edmundm101

Day 4 - June 28, Monday (Nashville, TN to Covington, LA) Today was hot and sunny for our departure from Nashville. Matthew wanted to see the University of Alabama so our drive today included a stop in Tuscaloosa, AL. We drove about 3.5 hours on I-59 south to Alabama to see the university campus. It was a sprawling campus lined with crepe myrtle trees and stretches of academic buildings and well manicured lawns. It definitely has the feel of an academic college campus. We made it to the stadium of the Crimson Tide which was huge by U of MD standards. We had time for lunch along the strip and then continued our trek to points south. After another 2 hours of driving in Alabama and Mississippi, we decided to push on for about 2 more ... read more

Day 2 We got some much needed rest last night and then started out the day with breakfast at the hotel. We made a quick trip to Wal-Mart after check out and then started our trek to Nashville to visit Bryan and Liz. Well funny thing about the GPS…we checked it on our first night and it indicated that Nashville was about 2 hours away so we thought it would be an easy drive. Of course as we were driving today, Stephanie said “We only have 49 minutes left.” I was excited to think we had under an hour until I looked at the mileage and realized we still have 130 miles left to go. I know I drive fast, but how could we cover that many miles in less than hour. Then we realized that ... read more

Today we left at around 10:35a.m. or 10:40a.m. The ride is going to be 7 or 8 hours! Right now we are about 2 hours into the drive and have already hit 3 states. Maryland of course, Virginia and West Virginia! At each state we are taking pictures of the sign and me and Steph next to the sign. Today at around 3:15p.m. we had lunch at Subway in Virginia. I had my usual turkey, provolone, mustard and lettuce with a coke. I also got a Sponge Bob popsicle. The gps says we will be there at 7:22p.m but the time is changing so I don’t know exact cause now we are in a little bit of traffic. Can’t wait till we get there! Finally we arrived at our hotel LaQuinta at around 8:07 p.m. The ... read more

No scheduled sightseeing which was a nice break from the routine. Time to explore on your own. Today, most of the participants got up early at 3:40 a.m. to meet at 4 a.m. in the lobby to travel to Tiananmen Square to see the flag raising. Walked from hotel with the group and then put Lucy in a Pedi cab to save time. She rode with Julie. We arrived at the square by 4: 30 a.m. and waited until about 4:55 a.m. for the flag raising. The members of the Chinese Army marched to the square from the Mao mausoleum and then across to the flag pole. They surrounded the flag pole and the flag unfurled and then slowly raised while the Chinese National Anthem is played on the speakers around the square. We had a ... read more

In the morning, Matt and I had time for a bike ride on the city wall. The city wall in Xian is the oldest intact city wall in China and was built in 600 A.D. It is 8.4 miles in perimeter and Matt and I managed to bike the entire distance. Of course after the cobblestone ride and the lightly padded bike seats our butts were pretty bruised! We checked out of the hotel and took the bus to lunch before going to the China History Museum. The museum was a great way to gain an understanding of some the great history of China however we were so tired that it was hard to focus. The exhibits started with 1million BCE and covered all the dynasties of ancient China up to the Ming Dynasty which lasted ... read more