here's a video of the 3 hours in and around the caves. It was rather phenomenal.

I'm sorry about the quality of the movie, my internet won't let me upload anything bigger.

 Next we took a 7 minute cable car ride up to the rocks. It was pretty unbelievable up there.

Once up there, we explored around a bit, before taking the free bus to our hostel in the mountains. Here are some of the sights.

Really? Who thought,
"This is the perfect place to sell giant wooden eagles to tourists! On top of this mountain!"

This is what I pretended I looked like climbing all 100,000,000 of these steps...

...but this is what I really looked like.

Our classy little mountain hostel

At around 7pm we finally made it to our hostel in the mountains. 

After a day full of "mountain climbing" were we ever happy to be there.

Bicycles

When I was a little girl I rode my bicycle everywhere. I fell off my bike more time than I can count.
I did love riding my bike!
But then something happened, I'm not sure when, whether it was in Cardston or when I moved to the city, but I stopped riding my bike.
I guess we must have had a falling out, bikes and me.
But here in China we have no choice but to ride bikes everywhere.
So Mike and I swerve through traffic and cycle through the masses.
Our riding motto: We Ride for Justice.

Say Hello to the Dusk Warden...

...and the Pink Pucker!

Alright, that's enough of that...

Yes, We Ate Dog.

The first exotic treat in China we needed to try was dog. Mike loves dogs but even he felt the need to try this Chinese delicacy.
Turns out it's not really as common as you'd think. A lot of Chinese people were offended at the idea. Who knew?

Anyway, after searching the numerous restaurants in the beautiful Yangshuo we, along with a few of our fellow TESOL trainees found a place that served up some succulent dog.
To be honest, it wasn't that bad. It tasted simalar to beef; the only problem was the fact that we were eating "Man's Best Friend."
But it was worth the experience.
Can't say we'll do it again, but we can now say we've done it!

Thanks beautiful Yangshou!

Holidays in China 2

The biggest Holiday in China.
Chinese National Day.
To understand the grandness of this holiday, imagine a few billion people in one country getting an entire week off of work.
Our dreams for this holiday were just as grand. Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, and finally Chengdu.
Unfortunaly the rest of China had the same idea, and got there first.
So we ended up only going to Xi'an. And it was amazing! Xi'an(pronounced Shi-ahn) is home to the 8th wonder of the world; The Terracotta Soldiers. Information about them here.
It was so unbelievable. So unbelievable. So unbelieve...I think you get it. But seriously, I felt like China was playing the hugest joke on me. It was like when my dad got his eye lasered and stopped wearing his glasses all the time. Implausible. Inconceivable. So I made a little video for your enjoyment.

Enjoy.

Holidays in China

Our first holiday in China was the Mid Autumn Festival.
Holidays in China always have a very interesting history. If you want to know more about this one you can go here.

Every year they buy each other little delicacies called moon cakes. In everyone's excitment to see the white people...let's just say we got more than our fair share.

various moon cakes styles.

That weekend a student invited us to his farm for the weekend. Considering we had to speak through his little english to everyone, it was still a super fun weekend!

p.s the student english name is Angelino. A creation he made all on his own. We like it:)

We're in China!

Yup were in China.

After a long long flight into the gleaming sun we arrived in China! We were so excited until we realised...
People here really dont speak ANY English. Go figure eh?

Anyway, we made it to our training center and became qualified to teach English. Now we are at our school and we love the culture and the people!

Here is a little video of samplings from our first month here.

(Secret: We've made all these little cheezy trailers on a imovie app.)

Pre-China

So blogger being blocked in China put a real damper on my blogging abilties.

But!

My wonderful husband searched and searched and found a way onto all the blocked sites.
(mostly so he could got on facebook but hey, I like fb too)  ;)
[For some reason I cant put pics up but know we looked awesome the whole time!]

So here is a quick compilation of all the places we went before we arrived in China.

-Vancouver.


-Travelling to L.A.
We took a bus across the border to an airport, in which we flew from Bellingham to Seatle to Los Angeles. Yup, we had a layover. And!
In that time, our luggage had flown to Hawaii. Somehow, we weren't there, but our luggage was.
As result we got to go on a $500 shopping, courtesy of Alaska Airlines. Sweet!

