Saturday, January 12, 2013

Out and about in Guangzhou!

Since Lee was so great at getting us in and out of the medical office early we had the drive drop us off on Sha Miam Island. We stayed on the island in March 2009 when we were here for Lindsey's adoption. It was an incredible feeling to see it again. This familiar place with such wonderful memories. We stayed at the White Swan Hotel then, as many adoptive families once did. However, this time it is under construction and has been for a year! I had heard they were remodeling. I just assumed it was new paint, tile and carpet... ya know a cosmetic overhaul. When we got here I wanted to head over and see if I could still get pictures of Hudson on the red couch. A traditional photo that adoptive families take here. BUT its completely torn apart. Seems to only be concrete left. You could basically see right through it, except for the green tarp and bamboo scaffolding. I think its going to be awhile before they are up and running again!


I forgot to mention in the post about the medical visit that there is one other family from our agency. Living Hope Adoption Agency in Pennsylvania. www.livinghopeadoption.org

We had a great time meeting families last time we were here and have stayed in touch with many of them which has been great. They all live out of state... But the really great part about the family we met this time is that they live only about 40 minutes from us!!!! We have been spending time with Amanda and Ben and their new daughter Sophia. We are already making plans to have a little get together with them and a few of our other China adoption local friends (I think you will know who you are if you are reading this! Be on the look out for your invite! If you don't hear from me... invite yourself over! The more the merrier!) This is something that I have been desiring to do for a long time. So our new found friends have encouraged me to get on with it! I wish I had taken more pictures with them. We only have one of their family I think.


So we spent the afternoon with our new friends, walking around the island, shopping, playing and we ate at Lucy's an American cuisine restaurant... we all got big juicy burgers and some fries! We enjoyed our visit while we ate and listened to American music from the 80's!

Below are a few more photos from our fun day on the Island. The big boys helped Hudson play on the playground and enjoyed it themselves as well. Good times!




Ben and Amanda took Sophia back to their hotel for a nap and we ventured out for some more culture! When we were here in 2009 Tom and I walked a long way and found a great shopping area that is less for tourists and more where the locals shop. So we headed back that way again. It was great to see all of the culture but I have to admit at times I was a little nervous about getting our pockets picked! It was SUPER crowded! And I mean China crowded not Chicago crowded... some of you will know what I mean its just TIGHT! The other major issue is that we had a VERY long walk to get there and Hudson HATES the stroller! We can't use the baby carrier because Hudson has a very large hernia (LONG SCARY story that we haven't shared on the blog) Tom can't carry him because its terribly hard on his ankle... so by the time we got there my arms and back were twitching from fatigue...normally I am pretty tough but carrying around 22 squirmy pounds for a week is taking its toll. It was a fun and enlightening experience, especially for the boys. Fun photos below...


Spice shops...
Here they had all types dried mushrooms and spices as well as a bunch of other mystery items! :)

Yum-yum bakery! Garrett's favorite... we have one in the hotel that we get rolls and pastries from in the morning... very good and very inexpensive.
This is a very large shopping center and the deeper we got into it... the busier it got!
We thought this was interesting especially in light of our families recent house fire. These are all over the place, at stores and restaurants. This one is in our hotel room. We are on the 13th floor So I suppose I am grateful its here, but a little nerve racking... the boys think it looks more like what you would use in an alien invasion than a fire but we plan to use it for either if needed! :)
A very sleepy little boy enjoyed watching us play Rummicube until he decided he was done with us playing and dove into the middle and messed it all up! Stinker! I love when I see signs of a normal silly toddler! Warms my heart.

1 comment:

  1. Seeing the sights of Sha Miam Islands brings back memories. I wish we lived closer to you guys, Kaylee and I would love to be part of your group of families with Chinese Children. We might have to take a girls only trip to Chicago sometime!

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