The boys got new bikes. The little hellians rode them right out of the store!
And Eric took to one of his dads favorite sports.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
SMP Skateboard Park
9/27/08
Becky
Saturday afternoon Eric, Odis, and I took off for the world's biggest skateboard park. To our surprise it only took about a 1/2 hour to drive there. Like it is advertised, it is definately big. For those of you who frequent the skateboard park in Eagle it's easily 15 times that size. Eric went riding for a couple of hours and while he certainly isn't Tony Hawk he did pretty well and had a lot of fun. We found out there is another park not too far from our apartment so well be sure to try that sometime. The park is only a couple of years and and very little maintenance goes into it so there are a lot of concrete chips and cracks, but over all it is still really good. Here's a few pictures:
A huge half pipe.
A view of a small portion of the park. Notice all the cranes in the background.
Eric riding his RipStick down a ramp.
A very cool tunnel that Eric rode through. On the other end was a full pipe.
Our driver Zhang playing frisbee with Eric and Odis at SMP Park. We always wonder if he knows how to play games since his life is all about working. He always seems to enjoy himself when he does engage in some Hoth fitness activities.
Eric playing frisbee with infront of the SMP park sign.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
SMP Skateboard Park Quest
19 Sep 08 (Dad & Eric)
Shanghai has what it professes to be “the largest skateboard park in the world.” Located somewhere on the far side of town, nowhere near a subway stop, it’s exact position is annoyingly illusive. With a day off from school, I suggested to Eric that he and I try to find this mysterious isle of recreation.
So, anticipating an early start to our excursion, Eric downloaded and printed out the physical address of the park last evening. We planned on hitting Decathlon (the local sporting good store) as it opened to get a skateboard, then have our driver take us to the park; Easy enough. Oh, how the best layed plans can go to h*** in a handbag!
Due to some juvenile lolley-gagging, it was after 10:00AM before we ever got going. Then the boards offered at Decathlon, as it turns out, weren’t exactly what Eric had in mind so we left without purchasing one (a decision which later came back to haunt us). We did, however, score a business card that read “SMP Skate Park”, as well as an address, albeit in Chinese characters, that gave us concrete directions to the park. So we thought.
Our search for a board led us to some dark, antiquated, underground market in the older part of town (Puxi). The directions to a board shop, (again written in Chinese Mandarin characters) were found on-line. They proved to be antiquated as well, as when we finally found the store we sought, or at least the location identified by the address, it (the shop) had obviously changed hands and now only sold knock-off Disney paraphernalia.
Our driver was patient with us and circled the block several times while we searched the catacombs of the underground market. And even upon our empty handed return, took us to two different department stores, which as it turned out, sold sports apparel, but no equipment. One store had a skateboard on a shelf as a display, but would not part with it. Frustrated with us and needing to get across town to pick up Becky he abandoned us on Nanjing road, a place where one can typically find about any piece of crap he or she might desire; less a skateboard!
After a quick lunch, Eric and I decided that we should just go on out to the skate park. If nothing else, we can figure out where it is. And reasoned that if there is a park that size, there should be a shop of some sort as well. As we jumped on the subway heading out to where we had seen the park on Google Earth, we realized that we had left the directions (not to mention our city map) in the van with our driver. No problem; we had the card that I had scored at Decathlon earlier in the day! We had what we needed, right? Wrong!
As we got close to where we thought would likely be the closest stop to the park, we showed the card to a young person and asked if he knew how to get to the venue. He indicated that we needed to get off the train at that specific stop. I guessed that we were where we needed to be. We got off the train and followed him over to a map on the wall of the station where he began pointing to the area near the Decathlon sporting goods store. It turns out the card that I picked up at the store was not for the park after all, but rather for a board shop back near our apartment!It was now approaching 5:00 PM and we were no closer to finding the park than we were when we began our boondoggle. Eric needed to be home by 6:00 to get ready for a scout campout, so we abandoned our quest and bolted for home.
Shanghai has what it professes to be “the largest skateboard park in the world.” Located somewhere on the far side of town, nowhere near a subway stop, it’s exact position is annoyingly illusive. With a day off from school, I suggested to Eric that he and I try to find this mysterious isle of recreation.
So, anticipating an early start to our excursion, Eric downloaded and printed out the physical address of the park last evening. We planned on hitting Decathlon (the local sporting good store) as it opened to get a skateboard, then have our driver take us to the park; Easy enough. Oh, how the best layed plans can go to h*** in a handbag!
Due to some juvenile lolley-gagging, it was after 10:00AM before we ever got going. Then the boards offered at Decathlon, as it turns out, weren’t exactly what Eric had in mind so we left without purchasing one (a decision which later came back to haunt us). We did, however, score a business card that read “SMP Skate Park”, as well as an address, albeit in Chinese characters, that gave us concrete directions to the park. So we thought.
