Golf The Way It Was Meant To Be Played

Bandon, OR
May 27 - 29, 2011

This weekend I am off to Bandon, OR with my Dad to meet a bunch of his friends to play golf at Bandon Dunes. I’m pretty excited about it. The courses at Bandon are always ranked in the top 50 courses in the US. It’s pathetic that the resort has been open over ten years and I haven’t played it.

Friday morning dad and I were up early for the two and half hour drive to the coast. I was pretty tired. The evening before we went to the South Eugene High School Hall-of-Dinner. I found out at the dinner that Bailey was flying into Eugene that night and since I was going to miss most of her visit while I was at the coast, I decided it would be fun to go to the airport with Tim to pick Mark and B up. This led to a 1AMish bedtime leading into a 6AM wake-up call. For those of you that know me well, I’m not my best on five hours sleep. Thankfully on the ride down Dad was nice enough to drive so that I was able to grab another hour or so of sleep.

Upon arriving at the resort we were met in the lobby by Bill and Gaynell. Bill and my dad were in residency together at the Wills Eye Institute in Philadelphia. I’ve met them numerous times and love them both. After checking in and heading over to our room I met Bill and Gaynell’s friend’s Sunny, Betsy, John Wayne (yes that’s his real name) and Martha, who were all making their first trip to Oregon. Not surprisingly, knowing Bill and Gaynell, these guys all made for great company as well. Shortly after unloading the car I was off to the practice range to hit a few balls with the golfers before setting off to play Pacific Dunes.

I missed Thursday’s round on Bandon Dunes because of the HOF dinner. Evidently I missed a beautiful course and a whole lot of rain. The gang said it rained for 85% of the round. Conversely on Pacific it only rained about 15% of the time. We got poured on during our first three holes and then it cleared up nicely. Below is a picture from when the weather was starting to improve.



After the round and a drink on the 19th hole we went back to the room to freshen up and prepare for dinner. One of the many nice things about the Bandon resort is that there are many restaurant options within the resort. All one has to do is call a shuttle, which always seemed to show up in five minutes or less, and grab a ride to the establishment of choice. On this night we went to McKee’s Pub. The food and service were both pretty good and the stories among the group were hilarious. We had a nice round table where everyone could share in one large conversation. Shortly after returning to the room I was out for the count.

Saturday morning we met the gang for breakfast in The Lodge. This was another good meal filled with a ridiculous amount of laughter. I’m always nervous, as my loyal readers know, when Dad talks me into trips exclusively involving people twice my age. In this case the nerves were totally unfounded because this group was awesome. For breakfast I had the ginormous golfer’s buffett and everyone took advantage. By the end I was feeling a little guilty about the amount of “to-go” items we accumulated but the waitress claimed she was totally fine with it.

Next it was off to Bandon Trails. Many claim Bandon Trails is the hardest of the four courses. I’m not sure if I agree with that. It is definitely different in that its holes are primarily in the woods as opposed to on the ocean. Like yesterday, I played this round with Sunny and Bill. Bandon’s motto is, “This is golf as it was meant to be played.” That means there are no golf carts and no groups larger than a foursome. To that end Gaynell and John Wayne played as a twosome in front of us. Sunny lit up the front side shooting three over through nine. Unfortunately he couldn’t keep it up on the back. Regardless he had a few incredible shots including a birdie putt on the par 3 fifth that would have made a pro proud.

After finishing 18 Dad, Betsy and Martha joined us for drinks on the 19th hole around the super cool outdoor fireplace. We then proceeded to return to our rooms to clean up for dinner back on the Pacific Course at the Pacific Grill.

Next to us at dinner we had a large and somewhat boisterous party of guys. We learned during one of the speeches from the table that the group was at Bandon celebrating the 40th birthday and retirement of MLBer Mark Loretta. His name seemed vaguely familiar to me but a quick search of the google machine confirmed he was in fact a 16 year vet who made two all-star teams and had a career batting average of .295. Once again we all hit the hay shortly after dinner.

Our tee time Sunday morning was at 8AM. I was up a little after 6AM so I had time to grab a little breakfast at The Lodge before the round. At breakfast I think I was one of two women out of about 40 patrons. I enjoyed my food and my view. I think I should hang out at fancy golf clubs more often.

Our final day we played the newest course at the resort, Old Macdonald. According to Bandon’s website this course “pays homage to golf course architect C.B. Macdonald by asking one simple question: What would Macdonald have created had the Oregon Coast been his canvas? Inspired by Macdonald's iconic work, course architects Tom Doak and Jim Urbina have crafted a course that seeks the answer upon vast greens, among myriad angles of play, and from the depths of fierce bunkers. By celebrating these classic concepts of design, we honor the traditions of this game we love.”

