Peanut and PopTart: Snow way…..

we missed the first snowfall of the year in Raleigh! I hope everyone back
home was able to enjoy the visit by Old Man Winter and is home warm and cozy
by the fire with a mug of hot chocolate watching a bowl game on TV! Here in
Guangzhou it is unseasonably cool, but nothing like home! Save some snow for
us on New Years Day and I hope my Pirates and Seminoles can add to my
year-end bliss with bowl wins!

Today was an off day here in Guangzhou so we decided to take it easy for
most of the day. We started off with another fabulous breakfast with a
waterside window seat so the kids could watch the boat traffic go up and
down the Pearl River. After finishing we headed back to the room for a
brief cleanup before heading out to walk around Shamian Island. Before
leaving the hotel we experienced our first injury of the trip! Yours truly
was playing hide and seek with Aiden in the hallway while the cleaning staff
finished in our room and my oft repaired left knee took a huge blow that
peeled back the skin of the kneecap. Lots of “bleed” as Savannah called it
and a cut that could probably stand some stitches, but the band-aides and
Neosporin we have on hand will have to do for now! Oh well, leave it to me
to get injured in a kid’s game! After cleaning up my mess we took in the
park just up from the hotel where Aiden got a lesson on sliding from
Savannah and some of the other kids and had a total blast! Its nice seeing
him more in his element with other kids and fitting right in! After
playtime we hit Lucy’s for lunch then returned to the hotel for a quick nap
before our afternoon tour.

Around 2:00 pm we met several of our group downstairs for our guide Judy to
take us to view the Western Han Dynasty Nanyue King Mausoleum Museum. This
is the oldest and largest Han tomb with the most funerary objects in the
Lingnan (South of the Nanling Mountain) Area. The owner of the tomb is the
second king, Zhao Mei of Nanyue State of the Western Han Dynasty (206
B.C.-24 A.D.). Hidden more than 60 feet underground, the tomb is made up of
750 huge stones with colorful murals. The over 1,000 pieces of cultural
relics, bronze ware and terra cotta ware in particular, feature the Yue
Culture of south China (Nanyue Culture). Highlighting the mausoleum is a
silk-jade garment made up of 2,291 pieces of jade. Though jade garments with
pieces connected by gold, silver, or copper are not uncommon, this garment
with jade pieces connected by silk is the only one of its kind in the world.
In addition, the style of buttons down the front is unique among unearthed
jade garments. This silk-sewn-jade garment shows the early development of
jade garments as well as development of the Nanyue culture. In addition,
three sets of bronze serial bells, thirty-six bronze vessels, thirty-six
bronze mirrors, and three gold seals give visitors a glimpse of the ancient
Nanyue Culture. The oldest and largest folding screen used in China is also
here, as are two of the world's oldest bronze patterns for textile stamping.
Foreign articles excavated in the mausoleum indicate that Guangzhou was an
ancient Marine Silk Road starting point.

Well, that’s enough history for today, so after the tour we decided to get
together as a group and go the Thai restaurant just up the block, Cow and
Dragon. We partnered up with one other family who we have become friends in
our group and then another who we met in the playroom a couple of days ago
to share war stories of adoption and travel as well as some really good Thai
food and beverages! Before we knew it we had passed 2 hours at dinner and
we called it an evening to get the kids back to the hotel. Good times make
the days pass faster and we are truly grateful to have met people to share
our time here in Guangzhou with. With that we want to pass along a “Shout
Out” to Matt and Mary from Pittsburg, PA who are here with Matt’s sister
Suzanne and her son Tony (otherwise known as “Sugar Daddy”) and their newest
family addition Mia who is beautiful and a bubbly little girl! Matt and his
son’s are avid motocross riders and we have totally hit it off! Another
“Shout” goes to Tim and Shelly from Columbus, MN who are welcoming their
newest family addition Caleb who is a handsome little boy!

Tomorrow we head back to the medical office to check the TB test site, then
a little more touring in the local area and maybe a trip to one of the
shopping areas after that. We are also going to try and meet up with another
good friend who is here in Guangzhou adopting a young lady who is very
special indeed and recently celebrated a birthday! Look for more on this
one tomorrow night! With that I will say so long partners and tune back in
tomorrow, same BLOG time, same BLOG channel for another days adventure from
here in Southern China!

Till then……

Michael (why can I not find band-aides around here that do not have Hello
Kitty on them?), Ann Marie (just then I thought I over packed I see snow…oh,
that’s a picture from home!), Savannah (when do we get home to open more
presents?) and Aiden (I know that is a snack drawer, so out of my way pal!)
Kennedy