Our search for a board led us to some dark, antiquated, underground market in the older part of town (Puxi). The directions to a board shop, (again written in Chinese Mandarin characters) were found on-line. They proved to be antiquated as well, as when we finally found the store we sought, or at least the location identified by the address, it (the shop) had obviously changed hands and now only sold knock-off Disney paraphernalia.
Our driver was patient with us and circled the block several times while we searched the catacombs of the underground market. And even upon our empty handed return, took us to two different department stores, which as it turned out, sold sports apparel, but no equipment. One store had a skateboard on a shelf as a display, but would not part with it. Frustrated with us and needing to get across town to pick up Becky he abandoned us on Nanjing road, a place where one can typically find about any piece of crap he or she might desire; less a skateboard!
After a quick lunch, Eric and I decided that we should just go on out to the skate park. If nothing else, we can figure out where it is. And reasoned that if there is a park that size, there should be a shop of some sort as well. As we jumped on the subway heading out to where we had seen the park on Google Earth, we realized that we had left the directions (not to mention our city map) in the van with our driver. No problem; we had the card that I had scored at Decathlon earlier in the day! We had what we needed, right? Wrong!
As we got close to where we thought would likely be the closest stop to the park, we showed the card to a young person and asked if he knew how to get to the venue. He indicated that we needed to get off the train at that specific stop. I guessed that we were where we needed to be. We got off the train and followed him over to a map on the wall of the station where he began pointing to the area near the Decathlon sporting goods store. It turns out the card that I picked up at the store was not for the park after all, but rather for a board shop back near our apartment!It was now approaching 5:00 PM and we were no closer to finding the park than we were when we began our boondoggle. Eric needed to be home by 6:00 to get ready for a scout campout, so we abandoned our quest and bolted for home.
PICTURES!
Becky 9/21/08
Well, time to write seems to have become a thing of the past for me with work and my family. I know everyone has been asking for pictures so I though I’d spend a few minutes and post a few. A lot of the pictures have a tremendous amount of history, so if you’re interested I recommend a Google-a-thon!
8/15/08 SFO (San Fransisco) to PVG (Shanghai Pudong)
8/17/08 Andrew and Eric’s 1st outing. Walking on the Huangpu riverwalk. Across the river is The Bund, notice the French architecture.
8/21/08 Hongzhou with the Tyson family (Ben is a coworker with me at HP). It was HOT that day 41C with 90% humidity that day. We picked one of the hottest days of the summer to visit. Thank Heaven for dry wick!
West Lake
Rental bikes, they are made for Chinese, not big Americans. It was fun riding around the lake. Only Eric fit his bike.
West Lake with a chuan (boat). I think it was a restaurant.
Lingyin Temple
8/23/08 Zhujiajiao watertown. The locals use boats to get around.
Our first outing with Bohdi, a local adventure club. It rained heavily that day so we enjoyed the mud. No hills though!
Time for lunch. Notice the mud!
Better wash my bike off!
9/7/08 Chongming Dao (Island). Family outing to a forest park where we walked, rode a few rides, ate and walked some more.
Eric and Andrew trying to ride in water spheres. The kids couldn’t stand up, I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.
Andrew and Eric grass skiing. Who says you can’t ski in China?
We don’t need vehicles to move trees when we have 1.3 billion people! The Chinese love having their picture taken, notice the smiles.
9/14/08-9/15/08 Nanjing. Very important city in China. If you’re into history look up WWII and the Japanese wiping out Nanjing. Very sad, but the Chinese are extremely resilient people. I remember learning about German Concentration Camps, but don’t remember anything about Nanjing. Interesting what we are taught in school.
Darrell and me at Yuejianglou Tower
And the family
Walking on Nanjing Wall
Dinner at a traditional Chinese restaurant in Nanjing. Our driver Zhong joined us. It’s interesting how he becomes part of the family. We’ve never met his family, but hope too sometime.
Zhongshan Mountain National Park. This is the most prestigious area of Nanjing.
Dr. Sun Yatsen’s Mausoleum – 1st Nationalist leader of China is buried here.
Linggu Temple –
A view from the top. It was late in the afternoon so the fog/pollution had rolled in, but you can see the city skyline to get an idea how the BIG Zhongshan Mountain was.
Ziaxia Lake – Chinglish at it’s finest. Notice the people swimming, we’re not sure why they bother with signs except maybe for tourists who get a kick out of them.
Well, time to write seems to have become a thing of the past for me with work and my family. I know everyone has been asking for pictures so I though I’d spend a few minutes and post a few. A lot of the pictures have a tremendous amount of history, so if you’re interested I recommend a Google-a-thon!
8/15/08 SFO (San Fransisco) to PVG (Shanghai Pudong)
8/17/08 Andrew and Eric’s 1st outing. Walking on the Huangpu riverwalk. Across the river is The Bund, notice the French architecture.
8/21/08 Hongzhou with the Tyson family (Ben is a coworker with me at HP). It was HOT that day 41C with 90% humidity that day. We picked one of the hottest days of the summer to visit. Thank Heaven for dry wick!
