March 6, 2002 Not far from Christchurch there are huge geodes that have washed out of the hillside that borders the beach. Our bus pulled into the parking area. Everyone got out and followed our guide along a boardwalk and down a set of wooden steps. The view that confronted us made us gasp in amazement. There littered on the beach were hundreds of huge round geodes. Never in my life had I imagined such a sight. We were fortunate enough to have a geologist with us on the trip. He looked at them with amazement and from the way they [View Full Entry]

---

---

Monday, July 17, 2000 Finally a really hot day in Xi'an and it really felt like summer, like Xi'an felt every day from June through August in 1995. The temperature was somewhere in the higher 90's, maybe even 100 and we were outside much of the day. Fortunately when the temperature soars in Xi'an the humidity really drops, so whenever we found shade we, perhaps I should say I, did not feel too uncomfortable. By the end of the day Amy, Bill, Nancy and I felt like we had were "well done in a slow oven." Today was a very [View Full Entry]

---

---

One night I was writing in our journal. I wrote: "Outside I can hear the happy voices of many children playing. They were playing a childrens singing game. If I am right in interpreting what I hear, one group sings and the second responds. Intermixed with the singing I could hear children laughing, calling to each other ... having a great time together. Living in a safe and a secure environment these children have a great time together." This Quonset hut type building, which was beside our building, was a favorite place for many children. Every day several would climb onto [View Full Entry]

---

---

It was a Sunday in early summer in Xi’an. I remember it was a Sunday as it was the day that Xiao and his wife took us to a Christian church service in this ancient city. After the worship service in the packed church we made our down East Street to-ward the Bell Tower. I cannot say we walked. We could not move fast enough to call it a walk. Being Sunday, a day of rest, the sidewalks were a mass of people. Along the way we stopped to watch several men and women carving intricate designs on watermelons. They were [View Full Entry]

---

---