White Swan Haiku..."the sound of a hundred squeak shoes in the morning"

Its a good thing I waited a few days to post from the Swan. Otherwise I am afraid I would have come across like a spiraling Kurtz (Marlon Brando) in Apocolypse Now as the stomach virus that selected every 5th person on our bus chose me on Monday. I was down for the count for 18 hours but the past few days have been shopp-er-ific! This little temporary expatriot island know as Shamian: 1) is pretty and somewhat tropical, 2) a bit overboard in catering to us swarms of adoptive parents from all over the world, 3) has refined the art of selling us tons of things we don't really need but can't resist buying because "they give you very bess deal!". The White Swan is truly a world class magnificent hotel. Guangzhou is all in all a pretty exciting city. I am mesmerized by the number of people, buildings, constant energy and specifically at the Swan, some pretty high end living going on. For example, the Swan has a fleet of about 30 luxury vehicles for guests, the lobby and first three lobby floors are filled with various sculptures worth tens of thousands of dollars, and each evening those Chinese/Cantonese folks who can afford to do so stream in for a buffet that is both delicious and artistic. Just viewing the sushi chef and spread is a visual treat. There are orchids everywhere and a large waterfall that spans three floors into a koi pond in the center of the Swan. It is all way over the top and has been quite enjoyable. Our morning breakfast buffet though not quite as expensive or extravagant, has been a very good way to begin each day. The pace has been relatively relaxed (compared to the previous week) with tours offered and only a bit of adoption finalization activities. As with Nanchang, CCAI has made it all very painless for us. Yesterday we were all bussed to the U.S.Consulate to receive Li Jing's Visa and citizenship paperwork for entering the U.S. We had a little swearing in ceremony and were congratulated by the U. S. Consulate Ambassador for Guangzhou. It was actually a rather nice little formality. Today we also went to the Guangzhou Zoo, which Andie, and all of us loved. It was not a huge zoo, but well kept and clean. Yesterday we all took a walking tour through the streets of Guangzhou down to the market area and eventually to the Pearl Market. It was a real slice of the working person's life as opposed to the lives of those who dine at the Swan in the evening. I was most impressed by the huge tub of live scorpions, a variety of pet shops along the way (yes, they do love animals as pets), and the number of people navigating these narrow streets and alleys hawking their wares. The Pearl Market ended up being fun, and we actually got in to bargaining a bit to get the girls some necklaces as keepsakes. We also took the official White Swan Red Couch photos yesterday which was very entertaining. You must check out the complete photo set of this free for all event of trying to place 14 babies on one sofa for portrait (link on your right column somewhere)... (below added after our return and recuperation from severe jet lag, on November 10th...or either someone slipped Thorazine into my Mango Juice Box on the plane) From my observations, the White Swan clientele consists primarily of two categories of guests, 1) wealthy or at least upper class Chinese business persons and 2) adoptive parents. We are pretty easy to pick out generally being under-dressed and armed with a stroller and slew of cameras. The passport neck wallets serve to complete the “I’m traveling abroad” nerd ensemble. The nearby western restaurant Lucy’s even has set of bronze statues effectively stereotyping us all. While I found the food at Lucy’s only marginal, I would highly recommend the peppermint milkshake. In addition to settling in for week number two with your new child, shopping around Shamian Island and beyond is clearly the focus while at the Swan. The locals realized long ago I suspect that Americans are highly addicted to purchasing stuff we don’t really need and have refined their sales strategies accordingly (“your baby is so CUTE!..how ole is she?..where she from (Jiangxi)..ah! she is spicey girl!”). Though... I must admit it was all fun and entertaining. We really did not encounter anyone who was really pushy or obnoxious in trying to make a sale. Most seem just as excited to try out their English as I do to try out my Chinese. In many cases, the babies are beginning to come around and respond to their new parents more positively during this second week which I think fires off a serious round of dopamine in the brain, which spurs on the shop-o-holic binges. Armed with strollers and fresh un-creased Yuen, we set out on a mission at least several times daily...well into the evening. One quickly does the math and realizes that a Beijing Olympics 2008 T-shirt can be haggled down to 35 Yuen, which translates to around $5 bucks US. Then comes additional rolling duffle number one purchase, followed by rolling duffle number