I’m not sure which course I liked the best. I do know, however, that I played my best golf on Old Macdonald. I played 14 holes in ten over. The other four holes weren’t pretty but for how little golf I’ve played in recent months, I’ll take it.

After finishing up our round we grabbed a bite to eat at the golf course and then proceeded to embark upon the longest drive from Bandon to Eugene in the history of the world.

Dad originally told Mom that we wouldn’t be back in Eugene with the company until 5PM. Unfortunately for him, we were ready to leave the resort by 12:45PM to begin what should be a 2 hour and 30 minute drive. In order to kill time Dad drove the speed limit the entire way, which meant cruising at 50 or 55 for most of the drive. We stopped for gas at a 76 station, drinks and the bathroom at McDonalds, at a scenic stop to look for elk, and at Arlene’s Cafe and General Store for who the heck knows what. All in Dad accomplished his goal of us not getting home until five. That means it took us 4 hours and 15 minutes to make a 2 and half hour drive. Needless to say I was happy to be home when we FINALLY made it.

All in the Bandon trip was fantastic. I would highly recommend a visit to any of my golf readers out there. In fact, if any of you read this and want to go, tell me when and I’ll go again with you.

Until the next adventure,
Katy

Gaga Turned Country

Boston, MA
May 18 - 21, 2011

This week I went to visit my good buddy Ilsa in Boston. Ilsa is finally moving back to Oregon after living in Massachusetts for the last ten years. I figured it was only appropriate to make one last trek east before Ilsa’s return.

I arrived late Wednesday night or technically Thursday morning. By the time we made it to Ilsa’s apartment and chatted for a bit it was past 2AM. Ilsa took Thursday off from work, so we could hang out. After catching up on our sleep and a little morning work we spent the afternoon at the Museum of Science watching the Imax film Tornado Alley. This movie was insane. A good part of it was about Sean Casey, a guy who spent 8 years building a car he could drive into the center of a tornado. Not surprisingly the climax was his successful footage from the actual INSIDE of a tornado. Below is a picture of the car used to go inside the storm:



On our walk back to Ilsa’s car we got drenched. I knew it was supposed to rain in the afternoon but somehow I let Ilsa talk me out of bringing my rain jacket. Getting drenched serves me right for listening to a teacher!

Thursday night there were sporting events going on all over Boston, so I thought it would be fun to go to a local bar and see the masses cheer for their teams. I let Ilsa pick the bar since she is the one with the local knowledge. She decided we should go to a place called Champions. This bar is located inside the Marriott at Copley Place. It did not disappoint. The food was actually pretty good for a bar, the fans were rowdy cheering for the Bruins and the Red Sox and the people watching was amazing. I’m fairly certain the first half of our evening we had a couple ladies and their Johns sitting next to us. I wish I had a picture of the women’s outfits but unfortunately I don’t.

Ilsa had to work Friday so I spent Friday morning doing some work myself before taking the T down to meet her at school. Riding public transportation always reminds me why I am happy I don’t live in a big city. The T on Friday afternoon is crowded and involves a lot of waiting. Anyone who knows me knows I’m not a huge fan of either of those things.

At 5:30PM or so Ilsa wrapped up her last task at school and we set out on our drive to the Comcast Center in Mansfield, Ma to see Matt Nathanson, Little Big Town and Sugar Land. The draw to this show for me was primarily Matt Nathanson, the opener’s opener. His sound isn’t country at all but Little Big Town and Sugar Land are both country bands. I’m not a huge fan of country but I thoroughly enjoyed these bands. The highlight of the night may have been during Little Big Town’s set. Evidently Little Big Town often covers a song during its set. Once during a “meet and greet” a fan asked Little Big Town if it could cover Lady Gaga. Below is the band's answer:



It was late by the time Ilsa and I got back to Boston but not too late for dessert. We decided to head to Davis Square for some JP Lick’s Ice Cream. We enjoyed eating outside on this balmy May night before going back to the apartment and crashing.

Saturday morning Ilsa and I took a walk around her neighborhood. Our walk led to one of her favorite breakfast spots. We had to wait an hour but then enjoyed a nice, long leisurely breakfast in the sun. I’m now at the airport waiting for my return flight home. I’m excited that this is likely the last time I will have to fly to see Ilsa!

