Last night we got in Beijing around 11:15 PM. We did not get to our hotel and settled in until around 1:00 AM.
Early this morning, we met our guide, Cindy. We went to the Great Wall of China and it was Great, let me tell you. All kidding aside it would be a really awesome accomplishment to build that wall today much less in the time before Christ up until the 14 century. The section that we went to was at Mutianyu. This was about 1 hour and a half drive from our hotel and is not as crowded as the section in Badaling which is closer to Beijing. Once we got out of the city the landscape was very interesting. The way of life for Chinese farmers is much different than in the US. We got to the site of the Great Wall and took a tram to the top of the mountain (saved us from climbing a thousand stairs according to our guide). From the top of the mountain it is really breathtaking to see just how high up the wall is on the mountain and that it stretches as far as the eye can see. It does not take a lot of walking up and down the wall to let you know what kind of shape you are in. Jill says if she never sees another step it will be too soon. During our trek up the mountain to get to the tram we saw a little boy with the split pants which evidently takes some of the stress out of "Mommy I gotta go" from the parents. Fortunately we did not have to see them in action. We saw a lot of kids at the wall and it will really be great to bring Kai back here when he is older so that he can see it and really take it in.
After we got back from this adventure Jill and I walked TWO BLOCKS (read as 10 miles) to Tiananmen Square. It is really tough to breath here and that made it even more of an adventure. Well, we are now back in our room after soaking our feet in rusty mineral water we are starting to chill out and get ready for our flight tomorrow morning. That should really be an adventure as we are told that it is much easier to communicate in Beijing than it will be in Changsha and that we will definitely be persons of interest in a city that does not see many Caucasians. We are having a great time and experiencing sights, sounds, and smells that just aren't available back in the states.
Countdown until we see Rory Kai is in 2 days. We cannot wait to hold our baby boy.
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