There were a few directions we hadn't walked from the hotel, we took one on our way to the Lingering Garden. We found there was a very nice pedestrian shopping area, with nice fountains and displays. At one end of it was a children's amusement area, which Leah will eventually post about. It supposedly wasn't very far to the garden, but we weren't exactly sure which street to turn down, so we decided to catch a pedicab. These are the bicycles with the seats in the back. Actually, the one we took was a scooter and I think they are called electric pedicabs. The Lingering Garden, or Liu Yuan in Chinese, is a small garden, but is supposedly one of the four most famous classical gardens in China. It was built in 1593, during the Ming ... read more

Jin Ji Lake is a fairly modern area in Suzhou. Ten years ago, the lake was surrounded by farmland and fishermen. The area around the lake has now been developed with business areas, beautiful parks, residence areas, and a 9 mile walkway around the entire lake. The Lake is inside of the Suzhou Industrial Park or SIP, which was developed with the help of Singapore. "There are eight neighborhoods with diverse water and landscape expressions encircling Jinji Lake. Each neighborhood has its own identity. Neighborhoods on the western and northern shores, closer to the city of Suzhou, feature broad promenades that attract residents and workers to the water's edge. Waterfront parks are adjacent to shopping, entertainment, and cultural destinations. These neighborhoods have names like Cityside Harbor, Marina Cove, Grand Promenade, and Arts and Entertainment Village. On ... read more

Shantang Street is the most famous ancient street in Suzhou, said to be almost 1200 years old, built in the Tang Dynasty in 825AD. The founder was Bai JuYi, a famous poet of the time. The canal along the back of the shops and houses is called the Shantang River. The area has been home to many famous Chinese people in the past. It was - and still is - an important business center. There were some famous buildings along the street, but the signs were all in Chinese, so I have NO idea what they were! The street runs between the Dusengqiao Bridge in the Changmen Gate business district and the Washanqiao Bridge near Tiger Hill. It is 4 to 4 1/2 miles long and we walked about 1 1/2 miles of it. It was ... read more

It was a LONG trip, but we made it! It took 26 hrs from the time we left home until we arrived at our Chinese "home." Our flight in Chicago was delayed because they had to do some repairs, but I won't complain, I'm always thankful that they find these problems and fix them while we are on the ground! The plane wasn't full, so the seat next to us was empty and we were able to sprawl out and relax a little better than usual. By the way, if anyone is ever flying from US to Asia, check out Airgorilla.com. I booked our flight through them and saved $700 for the exact same flights we had last time. Leah had gotten a new camera before we left, a Panasonic Lumix ZS3 (it's a fantastic camera!), ... read more

On Sunday, June 28, we went to Powerline Pass in the morning. We parked in the Flattop Mountain parking area and Deb, Mark, Mandy & Katie (the dogs), Leah and I all went for a walk. The weather was perfect! I guess this is a good place to spot moose, but we didn't see any. There were people hiking up many of the mountains. I guess hiking up Flattop is one of the most popular hikes in Anchorage. There were lots of pretty wildflowers along the way.... read more