Jimmie's Collage » travel

Tidbits Learned In New Jersey

Jimmie — Mon, 16 May 2011 15:40:22 +0000

Jimmie as a very happy tourist, seeing the Statue of Liberty.

I’m a Southern girl, and our recent trip to NJ/Philadelphia/NYC was my first time ever setting foot in all three states. I learned a few random facts that I’ll share with you here.

It’s Jersey not NEW Jersey.
It’s Philly not Philadelphia.
At the ATM, you dip your card rather than insert or swipe.
Shops like to prepare your coffee for you by adding cream and sugar. (Even Starbucks asked me how I like my coffee. I like fixing it myself, thank you!)
It is illegal to pump your own gas in ~~New~~ Jersey. All gas stations are full-service.
There are Italian restaurants everywhere (just like there are Mexican restaurants all over Memphis).

Sprite & Hubs at Ben Franklin's Print Shop

Jimmie & Sprite at the US Mint in Philly

And a few perceptions.

People really are more abrupt. There were fewer pleasantries than I am accustomed to in the South.
The accents weren’t nearly as strong as I had anticipated.
New Jersey is a beautiful state, very green.

Bird Watching at Cape May in Jersey

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Taking a Trip

Jimmie — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 14:37:26 +0000

In preparation for Resurrection Day, I’m taking a blogging break.

During that time my husband, daughter and I will be taking a trip to New Jersey which will include at least one day trip into New York City. I am not a city girl by any means, and I’ve never had a desire to go to NYC except maybe to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

But there is a single place Sprite and I have dreamed of visiting. In fact, we think of this place almost daily.

Can you guess?

The Metropolitan Museum of Art!

And what makes me almost more pleased than the prospect of going is that Sprite is so excited to see the art there. I am so proud of her passion for fine art. And I am so thankful that as an adult I have had the opportunity to teach myself about art as I guide her artist studies and draw or paint alongside her. To be able to experience the Metropolitan Museum of Art with her is going to be a great joy.

I’ll be back online in late April with lots of stories, I’m sure.

Enjoy the holiday. He is risen, just as He said!

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Our Yellowstone Family Vacation and Ultimate Field Trip

Jimmie — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 02:07:18 +0000

my husband, daughter, and mom

Personally I think that our vacation to Yellowstone is the best vacation we’ve ever had. The vacation to Xian ranks second, but it’s in no way a contender for first place after we’ve seen our country’s first national park. Granted, they are both dream locations, sort of “can’t go wrong” spots.

Yellowstone's Grand Canyon

Why did I adore Yellowstone?

The natural beauty is so varied and gorgeous.
The geology of the place fascinates me.
Wildlife is everywhere!

Plus, we took my mom along with us. Spending time with her in such a beautiful location was truly priceless. (Love you, MOM!)

Actually, when you think about it, Yellowstone (Montana & Wyoming in general) is about as different from a Chinese city as you can possibly get. And I needed that. We all did. We needed a place where there are more animals than people. A place where there are big open skies — blue skies with clouds or stars. A place where people use manners and respect the wonders of God’s creation.

On Lake Yellowstone

Near Lake Yellowstone

Mammoth Springs

At Mammoth Springs

Surreal Landscape at Mammoth Springs

The Geology Nerd Loved Norris Geyser Basin (note thrift store windbreaker)

The Geology Nerd also loved this Boulder. We had to pull over for a pic.

Old Faithful Geyser

I have to say that I saw a Chinese tourist spit — hawk a big loud loogie kind of spit — into one of the geyser areas off the boardwalk. I was horrified, and other American visitors were too. I wanted to pull a “citizen’s arrest” or a junior ranger arrest and tell them a thing or two about how we treat our national parks. But they were already down the boardwalk when I picked my chin off my feet. There were loads of Chinese tourists in the Old Faithful area. In the cafeteria I kept thinking I was back in China as I watched them slurp the food straight off the plate just like they do here. I overheard conversations in Mandarin. It was almost disconcerting, like a “this does not compute” moment.

Check out the bear claw marks on this tree. We found this on our hike. Sort of scary. There are signs all over Yellowstone and Grand Tetons telling you to be “bear aware.” We were told that bears have never attacked people who were in groups of four or more. Ah ha! So that’s another good reason to invite my mother along on the trip. (Just kidding, Mom.)

I have lots more Yellowstone Photos, so if these samples aren’t enough, go soak in the beauty of that Flickr set. I uploaded only 200 of the 1000 that I took. Our trip was ten days, so that’s only 100 photos per day. And although it took me a very long time to organize them all, I often wished I had taken more shots.

Life in China Note –I took my 212 selected images on a SD card to the photo processing shop to have prints made. I told the clerk I wanted all the photos on the card. As she glanced over the thumbnails she said, “You want to print all these without any people in the pictures!?” It made me laugh. This is such a cultural difference. Westerners take mostly photos of landscapes and monuments. Asians take photos of themselves in front of landscapes and monuments. So to her, it was a waste to print out a photo of “just a landscape.” Actually, as the workers started looking at the full size images, they were impressed with the beauty of Yellowstone.

