We had what to us was an unbelievable time in China. Remember, we were raised in a time where you not only were not allowed to go there, but it was also where parents threatened to ship naughty children. "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to ship you off to China," they would say.
When we arrived following our 15 hour charter flight from Phoenix, we were assisted through customs efficiently by Chinese airport agents who appeared to be practicing for the 2008 Olympics. After presenting our passports, collecting our luggage, and clearing customs, we boarded buses to the Beijing Grand Hyatt at about 5:30 p.m. while it was still light. The light, however was obstructed by the worst smog I have ever seen. Remember, my grandparents were from LA, and I have seen smog. It was reminiscent of some of the worst firestorms we've had here when the sky was dark and brown.
The following days, the weather was hovering around 60 degrees and the skies were relatively blue. Since the games against the Dodgers were Saturday and Sunday, we had Thursday and Friday for sightseeing, mixed in the MLB briefings, etc. for me. Of course, I was more than happy to work some since being needed was what enabled me to be included on this trip in addition to the Padres officers. Being able to take your dad, too, was unbelievable.
Thursday was an organized excursion to the Great Wall of China. It's continuance wherever you look on the mountains is unbelievable. It simply goes and goes. It is extremely steep and it is hard to believe that vendors haul their goods up it each day to hound the visitors. They are very tenacious in their attempts to sell things. We took lots of Padres caps to give away on the wall and the vendors would come after us chanting "For me...for me..." We broke down and gave a couple of them to the sellers and found them trying to sell them as we came back down. We made it to a respectible height. We could have made it further, but I was afraid my legs wouldn't work the next day and I needed them. Surprisingly, there were no muscle aches for either of us.
The Forbidden City is far larger than it initially appears and the entry is just opposite Tian' Anmen Square, with Mao overlooking it. The photos with the Lions are the male and female lion standing watch. The female has a cub under her paw, and the male has the world under hi. We were on our own this day and walked through many different neighborhoods. That is our favorite when we travel, getting out among the real people. We also made an effort to eat the real food (me more than Steve :)), but not quite the exotic offerings the players ate. They told us of eating silk worms, scorpions, pidgeon with the head still on, etc. The Chinese don't waste anything, and Steve had a great dish with prawns. At first glance, they were the biggest prawns we'd ever seen. Then we realized they were complete with heads, eyes, etc. He managed to eat them after neatly removing and hiding the heads where he wouldn't see them.
I couldn't resist asking for a photo with a commie guard at the mall. They were everywhere, and the street lights had speakers so leaders could broadcast instructions and propaganda to the people.
The two baseball games were great fun, and meaningful to me in that my boss has worked for years to take Major League Baseball to China. We hope to develop a baseball academy there in the near future. It was fun to watch the enthusiasm of the Chinese people, most of whom had no clue what was going on. It wasn't until game two that they thought to warn them that balls would fly into the stands. We were detained by the military police trying to enter the ballpark, had to dispose of about 200 items that were illegal to take into the park, and definitely learned the difference of living in freedom vs. under Communism. God bless the USA.
Our return charter had us land and clear customs in Seattle. It was beautiful looking down on the Sound as we came in. I realized as I stepped off the plane the tension that was a part of moving about in China was gone. We relaxed, took deep breaths and went through the process with no anxiety.
Mark -- You said you'd like to see your dad in a foreign country. Well, you would have been proud of him. By day two, he'd go outside the hotel by himself to find McDonalds, while I had breakfast meetings. He studied the maps and became our navigator for our excursions during free time.
We had a trip which we'll remember for ever, and take additional interest in what goes on there. The younger people are definitely working at becoming more western, and the more access to information they have, the more they will likely eventually want freedom.
Hope you enjoy these photos! Love -- Dayle/Mom and Steve/Dad