Anyway.
-L.A.
We arrive late at night to Jon and Ali's and we're so exhausted. The next day we went to church and the next day were on our way to San Fran!

-San Fran.
Thank you Russ and Nat for letting us stay! It was a wonderful to see you guys, the girls, and of course, surprisingly, Dee and Bob. ;)

-A Sweet Beach.

-Sea World.

-San Diego. Holy Smokes, what a beautiful temple.

-Tijuana, Mexico

-Universal Studios.

-The Disney Studios (I wont lie, I was like a school girl at a Justin Bieber concert in here. I was so excited)

Hollywood.

And last but defintly not least.
-Disney Land!

                         Next Stop. CHINA!

The Ocean Commotion.

Our ocean adventures all started Monday morning. We drove up to my parents house (the Youngs) and help pack everything into the caravan and the camry.  Magically all of a weeks worth of ocean kayaking, 2 weeks of California, and 5 months of China was able to fit into two vehicles. The road to BC is a long one.

We arrived at our first campsite and played games and ate very well. You always know when Nana comes you’ll be well fed. The next morning we were on our way to pick up Grampy. After we picked him up, we drove a whole lot more. Driving seems to be Mike and I’s specialty.

The next morning we drove several more hours, took a ferry and then arrived in Tofino.  After finding the Kayak rental store and picking up my father, and swiftly packing the kayaks to beat the incoming tide, we were ready to go.  Rosee, Mom, Eddie, Nana, Grampy, and everybody else there to brave the ocean.

After a quick how-to on kayaking, we started our on trip and went out into the ocean. As soon as we start the fog started pouring in.  We paddled hard for another 30 minutes and then arrived at a suitable beach to set up camp at. It was the most beautiful beach we discovered as the fog rolled out.  The majority of it would disappear as the tide came in, but our tents were high enough ground that we slept dry every night.

The next day we went out into water and Dad and Eddie tipped their kayak. This was kayak lessons. Eddie quickly jumped on to the end of a nearby kayak. Poor Dad had to sit in the cold water as we figured out what to do. Dad had explained what was to be done in this situation before, but it seemed that no body was in a rush to help them back in, nor did they really know how. Finally we figured it out and Dad and Eddie were able to get back in their kayak. After that, we were done with kayaking for the day.

The next day we packed up everything back into the kayaks and set on our way to the next campsite. Just like clockwork, as soon as we got far enough out, the fog rolled in.  Dad figured we would want to go out on the open ocean so he took us out onto open waters. It was really cool and exciting. Whale watching boats kept driving by, and suddenly we could hear some whale sounds. We had gone out far enough that we could hardly see land through the fog. Some people we’re itching to go out whale hunting, but my kayak partner Ryan wasn’t feeling to hot, and I was freaking out because if we went any farther out we would lose sight of the land. How was I to know my Dad had everything under control? Anyway, I started hollering. He could tell from the tone of my voice I wasn’t going out any farther, so we started towards our next campsite.

Turns out the waves onto this beach were a bit more than we bargained for. As Ryan and I came in, we hit a wave wrong and over we went. We turned it over and quickly grabbed everything. Then we looked back to see Amanda and Nana come in, and unfortunately they shared the same fate as us. Amanda popped right up, but Nana wasn’t coming up so Dad and Reg ran out. Amanda had her out by this time, and Reg and Dad helped her to shore while Amanda took the kayak to shore. Then we all watched Rosee and Grampy. Needless to say, I was a bit of a mess by this time. Luckily, everyone else was able to make it to shore right side up.

This campsite was huge! At least compared to our last one. ;) Upon exploring this campsite, we discovered wolves lived at the campsite over.  That afternoon we played in the ocean for a bit. Goodness, it’s cold in there. Mike invented a new sport called foot surfing, which really just is running up and down the surf, but it sure was fun!