West Lake
Rental bikes, they are made for Chinese, not big Americans. It was fun riding around the lake. Only Eric fit his bike.
West Lake with a chuan (boat). I think it was a restaurant.
Lingyin Temple
8/23/08 Zhujiajiao watertown. The locals use boats to get around.
Our first outing with Bohdi, a local adventure club. It rained heavily that day so we enjoyed the mud. No hills though!
Time for lunch. Notice the mud!
Better wash my bike off!
9/7/08 Chongming Dao (Island). Family outing to a forest park where we walked, rode a few rides, ate and walked some more.
Eric and Andrew trying to ride in water spheres. The kids couldn’t stand up, I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.
Andrew and Eric grass skiing. Who says you can’t ski in China?
We don’t need vehicles to move trees when we have 1.3 billion people! The Chinese love having their picture taken, notice the smiles.
9/14/08-9/15/08 Nanjing. Very important city in China. If you’re into history look up WWII and the Japanese wiping out Nanjing. Very sad, but the Chinese are extremely resilient people. I remember learning about German Concentration Camps, but don’t remember anything about Nanjing. Interesting what we are taught in school.
Darrell and me at Yuejianglou Tower
And the family
Walking on Nanjing Wall
Dinner at a traditional Chinese restaurant in Nanjing. Our driver Zhong joined us. It’s interesting how he becomes part of the family. We’ve never met his family, but hope too sometime.
Zhongshan Mountain National Park. This is the most prestigious area of Nanjing.
Dr. Sun Yatsen’s Mausoleum – 1st Nationalist leader of China is buried here.
Linggu Temple –
A view from the top. It was late in the afternoon so the fog/pollution had rolled in, but you can see the city skyline to get an idea how the BIG Zhongshan Mountain was.
Ziaxia Lake – Chinglish at it’s finest. Notice the people swimming, we’re not sure why they bother with signs except maybe for tourists who get a kick out of them.
Residential Permit Adventure
02 Sep 08
(Darrell)
Today I went to file for my residential permit. I was to meet a woman named “Mrs. Wu” (whom I was told does not speak any English) at the Bureau of Foreign Registry to help me process the paperwork. Our driver got me to the building at the time I was to meet her, and I went to the area indicated on the notice provided to me. Upon arriving I immediately knew I was in for an experience. The area was populated with about 100 Asian people with about a half dozen or so westerners sprinkled in amongst them. I took a seat and called Mrs. Wu from my cell phone. Fortunately, I heard her phone begin to ring in the row of seats immediately behind mine.
Well, finding Mrs. Wu was easy. As it turned out, Mrs. Wu, was not only not able to communicate with her client (Me), she also had no experience in processing government documents! She had with her an associate (whom, of course, also did not speak English) to show her how (a training session of sorts). It was he who seemed to go out his way to get the individual at the desk all worked up, as the interaction between they and the official appeared to be nothing short of confrontational.
All said and done the appointment went well. I think! What I mean is; I sat in front of the government official in a bewildered state as contentions made during the animated discussion whizzed passed like bullets in a firefight; without any invitation for me to participate.
Despite there being several other open windows a crowd formed behind me (for what reason I don’t know!) But after about five minutes of confrontational banter it was indicated that I should sign the form placed before me. Now, I signed the form as requested. But being the form was in written in Chinese characters I cannot say for sure what it was that I signed. For all I know, I may now be an official member of the Chinese Nationalist Party.
(Darrell)
Today I went to file for my residential permit. I was to meet a woman named “Mrs. Wu” (whom I was told does not speak any English) at the Bureau of Foreign Registry to help me process the paperwork. Our driver got me to the building at the time I was to meet her, and I went to the area indicated on the notice provided to me. Upon arriving I immediately knew I was in for an experience. The area was populated with about 100 Asian people with about a half dozen or so westerners sprinkled in amongst them. I took a seat and called Mrs. Wu from my cell phone. Fortunately, I heard her phone begin to ring in the row of seats immediately behind mine.
Well, finding Mrs. Wu was easy. As it turned out, Mrs. Wu, was not only not able to communicate with her client (Me), she also had no experience in processing government documents! She had with her an associate (whom, of course, also did not speak English) to show her how (a training session of sorts). It was he who seemed to go out his way to get the individual at the desk all worked up, as the interaction between they and the official appeared to be nothing short of confrontational.
All said and done the appointment went well. I think! What I mean is; I sat in front of the government official in a bewildered state as contentions made during the animated discussion whizzed passed like bullets in a firefight; without any invitation for me to participate.
Despite there being several other open windows a crowd formed behind me (for what reason I don’t know!) But after about five minutes of confrontational banter it was indicated that I should sign the form placed before me. Now, I signed the form as requested. But being the form was in written in Chinese characters I cannot say for sure what it was that I signed. For all I know, I may now be an official member of the Chinese Nationalist Party.
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