Train ride to the Boro

Friends, I hear you; "what were you thinking" but after a multitude of trips on China's extensive railroad I had to try USA style.  No matter what you think a train ride is so much more relaxing and economical for a single rider. Yes it may take 2.5 hours longer by train but when was the last time you had nothing to do for 7 hours.  For the Orlando to Savannah trip the Amtrak makes a lot of sense.  There were many on the train going from the Northeast to the greater Miami area but I would not suggest this. 

My adventure started on the SunRail test days so it took 90 minutes to clear Orlando with me starting in Kissimmee.  Lesson 1 start on the north side of Orlando if you can.  Sunrail and freight trains seem to have the right away over Amtrak.  Once north of Sanford we almost got up to speed when we seemingly pulled over to allow a freight train pass right before went over the St. John river.  Then we took off. 

This is where I will tell you that after living in Georgia, Mississippi, Florida with many trips to Europe and China; I can say poor is poor.  The houses along the rail line are lived in by the poor, the poor live like poor people do wherever you happen to be.  I am sure there are qualitative studies to show the difference of poor between America poor and China's but my view is they are all living to live.   

There are stops along the way that last 15-30 minutes. In China a stop for a major city do not last more than 5 minutes.  Even from Shanghai to Beijing there is no stopping to top off the locomotive fuel tanks like I did in Jacksonville.  The stations along this part of our country are right out  of a 1930 novel.  It is like time has stood still around the stations and that includes stations in cities like Orlando, Savannah and Jacksonville. 

The people are an eclectic group on board the train.  A South American family clearly traveling to Orlando from New York had limited English skills outside of their middle school daughter.  I was able to show the family on my phone where we were and our ETA to Orlando.  A couple of "rough looking" guys were trading stories when one admitted getting kicked off a greyhound bus and Amtrak was his last alternative.  I kept my distance form these two even though one clearly wanted to know my life story.   A couple of down syndrome adults joined the ride to Orlando in Palatka. They traveled with a caregiver.  The caregiver was assigned the seat next to me but she chose to stand next to her charges.  I kept wondering do I really intimidate people??? I was in awe how she talked with the two and soon realized this was just an overnight trip to Orlando with no amusement park visit.  The man seems to have clear rituals in his daily life and the two females kept comforting him and telling him all was going to be alright.  I figured out he could get over stimulated easily.  The girl was clearly in love with her man friend and the caregiver never stopped the kissing and love strokes she applied to his hair.  As if God was not teaching me enough about humanity the two "rough looking" guys came up and started to talk with the trio.  I felt ashamed that I sat there the whole trip and never started a discussion, never tried to make sure the caretaker was comfortable.  The two "rough guys" engaged the two and had them laughing and telling us all how they were in love. These two who I judged, made a chair in front of the handicap seats with their luggage so the caretaker could be comfortable. 

Here I sit minding my own business feeling like a jerk....

Do you have a trip to Miami, Savannah or Charleston planned? Take the train, I highly recommend it.  I learned a lot!      

Trip 6 includes a lot of work, Tomb Sweeping Holiday and a trip to Hangzhou

This trip found Kelly flying over with me.  On Sunday we walked around Yuyuan gardens and a few other places around town.  We had three weeks of meetings and she was here to help get the most important week kicked off.  

I celebrated my birthday on this trip at a dive bar with the team for a few hours.  The Americans stayed late but our Chinese colleagues returned to their families after a few hours.  Good food, Tiger beer, friends and being in a foreign city made for a memorable birthday.  

Henri, Nicole, Catherine, Meggie, Joyce, Rachel, Jenny and Qiyu

This trip put me in this huge nation over a Chinese national holiday called Tomb Sweeping Day.  I took advantage of the three day weekend to take a high speed train to Hangzhou.  This is just an hour ride from Shanghai train station.  With speeds of 300 Kmh and few efficient 5 minutes stops the ride goes by fast.  I moved my reservation to the West Lake sister hotel of the Kerry.  Hangzhou has been a popular Chinese tourist destination for centuries.  It is know for the miles of walking paths around its main lake as well as a National Park nearby.  There are public water shows as well as a night time show that rivals a D1sney production.  

I left the hotel at 6:30 AM to board my train which leaves at 8:17AM.  The usual 70 minute subway ride took nearly 90 minutes.  The crowds in the station were unexplainable, as I searched for the passport window to exchange my online ticket code for a real ticket.   Needless to say I missed my train.  After another 60 minute queue to change my ticket for the next available train which was in 5 hours.  I finally arrived in Hangzhou to find more people and no cabs.  My plan was to walk around the lake so  in necessity I walked to the hotel.  It was a bout a 3 mile hike with my backpack and my trusty 25 year old duffle bag.  Did I mention the crowds?

