Brandon in China - Post #1

Post #1 - hopefully we'll have some time to make a number of posts in the upcoming week. We are blocked out of the blogsite again so we have to do some work arounds to make this happen.

After a fast paced trip to the US for a business meeting I had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the Wixo parents at the Devils Lake cabin. They are doing very well and living the "cabin life" on the weekends. If you are in the area stop in and have a cup of coffee. Having their son's family in China and the Hayes family touring the midwest on weekend soccer tournaments doesn't leave a lot of time for fellowship at the cabin. However, like I said I did get to spend some time at the cabin hanging around the camp fire having a few beers, eating mom's pancakes for breakfast, riding ATV, and I even got to sleep in one morning until 9 AM. :) But as all good things must come to an end, I pulled together my belongings, drove to Minneapolis, and picked up Brandon for our long journey to Shanghai - home.

Brandon and I left for China on Tuesday afternoon and arrived Shanghai Wednesday night. A long flight and we were both very tired. After a big, big hug from Sabrina at the front doorstep upon our arrival, a good nights sleep, and an early morning, Brandon finally got to see his brother and sister. Caden and Ava have added some pounds, a few new teeth, and have developed a few new skills since Brandon last saw them in February. It was a great morning to just lay around and enjoy each others company. Brandon and I only managed to venture out to the pool and grocery store on Day #1 as we both were battling a slight case of jet lag.

Day #2 brought us a new overcast day. I went into work in the morning while, Brandon and Sabrina hit the gym and pool. They showed up at my office and we had lunch in the area close to my office called Xintiandi (shin tian dee). We then spent the rest of the afternoon in the Pudong area of Shanghai and took our very first trip to the top of the Oriental Pearl Tower - some 350 meters over the Shanghai city scape. We ended the afternoon taking Brandon's first ride on a subway and visiting one of the area's fashion (copy) markets. Sabrina then headed home via taxi and Brandon & I took the Maglev Train for a ride. The Meglev is the world's fastest train at more than 432 km/hr (I think this is 240 mph or so).

We have much more in store - so keep checking back.

Until next time - Tony

p.s. I have no clue why the blogger decided to underline the paragraph above. ??