Until the next adventure,
Katy

Moorestown for Mother's Day

Moorsetown, NJ and Philadelphia, PA
May 6 - 10, 2011

This weekend mom and I were in NJ to celebrate Mother’s Day with Granny and to plant her garden. I don’t particularly care for gardening but my mom and grandma both like it, so I took one for the team. I’m certain over the course of the weekend we planted close to 500 flowers. The highlight of the trip was probably going to the Phillies game. On Sunday night after having dinner with the family, Judy, Ben, Leah and I went to the see the Phillies take on the Braves. We had a very nice time even though the Phills lost after stranding a ridiculous number of runners throughout the game. I still have no idea what time it is. I’ll be home for a week and then I’m off to Boston to visit IB.

Until then,
Katy

Heading Home

May 4, 2011
Beijing, China

I’m on the plane heading home somewhere over the Pacific. I met my driver in the lobby of the hotel at 9AM. We were at the airport by 9:45. Check in was pretty seamless. Terminal three at the Beijing airport is ginormous, so it took a while to get through all the customs, security checks, etc. When I finally made it to the general area of my gate, I stopped in a shop to pick up one last thing that was requested of me from home. On the way from the store to the business lounge I ran into my friend Andrew from the Wall. He said he was out to find some breakfast. I told him I was heading up to the lounge and I didn’t know if I could get a guest in but we could try. The lady said it was fine for me to have a guest until she realized Andrew was flying on British Airways which is not a Star Alliance partner. Andrew, however, managed to charm the lady into a “one time exception.” We sat and ate and talked for 45 minutes or so. Again I thoroughly enjoyed his company. Maybe I’ll have to plan my next trip to London. Well, actually my next trip is to Philly on Friday. I plan to go home and sleep for 36 hours before leaving again.

Until Friday,
Katy

The Great Wall and Great Friends

May 3, 2011
Beijing, China

There are multiple sections of the Wall that tourists can visit while in Beijing. I can’t remember the name of the place dad and I visited last time but this time I went to Mutianyu. I think the surrounded mountains felt a little more lush this time. That may be because it’s spring or it in fact may be an area with more vegetation. The drive out took an hour and forty-five minutes. As we approached the base of the mountains I saw what I thought was a hoop that may have a view of the Wall. I couldn’t get Vivian’s attention fast enough to make the driver stop. But she assured me that we would go out the same way and that I could look at the hoop when we left.

This portion of the Wall has two cable cars to the top. It was clear Vivian wasn’t huge on hiking or frankly moving that quickly, so she suggested we take the cable car to the top. I didn’t really mind since I had hiked to the top with Dad previously. Once on the Wall Vivian told me she wanted to stay in the landing area while I wandered around. This wasn’t that big of a deal but again it was a very different experience than my previous trip with Dad and David, where David took every step with us and added informational details with each one. The biggest issue with not having Vivian on the wall me with was my inability to have my picture taken. I’m not huge on having my picture taken but there are a few exception where fun situations present themselves. I had one of those moments on the Wall.

As many of my regular readers know, I like to climb statues, walls, towers, etc . One of the “Towers” on this section of the Wall had a perfect place to climb for a photo. My only problem was a didn’t have a person to take it. I scoped the scene for a while. Eventually a white looking guy walked past me and I decided to ask him if he spoke English. He stopped, turned around, looked and said in a quintessential British accent. “Why yes. Quite well actually.” I asked him if he would wait to take a photo for me while I climbed up the tower. He laughed and said sure. I scurried off, climbed the tower, and he took a great shot.



I ended up talking to Andrew for a good 20 minutes. He was hilarious and quite handsome. He had perfect British lines like, “Once you get up here it all looks the bloody same doesn’t it.” And “I’ve been hiking for a long time. I thought I wanted to go to the top but, hell, it just keeps going.”

I didn’t spot any more hoops walking around the Wall or the grounds at the base. Therefore I asked Vivian to have the driver take me back to the hoop I saw on the way in. I got a shot. It’s not nearly as good as what I was hoping for or what I’m sure exists out there. I asked Vivian if there was any chance of going to another part of the Wall but she wasn’t having any of it. Unfortunately this probably means I will have to go back to the Beijing, yet again, in the near future ;~)

On our drive back to Beijing we hit some standstill traffic. Literally drivers were standing outside their car doors looking around. I was fearful this meant we were going to be sitting there for a very long time. Thankfully it only took ten minutes or so for traffic to start moving again. Within two hours we were back at the Raffles Hotel.



