Temple of Heaven

Today was a really fun day.  We went to the Temple of Heaven.  The temple was impressive, but the garden outside was wonderful.  In China, they have outdoor "gyms" that people pay an extremely low annual fee to use.  They have singing, dancing, hacky sack, parallel bars, and the list goes on.  Trevor impressed the local people with his gymnastic ability.  He was able to do the monkey bars, do flips, and jump back and forth on a contraption that looked sort of like a pommel horse.  The people go there to socialize and to be happy.  They are not at all self-conscious of others watching them or of how they look or perform.  Their goal is to be happy and be healthy.  

We were able to visit a pearl market as well today.  Because Trevor was the youngest in our group, he was able to pick a clam from the tank for them to demonstrate how they get the pearls.  These are all freshwater pearls and the pink and lavender can only be found in China.  I bought several things from there including a necklace and earrings for myself.

Next we enjoyed lunch at an authentic local restaurant.  The food was served on a lazy susan again, so we picked what we wanted to eat as it was passed around the table.  The picture at the restaurant shows our group: me, Travis, Cheri, Jeff, Marissa, Noah, and Trevor.  The kids got their picture taken with one of the waitresses who wore a traditional Chinese costume.  Outside the restaurant was another beautiful park.  This one had a lake and many different kinds of flowers and trees surrounding it.  The lotus were in bloom and were very pretty. 

The flight to Xian was not particularly fun for me.  I broke down into tears again about 2 minutes into the flight.  I thought I was going to be sick and I started to hyperventilate.  I was okay after we were in the air (and I took some medicine to calm down).  I only have to fly 3-4 more times depending on a direct or connecting flight from here to Guangzhou.  We arrived in Xian and our guide, Celine, met us at the airport.  We made it to our hotel, The Golden Flower Shangri-La.  They had an extremely busy day and must have overbooked, so we were upgraded to a deluxe suite at no extra cost.  Let me just say "WOW!"  We have a kitchen, living room, huge bedroom, and large bathroom with closet.  They already had an extra bed for Trevor and a crib for Katie in the room.  I'm impressed!  

It's been a long day.  Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!  We will get to meet Katie around 4 p.m. tomorrow afternoon.  Tomorrow morning we are going to try to sleep in and then walk to a park nearby.  I know you all can't wait to see pictures of her, so I'll try to send them as early as possible.