Yellowstone River

Elk

The bison were my absolute favorite animal at Yellowstone. I think they are beautiful animals. And I guess their comeback from near extinction appeals to me somehow. Is it bad to admit that I thought buffalo meat was delicious? We had buffalo pot roast, buffalo meatloaf, buffalo chili, and buffalo burgers. All were delicious.

Buffalo (Bison)

Since it was “summer” in Yellowstone (how 40-50 degrees F can be summer, I’ll never understand), the buffalo were shedding. In lieu of touching a buffalo, I hoped to find some of this shed fur on the ground. While on a hike along Lake Yellowstone, I found a clump! It was much softer than I imagined. I was sorely tempted to take it out of the park. But as a Junior Ranger, I know that taking anything from a national park is against the rules. Also the ranger told us about all the small animals who use this fur in their burrows and nests. So I was surely not going to steal a little warmth from cute chipmunks and marmots. We kept it a few days and then discarded it back into nature before we left the park.

Trying on Shed Buffalo Fur

Speaking of “summer,” having a snowball fight in June was quite a novelty for us.

Even though I had read to be prepared for cold temperatures, we had no idea it would be so cold all day long. Some days I wore my pajama bottoms under my jeans for extra warmth. And we stopped in a thrift store in Bozeman to stock up on fleece sweaters. My Chacos stayed packed in my suitcase the entire trip.

Buffalo and Baby

Horse Riding Outside the Park

On our horse ride, early in the trip, I discovered this sage plant that grows all over Yellowstone. The air is full of the fragrant smell. Heavenly.

Sage

The park rangers at Yellowstone are amazing! Helpful, friendly, knowledgeable, they made our trip really educational.

We all four got our Junior Ranger badges at Yellowstone and at Grand Tetons. (There is no age limit contrary to what the publications state.) To get them, you can go to any visitor center and pay a small fee for the newspaper which you read and fill out as you explore the park. You also have to attend some ranger programs or take a ranger led hike. The Junior Ranger program at each park was very well designed. It really gave our visit some purpose besides just gawking. (Gawking is okay, of course, but it’s nice to have a goal in your gawking.)

We were looking for answers to questions, or filling out routes on a map, or timing Old Faithfuls’ eruption, or sketching things we saw. The newspaper is pretty much a nature journal workbook. Once you’ve completed it, you take it back to any visitor center and ask a ranger to look it over and issue your badge. It’s a proud moment when you finally get it.

Measuring Heat of Shooting Geyser

Sprite also did the Junior Scientist program at Old Faithful. She was loaned a backpack with rock samples, information about geysers, a stopwatch, and most fun of all a digital temperature gauge. She had a ball measuring the heat of the geysers and hot springs. She took notes of all her findings and reported back to the Old Faithful Ranger’s station.

A Moose in Grand Tetons Park

Roaring Mountain Really ROARS

Sunset Lake

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More Fun in USA

Jimmie — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 13:53:02 +0000

Catching up on our fun in America…..

We visited a deer farm where we petted and fed deer,

rode four wheelers,

and the highlight — bottle fed baby fawns.

Later, Sprite got her ears pierced!

She celebrated her birthday not once,

not twice,

but three times in USA. Her actual birthday was spent in Yellowstone. (Photos to come.)

And we had a wonderful fun day/field trip at Mud Island in Memphis with some good friends. Here is the bridge that crosses the Mississippi River from Tennessee into the State of Mississippi. I always think of it looking like an M for Memphis, but maybe it’s for the Mississippi River instead.

The Mississippi River Museum that is part of Mud Island is a really great learning experience. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. (But we couldn’t take photos inside the museum.)

Mud Island is a topographical replica of the Mississippi River. It’s fascinating to travel along the river’s path and see familiar cities along the banks.

Of course, we had to get a family shot at “mini-Memphis” on the Mississippi River map.

ONLY in Memphis…

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Things I’m Enjoying on Mother’s Day

Jimmie — Sun, 09 May 2010 18:52:47 +0000

Happy Mother’s Day to my readers.

Sprite and my husband will give me Mother’s Day gifts today, but really I have all I could ask for.

Just being in America is a huge gift.

These are my favorite things and the best gifts I could receive:

(Yes, that’s my mom in her container herb garden.)

I’m soaking up every sensation, storing it all up for the drab days in China.

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Enjoying Memphis History and Food

Jimmie — Sat, 08 May 2010 18:48:57 +0000

Our American history studies only got through WW2 before this trip to USA. I was quite disappointed about skipping the Civil Rights Movement, but then I had a huge brainstorm. We can take a field trip that will pretty much encapsulate the entire theme — the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN.

The museum is at the former Loraine Motel, the place where Martin Luther King, Jr. was killed. (Step one was helping Sprite remember the difference between Martin Luther, the Reformer and author of A Mighty Fortress is Our God and Martin Luther King, Jr., the Civil Rights Leader. There was some serious confusion until that was nailed down.)