I had this feeling in my gut that there may be another hoop in the Forbidden City, so I decided to go and pursue that before heading back to the Silk Market to pick up a few more things. The Forbidden City was a five minute walk from my hotel. I made my way down the street and into the free part of the City. I revisited the court I’d found previously and then continued further inside the compound. Low and behold I found another set of hoops and courts. I really wish I had pursued more hoops in the Forbidden City yesterday when the sky was bluer. I still got some decent shots but maybe more importantly I learned a hard lesson, being that you can’t rely on guides, particularly foreign female guides, to have any idea where basketball hoops are located. You really have to search out each site yourself.

After wrapping up my hoop hunting at the Forbidden City I hopped on the subway and rode down to the Silk Market. Joyce had requested a couple more items that I wanted to try and get before meeting Lei, a friend from my MBA program, for dinner. I had some success at the market but not as much as I would have hoped, mostly because I was out of time.

Lei picked me up in a cab outside the market and we set off to have Hot Pot at a restaurant called The South Gate. The food was quite good and the company was even better. I hadn’t seen Lei in nearly six years. It was fun to catch up on old stories, friends and to get many of my questions about Chinese culture answered.

I didn’t make it back to my hotel until 11PM. It’s now almost Midnight and I’m not very packed. To that end, I have to wrap this up.

I’m off to the airport early tomorrow.

Until then,
Katy

Hoops from the Forbidden City to the Olympic Venues

May 2, 2011
Beijing, China

I was up early today. Too early. My body doesn’t like 7:59 AM wake up calls (I know, queue the little violins). Today is the last day of the May Day weekend holiday for the Chinese people, so Vivian anticipated we would find heavy crowds at the sites. Our first stop was Tienamen Square and the Forbidden City.

Dad and I were in China together in 2002, so I have already seen most of the major historical tourist attractions. My hope for our Forbidden City visit was simply to get a hoop picture. I had read that a few courts were installed by the entrance gates for recreation for the guards, so I was hopeful to have success. It turns out the hoops were quite easy to find. The challenge was going to be getting a good angle to take a picture. There were two courts directly inside the main gate and both were manned by security guards. I asked Vivian if she would ask one of the guys to let me go behind the gate to take a picture. She said he would not. I didn’t press the issue, yet. I went to the other court to check the shots there. I could take a decent picture, but not one as nice as I wanted. So I asked Vivian again if she would please ask the guard if I could take a picture. She did it this time and he appeared to say yes with no problem, just that I should be fast. The Chinese are so pushy in so many ways I don’t really understand why I have trouble getting guides to ask for things. It’s like they live in fear of something...

I asked Vivian if there were any other courts inside the next game and she assured me there were not. Since I had accomplished my goal of taking a good hoop picture I decided we didn’t need to take the time to go through the Forbidden City. It is a huge place and very fun to see, however, it all sort of looks the same. I had done it once and wanted to move on to seeing something new.

Next we set off to see some of the Olympic venues. In particular I wanted to see the Bird’s Nest (the home of the opening and closing ceremonies and track and field) and the Water Cube. I knew that people could tour the Bird’s Nest but I did not know the Water Cube was open.

The Water Cube is a really cool looking building. The exterior is all it appeared to be on TV and more. I can see why Michael Phelps enjoyed it so much. Speaking of Michael Phelps, one of my favorite parts about the Cube is the museum dedicated to the building on the top floor. The Chinese managed to build a museum to describe the building where the greatest Olympic feat in history took place, without ever mentioning the feat or the athlete. I seriously looked all around the display and could not find a single mention of Michael Phelps’ accomplishment of eight gold medals. There was a medal chart where one could count all of his medals. There was also one nondescript photo where I don’t even think his name was mentioned. This could and would only happen in China.

Inside the Cube there is now a legitimately large water park open to the Chinese public. It also appears like the warm up pool can be used for lap swims. No one was using the actual Olympic pool or diving platforms when we toured the facility.



Directly across the plaza from the Cube is the Bird’s Nest. The Bird’s Nest is also an incredible facility. I would have loved to tour the building with Joe or Han-Mei, so I could try to wrap my mind around how a building of that magnitude and random detail is constructed. I was surprised, however, that while the roof is as ornate as one would imagine, the rest of the facility felt a little like a 1980’s NFL arena to me. Maybe that’s because of I’ve spent too much time in Phil Knight funded UO buildings of late. I also felt like parts of the building were rather worn for it only being three years old. I think there may have been a bit of shotty construction because of the time crunch to have it completed.

