2012-04 Gulf Shores Alabama

For spring break this year we headed down to the gulf Shores area of Alabama.  We stayed in a condo in the town of Orange Beach.  It is located between Pensacola FL and Mobile AL.  Mariah couldn't join us this year as her spring break did not line up with Hailey's and Kara's.  Kara's friend Alissa and Hailey's friend Mikhaela came along, so there were 6 of us going down in t he van.  It is about a 1350 mile trip, and we split it up over 2 day  The first day we drove down to Hayti, Missouri.  We stopped in St. Louis at the Gateway Arch to give ourselves a break and see some this monument to westward expansion.  Underneath the arch is a museum with information about the westward expansion with various models of the carts, carriages and equipment that the settlers used.

We drove to Memphis and made a stop at Elvis Presley's home, Graceland.  We did not take the tour due to time constraints, but enjoyed going through the gift store and also seeing all the fans who were lining up for the tour.  The parking lot and gift store are across the street from the mansion, so people line up to hop on a bus which takes them to the mansion.  At the parking lot area, there are 2 of Elvis' jet planes (behind a fence so you can't see all of them without going on the tour).  From Memphis, we made out way to Orange Beach.

We arrived at Orange Beach about sunset on Saturday evening, and it was a beautiful evening, with clear skies and sliver moon setting over the pond and lowlands behind the condo.  Hurricane Ivan went through the area in 2006 and topped off many of the trees in the swamp.  It would have been interesting to see the area before it was damaged so severely by the hurricane.

Sunday we relaxed at the beach, which was located just across the street from the condo.  It was about a 5 minute walk from our front door to the beach.  The beach sand is very white and powdery.  It squeaks as you walk on it due to the fact the shape is somewhat round and it is silica based.  the squeaking varies due to humidity and temperature. One of the things I noticed and liked about the area was that there were no tents or stages set up on the beach area, just a lot of people and wide open sands.  Sunday evening the kids went to see the movie Hunger Games, which at opened on Friday at the Wharf theater.  The Wharf is part shopping center, part resort and amusement park.  Hailey had wanted to go the movie at midnight on Friday, but we were leaving on Friday morning. 

On Monday, we had a nature and animal day.  We went to Alligator Alley in the morning, which is an alligator farm about 30 minutes north of Orange Beach. The first things we saw when we pulled into the place were some Longhorn cattle.  They were on the other side of pasture and quite far away, but you could still see how wide their horns were.  Inside the farm, they had many 1 and 2 year old gators in various pools on the site.  The large gators were roaming freely in a large pond and swamp area.  They put on a show and feed gators 3 times a day.  Although the gators are wild, they have figured out where their meals come from and start to work their way to feeding area as soon as people start to fill in the stands.  Also, the people feeding the gators pound on the cooler full of meat, which acts like a dinner bell to them.  I still would not like to be down that close to a full size gator, though.  All the kids got to hold a 3' baby gator(with its mouth taped shut) and get their pictures taken.


We then went to the fishing pier and beach at Gulf Shore State Park for the afternoon.  The fishing pier is 1/4 mile long out into the gulf.  At the end of the pier, they have dumped 5 piles of debris that become reefs for the fish.  The fishing must be pretty good as the end of the pier was filled with fishermen and their large wagons filled with multiple rods, tackle boxes, nets and bait.  We saw a few fish being cleaned at the cleaning stations about halfway down the pier.

Our last stop for the day was a dolphin cruise looking for dolphins swimming through the bay.  About 45 minutes into the cruise, we headed over to a shrimp boat working in the bay.  There were many seagulls following the boat, along with another dolphin cruise boat.  As we got closer, we started to see a bunch of dolphins continually surfacing and diving.  It looked like there was about a half dozen dolphins in the group.  Besides the dolphins, we also saw some loons and pelicans following the boat and enjoying the shrimp

Tuesday, we got up early and headed over to the Naval Air Station in Pensacola.  The Blue Angels are based here and practice most weeks on Tuesday and Wednesday morning.  The public is allowed to watch the practice, which is a full 45 minute show with everything except the narration.  For me, it was the best event of the vacation.  It is just amazing as to how tight and clean the formations are.  Out on the tarmac were many old obsolete Navy aircraft and and old Blue Angels C-130 transport and one of their old jets.  Also on the base is a museum of naval aviation, filled with planes, helicopters, blimps and even a space capsule.

Inside the museum were multiple shells of planes that we were allowed to climb into and see how we would fit (some of us fit better than others).  But it was fun to be able to have our pictures taken inside the cockpits of these incredible machines.  I highly recommend this museum for anyone who has any interest in flying if you are ever in the Pensacola area.