The next day we were up early to get that island. The only problem was that we somehow had to get out of those awful waves crashing in. Eventually, Mike and Dad decided to sacrifice their warmth and pull everybody out as far as they could and hopefully we’d be able to make it from there. The partners were divvied out and I was going to be with Nana. I was so frightened! Mike and Dad ran us out and then we paddled hard! Miraculously, we made it and we were on the ocean. I’m not going to lie. Nana was the powerhouse in our group. There was no stopping Nana. She’s amazing! After 1 wrong turn and 3 ½ hours of kayaking, we finally made it back to the kayak rental shop. Oh and were we glad to be back!

While on the ferry Mike and I separate all our China stuff from our kayaking luggage and now were finally ready to go on our way. We said our good-byes and continued up to North Vancouver to see Mike’s uncle Tom and his Aunt Linda. 

It All Began!

Monday morning. Mike and I finish packing up the entirety of our suite.  After playing tetrus for a while, we are able to move everything into our storage unit.  It’s gonna be a real treat to get everything back out of there, but we’re not going to think about that for 6 months.

The road to Saskatchewan was an interesting one.  Saskatchewan really is the land of the living skies! 

no actual footage of the double rainbow.

 In the 4-hour drive we encountered blistering hot sun, a full on double rainbow, the most aggressive rainstorm either of us had ever seen, and a phenomenal light show. After getting lost in the back roads for what seemed like forever, breaking our engine cover on a rouge rock, we figured it was time to stop by some old woman’s house and get directions. We then found the Sorpold’s house in no time!

The Sorpolds lovely backyard veiw!

36 hours never went so fast! After a late night arrival and some catching up with one another, we had a midnight hot tubbing and then hit the sack in preparation for a fun filled day. 2 Sea Doo’s, an inner tube, a waterfall replica of a slide, an air mattress, and Ladder Toss all made for a full day of good times and sore bodies which is sure not to be forgotten! Thanks Sorpolds!

All too soon we found ourselves on the road again. After a few more road and direction mishaps we made it to the border. Turns out that port means border. Whoops!

In our excelling in the art of road tripping, our 9-hour trip to Idaho Falls took us a painstaking 13 hours.  We’re especially good at getting lost! Once in Idaho Falls, we found ourselves trying to locate the Bradley residence, to no avail. Finally, we said a prayer, asked some ruffians, and they miraculously knew exactly how to get there.  We quickly caught up and hit the hay A.S.A.P.

The next morning we set out to their cabin.

                                                      Cabin Rules

1. Eat when you’re hungry. 

2. Sleep when you’re tired. 

3. Shower when you stink.  

4. Leave you watch in your car or at the door. 

5. No Calorie zone.

Lots of veggin-out, TV watching, dog playing, campfireing, lake swimming, ATV rides into the sunset, and delicious dinner eating made for a very relaxing weekend! The dogs in the lake were hilarious!  The only thing we didn’t do was go on a Big Foot hunt! Ps. Dont be fooled by the picture of me and the dogs, it must have been photo shopped or something. ;)

Thats Old Faithful behind us.

On our way home we decided to add a little spice to the strait shot to Canada. Jill offered us their Yellow Stone Park pass as it was going to expire the next day anyway.  We made our way up to Old Faithfull!  Unfortunately we got there just after it had erupted. It was still smoking though and we thought that was pretty cool. Yellow Stone Park was such a beautiful drive!

Up past Old Faithful was a place called Mammoth Hot Springs. One would imagine that hot springs meant a little pool you can swim in that’s all nice and warm. We sure did! Turns out it meant exactly what it was called. An actual hot spring in the ground.

Disappointed we inquired in a local gas station for any hot springs you could go in. He said to go to the Boiling Lake, which is kinda warm, or go up to Montana, and try the Chico Hot Springs.

We drove to Boiling Lake and figured if that was a warm lake, we couldn’t imagine what a cold lake was like. The drive to Chico Hot Springs was lovely and quick, and it turns out there is the coolest little resort in Pray, Montana that has a hot springs fed pool. We swam in that for about an hour and then started the way home.

We were able to hit every roadblock along the way which set us back even more. We stopped in Helena at McDees for a delicious and nutritious meal at 11:00. Then upon hitting Great Falls at 12:30 we decided to break into the Walker mobile and sleep on the constructed bed for a quick nap.

The next morning we were on our way home! Once again, we got through the border smoothly and made it to Mike’s parents house by 11:30am. 

And boy were we glad to be home!