two purchase. I was at first resistant to succumb to this fever, but then was directed to the black market North Face venue where I lost all decorum after checking to ensure that the seams were actually taped and zipper tabs all bore the insignia. The Ray Bans also looked legit or if knock offs, were well done. The Oakley’s were a bit more suspect so I passed on them. After visiting the money-changer in the Swan lobby way too many times, (now I realize why Jesus threw them out)..I put an end to my delirium with one last purchase, a large script late Qing dynasty horsehair brush with a sharkskin handle. This deal went down in one of the Swan antiquities shops where “Amy” refused to bargain on the item citing its historical importance. Who would know if legit? Not me for sure, but it served as my one last fling at the Swan. Our trip to the Pearl Market several days earlier was quite an experience as we negotiated our way to this setting via narrow market streets filled with vendors selling…lots of dried up stuff in clear bags (large black dried bracket fungi), snake-skins, live scorpions in a tub, pets (yes actual malemute puppies, lhasa apsos, and poodles with dyed pink ears and tail). The market streets opened up into a huge plaza area with a 50 foot big screen TV playing some official looking governmental meeting, and hundreds of people swarming in various directions. The smell of food cooking, the sounds of music and the cacophony of vehicle horns all merged to make me feel way over-stimulated and a bit out of my comfort zone. Especially with a new one year-old baby and a 5 year-old blonde daughter that I wanted to ensure I returned home with. We entered the Pearl Market and managed to spend even more money getting the girls each an heirloom necklace. I have no idea how one would discern the best pearl outlet to gravitate toward when there is an entire multilevel shopping mall full of only pearl vendors. Like lemmings we just wandered around a bit until we realized that there was no food court, and eventually decided to enter a few establishments. The quality looked good and the prices did seem reasonable but I am not exactly an expert on oyster products, so I hope we did OK. I was proud of myself for bargaining rather assertively, but then again you always wonder if they crack up when you walk out the door with your purchase. While the Swan was overall a great and very memorable experience, by the last day you begin to think of getting this entourage home. While very nice, the room in the Swan seemed to get smaller as the week went by. I would recommend to others the idea of up-sizing to a suite especially if you have 3 folks and a baby like we did. The standard room is pretty diminutive and felt to me a little bit like Tattoo’s private quarters on the Love Boat. The baby food fixin areas in the Swan also leave a bit to be desired as the mini-kitchen and hot water heater are a long way from the watersource (the bathroom). We had a lot of issues with the circuit breaker popping (even with my transformer) so this was really beginning to get on my nerves as problems in making that afternoon bottle in a timely fashion resulted in a screaming baby. I did my best to convey the severity of this electrical dilemma to the 24 hour elevator button pushers stationed on our floor, and they would come and look inquisitively at the outlet and promise to have someone come up. After three days however, I gathered that my pronunciation of "bad electricity" somehow was lost in translation. The bathroom while opulent with brass, black and white marble, etc. is not a great space for baby care, and as Todd noted, brown water in an opulent bath tub is still brown water. As the week wears on you also begin to take note of all of the logistics and complexities involved in getting out of the country, through customs and immigration, and of the 18 hour flight time home. It doesn’t help that you have accrued a number of new luggage items that must be checked in addition to the baby and baby accoutrements. Again, CCAI did an awesome job of helping us all out here and running us through all the finalities successfully. Getting to the U.S. Consulate to take the Oath went pretty well. All in all there were 45 baby girls and 10 boys adopted in this batch for Oct/Nov. It appeared a number of Special Needs children were in this group and most I observed seemed to be adapting well to their new family in spite of being more advanced in age…some looked 4-5 years old and of course spoke no English. One very happy little girl and her new family rode up on the elevator with me. She appeared about five years old. When they exited the elevator I noticed her hopping off, literally, as she was missing a lower leg. I imagined how her life will be changed as she receives her first prosthesis and a lot of TLC. There are times at the Swan where it all seems a bit strange and unsettling, this Chinese adoption process. Despite our best efforts to compensate, … these children we return with will be leaving their