Little girl conducting the water spouts on West Lake in Hangzhou

Good day for wedding photos

I also rented a mountain bike for two hours and strolled around the west side of the lake.  I followed the other bicycles and it was an incredible ride.  It was like being a single fish in a school of fish just flowing around obstacles without any stress or rage.  The Chinese know how to move the masses without incidents.  I have yet to see an accident on a city street.  

Another great trip!

Technology Joke

Sometimes the dumb ones are the funniest-

A man received a text message from his neighbor...

Sorry sir I am using your wife ... I am using day and night ... I am using when u r not present at home ... In fact I am using more than u r using...

I confess this because now I feel very much guilty ... hope u will accept my sincere apologies...

Man went home and had a big fight with his wife.......

Few minutes later he received another text message...

Sorry Sir autocorrect mistake ... it's not wife but wifi...

My 1st Great Wall visit

I just had my 1st Great wall experience and it was inspiring but there was something missing.  Not having a loved one to share the moment, a hand to hold while stepping over rough terrain was in a way sad. I missed my family and for the first time became home sick. The haze was everywhere and Beijing is actually better than Shanghai this weekend regarding the smog.  As the sun came up and the earth warmed we watched the wall appear as far as we could see.  Let me start where our journey began in Shanghai. 

Joyce on my team accompanied Robert and I to a train agent Thursday and we purchased two round trip tickets on a high speed train to Beijing. We left work Friday at 1:15 and jumped on the Shanghai metro line 2 for an hour. We boarded the train at Hongchaio railway station.  Top speed we saw was 326kmh and that was smooth as riding on ice.  We chose 2nd class seats for 550 RMB one way.  $85 USD.  We arrived in Beijing after 5.5 hrs.  The cab ride to our hotel was just shy of another hour. The hotel we use in Pudong secured 2 nights at their sister hotel Shangri-la Beijing. We had a great gruyle cheese & ham sandwich and fries for dinner.

We awoke to a typical Chinese buffet breakfast and were provided two meal bags for lunch. A colleague of Robert had a relative in Beijing that loaned us a driver for 1000 rmb for the day. He arrived and off we went to Jinshanling. This section of the wall has sections that were restored in 1986 and sections un- restored.  It was built in the 1500's. We arrived after two hours in the backseat of a Chinese sedan with the temperature around freezing.

 It felt nice as I got out of the car and I left my jacket. It took us 30 minutes to get to the wall by foot. Once there it was not inspiring until we started hiking and the smog burned off. Then it was insane.  

The walking is hard, very hard.  Steep uneven steps with many like ladders.  The unrestored section was like hiking a rocky hilly trail. The top of the wall went up and down relentlessly. By noon I was hot and sweaty. There is one store run by famous photographer Mr. Duan Jiujun.  I bought a tourist T-shirt to wear because I was getting really hot and stuck my wool sweater in my backpack. The lunch bag provided by the hotel was just what we needed. We stopped in one of the unrestored guard towers to eat, it was a great place to stop. 

We hiked east, backtracked and then west for an hour. We turned around again and then headed back to the car after a total of 4 hrs. Did I mention the walking along the wall was tougher than San Francisco! 

Hello from Beijing

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Suzhou China trip

Suzhou is a neighboring city that in a few years will have Shanghai metro link connecting with it.  For now you can take a 20 minute high speed train from the Hongchaio train station.  

G trains run on electric overhead cables and travel up to 346 Km/h but are governed to 300 Km/h due to some train accidents in 2010.  

Tiger garden was a great place to come and recharge my internal batteries and forget the stress of work.  

Bonsai Garden

Roof tiles

I sat in this pagoda for a couple hours listening to the birds and the Chinese chatter of passing locals.  I packed some snacks which were really needed. 

I got a taxi across town and walked around a great local museum. The architect for this museum designed the Louvre in Paris.  

Pedestrian way shopping

Odd to see a camaro especially #13

It was a fun trip but like Qindao once you leave the international city of Shanghai it is very hard to be a foreigner.  To find and order quality food becomes an adventure.

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Thanksgiving in China

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Places I have visited, I have a lot more to see!

visited 31 states (62%)
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visited 21 countries (9.33%)


Thanks to this site for the maps

Wine Country

Heidelberg is in the Sonoma region. Nestled in a valley formed by the Russian River, the area is famous for their grape farms and wineries. Our hotel was called the H2 which was odd for me as my SHDR project uses the name H2 for the to-be named value hotel. H2 in Heidelberg was a very modern European style hotel run by very young people. The downstairs is a very chic restaurant and bar with the reception desk nestled into the bar. The rooms were very nice and Sally was in heaven. H2 was part of the tour package I chose. We awoke and went down for breakfast to be greeted by a trove of other cyclists all clothed in spandex. We wondered which group we would be riding with but with one gesture from the leader the group got up and left us alone in the restaurant. We realized they were not with the same tour group as us.