From the upper levels of the Bird’s Nest I spotted a basketball hoop on what was most certainly the warm up track from the Games. It appeared to be heavily fenced but I was hopeful to find a way in.

I made a serious lap around the warm up track looking for an entry point. There were workman on the track, so I figured there had to be an entry point. It turns out the entry point was an underground tunnel from the bowels of the Nest. That basically ruled out a sanctioned entry. Now my choices to gain entry were to climb over or under the fence. I seriously considered going under the fence. I spent like five minutes trying to decide if I’d fit. I’m also fairly certain I could have successfully climbed over the fence. Eventually, however, I remembered I was in China and better judgment won out. I settled for reaching my arm through the fence to the best of my ability and snapping a picture that way. It’s not PERFECT but it will do. And I still have my freedom.



For lunch Vivian took me to a popular local Beijing noodle place. The service left a bit to be desired but that very well may be because it was extremely busy. The food was decent and being amongst exclusively locals made for a fun lunch experience.

After lunch I went to the Silk Market, which is one of Beijing’s largest black market/bargaining/shopping areas. When dad and I were in Beijing in 2002 the Silk Market was an outdoor street that sort of wrapped around with all kinds of stalls. Now it is a six story building packed to the brim. I could spend hours in the place, and, actually, I did. I didn’t necessarily buy that much stuff. I mostly just enjoy the sights, sounds and bargaining.

Since I knew I would be in the market for a long time I decided to send Vivian and my driver home early. I didn’t really see the point in having them sit around for hours while I just wandered. The only issue with that was it required my finding a way home when I left the market. I had planned to take a cab home but on my way to the cab line I was approached by a rickshaw driver. I decided that would be a really fun way to get home. I negotiated a fare of 30 Yuan, which was about two dollars more than it would cost me to take a cab. I thought that was worth it for the experience.

On the ride my thoughts kept shifting from this is the best idea I’ve ever had, to what the hell was I thinking. The thoughts tended to coincide with seeing or smelling something uniquely Chinese to thinking I was going to die in a back alley or car versus rickshaw accident. I hadn’t really had dinner, so when we got to the mall by my hotel I decided to have him drop me there. When he stopped I handed him the agreed to 30 Yuan and he goes, “No. No. 3-0-0 Yuan.” I laughed and said “Uhm, NO. 3-0 was the deal.” He makes a face like he is pain and again says “NO. NO. 3-0-0.” I said again, “Here is 3-0. Take it or leave it.” He said, “Okay” and took it with a bit of a grin. It’s amazing how in China at every turn someone tries to get a little extra ,or in this case, 10 times out of you.

I’m now back at the hotel and totally ready to crash. I just got done gchatting with Joyce and she told me the news that we killed Osama! It's crazy to me that in 2011 I didn't know this until more than 16 hours after it happened.

Vivian and I are going to the Great Wall tomorrow, so I again will have to be up early.

Until tomorrow,
Katy

Bribery is Effective

May 1, 2011
Shanghai/Beijing, China

Today was my last day in Shanghai. Eric and I met for breakfast at nine. Instead of eating in the ginormous lobby buffet, we ate in the executive lounge. Eric spends more than 50 nights a year in Starwood Hotels and that results in some very nice perks, including free breakfast. The spread had all I could have ever wanted. My treat choice for this meal was a coconut danish. It was, as Joyce would say, “yummy”. While we were eating Eric’s colleague Carry came into the lounge. We ended up talking with him for quite a while. By the time we left breakfast it was already 10:30. In order to catch my flight to Beijing I needed to head for the airport at 1:30. By the time I had packed up my stuff it was 11:30, so I had two remaining hours for fun. I still believed that there had to be a hoop with some part of a view of the skyline of Pudong. Basketball is just too popular in China for it not to exist. I scoped out Google Maps a bit more and realized there was one possible court I had missed. I decided to spend my last two hours in Shanghai trying to find it.

I took the subway to the Pudong side and began walking. The hoop I thought I had found on the map was located right near where Eric and I walked yesterday. Since we hadn’t seen it, I figured it must be located behind some serious walls. I found what I thought must be the place. It appeared to be a school of some sort, which then made sense that it would have a basketball court. The only problem was there appeared to be pretty serious fences all around the compound. There were two gates each manned by a guard. I walked a lap and then another trying to see one, if I could confirm there was a court and two, if there was a way in. I eventually found one angle where I saw through the building’s windows and around some bushes a kid dribbling a ball. I was now certain there was in fact a court in the compound. I was also highly confident that there would be a decent view of at least part of Shanghai’s skyline. Now my big problem was figuring out how to get in. The problem with hoop hunting in non-English speaking countries is I can’t ask people for help or explain my intentions. I wasn’t keen on the idea of trying to break in, because well, this is China after all. I was hopefully, however, if I could figure out a way to tell the guard at one of the gates what I wanted, he might let me in.

