Greeting all,
Its the 7th of May as I type this..hard to believe that 1/2 of 2017 has almost gone by. I think my perception of time is changing the older I get! And speaking of older..back on the 23rd of April, Rod and I celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary! 34 years ago, we said our vows in a small country home of a good friend of ours in just out side of Paducah, KY in the western part of the Bluegrass state. I was to graduate from Murray State University in May of 1983 and we were getting ready to go on a cruise for our honeymoon. My parents made the 6 hour drive from our family home in Germantown, KY up in Northeastern, KY to witness child # 5 officially get off the payroll. My father wasn't exactly sure how to treat Rod...Rod had been married before...and he and dad had to have that "man to man" talk...to this day, I don't know the contents of that talk, but it must have been effective..we're still together! Tomorrow is my mother's birthday..she was born on the 8th of May, 1928 and died on the 14th of December 2003. She was a very special lady and will be in my heart until I too pass from this earth.
Back onto happier topics! I had a business trip to Shanghai on the weekend of our anniversary, so we took advantage and Rod went with me and I planned a long weekend of Suzhou for us. I will share some pictures of Suzhou and the surrounding areas. Suzhou is an old city known for it's beautiful gardens...and for this gardener's soul, it was a needed boost after the long cold winter of Shenyang.
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| In a Taoist temple...the first time I have ever seen this hand gesture on any figure here in China...much less in a temple! Probably not the best shot to start this blog entry with...couldn't resist! |
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| Rod and Sarah enjoying a day in the Humble Administrator's Garden |
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| A room with a view...such a nice water feature in the garden! (As long as someone else does the maintenance!) |
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| Love the vase built into the wall around the garden! |
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| The canals and pathways in the gardens were just so peaceful...except that there were a bazillion other people wanting to enjoy the garden that day too! |
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| Taking a break in the pavillion in the garden |
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| Just one of the gazibos in the garden |
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| Scenes like this are what I really enjoyed about Suzhou...flowers...and lots of them! ahh! |
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| Beautiful scenes...like a fairy tale! |
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| azaleas in The Humble Administrator's garden |
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| Bonsai Azaleas! |
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| Beautiful Pavillion in the Humble Administrator's garden |
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| A peaceful walk in the park at the Humble Administrator's garden in SuZhou |
After a lovely day in the park, we enjoyed our evening of rest and then the next day we went to Tiger Hill Tower park. As the name implies, there is a big tower on top of a hill...the tower is over 900 years old and still standing, albeit with a 12 degree lean. It was also a very nice garden/park.
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| Bridge into the Tiger Hill park in Suzhou |
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| A boat cruise around the park is always a nice way to see things (and relax!) |
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| Row, Row Row the boat |
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| The Tiger Hill Tower with 12 degree lean! |
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| Rod and Sarah enjoying Suzhou |
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| Can't pass up an opportunity to take pictures of red white and blue poppies! |
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| One of the meditation trails in the Tiger Hill park |
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| Our chariot awaits for the boat cruise around the park |
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| Rod and Sarah cruising Tiger Hill Park in Suzhou for their 34th anniversary! |
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| The official name of the park..it's another Unesco site. |
In the afternoon, Rod took a break at the hotel and Sarah went for a little adventure solo to a Water town not far from Suzhou called Tongli. It's an old water town (meaning people live in houses typically on stilts on the water). I'm pretty sure this is preserved for tourists..but I like it all the same.
Here are some pictures of Tongli.
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| The city gate into Tongli |
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| Everything happens on and in the canal shores |
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| Another boat ride for Sarah in Tongli |
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| Lunch buckets on the back side of a restaurant being cleaned out... |
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| Down by the canalside in Tongli |
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| Tree lined canals make Tongli particularly pretty |
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| Restaurants on the canal in Tongli |
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| Just your average water town in the suburbs of Suzhou |
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| Life on the rivers..outside of the tourist areas in Tongli |
After the day of touring around, Rod and I took a nice stroll along the lake in Suzhou and enjoyed our last evening there. The lakefront was typical of most Chinese places at night...lit up!
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| Lakeside in SuZhou in the evening |
So, that's about it for our anniversary installment on this entry. We are grateful to have this time together and we aim to cherish all of our time together. Life is precious and we know we have no guarantees of tomorrow...so I ask God to bless us and bless you.
Rod and Sarah
Living large in China
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