China II

Ahh, Tibet. What a fascinating place. China is obviously trying hard to placate the people. There are new freeways, tunnels, railroads, and buildings everywhere you turn. Construction cranes in every direction. I don't know if it is working or not, but they still take their religion very seriously. We happened to arrive right in the middle of a major religious holiday period and it made our visit even the more interesting. The Tibetans are a very handsome people - taller overall than the Chinese I think, and slender of build. I thought the altitude would bother me, but other than a few times when we exerted ourselves, I didn't notice it nearly as much as Cusco. Lhasa is a beautiful city, well worth the short flight. The weather was perfect. The highlight is the Potala Palace, which is visible from any direction in Lhasa and dominates the cityscape. We spent most of a day climbing up to it and exploring the many rooms of the Dalai Lama's home until 1959. We traveled the entire trip with the same group of people - 25 or so in total. Other groups came and went (depending on their itinerary), but our bus stayed the same (we were the "red bus"). This allowed us to get quite chummy, a very nice group of people.

 

China I

From May 12th to June 4th, we enjoyed another great adventure. It was our fifth trip with the Gundersen's (hence Gandy 5) and we did a "death march" through Tibet and China. I use the term "death march" in the sense that it was not a restful vacation, but nevertheless a great, enjoyable experience. We are talking 12 to 14-hour days without a break, with heat and humidity. And we returned with a plethora of great experiences to think and laugh about in the years to come. When you cram 16 plane flights, two cruises, numerous "spinner dinners" (more about that later), two panda encounters, innumerable bus rides, and a partridge in a pear tree into three weeks, it is bound to produce some fun. We flew from Wenatchee to San Francisco, then non-stop to Hong Kong, where we enjoyed several days as we adjusted to the time change. What an interesting city! The picture below was obviously taken at night, but captured perfectly an interesting phenomena - the city lights were so bright, the clouds overhead were illuminated. The camera caught it just how it looked. One highlight of our time there was a last-minute change in the itinerary - we crossed into mainland China for a day and enjoyed a visit to the China Cultural Center in Shenzhen (think PCC in Hawaii). The live shows were fabulous. Then we were off to Kunming, the highlight there being the Rock Forest (see the ladies dressed in ethnic garb in the rock grotto). We called the nightly meals "spinner dinners" because there was always a whole carp or other exciting surprise on a lazy susan in the middle of the table. Our final stop before Tibet was in the beautiful old city of Lijiang, where we enjoyed a very cool hotel. As you can see, the faces of the people and the especially the children made it difficult to keep the camera idle. We took over 10,000 images on the trip - after weeks of editing, I settled on 4,300+ keepers. Overkill perhaps. Our camera is still recovering. I got my hair cut in Lijiang - interesting experience.   

Costco Suit Service

I went in to be measured for a suit and they submitted my measurements. Graham & Gunn responded that they could not fill the order - the measurements submitted were of a beast supposedly extinct for millions of years.

Jonny

Thanks to the vision and tenacity of Jon & Cher, we have a new and unexpected addition to the Anderton family. Jonny is a great young man and we are looking forward to many years of watching him grow and develop. Welcome Jonny - you fit in so well, it seems like you have always been here.

Flash From the Past - 1960

My mother is a very thorough person and tended, when I was more "under her control", to go above and beyond with us kids (like someone else I know). That was usually, in retrospect, a good thing. We always had to have matching clothes, take piano lessons, be scrubbed, and things were not done at the last minute and hastily put together. Sometimes I rebelled (naturally). This experience is still vividly front and center in my memory bank. It was a cub scout activity (I was 8) with the fake fire, the decked-out cubmaster, and we were to dress like Indians. Well, Afton wanted the full-war-paint look and I was not in agreement. But she persisted, telling me "all the boys would be done up that way". Well, you can see there was one - me! The look on my face tells it all.

Turning 60

Blogging about turning 60 made me really think about it for the first time. Arrgghhh.....

Max's Blessing Day

It is said that pictures are worth a thousand words, but in this case three or four thousand. Max's blessing took place on May 6th.

Mike Turns 60 - Birthday Surprises

I have always jokingly teased KR that my birthdays pass without a whimper. I usually buy what I need or want, and so it is difficult to come up with something for me for my birthday. And we are usually out of town somewhere in May, so there is often a lack of other people to make up a party group. Turning 60 is a big milestone, and not necessarily a good one, so I was actually trying to not think about it. Kudos to KR - she managed to surprise me THREE TIMES.

We had scheduled a dinner at the Kokopelli Restaurant at Entrada on May 2nd and as we entered the seating area I noticed Marty Wright sitting at a table. I thought to myself, he must be here for a business occasion or something (I STILL did not see it coming). Then I noticed the Russell's, Knoblauch's, and Diane Ottosen sitting at the same table and it dawned on me KR had surprised me. We had a great time talking about old times and catching up. We finished the evening with root beer floats at the Gecko House.

After arriving in Springville on the May 4th, I awoke on the 5th to Matt and Jon entering the kitchen of Amy's house. KR had flown them in to attend Max's blessing and to otherwise hang out for my birthday. Ahhhh....what a nice surprise that was. We did several things together and then headed for dinner at P.F. Chang's. I was murmuring about driving to Salt Lake for dinner when there are all kinds of perfectly good restaurants in Utah County - but as we were sitting down, in walked Mom, Ric, Kim and Sharon. She had surprised me AGAIN. What a woman! All in all, a nice 60th.

The Karate Kid

 

 

On April  25th and May 5th, we had the opportunity to attend two separate "Ethan karate events" and they were so cute. In April, he fulfilled his requirements for the "green belt" (really) and you can see the belt changing ceremony in the picture. It seems like they have expanded the lessons to an untold number of colored belts - of course, the parents have to pay for each successive belt. In May, it was a tournament involving the various skills he had learned, including some physical contact - as you can also see. Note to self: karate schools in Utah can be a cash cow.

Back to Utah (Again)

We were anticipating returning to Utah before we left for China to work on getting the St. George house ready for rental and being there for Max's Church blessing, but our timing was accelerated (we left on April 24th) by an emergency with Max. Like Jones (although in a different place), he was airlifted by helicopter from Provo to Salt Lake with a serious condition. We rushed our departure and headed down by car as soon as we could get organized. After a few tense days, his condition was diagnosed and stabilized. I drove to St. George and KR stayed with Kyle & KT, then took the shuttle down to St. George to meet me there. We spent several days getting things worked out (keys, etc.) and making a plan for the future regarding the house. The more we stay at the "Gecko House" (as we have named it), the more it is confirmed that we made a good decision. The Dover's came down for the weekend and we enjoyed their company. One other family at a time while we are there fits perfectly, although it has been decided to hold the fantasy draft there this August, so we will see how that works out. We loaded up the car on the 4th of May and headed home via Springville and Salt Lake (for the events of the 5th and 6th), finally arriving in Wenatchee on the 7th. This particular trip had a couple of interesting events and twists that follow in individual posts.

 

 

Jones' Baby Blessing

Considering the condition Jones was in just a few short weeks ago, our miracle baby continued his great recovery and the family gathered on April 22nd to celebrate his Church blessing. Laurel and Mark put on quite a spread for everyone, as usual.  

 

The Quick Turnaround

After Max's birth, I spent some time in Morgan working on taxes - I had to finish four sets of tax returns before April 17th. I drove home, arriving on April 7th, while KR stayed in Utah helping with the baby, visiting with the Dover's in Springville (there never is a dull moment there, as you can see by the picture), and attending a birthday party for Mom Anderton in Morgan on April 15th. KR flew home on April 18th.

Christensen Photo Shoot