We made our way to Wine Country Bikes and met up with Jay our tour guide and one of the owners. It is now Tuesday their slowest day and we were told the couple that we were supposed to ride with canceled their reservation so we were going to have a private tour. Sally quickly told Jay all about our cycling abilities and he planned a route accordingly. We opted for the hybrid tandem since Jay was also on a hybrid. The ride out of the city was short and once into the valley Jay’s knowledge of grape growing, harvesting and wine making was very evident. He was a treasure for two wine novices. At each winery the staff or owners called out to him by his name. He engaged the staff asking about the harvest and was able to speak their language of grapes. At Bella, our favorite winery, they were sorting and washing their harvest of Zinfandel grapes. Jay was able to get the winemaker to agree for us to come into their area and sample some of the grapes. Remember the commercial where candy explodes in your mouth with flavor; this is what it was like as we bit into these perfectly ripened grapes. The grape eating was an experience in itself. We joined Bella’s club and then moved on stopping and sampling different wines.

At our least favorite winery we met a fun couple that was on our same schedule but they were driving. The husband swam from Alcatraz Island to the SF bay in an annual ritual on the day we were visiting the rock. While we were visiting with this couple Jay laid out an incredible spread of food for our lunch. Jay packs local goat cheese and crackers for the tastings but a driver brought out our lunch. The Granville grocery store made our lunch and it was delicious. As a final treat Jay had strawberries and chocolate paired with a nice red wine. Full as a tic as Sally would say; we pushed on past Raymond Burr’s winery and across town to Seghassio a nice Italian family winery. After joining their club and buying a couple of special reserve bottles our toured ended back in town. At the bike shop we were surprised to learn our package included a $150 credit at a hoity-toity restaurant in town. I went to look for a button down shirt at a local men’s clothier to find the cheapest shirt at $160. I threw on my already worn button down and off to a very nice dinner paired with a Russian River valley Pinot. Back at the hotel The iphone app still showed my phone had not left the rental office but with only 3% battery life my ability to track it was coming to an end. Day two of our biking adventure found just Sally and I on the hybrid tandem. Road construction blocked the normal pass to the other side of the valley so we took a scenic way which was perfect fast paced cycling for us. Believe it or not we were wined out and were out for detoxing ride but as we passed Moshi winery we remembered Jay saying this winery was in his top 3 in the area. Moshi was as Jay described. The pourer inside the winery, while new to the area, was very knowledgeable. An Apprentice winemaker from another winery came by and it was fascinating to hear them compare notes. Sally discovered to like “horse blanket” wines which are wines with Brettanomyces. She made friends with a couple from the Denver area that had biked out to the coast and back. At Moshi we hekd our ground and bought just a few bottles knowing that we went overboard the day before. During prohibition this area changed to tobacco growing and this side of the river was noted for their large tobacco drying barns that were now wineries. Very cool place for a bike ride. We showered at the bike store, cleaned up and then started the drive back to SF airport. We were finally were able to reach a lost and found agent who acknowledged having my phone. He explained what I needed to do to pick it up which was very easy during the rental car return. In hindsight my fear of an over inflated price for the wine tour was discredited. After experiencing how great it was and adding up all the perks we think we under paid for the experience. This was one of the best husband and wife trips we could have taken!

Redwood Forest

Ferndale was very quaint historic town with a lot of antique and artistry shopping. We found Mom a birthday present and shipped it from the little post office. We were to travel another 90 miles north to the Redwood forest but the locals told us to return how we came and follow the “Avenues of the Giants” a scenic rode that goes through massive Redwood stands. The drive was spectacular. We were in awe with each stand of trees we encountered. We would stop and take pictures and drive to the next grove until the sun was getting low in the sky. We pulled off the avenue and onto Hwy 111 to Heidelberg for our wine tour.

Wine Country via San Francisco

Sally has had a dream for years to visit “Wine Country” She did not know where or what region just somewhere near Sonoma. I did some research and found Wine Country Bikes in Healdsburg, CA specializing in tours via a bicycle. There were many options and knowing how important this was I chose a two day package with the 1st day guided and the second day on our own. I wanted to try a tandem so we paid the up-charge for the road bike tandem for both days. This was the focal point of our trip but the other sites we visited were just as memorable.