My mom, who knows Memphis like the back of her hand, drove us downtown. We were not allowed to take photographs inside the museum, but we did buy some nice postcards. The museum is very well done and is very in-depth. I was glad that I didn’t bring Sprite two years ago on our last USA trip. She wouldn’t have appreciated it very much at all. Even at almost 11 years old, she tired of the detailed exhibits long before my mom and I did. I would recommend the museum for middle school students and older.

I learned a lot that I’d never heard before. And my mom, who is an avid museum goer, was very impressed too.

Of course, what else does one eat in downtown Memphis but BBQ? (That’s the way we “spell” barbecue, here in Tennessee.) TOPS is one of the oldest and best BBQ chains here. It was delicious. Posters of Elvis Presley were hanging all around, and table top napkin dispensers were at each bright red booth. It really felt like home.

Sprite is a fan of BBQ. Of course. It’s in her genetic structure.

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Two Months of America

Jimmie — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 07:29:29 +0000

Newsflash! April 30 we head for the USA. It will take us about 24 hours, all told, to get to our destination. As bad as that is, I comfort myself with the thoughts of the pioneers who took the “slow boat to China.” We will spend all of May and June there, visiting family, traveling, and stocking up for the next three years in China.

I don’t know how much internet access we will have. So I have no idea how much blogging I’ll do during those two months.

Actually, it’s quite possible that the things I would be most excited in May and June about would be quite boring to you.

Imagined blog titles:

1. Ate Mexican Food Five Times This Week

2. My Clothes are New From My Skin Out

3. No One Laughs at how Tall (or “Fat”) I Am When I Shop

4. Didn’t Hear the Word “Foreigner” Shouted Out at Me All Week Long

5. Thrift Store Finds

6. Box Day Times Five

7. Fun Times With Mom

8. Saw Three Movies This Week — in English!

9. Got Drinks and Used an ATM all Without Leaving the Car

10. Did All Our Laundry in One Load

To say we are excited is an understatement. It has been 28 months since we’ve been in USA. It’s time.

Life resumes to “normal” in July.

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One Yuan, Please

Jimmie — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:04:36 +0000

not one, but two cameras pointed at Sprite

The “One yuan, please” strategy started when Sprite was about eight years old. We visited a gorgeous waterfall in China. It’s a major tourist area for the province, and there were many people visiting on the day we toured. In that kind of environment, everyone has a camera, and most everyone wanted a photo with the “foreign doll” Sprite.

It’s not uncommon as a foreigner to be asked by strangers to join them in a photo. It is flattering the first few times people do it. And then it becomes distracting and annoying. (Actually, at many tourist spots, there are directions to “not ask foreigners for photos.” Look at #6 on this photo.)

posing with a stranger

At the waterfall, we were visiting to enjoy nature. We didn’t want to pose for photo shoots. Sprite especially didn’t want to stop and smile for the constant onlookers. I felt sorry for her.

On the one hand, I didn’t want her to refuse the people who were obviously smitten with her. But it also wasn’t fair to turn her into a park attraction and force her to pose against her will.

Suddenly I had an idea that put her in control of the situation! I suggested that the next time she was approached for a photo, to politely request 1 yuan (Chinese currency — about 15 cents) per shot. In that way, she wasn’t refusing, but she was also gaining something from the situation, something that made her sincerely willing to stand and pose for a photo.

notice the woman's delight -- hands over her mouth in joy

The tourists laughed and most all were willing to give Sprite her small fee. Some even rounded up, not wanting change back for 5 or 10 yuan bills. Others, not willing to pay, simply forgot their request and walked away. Sprite enjoyed the chance to make some pocket money, and the other tourists admired her enterprising creativity while they got the cherished image of the “foreign doll.” When we left the park, Sprite spent her money on a bow and arrows at a small tourist stall.

Since then, the “One yuan, please” has been a strategy for dealing with the constant requests to take photographs in tourist spots. We used the method in Beijing this fall. In fact, at one particular spot, after people started lining up for a chance to take photos, we had to refuse them and walk away. I was afraid that authorities might be upset that we were causing a scene! Plus we could have stood there all day long and never seen any sights.

My solution to the problem may seem a bit mercenary, but it seems to work for us. The tourists are happy, and Sprite is happy. That combination makes me happy!

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Beijing Vacation & Ultimate Field Trip

Jimmie — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:27:41 +0000

I want to admit something before I show off the pictures from our latest adventure. When I see your blogs showcasing your recent trip to Gettysburg National Cemetery or to the Smithsonian or even to a plain old country fair, I get envious. Yes, I get envious because I “can’t” do that. Silly isn’t it? We certainly take our share of field trips, and many of them fall into the “ultimate” category. So why be envious?

I guess it’s human (IE fallen) nature to want what we don’t have. So just keep that in mind as you see the highlights from our latest dream trip –a week in Beijing! It was awesome!

At the Temple of Heaven

On the Great Wall (at MuTianYu)

On Tian An Men Square

Inside the Forbidden Palace

At Lao She Teahouse and Dragon in the Sky Shadow Puppet Theater

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Basking in Creation’s Beauty

Jimmie — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 10:08:12 +0000

Deliciously lazy moments on the beach, watching God’s creation under a setting sun.

Taken at Phuket, Thailand.

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