More from China Trip!

My brother emailed me and mentioned that he really enjoyed the photos from China because it allowed him to travel along with my family. We returned to China (a very special place) in September after 3 years to once again bring home a little one from China! We are so blessed!


Morning view from our hotel, the Waterfall Hotel, in Guilin.


Same view at night with closeup of Elephant Rock - look closely on left.


Arriving in Yangshou after our boat ride down the Li River.


Walking up the steps at the entrance to Yangshou from the Li River.


My daughter running up the rock slide and Bing, our new friend and guide, watching.


Electric shuttle car in Yangshou.




Window view in a Chinese cultural park.




What a view of the mountains and the farmland!

We made it home from China!

We are finally home after 17 days in China. My laptop power plug ended up having a short so we could not blog or enter any photos - bummer. We did return to Guilin, one of our favorite places in China and took the river trip again. Once again it was wonderful, especially because we had an incredible tour guide, Bing, who made us feel at home in China. I will be posting more of the trip in a few days.


Waiting at our gate for Guangzhou, China prior to departing.


View out of our hotel the first night in Guilin of a pagoda and lake.


View the next morning.


The beautiful mountains in Guilin and along the Li River.


Local commuters along the river headed to their villages.


Chinese tourists enjoying the river trip.


Caves along the river.


Water buffalo swimming in the river.




Pretty Chinese tour guide.

China here we come!

We have been waiting to return to China for our second daughter for toooo long!
We are super excited and very blessed. We are headed to Guangzhou and Guilin.






The city of Guilin written in Chinese.


Elephant Rock - What a special park in Guilin.

It has been real hot!

The San Joaquin Valley and our area has been sooooooo hot that we have been heading to the coast whenever possible. It was in the 90s to even 100's just 10 miles from the beaches yesterday - incredible! San Luis Obispo reached 104F. We cooled off in the late afternoon when it finally was 75F.

Castles made of sand!

We just can't seem to stay away from the beach especially when we have to travel to LA for some reason or another. I really enjoy making sand castles (little ones) with my daughter. Watched some skim boarders going for it!

Enjoying Yaquina Bay in Newport, OR

Well I feel like a DJ that's been off the air for a while - a month.
I promise to stay updated now that we are back home.

Yaquina Bay is the inlet for the harbor in Newport. The Bay Bridge is the center point of the bay and the most photographed. There are some great condos right on the harbor. Keep dreaming! We ate the Local Oceans Restaurant, a favorite for locals and tourists.













According to a former local and Alaskan fisherman this ship sailed around the world several times mapping the bottom of the ocean. It will soon be a museum. Newport is full of fishing and mariner history!

We are back from trip to Texas!

Talk about not blogging for a while. We have been in Texas for almost 2 weeks visiting family and dogging thunderstorms and major downpours. Marble falls near Austin received 18 inches in one day and Tejas has record rainfall pretty much everywhere. Right before leaving for Dallas, Gainesville just north of DFW, had their downtown flooded. Crazy weather and lots of humidity - but he had a great time!