After the museum, we headed out to Pensacola Beach for the afternoon.  This is another beautiful beach area.  We just stopped at the first beach area, but could have gone another 10 miles in either direction and seen nothing but sand and water.

After traveling a lot on Monday and Tuesday, we took it easy Wednesday and just hung out on the beach and at the condo for most of the day.  We went for an early dinner at Lulu's, which is a fun restaurant (owned by Jimmy Buffet's sister) on the inter-coastal waterway in Gulf Shores.  We then stopped at the souvenir stores (there were about 6 withing a block or 2 of each other.  After dinner we went mini golfing and Mikhaela and Hailey went go card driving. 

Thursday we chilled at the beach, played in the large waves that were coming in that day and enjoyed some of the sand sculptures that people had made.  In the evening, we went to dinner at Tacky Jacks, a bay side restaurant.  At both Tacky Jacks and Lulu's we got lucky and got tables at the perimeter, overlooking the water.  Thursday evening we started to pack up as were were heading back on Friday morning.   

 On Friday morning we got going about 9:00AM for our trip back to the Twin Cities.  We took a little different route back home, taking us to Nashville, Louisville and Indianapolis.  We got delayed on the south side of Birmingham due to a manhunt and capturing of a local fugitive, which had closed the southbound side of I-65 and slowed down the northbound lanes.  After about an hour of delay, we got past the scene, although we didn't see anything.  Then on the north side of Birmingham, we hit a lot of rain and slow traffic due to at least 3 accidents.  We figure over the 100 miles north of Birmingham, we lost another hour of time.

We got to Nashville about 7:30 PM and we stopped to see the Grand Ole Opry.  There was performance going on, so we weren't able to go in, but still took some pictures.  By this point in the trip, the girls had figured out that when we saw something interesting, they would gather together for a group photo.  Across the street from the Grand Ole Opry is a shopping center.  It was packed on a Friday evening, and interesting enough it closed at 9:00, which seemed early since it was still so crowded.  We grabbed a bite at about 8:30, and it seemed like more people were filling the mall than leaving the mall at closing time.

We headed north and figured we would grab a hotel along the way.  Surprisingly, every hotel we stopped at was full and booked.  The area north of Nashville and into Kentucky is a popular vacation spot as there are many attractions and historical spots (such as civil ware battle grounds and Fort Knox), and since it was spring break it was very busy.  We did find a hotel in Elizabethtown and hunkered down for the night about 11:30, making for a long day.

Saturday we got up and made a couple of stops in Louisville, KY at Churchill Downs and the Louisville Slugger Museum. Our first attempt to get to Churchill Downs was interrupted due to a large Papa Johns run going on around Louisville campus.  Since we couldn't across one of the streets, we then drove downtown past the minor league baseball stadium and stopped to take some photos at the home of the Louisville Slugger.  Out front is a 120' tall baseball bat.  Inside is a working manufacturing facility, which churns out bats for both pros and amateurs.  This time we headed back to Churchill Downs from a different direction and found our way.  We just saw the exterior of Churchill Downs (home of the Kentucky Derby) and took a few photos out front in front of the Barbaro statue. 

We left Louisville and headed to Indianapolis.  We drove under the stands and into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Inside the speedway is a museum and 4 holes of a golf course inside the oval.  Bus tours can take you around the track.

We decided we had made enough stops along the way (although I think it is the journey and not the destination that can be the best part) and continued on to Minneapolis.  One more traffic delay due to a double rollover accident north of Rockford, IL slowed us down again, but we finally got home about 9:30.  Overall we traveled about 3,000 miles without any major problems or calamities.  A fun trip with the kids and their friends.

2012-02 Suzhou

 On Saturday, I took the high speed rail from Shanghai to Suzhou for a day of sightseeing.  The trains run between 150 to 200 mph on elevated tracks going to many destination from Shanghai.  The 70 mile distance between the two cities took less than 30 minutes, much better than the 1-1/2 or more hours by car.  The best thing was the cost of only 40RMB ($6.50) each way.  When I arrived at the train station, I was inundated with offers for bus tours of the city for 15RMB.  Not knowing how good the English would be or how long it would take, I ventured on my own.

I got in my cab and was going to head for Jinjihu Lake.  I couldn't find a map at the train station, and the cab could not figure out where I wanted to go from the map on my phone, so I called a hotel on the waterfront and had them give the cab driver directions.  I made it to the hotel and then went in and got a local map and cab card with the various atrractions listed in Chinese.  I was now ready to head out.  A new twin towers building is being built on the west shore of the lake.  There is a large open park area that looks like it would host concerts and events, and it overlooks a dancing waters fountain in the small bay area.  It would be fun to be here in the summer for the show. 

