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Saturday, June 16, 2012

One Night Stay in ShenZhen, China

ShenZhen, China is just across the border
from Hong Kong to Mainland China.
We have been many to ShenZhen
many times, once to activate our
Chinese Visas, and other visits to shop at the 
"large and spacious building", but we
had never been to the main part of the city.
Two months ago we reserved this weekend
to make a trip to see the metropolis that has 
a larger population than Beijing.

 We went SHOPPING:
For high-end tote bags, UGG boots,
Name brand t-shirts and Chinese Lions.

We stayed at the ShenZhen Luohu
Holiday Inn Express


The view from our hotel room window 
 We took a taxi from the hotel to
Window of the World amusement park.
From travelchinaguide.com:
Here you can see vivid replicas of 
the world's wonders, 
historical heritages and famous scenic sites. 
The entire masterpiece is built 
at ratios of 1:1, 1:5 or 1:15.





The Grand Palace of Thailand
Tokyo Imperial Palace
Borobudur - Indonesia

Angkor Wat - Cambodia
Japanese Gardens

Miyajima Gate - Japan
A Chinese man requests a photo opp 
with Fred.

Swingin' in Japan



Taj Mahal - India
FAMILY PHOTO










China marries India for the perfect family photo.
Alcazar Castle - Spain
Sydney Harbor Bridge
Sydney Opera House
Italy with Paris in the background
Holland
Italy
The Vatican
Versialles - France
The Eiffel Tower - France

Stonehenge - England
St. Basil's Cathedral - Russia
London Bridge
House of Parliment - Westminster - Britain

Buckingham Palace - Britain
The Arc de Triomphe - France
Paris, France
Shopping plaza
Sampson - I mean Fred - entering the streets of Italy
The streets of Italy
Haleigh pointed out it's not ASSOCIATION
it's ASSOCIATOON :)

A Winter Wonderland INDOORS
For ski training and tubing
The Colosseum - Italy
The Parthenon - Greece
The pyramids of Egypt
Niagara Falls - Canada
It was raining so hard.
We were SOAKING wet,
but we endured and saw most of the park.
The New York skyline WITH the twin towers
The Statue of Liberty
After our visit to Window of the World
we made a trip to Papa John's Pizza.

It's was SO GOOD!
It's amazing how great things taste
when you haven't had them for awhile.
GOOD pizza is hard to come by in China.

As we crossed the border from Shenzhen, China
to Hong Kong we took a moment to look
back - realizing this, most likely,
will be our last time to 
visit Mainland China
before we leave Hong Kong to return
to our HOME in Georgia.
We are SO GRATEFUL for the experience
of traveling the world!!

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Our personalized Chinese SEALS

A Chinese seal is used in place of a signature
in East Asian countries like China and Japan.
They are usually made of stone 
but some are made of wood.
On our trip to Stanley Market today
we got our own personalized seals.
 Our seals were hand-carved
out of stone.
We were VERY PLEASED with 
the way they turned out.

 The Lewis Chinese Characters' meaning
Road-Easy-Soldier
 Each seal came with a box, red ink bowl
and an explanation of the Chinese characters.

 Haleigh's Chinese characters' meaning
Hope-Lily

 Caleb's Chinese characters' meaning
Base-Happy

Ammon's Chinese characters' meaning
Peace-Gentle

Baby Shower for Elijah





 BEST BUDDIES
 Winnie Mak, Joyce Mak, Lori Bentley, Nicole Woo,
Sunnee Bishop, Amy Lefler, Patricia Fry and Leslie,
Ai Lau


Thursday, June 7, 2012

Caleb receives his Eagle Scout Award!

 The MERIT BADGES!

 Fred shares a few words about Caleb.
We were grateful some of the GOOD men
in Caleb's Hong Kong life were able to attend. 
From left to right:
--David Bishop - Knew Caleb when we lived
in Albany, GA and is a close family friend.  He helped
with Caleb's Eagle Project.
--Eric Campbell - Caleb's Young Men's President
--Beau Lefler - Caleb's seminary teacher
Also in attendance but not pictured
--Pres. George Mak - our Branch President



 Four other scouts received their Eagle
at this Court of Honor.  It was a such a nice evening.
What a blessing the scout program has
been in Caleb's life.
Well done,
WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU!

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Up the Mountain in Discovery Bay

We hiked to the top of the mountain
in Discovery Bay.
It was STRAIGHT UP and
STRAIGHT down.  It was TUFF!!
But we did it -- and proved --
WE CAN DO HARD THINGS!











 Just after I took the above picture
I took a fall.  The loose gravel
knocked my feet out from under me
and I was going down fast.
THANK GOODNESS Fred stopped me.
It could have been so much worse
 than a HUGE bruised scrape on my leg.

We made a stop at the rock pools to cool off.