Day one had us flying into SF in time to watch the sunset from the plane for what seemed like an hour. We seemingly chased the sun across the Western US. We took the Bart train downtown to almost the last stop. It was a non-eventful ride where we got out was a little far from our hotel so we hiked a few blocks then realizing the hilss were a big obstacle we flagged down a cab to take us to the Hotel Beresford. The hotel was off the beaten path by a couple of blocks. It was built in the 1910. The front desk staff were nice and directed us to our street facing room. The hotel lacked AC so we opened the window to be greeted by the noises of local bar patrons visiting the attached hotel bar. The room was small with a bathroom that would only fit one. We decided it was fine and quaint. Our stomachs were empty after our 5.5hr coach flight. We hiked up the street to an art-deco bistro and had a fancy meal with our first wine of the trip. We walked around the area getting our bearings then retired for the night. The bar was really getting noisy now!

Saturday we had a quick carb loaded hotel breakfast and set off. We walked up to knob hill and grabbed a trolley; we bought a day ticket so we took it roundtrip enjoying the sites. It was early morning and there were very few if any other riders. We hopped off at the Sheraton and went inside and hooked up with the Friends of the SF public library tour group. Each day local volunteers take a walking tour around different parts of the city. We chose a mystery tour because it offered the possibility of my top three tours. Fisherman wharf, Little Italy or Chinatown. Today was Chinatown. The guide was a treasure trove of information and he set the stage of the tour with a quick 10 minute synopsis of the history of the town that became San Francisco. In Chinatown we went to a live market, saw locals hanging fish in their windows to dry, saw a fortune cookie factory and toured a temple. The amazing thing I took away was the massive Cisterns built under intersections that provided firefighters with water for specific sections of the city. Fire Hydrants were colored coded to indicate which cistern it was attached to. All of this was because earth quakes can destroy an interconnected pipe system that is used everywhere else. After the tour we walked around the homes that lined the hills overlooking the bay. We made our way to the wharf to watch the sea lions at the pier. They were the fun to watch, but the crowds were large along the wharf. We stumbled into a Biscoff store and ordered a coffee and a couple of cookies and we were off to see Lombard Street. Here is where we underestimated the hills. The walk to the Wharf was noticeably downhill which meant one thing…what goes down must go up??? We hiked and hiked and hiked through really nice neighborhoods finally getting to the top of Lombard. For me it was anti-climactic moment. I marveled at the million dollar houses that are right along the street but pity the owners that have to put up with all the tourists and their antics. That night I was awoken to Charlie horses in my legs from all the hill climbing. It had been a long time since I felt this level of muscle discomfort.

On Sunday we packed our bags and stored them with the front desk. We grabbed a cab to the Alcatraz fery and did the island tour in about 3 hours. It was a fascinating tour. We walked into town to catch a bus to the other side of town. We walked a few blocks to get to another bus line and watched the last four minutes of the Georgia game with a half-dressed female bar patron. The final bus took us out to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a fascinating visit reading about the history and the architectural marvels that make it so special. We walked half way across took some pictures then went back to the park to catch a bus back into town. While waiting I found an app that Bart provides that gives real time tracking for the next bus to arrive. Multiple busses come to this one stop but the #22 is the one we all were waiting for. Soon people realized I was tracking it and my phone became the hope for a lot of people around us. The bus took us within a block of our hotel so we jumped off grabbed our luggage and grabbed the next bus to the closest train station. In short we went to a Cal train station instead of the Bart station. It was a cool commuter train and we rode in the bicycle car but in the end we had to get a cab to the car rental center. While researching the cab rental location for the cabbie I realized Hertz was closed after 2pm on Sunday. To the airport we went to get a car with higher fees but that is what happens when one tries to be frugal. An hour outside of San Francisco I realized I left my phone on the bench waiting for our car to be brought to us. The Iphone app worked great showing its location through the day the phone never moved. We continued our drive north to Ferndale, CA. It was a long drive and we were 2-3 hours behind. I fought exhaustion as we rolled in around 10PM. The room was left unlocked and what was supposed to be a quaint inn was just a small motel. We crashed hard and slept solid since it was so quiet compared to our previous two nights sleeping in the city.

2013 Savannah Century

12 friends rented a cottage on Tybee Labor Day weekend.  Sunday was the Savannah Bike century which was a blast.  I was recovering well from my jet lag but came down with a stomach virus so no biking for me.  Seven riders started with one finishing the 56, two finishing the 75 and four finishing the 103.  Good turnout from the Team Peace wearing their Orange Cycle Jerseys.

I have to comment that the cottage turned out to be a very special place for our group to relax and catch-up.

We booked the cottage online from Mermaid Cottages; the cottage we chose was the Dutton-Waller cottage.  This cottage was built in the 1930s and is one of the few remaining original tybee cottages.  It is on the national historic register.  The cottage was advertised to sleep 8 but their are beds and couches for at least 6 more under the age of 21.  Mermaid Cottages were very easy to work with and made the stay very easy.  

Mom, Dad and Suzy came over Monday for their anniversary dinner.  A great labor day weekend wih friends and family.