We get him up a little after 8 and head to the feed trough that is the buffet. We load up for the day and learn that he loves Cheerios and doesn't like eggs over hard. Julie gave him some small pieces and he put them back on her plate so he knows what he likes. LOL! He eats more noodles and rice and is a good eater. We head back to the room to gear up for the day. Our plan is to walk down the road to the city wall and walk as much as our crew can handle. We were hoping for an earlier start to beat the heat but c'est la vie. We are still out the door by 9:30 so how bad can it be?
As soon as we walk outside, I know we're in for a treat as the humidity is very high and it feels like it is in the upper 80s. We head down the road and cause our usual disruption with the locals between 4 kids and a double stroller, we are quite the sight. The wall is about 2.5 blocks away but the sweet irony is that the blocks in Xi'an are more rectangular than square and we need to walk the long sides. We make it to the wall and start looking for a way up. As luck would have it, there is one close by and we go to it and pay to climb up. It is spectacular and the wall is at least 40 feet wide - it is huge! There are lanterns hanging on the outside edge of the wall that would be super cool to see lit at night. We head East and stop periodically to take in the sights and sounds of the city. The bad news with a fortified wall is that there is no shade so it is pretty warm. The wall slopes from the front (outside) to the back for drainage. Pretty smart people hundreds of years ago. Along the walk we encounter some people from Texas and see dozens of bikers. They rent bikes at the top of the wall and both Sydney and Max bemoan how we don't have bikes and are forced to walk. You'd think this was the Battan Death March or something. Considering neither of them are strong riders, there are no helmets and the top of the wall is paved with hundreds of years old bricks, riding a bike seems like a bad idea, so we walk. ;)
We eventually reach the corner, which was our goal and take a breather. The moat and associated park around it are very beautiful and we've seen older Chinese out exercising and socializing. It is an interesting foreground to the chaotic urban scene just beyond the moat. It is a nice break to be on the wall away from John Q Chinese Public but even here, we are asked to be in pictures and many bikers almost wreck looking at us. We head back to the entrance we came up and take in the sights on the inside of the wall. It is pretty depressing stuff as the houses/apartments have tin roofs with bricks holding them down, decrepit looking structures and just a poverty look and feel to them. We finally make our way back to the steps we came up and stop in the shade of a pagoda to rest. Some Chinese come up and ask to take our picture and then we try to make small talk about the heat, which I apparently cannot say "hot" correctly, and they tell us they are from Nanjing, but when I say Nanjing, they all shake their heads no. So much for my communication skills. While sitting there we see a blimp fly over and later when it turns we see it is the Goodyear blimp. I snapped some photos to share with the people I work with from Goodyear. We begin our trek back to the hotel and by now are getting pretty good at crossing the street - at least the small ones.
Back in the hotel room we are all gross with sweat and Shan-Shan is wiped out and takes a nap as does Veronica. Julie and I lay down while Sydney watches a movie and Max plays Nintendo DS. After a bit he wakes up, but another side effect from institutionalization is that he doesn't cry or make noise. He seems very content to sit and watch events around him. Guess that is all he really knows how to do as the broader world hasn't been very interactive for him. How much action can you do from your crib or in a walker? Max, Sydney and I play cards and after getting sick of war, I teach them to play Blackjack and Rummy. We all laugh at how much my mom wouldn't like me teaching her grandchildren to play Blackjack. At least we were not gambling, just working on the basics of the game. LOL! Sydney wins the first hand of Rummy but they don't want to play anymore as war is apparently more exciting.
The kids have been hinting all day that a trip to the hotel's pool sounds great so we finally go. Shan-Shan just seems baffled by what we're doing and sits there with Julie taking it all in. Sydney can't touch the bottom in the pool and my right knee is killing me so squatting in the water holding her afloat isn't going to happen. We float and splash around for a while before heading back to the room for baths. I bet you were wondering why we called this bath time, huh? I didn't forget. :)
Max and Sydney take showers (they are getting so big) and Julie gives Veronica a bath. Shan-Shan and I poke our heads in so he can see what she is doing and he starts to cry and get very anxious. We decide to implement some tough love and still go forward with the bath. He cries but doesn't struggle like I thought he would as we clean him up. I play the role of bad guy (little does he know that'll be a recurring theme in his life - LOL!) and let Julie be the nice ma ma and save him from the evil bath. We all survive and he doesn't seem to be too traumatized by it. As a matter of fact he is playing with the phone in the hotel room right now and enjoying some freedom to explore and walk around on his own. I am so glad to see him walking around because at one point in time we were concerned that he'd need therapy, but apparently, love will do the trick.
Dinner time approaches and we decide we'll be adventurous and try the Chinese restaurant in the hotel instead of the Western one. We get off of the elevator and the lady dressed in traditional garb tells us that we are on the second floor and that this is a Chinese restaurant. This is our first hint that we might not be eating here. We politely let her know that we understand and would like to look at a menu. As we flip through such classic delicacies as shark's fin soup, sheep head meet with garlic, squid booty (that last one is for Max's enjoyment) and more we realize that maybe the Western place is the right one for us. We all smile conciliatory smiles that yes, she was right, this is a Chinese restaurant, and head downstairs to our usual stomping grounds. Shan-Shan does well eating as does everyone else and we hit the hotel's business center on the way to the room and check email. Apparently our alarm system is on the fritz so I am sure we'll owe the Sheriff when we get back for the false alarms. Julie's sister sends a few photos of Zeus the dog and Enzo the cat for us and lets us know that Enzo is good at supervising her cleaning of his litter box. Our friend, Carl, is taking care of the yard and let us know he cut the grass and now needs replacement kidneys. Our yard was a farm field before we built and is pretty rough. Couple that with a few hours on a tractor and it is a good time. Mow north and south, not east and west Carl - trust me, it is smoother that way! He also sends a picture of Zeus and said that Zeus jumped in the car with him when he pulled up to the house. What a great guard dog, huh? LOL!
We hit the room and wind down for the evening and eventually call it a day. Tomorrow is our opportunity to visit the famous terra-cotta army and attempt to visit Shan-Shan's city, Weinan.
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