Catching Up

We've been on the road for five days now and I want to bring everyone up to speed on how our adventures have been going.  "Catching up" also indicates the sleep we're trying to get between all our travels and the jet lag.  Anyway, let me fill you in.  

It all started last Wednesday when Mellie and I and her parents flew from Orlando to San Francisco.  We decided a while back that it'd be best to break up the long flights by spending a day in San Fran.  Plus, I've never been there so I was excited to get the opportunity to see the city.  We started our day at Fisherman's Wharf, then went to see the Golden Gate Bridge, and ended our tour by riding a cable car.

The next day we were off to China.  We flew to Guangzhou, and it ended up being just over a 13 hour flight.  That was early Thursday afternoon, and we arrived in Guangzhou late Friday night.  We stayed at the Guangdong Victory Hotel, which was very nice.  I had kind of feared what it might end up being like since I booked it online for a pretty cheap rate, but it was very clean and comfortable so we were very satisfied.

Anyway, we woke up Saturday morning and did some walking around in the immediate area of our hotel.  We visited the fanciest hotel in the area, the White Swan, and then strolled through a park where many locals were practicing tai chi, dancing, and all other kinds of recreational activities.  

The afternoon in Guangzhou was spent on a tour we booked to see the Chen Clan Academy, an ancient shrine memorializing a successful family from the area.  In the evening we joined a river cruise that went through the middle of the city.  It was a long day, but very nice.

On Sunday morning we flew to Guilin.  It was about a 45 minute flight from Guangzhou.  I'll tell you more about this city later.  Everything has gone very smoothly thus far and we're seeing a lot as you can tell.  Keep checking in as I'll try to keep posting updates and pictures.  As of now, though, it's 10:00PM Monday, and we are heading to Xi'an early tomorrow morning so I'm off to bed.