inherent culture behind. There was something a little sad about this to me. I do however agree with our guides that what these kids will gain in the love of a family, a brother or sister and the opportunity to flourish in life will far outweigh the cultural transition. I remind myself that these babies were abandoned, with no family and only an overburdened orphanage staff to provide for them. I did feel strongly that the Chinese people care deeply for their children. Though my experiences were limited, I found them hospitable, kind, inquisitive and curious, and overall very pleasant to interact with. They are however, quite visceral in their food choices and certain "passage clearing" behaviors that makes us westerners pretty squeamish. While I am rather adventurous regarding food, I do have to draw the line on menu items such as "insect in sand butter", on the menu at J.M.Chefs (across the street from the Swan) in Guangzhou (along with "pigs elbow"). I was satisfied with my fried Grouper (not beheaded of course) and the green tea there was awesome. The Chinese folks found my feeble attempts at Mandarin positive and seemed excited that I was making the effort. I would love to return someday with Li Jing and family and visit the area where she was born. Not being able to do so (or visit her orphanage) was the only disappointment of the trip, but it was a 3.5 hour one way trip from Nanchang and we would not have been allowed in the orphanage at this point, so it seemed rather futile to spend an entire day in this regard with most of the time spent on a bus. We respected the preference of our CCAI guides that we not spend time in this manner but instead, enjoy local Nanchang tours and time with our child. In hindsight now that we have returned, introduced Genevieve to family and friends and reflected on the experience (though not fully), I must say that CCAI was top notch in all they did to make our adoption experience a positive one. Lynne, Andie and I were very fortunate in that Genevieve was a great baby “out of the box”. We immediately felt comfortable with her and evidently, she with us. We were lucky indeed that this was the case as it enabled us to truly enjoy the trip and experience the Chinese culture. While they point out that the adoption trip is certainly not a vacation (and we agree), at times we came pretty darn close. We can truthfully say that our only negative for the entire time was one bad return flight from Hong Kong to San Fran due to "way bad" seating issues. To make matters worse we got to observe a kid the size of Gary Coleman occupy the bulkhead crib while at least six couples wrestled one-year olds on our laps for 12 hours. His mom played pop-a-mole with him the entire flight and he slept not one hour in the crib. I know this for a fact in that I also was awake for the duration of the flight. While there is more dark comedy in the flight story that I could elaborate on, I prefer to expunge the whole flight from memory so I won’t go there and put a damper on an overall positive trip. We appreciate all the comments and emails we received letting us know you all were on the other end rooting for us. This connection was very important and enhanced our experience. I look forward to seeing what perks up from over a thousand photos and much video over the next few years. Who knows, maybe I will connect with my Qi and put the Qing dynasty brush to rice paper. Andie celebrates her 6th birthday today as I type. I hope her trip to China for her sister will be a memory of a lifetime. I can’t imagine any other 5 year old making such a journey in a more positive and fun fashion. She was nothing but a pleasure to have on this trip. Lynne and I are very thankful for so much, not the least of which is that this long arduous process has come to a wonderful conclusion. NO, we will not be going back for number two or three (I am way too old for that to be a consideration). But, we will enjoy following the course of others willing to take the leap and bring a child into their family. Stay tuned, I plan to keep the blog alive as we watch Genevieve grow up, become an Appalachian fan and great artist, musician, poet or perhaps neurosurgeon. My posts may be spaced out a bit but this is such a great medium to work with! Below is our coup de grace shot of Andie passing back by the San Fran Mosiac with Li Jing as booty from the trip. After the Hong Kong flight just gathering the energy to stop and take this shot was a major endeavor. Of course she looks uncomfortable, we've been uncomfortable for 12 hours...we have 800 pounds of luggage on a hand cart and now have to go through customs and immigration and hopefully still have the BROWN SEALED ENVELOPE..just smile OK! It actually reminds me of a 14lb bass shot in the local newspapers. Thanks to Tali and Yaniv (and airport bellman) for the final parting shot of our two CCAI groups calling it a wrap! Zai jian for now, WES P.S. Look for the official Mattel Cen Li Jing doll at all major retailers prior to the Christmas Holidays......