While I was walking along the lake, I noticed a bunch of lime green bikes along the sidewalk.  These were part of a bike rental program that Suzhou has.  Unfortunately, I couldn't read directions on how to obtain the bike, otherwise I would have taken one to expand my range on my walking tour around the lake.



My next stop was Canglang Pavailion, a 1000 year old garden on small lake.  I made it easily by cab with the map and cab card from the hotel.  The garden coordinates the harmony between the rock formations, buildings and plantings.  Since it is surrounded by walls, it is very quiet and peaceful inside the garden area. 



I walked about a half mile south to the southern boundary of the old city, which is created by one of the many rivers and canals running through the city.  Suzhou is know as the Venice of China since much of the city is traversed by water.  Water taxis and small boats line the canals and bring people about the city, especially tourists.



In the shopping area, I wandered past a bar that had some very unique decorations out front including a 20' tall quitar as a sign and a sculpture of Larual and Hardy carrying a keg into a door that was surrounded by musical instruments.  This would have been a fun place to check out if I was going to be in Suzhou for the evening, but it was only 11:00AM and wasn't even open yet.



I now headed up to Tiger Hill, a 100ft high hill on the northwest side of town.  On top of the hill was large tower built half on bedrock and half on soil, so it started to lean to the side, much like the leaning tower of Pisa.  This one started to lean while it was being built, so the upper floors are built to compensate for the earlier lean.  I even tried to straighten it up, but to no avail.  Up until a few years ago, it was open and you could climb up the tower, but now more.  Tiger Hill is a popular tourist destination and is also surrounded by canals.  You can take a boat ride around Tiger Hill, or even take a horse drawn carriage around the grounds

The grounds around Tiger Hill are full of gardens and trees.  It is a very pretty park, and being on top of one of the only hills around, you can get a nice view of the surrounding Suzhou area.  After visiting Tiger Hill, I headed back down to find a cab to take me back tot he railway station for my quick train trip back to Shanghai.  A fun day making my way around Suzhou without a word of Chinese in my vocabulary that could be useful.  Thank goodness for cab cards and tourist maps from an international hotel to make getting around relatively easy.

2012-02 Nanjing

I spent a night in Nanjing while on a supplier visit.  We went to a local restaurant with pick your fresh fish right in the entry area.  The food was chosen and then it was prepared for you and brought to your table.  Most meals in China a family style with multiple dishes brought out one by one and everyone sharing the food.  Most of the time the table is round and there is a lazy susan in the middle to make it easy to get the food in front of everyone.  Like most of the meals I have had in China, it was very good.  My biggest problem is I don't usually know what or how much is ordered, so I am never sure when I will be done eating or how to portion out my meal.

 I stayed in a nice hotel with a large garden area in between the buildings.  A covered walkway between he buildings went over a pond area.   There were rock gardens an walking paths out behind the buildings.  It was very pretty layout, and I am sure it looks spectacular in the summer when everything is greened up. 

The back side of the building overlooks a large open area that runs up to a large lake.  A large barbeque and bar area sits on the waterfront.

2012-02 Shanghai

 The first few days in Shanghai, I stayed on the western side of town near the Hongqiao Train station.  This was  a new part of town for me, so I took the opportunity to explore the area.  there were many parks on this side of town with both sculptures and nice landscaping.  This time of year, many of the trees are bare, but one particular tree that is very common has white bark that stands out as they line the streets.  Many of them had been trimmed back almost to the trunk, so it would be interesting to see how they grow in this spring.

One interesting thing I was was how one of the local phone company was using their telephone booths as WiFi hotspots that could be accessed along the streets and in nearby buildings.  There still are many phone booths and pay phones around, but I never saw anyone using them





On Sunday evening, I went XinTanDi for dinner.  It is a combination of some older buildings housing many restaurants and a large new shopping complex.  Outside the complex was a year of the dragon sculpture made up of metal and lights.

My last sop for the evening was at YuYuan Gardens.  Besides the gardens, which were already closed, are many shops selling local souvenirs and goods.  It is a fun place to walk through and enjoy the sights, smells and sounds of Shanghai.  As I approached the area I was asked to take a picture of a young couple in front of one of the brightly lit building.  I complied and we started to chat.  They invited me to a tea tasting event nearby, but I declined.  On the way home, another couple asked me to take their photo in front of the same building.  We chatted, and they too asked me to go with them to a tea tasting event nearby, so now I figured this was one way that they were trying to get tourist to come and buy some stuff making it look like just a casual meeting when it was all staged