BEWARE: VERY, VERY LONG PICTURE POST! Sorry, had trouble eliminating :)
Eric got his license on Thursday, so this weekend...we hit the road! I don't think you would realize it unless you were here, but having a license and a car feels like having your freedom back! Eric said that he was sick of being corralled like cattle on and off of the subway every morning to walk to get in a car that was waiting for him by a co-worker to drive him the rest of the way into work each day! He usually traveled 1 hour and at least fifteen minutes each way every day! That gets a little old! So...after taking the insanely difficult Chinese driving test (they pick from 1,500 questions and give you 100. Then you have to get 90 of them correct! And...not easy questions, many are translated wrong and have different meaning than what we are used to. For example, what does a casualty mean to you? A death, correct? Not over here, it just means that someone was injured! They also asked many questions about how fast you should go if an elderly person was crossing the road, or whether a blind person was crossing the road...how do we know if they are blind? Shouldn't they be with someone else who can see when the light changes, I'm not sure how that all works! More questions were about how you were supposed to attend to the person you hit if you got in an accident. Eric responded to me, "I don't know how they want me to respond, I'm not a doctor!" It was crazy hard! So after getting an 87 on the first, he was able to take it again and got a 94! Yeah...so proud of him! He is just so happy done studying and having to stress about taking it!
Oh yeah, funny fact Eric's chinese name is Yang Kia! Pronounced almost like our last name! Whoa, fancy, he has his own chinese name and they also put it on all of his business cards! Too funny!
So of course we couldn't wait for dad to drive us around! Reese wondered when the truck was going to get here so we could drive around! Ha, ha, that would be so funny driving around here in a big Ford crew cab! I wonder what they would think of that!!! I have never seen any trucks, besides the delivery trucks, but they are not the same! Instead we drive a little Honda City! Probably the smallest Honda they have, but to sit behind the wheel and drive where ever you want, whenever you want...it is the best feeling! So on Saturday we wanted to check out a Sculpture Park that is not to far from here, probably only 30 mins from here! I must say that we did get a little lost but with the getting lost we actually drove right up to it from the back side! Not a direct route but we didn't have to turn around anywhere! It is set around a lake and has hills/smaller mountains around it, so it was beautiful! It was EXTREMELY warm on Saturday, probably high 80's with tons of humidity, but it felt great around this lake! There were four different sections to this sculpture park. Each section was set up as a different season. There was the Bank of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter! Each had its own interpretation and different sculpture pieces!
These three pieces revolved around!
This is an enormous sun dial! Very cool!
They had some awesome bridges to walk over that were spraying water!
Huge boardwalks at many places along the lake! It was soooo quiet and peaceful there! So different from Hangzhou yet still just as beautiful! We truly enjoyed ourselves and I know Reese loved it! She asked if we could go back the next day as soon as we got into the car! Actually, she cried when we had to leave!
Literally a cave bathroom! It was very neat! Something that you would see at Disney World or Busch Gardens!
There were many huge lawn areas with beautiful grass where people were playing baseball, Frisbee, setting up a tent and having picnics. Reese asked if I brought food for a picnic but all I had brought were the blankets. We had a few drinks but we had just eaten. I think she liked the idea of having a picnic! We'll have to plan on that next time we go!
Then we saw this area! The Bank of Summer! It was ALL OVER! Actually this was almost the first Bank we came across except while going through part of the Spring Bank. Reese could see in the distance that there was a lake, a beach, toys in the water to play on and she could also see water flyin'! Honestly, we didn't even know it had this! We had heard on a website that there was a lot for kids to do but I don't remember reading anything about the water park area! We totally hit the JACKPOT!
We immediately took our shoes off in the sand and ran down to the edge of the water where Reese found these little boat sculptures carved out of rock!
Of course Cambry had to get in on the action! If you notice closely, or in pictures to come, Cambry had Roseola. She had a fever on and off for about 3 days and after the first day her spots showed up! However, today her spots were ridiculously bad! We felt pretty bad for her and tried to keep her cool and hydrated!
Even the dogs needed to cool off! There was a pet fee if you wanted to take your animals in! It was pretty expensive, but well worth it I'm sure! Huge area to run, play, and cool off!
Here are a few pontoon boats that Eric and I thought would be fun to take out in the middle of the lake with a bunch of friends and their kids! We thought we could bring lunches and swim out there! They were included in the price, but not sure how long you could use them for! They had huge blow-up tubes that you could use as well as kayaks, paddle bikes and boats, and even mini speed boats! So much fun! And then....the water park area!!!! Reese's FAVORITE!!
And....because we didn't know about the water park area, we obviously let her swim in her shirt and skirt! She didn't hesitate for a second!
Eric, of course, made me take a picture of the Rain Bird sprinkler to show Dan back at home!
Another giant sculpture made of stone, very cool isn't it?
This is a GIANT tree house that they are building for kids to play in! It wasn't open yet, but maybe by the next time we visit!
Reese and I climbed up the ropes net! Not very nice on the feet!
These looked like a part of a horse with a saddle that you could ride on!
It is hard to explain what this was, but it was very bouncy! We thought that maybe there were a few huge balls under the mat and the rest was air. It was a lot of fun to jump and run on! We decided that this would NEVER be allowed in the states because of the liability. Here in China, eh, who cares if we lose a few! And I don't think anyone sues!
More sculptures, we should have gone up and read what it was about, but we got here at 2pm and spent close to two hours in the Bank of Summer, the park closed at 5pm, so we only had a little over one hour left and we needed to keep rollin'!
A GREAT place to read a book, don't you think?
It just isn't right if she doesn't fall asleep and ride in COMPLETE COMFORT! She is a silly little baby!
An enormous cathedral at the top of the mountain! I would love to go back and get a closer look next time! Very intriguing!
Took a little rest and cooled off our feet!
Funny, I was saying to Eric as we walked around that this would be a gorgeous place to get married! And the next thing you know, out pops a bride and groom and they were getting their pictures taken here and there! They looked stunning and what a beautiful backdrop! There were a few hotels around the lake and some very fancy restaurants and also a country club with a gulf course!
She found these little statues and wanted her picture taken with them!
This was the cleanest, most shiny piece of art I had seen! See the worker on the left! He was spit shining that thing! It just beamed in the sunlight! So pretty!
There was a HUGE amusement park next door to the sculpture park, but Eric said that he would never trust to ride on a roller coaster in China! Why not! Anyone up for it and want to try it out with me sometime! The people screaming seemed to be enjoying it! Aaahhhhh, I love Cedar Point!
We did manage to have enough time to go back towards the water park, but then we noticed that Cambry wasn't doing too well, so we had to turn back around and get to the car to cool her off! Reese was pretty disappointed seeing is how she would ask every few steps if we were almost back there! We will definitely be going back though, so much fun and not ONE picture was taken of us or asked to be taken of the girls!!!!! Gotta LOVE that!