The Great Waugh Official Handover

Well, I am finally back on Blogger again, and what can I say...it feels good! For some reason Blogger is not filtered in Guangzhou, but filtered in Nanchang, a bit like trying to figure out which plug adapter will work in which socket! (thanks Todd, your electrical thesis, a Magellen transformer, 14 various plug adapters and one Staples power strip have worked like a charm). So, I am trying to back up a bit to catch you up on all the whirlwind goings on....lets start with finally getting our daughter in Nanchang, on October 28th, which already seems like a long time ago. From our arrival in Nanchang, it was a crazy day right up until the time we got Li Jing, literally no time to prepare ourselves for much of anything other than to act and react. Upon checking in to the Galactic Peace Hotel, which by far has been the nicest accomodations thus far (sorry White Swan fans, but true!), we had a lengthy CCAI meeting to go over our agenda for the week and be informed of the status of the arrival of the babies and how all it all would work. The meeting ended at 4:40pm, giving us just enough time to run back to the room and grab the cameras and psychologically prep ourselves for the culmination of our three year wait! When we went back down to the meeting room at 5pm, the babies were all behind closed doors and we anxiously gathered outside. We could hear a few of them crying through the door. Our CCAI guides, Evelyn and Sissi worked with the orphanage director to organize the list, who got babies first etc. They soon began bringing them out one by one in order of our names on the list. It was all a blur, but it seemed we were somehow about half-way on the list. I was able to sneak a peak through the door a few times, and spotted a little Pebbles Flintstone hairdo way back in the room, and knew immediately it was her. When she came out in the orphanage directors arms, I just remember her eyes, runny nose and petrified look. The first shot in this posting was when she was just brought out the door, held by the orphanage director. Somehow, the amazing CCAI Evelyn got this shot while we were oblivious to who even had our camera, these girls are good!...Li Jing...first gazing upon 3 alien creatures soon to be her new family. She was handed to Lynne without a battle and was quiet and scared. Her fist was clenched tightly and eventually we found that she had a mangled slice of a tangerine in her hand. Jianxi is known for the best tangerines in China (another gimlet from our tour). In a few minutes she began to cry, but all in all was not too out of control. As with most families, our next goal was to get her to the room for the initial bonding time... which everyone I think yearns for, but is also slightly terrified of in some ways. After getting her to the room, we had about a 30 minute off-on crying period at most, then all became smooth sailing and has remained so throughout the trip. This went far better than we ever anticipated. As corny as it sounds, we seemed to have an immediate warmth and connection from and with this child. Some of the others in our group really struggled with issues regarding attachment, grieving, bonding, eating and sleeping so we feel very fortunate. Who knows what may come later (like when she turns 16) but the initial few days were nothing but easy with Li Jing. We went on a number of tours around Nanchang including a beautiful pagoda temple & bonzai gardens, a rural village, a public park and gardens tour, and finalized our week at the Galactic Peace with a birthday dinner for all the new babies. We had most excellent CCAI guides, Sissi and Evelyn, that we developed a great relationship with and respect for. They not only helped us care for the babies, but also told us a wealth of info about Jianxi province, culture and traditions. Some of our personal highlights were visiting a local fleamarket, the local Walmart, and a number of incredible meals in various restaurants all of which served up local cuisine (without getting too visceral if you know what I mean). Nanchang is truly a city devoid of westerners. To take Andie out in public is to attract a crowd quickly. She was captured by numerous cell phone cameras wherever we traveled, and I must say she handled it well for a not yet 6 year old! I took one adventure out by myself to try out my Chinese, and though it was somewhat passable for the niceities, it only got me about 15 minutes from the hotel before I felt out of my element. A giant guy with silver sunglasses and armed with Canon cameras does not go unnoticed (who speaks weak Manderin with a southern accent). All in all, I felt very safe as the people are overall very hospitable but quite curious. By our departure on November 3rd, we were all probably yearning for a change of scenary and definitely ready to move on the next hurdle. The paperwork and money exchange in Nanchang was not too bad, as CCAI had everything very streamlined for us. We somehow were able to avoid much of the waiting and red tape it seemed a lot of other groups had to be subjected to. For example, getting the babies delivered to you in your hotel and not a civil affairs bureau is evidently quite rare. They also streamlined the Notary processes and other pay-ups so all we had to do is go as a group (one parent) with the cold hard cash to pay all fees at once. The hardest part was getting us (all dads) across the six lane street in front of our hotel without anyone getting killed (seriously, these folks don't stop for anyone except a Chinese lady with her hand held up!). Getting loaded for the flight to Guangzhou was a bit of a challenge for we all found our accumulated goods were mounting up. I was informed that the extra duffle bag I bought at the Walmart would not be sufficient for the remainder of the trip so guess we will be buying another in Guangzhou. Usually, afternoons were free for the babies to nap so Andie and I would usually go to the very plush pool and spa for a 2 hour swim. This was a great treat for her, though the water was a bit cool even for me. Luckily, a smaller pool was heated and swimming some laps kept it all comfortable (and burned off some of the extravagent eating I hope). All in all a very positive experience with CCAI, Nanchang, and the Galactic Peace Hotel. Now we lug all of our numerous suitcases onto a plane that looks way too small for the flight to Guangzhou. This parting shot is for my dad, who was a lifelong Buick man...wouldn't he be amazed! Stay tuned, tomorrow I will start the Chronicles of the White Swan. Make sure to visit the photo album link somewhere on (your) right for way too many photos. Cheers!

Hong Kong & the Past 48 Hours....

Warning! This is a long post with lots of details for those who want them. Forgive me if you don't fit in that category, just skip to the end. We begin with the 4:30am wake up call in Charlotte to catch the Country Inn & Suites shuttle (thanks Chuck!..good idea). We had an extra hour and a half delay so ended up having plenty of time for breakfast and watching Surf's Up. Andie was pretty excited for her first plane flight and was very anxious to board. We strapped her in with accompanying White Swan and prepared for lift off. It was a smooth flight to San Francisco and she soon settled in to drawing and coloring. The transition to the International wing of San Francisco Airport was a bit of a challenge as signs were surprisingly weak and we wandered around a little, but luckily had plenty of time. We did have to stop for a wall Mosaic photo, as it was impressive. Unfortunately, we found out upon our arrival in Hong Kong that San Francisco is where Lynne's suitcase would be staying behind. Evidently, it was chosen for a security check and was detained for some reason. Luckily it was delivered to our hotel today in good condition having been interrogated for hours. We boarded for Hong Kong and 14 hours of air time. Ouch. If ever wealthy this is where I will spring for first class. We were middle row and luckily had an extra seat but it was still pretty cramped quarters. By the end of the trip I felt a little like John Glenn in that first orbiter, but I don't think he wore size 13 Crocs and probably had less carry-on technology than I did. This also caused one to think of the return flight with the addition of a one year old in said cramped quarters..or maybe its best just not to think about that at all for now. Airplane food...whats up with that? Don't get me started!..actually the meals were not bad, but I always feel like I am at child's tea party with all the little minutiae on the tray. The attendants on Cathay Pacific were delightful and I loved to hear them say "You like fish with wice or cheekin wit potato?" The on board restrooms..well, not so nice after 14 hours. Just gives you a reason to think of that lovely hotel room awaiting at the Regal Riverside in Hong Kong (photo at bottom). We hit some heavy turbulence somewhere over the Bering Sea near Alaska, and that tends to get your attention when over a sub arctic ocean..but Andie slept through it all, lucky her. In fact, I'm not really sure what we were doing over Alaska anyway unless to gather speed for a downhill run to China? Anyway, it was evidently a run with a lot of mogles. Watching the Robin Williams movie License to Wed helped a little bit, but by the third viewing I realized it was not a very good movie after all. My other in-flight options however, were choices such as listening to Chinese country music, watching reruns of Friends (which appears surprisingly dated now) or running down the IPod battery..so I did the latter. We arrived safely in Hong Kong and all is going well other than I have no idea what day it actually is. Our guide said it was Saturday but someone else said Friday, so I will split the difference. To accentuate the positive, today could not have been more spectacular. The weather was beautiful, the humidity being low and the temp around 78 (sorry Todd, no sweating here). CCAI provided us with an awesome guided bus tour of Hong Kong from the highest peak to the harbor fishing village. Though I was disappointed that we were not in the Great Wall vicinity of China, Hong Kong has been an amazing city to visit. There are 7 million people on these small peninsulas, most living in high rise apartments. I would have imagined total chaos, but instead it is incredibly clean, very cosmopolitan and all in all quite beautiful. It is clearly a leading world economic center as in exclusive areas the wealth is staggering. If you own a vehicle, it is likely a very nice one! (Porsche Cayannes abound along with a few Maseratis, I can always manage to check out the hot rides). Most of course, use the bullet trains or buses. The locals are very proud of Hong Kong and its western sophistication. A lot of British influence still abounds and the locals are clearly concerned and wary of the return to Chinese rule. In fact, visually, the streets appear a lot like London. From their references I anticipate a different experience when we travel to mainland China tomorrow. This very well could be our easiest day of the trip. There has been little focus today on the fact that tomorrow we will all be getting a baby girl. I think it may be a good strategy to jam pack this day full to keep us from fretting over what is about to transpire! In all honesty after the plane flight and the intensity of the day it all seems surreal to most of us I think...that tomorrow, everyones lives change forever! Visit the web photo album linked on this page to see many more photos of the trip thus far. The other team couples and families are all great folks and easy to be around. We are all nervous about the intensity of tomorrow and finally getting the babies. It has been great to have some other children on the trip. Andie and Madison (7)have really connected and have been inseparable on our touring travels. It is great to listen to them discuss their upcoming little sisters. We didn't have the chance to stop them before they climbed in the photo opp rickshaw and of course had to cough up the cash, but money well spent I suppose. After a trip up a long winding very narrow road in a very large bus to Hong Kong's magnificent Victoria Peak, we descended and went to an open market area. The shopkeepers were very friendly, not overly pushy and the goods were very reasonable in price. Luckily, we didn't stay there too long, but long enough for me to get a Chinese Chop (stamp) carved for future rice paper paintings. We also found a matching set of silk PJ's for Andie and Genevieve so stay tuned for future photos (if they cooperate). At least several couples among the two travel groups on our tour today are returning to adopt their second child from China. I will try and remember the plane flight, the cost, the waiting period, and my advanced age should any such thoughts arise. Some info sources had referred to the attention drawn to blonde children which proved to be true. I think we could have made some Hong Kong Dollars letting locals have their photos made with Andie. The lady in the picture spoke no English but finally made us understand via an interpreter that she wanted her picture taken with Andie. After an awesome meal at a downtown Hong Kong Dim Sum (a rotating buffet) restaurant, we were back at the hotel around 4pm. I finally got my internet connection working to write this first (long) post, so while connected I'm going for the gold here. Not to go in to too much detail regarding the technology, but for those of you IT folks in-the-know who may be reading this; I am connected via an Ethernet line that leads to a 240 Volt wall plug. How that gets me on-line I have no idea. Some young fellow with that beautiful spikey black hair wearing a nehru jacket came from below to plug it in and coax my Mac into submission. He mumbled some things in Cantonese, thanked me and left the room..voile, I was on-line. Oscar, you can explain the clothes dryer voltage DSL hookup to me later. Maybe Charter should offer that as an option. This is our room, Todd was right the beds are for 1 1/2 persons, but comfortable and the AC is cold as a.... Its 8pm, Andie has crashed in her silk PJs and we are not far behind her. We head out early am to catch an 11 o'clock flight to the mainland where the real games begin. Zai jian for now. WES

It's the Final Countdown.....

Oh no... I'm already using musical references for titles and we haven't even left the ground yet! And that of an 80's Swedish bad-hair band no less (remember Europe and their megalithic hit?). Oh well, blame Todd, he started it. We are at the 15 day mark with a lot to do before we travel (not to mention work at our jobs). Luckily, we have a few fall break days coming up so that I can go and talk with the bank about how to get crisp and untattered currency. It evidently makes the finest bait for pickpockets. We (I should say Lynne and Andie) put a package together to send to Genevieve with a bunch of cute stuff, original artwork from Andie, and a photo album so she can thoroughly check us out prior to us nabbing her on the big day. I did pay the postage. I'm sure the nannies will have fun with that disposable camera. The idea is that they will take a bunch of pictures of her thumbing through our photo album as she awaits our arrival. I envision them having a stockpile of them somewhere within the SWI? We have our reservations and will fly out on Oct 25th and return with Genevieve on November 9th. We will fly to Hong Kong for the first leg of the event. I'm not sure how long we stay there before moving on to Nanchang for the big day. Prior to our departure I decided a while back to throw in a solo exhibition on the 20th at the gallery just for kicks. It seemed like a good idea about 8 months ago, as I figured at the rate the CCAA was moving our actual referral would coincide with my first social security check...but alas, all you have to do to get the ball rolling is plan something that could potentially conflict with said event and the stars will immediately align. If you are reading this consider yourself invited to the opening of Evergreen 2007 at Blowing Rock Frameworks and Gallery. We enjoyed an Asheville wedding this past weekend as our good friend Ted married our new friend Sharon on a beautiful farm on the outskirts of the city. Andie enjoyed the horses, the bagpiper and running on the grassy hillside with numerous other earth sprites in attendance while Wes massively overate at the incredible buffet. Sharon owns and operates a great downtown Asheville restaurant, Tupelo Honey Cafe , so we are excited about what she brings to the table in this relationship. After yet another awesome meal (brunch at her restaurant) the next morning we were off to Target for China supplies. I would have photos of all above but left my new camera at home like a dufus. I can tell something big is in the air...I am beginning to glaze over and misplace things very often, several times a day at least. I hope that some ASU student enjoys the brand new North Face rain jacket I left on the back of the food court chair on Monday. I am still grieving over that one. Stay tuned, i will try and remember the camera for China. Happy marriage Ted and Sharon! WES