In general one’s best shot at finding an English speaker in a foreign language country is to ask a kid. Conveniently when I was contemplating my situation on the street a girl who was roughly 15 walked by. I sort or yelled at her and she ignored me. I tried again and got her attention. I asked her if she spoke English. She said, “a little” and pinched her fingers close together. I tried explaining to her that I wanted to take a photo and I needed her to ask the guard if he would let me in to do it. She looked confused but seemed willing to help. I explained it again with a little more success and convinced her to ask the guard. She went up to the booth, yelled something at the guy inside. He said something back and she said sorry but he says no. I then said ask him if he will open the gate if I give him ten dollars. She yelled something else to him. I’ve never seen a gate open that fast in my life. The guy come running out of his booth with his hand out. It was hilarious. I then felt compelled to give the girl a ten as well. She seemed pleased, as did the guard and as was I. I marked down as a mental note, when all else fails in China, bribery works. I manage to get some pretty good shots from inside the school. I still didn’t get a shot with the Pearl Tower but I did get a very nice angle on the “Bottle Opener” building.

The time was now a little after twelve and I need to make my way back to the hotel and get on my way to the airport. Riding back up in the elevator for the last time I was reminded of something I failed to mention. The first time I got in the elevator at Le Royal Méridien Shanghai I thought I heard monkey being murdered playing through the speaker system. On about the fourth ride I saw a sign that said this:

“French Musician and Composer Henri Scars has developed a 24-hour soundscape exclusively for Le Royal Méridien Hotels and Resorts. by blending rich natural sounds with music elements from all over the world and playing them at the entrances and in the elevators, unexpected moments are experienced around the hotel.”

Needless to say I found the sound of dying monkeys upon entering the elevator unexpected. So I guess his mission was accomplished.

My trip to the airport and even all the way to Beijing was uneventful. The Air China lounge was decent. It had free Coke Light, which was enough to make me happy. Upon arrival in Beijing I saw out my window a new Airbus 380 parked next to a Boeing 747. The A380 is absolutely ginormous. The 747 is huge and the 380 just absolutely dwarfed it. I don’t have a large burning desire to visit the Middle East but I might have to just to get to fly on one of Emirates new planes.



I was met at the baggage area by my guide Vivian. She seems very nice but her English is not as good as I might have hoped. Hopefully it won’t be much of a problem over the next two days. Our drive to the Raffles Hotel in downtown Beijing seemed way faster than the 40 minutes Vivian predicted. I didn’t look at my watch so I’m not sure if it was fast or just felt fast.

I made the bellman at the hotel very uncomfortable by professing my ability to carry my own things. I think it literally made him squirm a bit. I hope I didn’t cost him his job. Inside the hotel I was helped by a super nice guy named Nolan. I drank tee while he checked me in. He then showed me to my room and answered a bunch of questions I had for him. Raffles hotels are generally very nice, old school, colonial type places. I don’t think they get many single 20 something females as guests and I think in this case to Nolan, I was a welcomed change.

One of my questions for Nolan was where should I get dinner. He recommended heading over to the Oriental Mall’s food corridor two blocks away. He said they had a little bit of everything and he was right. I settled on a Chinese place. The menu had some scary things on it. I was a little adventurous and a little cautious. In the end the food wasn’t great nor was it terrible. I think part of my appetite may have been quenched by seeing some of the scary pictures of other dishes offered on the menu.

After dinner I walked through the mall and ended up in the Nike store. I think Bailey and I both missed our calling. I think we should have been tag-team designers for Nike’s Asia Pacific Division. I swear they just sit around in Portland and come up with the most random stuff possible. Some of the English phrases and graphics just kill me. The craziest part is that the stuff sells and it sells quite well.

On my walk home I took a jaunt through a traditional Beijing street market. It doesn’t matter how many times I see scorpions and other critters on sticks. It still freaks me out. One thing I didn’t remember was that this time many of the bugs on the sticks were still alive and franticly waiving their arms. I didn’t like that.

It’s now 11ish and I am totally wiped out. I have to be up at eight tomorrow, so I’m calling it a night.

Until tomorrow,
Katy