Summer over?

Sigh .... our intention was to try to post weekly, now we're hoping we can at least post seasonally!

One of our summer activities is giving the dogs their haircut. Well, we should say, getting our pal Janet to give the dogs their haircut. They always look several years younger and happier once the process is done, but getting them to hold still and get their long coats combed out is an exhausting process for the dogs, and until this summer, for Jim. Again, thanks to Janet, grooming got a lot easier for Jim. Janet pointed us at a little device that keeps the critters from scooting, sitting or otherwise making it difficult to get at areas they'd rather we didn't. The harness Nellie and Bingley wear below, which we're able to anchor to stair rails, has a loop to go around the head and another to hold the body up. We have to watch placement of the back loop on Bingley, or it is hump-a-rama :-)




So what did we do this summer? We started summer with a visit to Erie. Then we spent a lovely weekend with our pals Scott and Andy to celebrate Scott's birthday. Then the start of tennis mania: Jim and pal John spent several Saturday mornings this summer wearing themselves out playing 5 sets of tennis. Besides John, we had many other summer visitors, including Dick's sister Nancy, friends Fred and Joan and Marilyn, our pals Lee and Mary Anne, and the birthday gang for Dick's birthday. We subsequently spent another birthday weekend at Janet and Rusty's, took Rich and Clay to Great Adventure, and will finish the summer with a day at the US Open and a Labor Day trip to Erie by way of the "Grand Canyon of PA".

This summer also saw us switch yard duties a bit; Dick took over for the pool, Jim took on a lot more of the yard work chores. We got a lot cleaned up, and Jim is eager to continue trimming back some of our more overgrown spots.

A nice story in NPR about the Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding.

Let's hope the earthquake's devastation and interruption in tourist travel does not result in too much hardship for these pandas!

California

Although we don't want this to become a political space, it would be, well, completely cowardly of me to NOT write this. Here goes.

Well, naturally we're pretty happy about the California decision, an excerpt of which states:

We therefore conclude that in view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship, the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians ...

"Family" -- that puts the emphasis in the right place and perhaps will answer the questions of people who have difficulty comprehending why this matters so much.

Sichuan and Burma

We seem to have just missed two catastrophes that would no doubt have affected our trip (Nargis's affect on Burma, the earthquake today in Sichuan province).

Please keep all the people suffering in these regions in your thoughts and prayers.

UPDATE: Our national guide, Nuse, received a text message from our local guide in Chengdu, Cherry, that all was well with her.

Let Jag

Both of us started stirring at 1 am this morning, slept fitfully a couple more hours, and at 3 am Dick was very much awake, while Jim was able to doze on/off until 5 am.

It is a sunny day today, so hopefully that will stimulate our bodies to get on the clock again.

It's hell, I tell you, hell.

We're back (and why we hate flying right now)

OK, so yes, airlines do useful things like get us to/from wonderful places like China, but, damn, it ain't a pleasant experience in-process.

So, we started traveling (left hotel) at 8:30 am China time Saturday (8:30 pm Friday US EDT). We boarded at 11:15, sat on the plane for over 2 hours, finally getting out of Beijing 1.5 hours later than we were supposed to. We arrived in San Francisco, worried about the short amount of time we'd have to catch our flight from SF to Newark. After waiting insufferably long to get our bags and racing thru customs to get the bags checked for our connecting flight, we learned our worries were for naught. You see, United had canceled our SF -> Newark flight, and rebooked us to catch a later flight for Washington DC (Dulles), with a puddle jumper getting us into Newark at 11:15 pm US EDT, 4 hours later than our original plans.

(NB: The United Express service out of DC was about the most disorganized, chaotic thing we've ever experienced. It was only by sheer luck and repeated questioning that we got the information that our flight was boarding and we were supposed to board. Another couple, trying to get to Allentown, missed their flight even though they asked the gate attendants several times about whether it was time to board the flight. No announcements, multiple flights leaving out the same gate. Really just sad that United has sunk so low.)

So, it was only the prospect of reunion with our beloved Aussie shepherd Bingley that was keeping us going as we approached home at 1 am.

Those who know poor Dick's problems with jet lag will be sad to know that he was up at 5 am this morning. We're hoping he'll have a better night tonight.

Anyway, we are very glad to be home, very satisfied with a trip full of highlights and amazing stories, very much looking forward to getting back into our usual routine (Jim has missed his morning runs with his pal Astry), and very tired.

Goodbye (for now) to China

Oh, we'll still be posting a lot about this trip in the coming weeks, so keep on checking us, dear readers and fellow travelers.

But there is wonderful symmetry for Dick and Jim that they started the trip with the natural beauty of sky, tree, water and rock, and they are ending the trip that way. (We are eager to forget the not nice hotel we stayed the last night in Beijing - cramped room, small beds and inadequate air conditioning!!!)

This shot of Clay, actually on the bus trip back from the orphanage, pretty much sums up how exhausted but happy we are. (Notice that he is clutching that almost-lost-but-happily-found-thanks-to-good-hunting-by-Kathy-and-Val panda, Wafa.)


So, with no further adieu (and mostly because we have to get out of here by, sob, 8 am) here is the crazy-beautiful Zhangjiajie: