China - July 2001 (China photos)

July 5 - Chengdu - Banner: "Cities should be clean like souls should be pure."

When we walked to the bank, I pointed out "This is Cherry Creek." Dad totally agreed. -- Tote

More than anyplace since Italy or maybe Greece, Chengdu reminds me of the U.S. Generally, it's cleaner and the people are more helpful to foreigners than in the U.S., but there's all the significant earmarks of American culture, such as toll roads and department stores. (Suburbanites would feel right at home in Chengdu.) Things are relatively organized - buses run on a schedule. Despite the language gap, sorting out restaurant or hotel bills is easier than it has been since . . . well, since forever, though figuring out menus or whether rooms are available is tougher. There are no discernable indications that China was ever a communist state, though Mao's image is still on the money and portrayed in an occasional statue. The American influence is striking. The major American franchises are here and well-patronized, and there are similar Chinese fast food places. I spied Con-Agra cartons on the back of a bicycle outside a "hole in the wall" restaurant. Government and major businesses sport signs in Chinese and English. The shopping district in Chengdu would be indistinguishable from that in Denver - there's chrome and plenty of overpriced clothes, shoes, and status-type junk. The one major difference is the small number of private cars. Though there are many privately-owned vans, cars, and SUVs, the number is still relatively small. Chengdu is not (yet) as mangled by major roads as most American cities. Though crossing the main roads is dicey, most of Chengdu is still walkable. There are many streets on which the only gas-powered traffic is the occasional taxi. Unfortunately, it looks like this is changing. The division of old neighborhoods by new "modern" buildings (imagine the difference between two blocks filled with 10 to 20 foot wide shops or homes and two blocks occupied by a single multi-storied building) and very wide roads is as prevalent here as in Lhasa or as it was in the U.S. in the 60's. Unlike Lhasa, the buildings are much taller and typically covered with something other than bathroom tile. Drivers behave as if they have the right of way over everyone else, and cars are big status symbols - even stupid, big, two-seat, red muscle cars. -- Mark

July 6 - Chengdu - The people here have been wonderful to us. (It's such a stunning contrast to the Chinese parts of Tibet!) Maggie and I went to English Corner. It's a spot near the river where those learning English gather twice a week to speak English with each other. (The riverfront has been revamped and is now home to all sorts of activities. This morning, the "English Corner" was home to a ballroom dancing class - it looked like the cha cha to me - and some sort of martial arts thing involving flags on sticks.) The English Corner was packed. Curious people, standing four deep, rapidly surrounded us. We were asked all the standard questions and then discussed the soccer situation in China. -- Mark

July 7 - Emei Shan, Near Myriad Years Monastery - On the bus to Emei Shan I saw signs featuring the Statue of Liberty, an eagle bearing an American flag, and even that defaced hill, outside Atlanta, that features carvings of some very large Confederate heroes. I also saw signs advertising apartment complexes in Chengdu featuring a statue of Napoleon and the Venus de Milo.

While questioning why only foreigners were required to pay for a ticket to the Monastery, I learned from watching the ticket seller that spitting on the ground and whacking one's ear are ways of expressing . . . well, bad things. -- Mark

July 8 - Emei Shan, Elephant Pool Monastery - When we got to the monastery where we are staying, we saw bunches of monkeys. Duncan and Tote yelled down to Mom, "You better put your camera away or else the monkeys will grab it!" Once the boys started throwing rocks at the monkeys but not hitting them. They threw one more rock near the monkeys, and two of the monkeys started fighting. They grabbed onto each other like a human would. They clenched their teeth and pulled their lips back over their gums. The monastery had dim lights. After putting my bag down, I went right out there to help the boys keep the monkeys away. Awhile later, after dinner, we found a camp for the monkeys called "Monkey Hall." The monkeys kept people out of their rooms and up and about by squealing, jumping off walls, and scaring people. It reminded me of the monkey man in India. Dinner was only 20 yuan for all of us to eat as much as we wanted. They had a giant bucket of rice, and you could go back to the kitchen for more broth, vegetables, and sauces. I ate a lot of rice and broth. After we ate we were supposed to clean our own dishes, so we went outside to a sink and washed out bowls and chopsticks. After doing that, we went back to keep the monkeys away and then we went back in and Mom said, "Time for a big experience. It's time to wash our feet." And I told my mom, "No. I'm not going there to wash my feet!" But I went anyway. We filled wooden buckets with boiling hot water and went to the sink to put in some cold water. We stuck our feet in there, sudsed them up, and rinsed them off. And I've had clean feet ever since. -- Maggie

With the aid of several elderly Chinese pilgrims, we managed to have an "all you can eat" meal at the monastery. (To get our room for close to the right price we all had to get our backpacks on and head for the door - it was at least an hour to the next place.) After rebuffing eager monks bearing an English menu three times before the 6 PM dinner call, we caught on that there might be better deals available. At 6, the pilgrims took over the dining hall and were only too glad to tell us, using sign language, what they were paying for their meals. The woman who came to wait on us smiled when we handed her the correct amount for five dinners. I think she enjoyed the fact that we outfoxed the monks, at least as much as the 50 or so pilgrims did - she appeared to announce our choice and our payment to the dining hall as a whole. That didn't stop the monk from again visiting our table and, dropping the pretense of the English menu, telling us that the pilgrim's meal cost more than twice what it really did. (These Chinese monks are more intent on mining foreigners for all the cash they can than the delightful fellows in Tibet - the Chinese monks are more nattily dressed, too.) With the stares of the pilgrims to buttress our case, he accepted our refusal to pay extra and retreated. Unfortunately, we had to eat our meal under the intent supervision of about 15 fascinated old ladies (and wash our own bowls and chopsticks.) The old ladies made certain that we knew that seconds were freely available. After watching us eat, and commenting on the size of our family, six or seven of our audience bowed and thanked us. I have no idea what they were thanking us for. -- Mark

June and July have rushed by at an extraordinarily fast pace . . . we've toured more, lots of sightseeing, much less reading, writing, math, and time for reflection. We also all feel the imminent end to this wonderful "Big Trip." It makes us feel sad, worried, excited, tired, apprehensive, and grateful. We each take turns wondering where and when we'll travel next. -- Monica

July 9 - Emei Shan to Chengdu - We just got back from climbing Mt. Emei. It was a pilgrim/tourist route. We got to see the classic Chinese mountains and mist while walking eternal stairways on green vegetable hills, in the rain. The entire path was stone stairs, for three days. The mist prevented any good vistas but made for cool hiking. We slept in a monastery the second night that was infested with monkeys. One pulled a girl's bag off of its handles and ran off. A guy with a hammer got it back. -- Duncan

I walked with Mommy. We counted stairs. The stairs went straight uphill. Mommy complained about endless stairs. Once we got to the top, we bought dried noodles in a bowl that came with a hot dog. We poured boiling water into the bowl, added the flavoring packets, and jammed the hot dog in. Then I cut the hot dog into small pieces. It tasted very good. -- Maggie

Mark was looking through my photos taken on Emei Shan, commenting on the fat, smiling Buddha statues in some of the temples. They don't seem to inspire him. I think I know what he means. In the monasteries and temples in Tibet, there was a dark, reverential sense of ancient holiness. The golden, bejeweled statues and elaborately painted thankas loomed out either brashly or silently, but always evoking a hushed respect. The thick smells of the burning yak butter lamps, the offered chang, the giant vats of tsampa, the heavy scent of incense all mingled to give these Tibetan holy places a unique aura. When monks gathered, their chanting hum, the bells, gongs and horns added another layer to the meditative mystery.

Here in China, although I joined the elderly pilgrims prostrating themselves before the more garishly painted Buddhas and watched as children and young couples lit fat red candles and thick, long sticks of hot pink incense, the sense of reverential respect seems different than in India, Nepal, or Tibet and more Western. In India, the Hinduism seemed ever-present and playful. In Nepal, the combination of Hindu-Buddhism seemed somewhat more serious and a bit more distant from everyday life. In Tibet, the gompas, chortens, and monasteries held a very strong, pervasive sense of being surrounded by otherworldly forms and ancient reminders of our transitory time here. My sense of Buddhism in China, so far, is that it is more like Christianity in the West. It's not all encompassing, and it doesn't delve down to one's core. Most people wear it like a cloak, to be put on and taken off when convenient and necessary. One needs to remember and make time for the observance of religion . . . very different from the perpetually swirling, colorful and rich versions of religion as life in India, Nepal, and Tibet. -- Monica

Every now and then I turn around and find someone standing very close to me, grinning in embarrassment. People usually start laughing. I have obviously interrupted someone comparing their height to mine. Several people on the trail measured their feet against mine and laughed at how big mine were. -- Mark

July 11 - Xian - Signs we have seen:

Please don't take food and drink to the frolic hall, cooperation amerce violator for 50 yuan.
Please point out money or tickets to the eye.
Please keep sanitation
Civilized Airport
Pick your steps
No occupying while stabling.
Please flush the closet pot.
No spitting everywhere.

We have found very little English spoken here in Xi'an, and there's almost no written English.
By trying to talk with people and watching young parents, it appears true that most couples have only one child . . . and many of those children appear very indulged . . . particularly the little boy, about three years old, at the table next to me. Both his parents have spent the last 45 minutes cajoling him to eat a few mouthfuls, trying to convince him to not hang on the railing (trying to keep him from plunging over it) . . . he shouts at his parents and struts cockily . . . clearly he's "in charge." He very cute but obnoxious.

China seems more modern and Westernized than I expected. My guess is that the life of rural China is more traditional. -- Monica

July 15 - Beijing - My favorite food in Beijing is the meat stuff we had with a friend named Jackie. It was chewy, but I liked to suck off all the barbeque sauce and put the meat on top of my rice. -- Maggie

July 16 - Beijing - At first the Beijing Opera seemed like they were making fun of someone singing. The singers had voices like that voice you use when you are making fun of a bad singer. Then she started sounding like she was practicing karate. At first, I thought it was insane that we had paid to see this, but after a thief started trying to steal something from the main character and doing flips and somersaults, and the lady tried to stab him about a thousand times with her sword but he kept dodging, I thought it was very good. I can understand why it is famous. -- Tote

There is something cool about sitting in a tiny hole in the wall, eating peppered squid and onions cooked on a griddle outside, drinking cold draft beer, and funding the kids' forays to other food stalls along the street in pursuit of skewers of roasted meat, sausage, and ice cream. -- Mark

July 17 - Beijing - I was surprised to find that the Forbidden City was so stark. It contained tidy buildings and paving stones, surprisingly no gardens and nature; and you couldn't go in and tour the buildings. I need to get a book out of the library to learn about it. It seemed a very calm place, aside from the 4 million people jammed in there with us. -- Monica

Monica: We've had too much fun, now we have to do some sightseeing.

July 18 - Beijing - We went to the Summer Palace. A friend suggested we go in the evening, so we did, but when we got there, the ticket office was closed, and we couldn't get in. On the street, there were people in white vans. They said that they could bring us in for money. Dad talked them down to 40 yuan. When we got close to a side gate, they shut the windows hurriedly and slowed. The co-driver got out and opened the little door. We drove in and then to the right. Then we drove past to pick up the co-driver, parked behind some trees, where they told us to hop out quickly. Then the co-driver walked with us for a while. Dad tried to give him the money, but he wouldn't take it until no one was around. Then he disappeared. -- Tote

We took a bus to get to the Summer Palace in Beijing. But once we got off the bus, we found they stopped selling tickets already. But then somebody came up to us and did hand motions, but we couldn't understand him. He pointed to his white van with dark, tinted windows. We thought he was going to give us a tour. Tote opened the windows of our van because it was hot. But when we drove in another entrance to the Summer Palace, the driver said to close the windows. Then we walked around the lake. It was very nice and calm in the evening to watch the sunset. But finally the sun was down, and we decided to go. We walked for quite a while but we still didn't see a gate. We saw a bridge to an island. We saw a garden that looked very pleasant, and a temple in the distance. Finally we found a gate with a man sitting there to open if for us. We found the bus stop finally and left for home. I fell asleep on the bus. -- Maggie

Monica: I talked that lady down from 120 to 20 but I wasn't even sure I wanted the thing, so she convinced me that I wanted it. I said, "I don't know if I want a white t-shirt." She said, "Oh yes. You want a white t-shirt; you want this purple one, too." So, I bought it.
Tote: Jedi mind trick.
. . .
Monica: It's a scoop neck t-shirt that I can't even wear with my clothes.
Mark: Definitely a Jedi mind trick.
Monica: If I had stayed there longer, I would have had 10 purple t-shirts with scoop necks.

Duncan: Dad, you can order fried Bian Hun - a lamb's sexual organ.
Mark: Great. Thanks, Duncan.
Monica: It's probably like Rocky Mountain oysters.
Mark: How can you be sure?
Duncan: Maybe Mom should order that.

We went to Yonghe monastery, a Tibetan Buddhist monastery. Tibetan Buddhism even in China has many Chinese things about it. The monastery had cushions on which people bowed to the many statues, and metal incense burners which people pile incense sticks in. The monks in the monastery were almost all Mongolians and wore red shirts and black pants, unlike in Tibet. We had fun identifying the statues. I found a statue of a small brown man riding a goat. I wrote to a friend in Tibet to ask who that is supposed to be. -- Tote

We've scoured the guidebook, ridden the taxi and the subway to other parts of town, and taken several long walks in search of an interesting neighborhood. No luck yet. (The boys keep talking about how much fun they had last time we visited Kansas City, so you know things are a bit less than scintillating.) On the other hand, we have seen many old men flying kites. Tonight we saw two (men and kites) on an overpass. The men use elaborate, sturdy winders - the reels are about a foot in diameter and perhaps an inch thick. They fly small single kites. They do no tricks or maneuvers. They let the line out and reel it in. They seem content. Occasionally there's someone (like me) who stops to just watch. -- Mark

July 19 - Beijing -
Monica: It's just great!
Duncan: What?
Monica: It's just great!
Duncan: What's great? The food, the fish soup, or the Great Wall?
Moncia: I just ate two enormous fish heads.
Duncan: Oh.

My favorite kind of Big Trip day. We hiked the Great Wall in all its unrestored and crumbling glory outside Huang Hua. Rain, heat, sun, bus connections in odd, unknown places, and plenty of spots where a slip would prove fatal. In this section the Wall runs primarily along ridge tops but occasionally plunges into a valley before soaring up to the next ridge. The sheer drops and stretches with steep, uncertain footing made me wish I could rappel down the thing or at least rope in. It is truly one of the most frightening hikes I have ever been on. On the way home, a mini-bus driver asked me for more money than we had agreed on. I just smiled and gave it to him. After all, it was a glorious day, and all of us are still alive. -- Mark

July 20 - Beijing to Hong Kong - These Chinese trains are great! Again, we're in second-class. Our car is immaculate. The staff is wonderful: One of the young women stops to chat in English, fold an origami crocodile, and - nearly beyond belief - instantaneously solves a couple of Tote's math problems. -- Mark

Our Big Trip is ending. We're all feeling its imminent completion. In turns, we feel sad, anxious, relieved, happy, excited, grateful, apprehension, loss, confidence, pride, confusion, and reticent. We have shared, as a family, a vast array of rich experiences. Although we all, at times, yearn for the familiarity of our friends, relatives, home, and Denver communities, we have found the traveling life to be fun, challenging, and rewarding. I feel that we are each experiencing some sense of grief and loss now, as we approach the end. -- Monica

Hong Kong - July 2001 (Hong Kong photos) (back to top)

July 21 - Beijing to Hong Kong - We've spent most of the day, since our arrival saying, "Wow! They have [fill in the blank]. But, it's so expensive!" -- Mark

We took a 28-hour train ride from Beijing to Hong Kong. It was one of the best train rides of the Big Trip. It was clean, not too crowded (perhaps because Chinese people need a special permit to travel to Hong Kong), and efficiently run. We had brought along plenty of food. We mostly read, played, slept, did math, chatted with other passengers and train employees, and stared out the windows at the more traditional, agricultural, rural Chinese landscape. -- Monica

July 22 - Hong Kong - Hong Kong is very modern, but parts are decaying, and small companies still exist, including several stores filled floor to ceiling with models, collectibles, figurines, etc. I call them "Grandma Shops" because Grandma would go crazy trying to collect all the different sets. Dad, Tote, and I went into a big computer mall. Inside was a store filled with bootlegged games and software, we piled up a bunch. We were ready to get them. In the end, Dad said we probably shouldn't. -- Duncan

If we thought mainland Chinese cities were Western and modern, Hong Kong is even more so. And it appears to be very international. Chinese cities were mostly Chinese people....here Maggie asked me last evening as we walked the streets together, "Why are there so many Indians here?" I saw restaurants serving Nepali food, Thai food, Japanese food, pizzerias, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, KFC, and heard many different languages. -- Monica

Hong Kong could be an easy place to hate. Lots of signs, big cars, loads of stores, policemen with semi-automatic weapons, burly drunks with bloodied faces stumbling down the streets, and many servants. We don't hate it yet. One curious fact. Though nearly every other product produced by an American corporation can be found in the parts of Asia we have visited, American cars are still rare. In Hong Kong this is particularly noticeable, since there are many big cars. -- Mark

July 23 - Hong Kong - Some people think of Hong Kong as the Dim Sum Capital. I know it as the City of Outrageously-priced, Ugly Clothes. It was a nightmare trying to shop for some new clothes. I don't want to buy a fringed, rainbow, cropped t-shirt with the word "DISCO" splashed across the front. But the people here don't seem to mind....they sport a giant Tweety Bird or a tight-fitting glittering, sparkly "University of Dayton" across their chests. Why a thin, polyester, sleeveless shirt here costs upwards of US$8 is beyond me! But Dim Sum, on the other hand, is delicious. The food markets are fun; the Chinese medicine shops are fascinating; the constant flow of people is exciting to be a part of. It took me until today to come to some kind of understanding of Hong Kong. Maybe it was culture shock, or maybe me gearing down to return home, but the excitement and adventure of a new place eluded me. Today it finally kicked on . . . I felt I could be here awhile. -- Monica

We've fallen into vacation mode. We eat at costly restaurants (they are all costly, here), we just hang out, walking around, during the day. Kowloon (this part of Hong Kong) is more expensive than London was. -- Duncan

July 24 - Hong Kong - We awoke with plans to go to the New Territories area to swim in a bay and play on the beach. However, it rained. We had our picnic inside and walked around the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, then took the bus and metro back over here to the harbor. It was a more relaxing, aimless day. -- Monica

Big secret: Duncan is now at least two inches taller than Monica. -- Mark

July 25 - Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur -
Monica: That was the best bathroom in Asia.
Mark: You've been talking about that bathroom for the last hour.
Monica: I know, but it was the best. That was the best airline and that plane had the best bathroom.
Mark: Free wine, too.
Monica: And the best bathroom.

Monica: Doesn't this seem different than China? The people look so different . . .
Maggie: If you want me to write about it in my journal, I'm going to say it looks just the same.

Last night, Hong Kong went into typhoon mode. In most building lobbies, signs ticked off the rising typhoon warning. When we went to bed it was a 4; this morning it was an 8. The streets, by Hong Kong standards, were deserted. Many buses were not running, and some of the hotel's day staff spent the night. China Airlines canceled all its flights, and while we were at the airport, all ground transport to the city was suspended. Nonetheless, inexplicably, our Air Malaysia flight took off without a hitch, nearly on time, and the flight is smooth.

I suppose we are gradually preparing for re-entry. The prices in Hong Kong were certainly up to U.S. standards. The kids are currently playing Zelda on a seatback game/movie/TV/news console. (The color and resolution are amazing.) I have just finished catching up on the baseball news in USA Today. (I hadn't really noticed just how bad the Rockies really are.) I suppose the only thing missing is talk radio, though there's enough news about the Bush Administration in the paper to reassure me that whackos are still alive and flourishing in the U.S. (It is interesting to visit so many countries focused on the future while the U.S. seems fixated on returning to the 1950's.) -- Mark

Malaysia 2001 (Malaysia photos) (back to top)

July 27 - Kuala Lumpur -
Monica: I can read all these signs, but I don't understand them.
Mark: Go ahead.
Monica: Pejabat pos. Mee goreng.
Duncan: Thanks Mom. Big help.

We went walking around downtown in the rain, browsed a marvelous bookstore in the very fancy mall that's part of the world's tallest buildings - Petronas "twin towners." We strolled the Chinatown markets (my favorite being the fish market), ate delicious food, people-watched while sipping Tiger Beer, and the children sought out Magic cards - unbelievably, they found them in the market - and had a tournament. -- Monica

Facts of which I was ignorant: 1) One can drive to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur in hours on modern tollroads; 2) Singapore was asked to leave Malaysia - a reverse of the usual "small group fights with larger group for independence; 3) A British family ruled one part of Malaysia for a century and drew its police force primarily from an ethnic group known as headhunters. -- Mark

July 28 - Kuala Lumpur to Manila - I think Malaysia Airlines is the best airline yet. (Think Nintendo in economy class, free unlimited drinks, and delicious food.) Maggie got a huge bag filled with treats from the pilot. -- Duncan

Dad and I went out to look for hotels. We looked at about eight. We finally found a suite. Mom is amazed at how amazingly fancy the place is. (Dad won't tell her the price.) -- Tote

It's very difficult winding down the Big Trip . . . the anxiety emanates from each of us in turn. Thank goodness, it's not constant. We all have expectations of what we're going to do when we get back. Will it be as we imagine? Mark will be teaching Constitutional Law at DU and starting a new public interest venture. Duncan will begin high school at East. Tote and Maggie will return to Odyssey at a new (for them) location. I will surely struggle with balancing mothering, wifing, homemaking, working with Odyssey, and trying to pursue the interests I have. -- Monica

We stopped in Borneo. Monica took her 9000th photo. (I'm not kidding.) And, fellows from "High Capacity," "Shooters," "Combat," and "Genghis Khan" security agencies guard our hotel here in Manila. -- Mark

Phillipines 2001 (Phillipines photos) (back to top)

July 29 - Manila - We're perched above the beauty of Manila Bay. I have been stunned by the beauty, and the adventure, and novelty, and the mystery of so many places and people this year. There is so much left to see, and so much left to do, and so much left to discover. . . Yet, this trip, like all trips, must end. (I suppose it is in part this knowledge that has made the trip so wonderful: We didn't want to waste a day by overlooking what it brought that was new and interesting and beautiful.) It's not romantic - in fact, it's downright sappy -- but I confess that I found the greatest beauties, joys, and mysteries not in the places we visited but in spending time with Monica and the children. -- Mark

July 30 - Manila - In Manila, like in Egypt, there are armed guards in front of hotels. But here it's different. In Egypt, the guards were government soldiers and police. Here the guards are from private battalions; they're mercenaries. Each battalion has its own name, and it seems like each guy's from his own battalion. (I've never seen two of the same group.) -- Duncan

Mark and I ask each other several times each day (these days) how we can travel, travel and work, or just live abroad in the near future. I think the trip has just whetted our appetites. I don't think I began the trip with this outcome in mind. . . in fact, I believe I imagined the trip would sate my appetite for foreign places. I wonder how it will affect the kids. -- Monica

July 31 - Manila - It's our last day of our big trip. We have a very nice hotel room. It's two rooms, connected together. We watched videos. We watched "Dr. Doolittle." I thought it was a good movie. The pool has a waterfall. It is a very fancy hotel. Each morning a guy comes in and checks our minibar and brings us a newspaper. -- Maggie

Strange. Tomorrow is so simple, and I'm a bit disappointed. All we need to do is find our way through a few airports. No pondering a sketchy city map to figure out where we might be arriving. I don't need to sort what I'll need tomorrow and what will get stashed in my secret pockets. No need to figure out where we might stay, trying to envision what the guidebook authors had in mind when they wrote "large, comfortable rooms" for one place and "cleaner than usual but charming" for another. No need to scope out the best way to get ourselves and our luggage wherever we're going or to steel myself for the usual hotel survey and string of bargaining sessions to get the best deal. No need to figure out where to find a new currency or how to do the conversion to dollars. -- Mark

Monica: "I guess I don't need to steal the toilet paper this time."

August 1- Manila to Tokyo to Minneapolis to Chicago to DeKalb -

DeKalb 2 - August 2001 (DeKalb2 photos) (back to top)

August 2 - DeKalb - We're talking some serious jet lag. Monica slept until 2 PM. I woke up at 5 AM and collapsed at 2 PM. -- Mark

Just hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's playing D&D, walking with Annie, and checking out the labyrinth in the park. It's fun to just hang out and do whatever. -- Duncan

August 3 - DeKalb -
Mark: So how do you like it here at grandma's?
Tote: After only having a few things in our backpacks, it's great! Everything we want is here!

August 4 - DeKalb - Ah, it's nice to be back! Like loud noise, dirt, ruddy-faced drunks, and spending your evenings sitting in 90+ degree heat and 90% humidity while muscle cars roar past in circles? Try dirt track racing in Freeport, Illinois. Cousin Jay told us to buy the small beers rather than the large because the big ones get warm and sludgy before you can drink them. Even in the time it takes to drink a small one, a layer of dirt collects at the bottom. (I'm afraid I'm still so jet lagged I nodded off during this little bit of Americana despite the roar of the cars and of the folks sitting behind us.) -- Mark

August 8 - DeKalb - It's only been a week, but there are already times when I find myself wondering whether the big trip really happened. -- Mark

August 9 - DeKalb - Today Tote learned one of the key facts of life: Kite string is never tied to the spool. With help he managed to get his kite out of the tree. -- Mark

August 11 - DeKalb - From the Boone County Fair's description of one of the fair queen candidates: "Melinda is studying cosmetology and will be attending Rock Valley College this fall. Melinda plans to peruse a career as a Lawyer. Melinda also studies and is passionate about dance, for which she has won many awards."

August 13 - DeKalb to York, Nebraska -
Tote: I didn't gag on any food for a whole year and now I gagged on this sandwich.
Mark: You gagged on blue cheese.
Tote: That's not food.

After a year of checking restaurant tabs and rarely finding even a small error, I was surprised when the friendly folks in Amana, Iowa (Amana beats out Herbert Hoover's boyhood home and presidential library as "Iowa's leading tourist attraction.") overcharged us $10. -- Mark

Back Home - August 2001 (Back Home photos) (back to top)

August 14 - York to Denver - We're home!