Our New Office

Sunday, October 19th, 2008. The weather in Beijing has been steadily declining the last few days, and when we arrived in Xian (about 570 miles south-east-ish of Beijing) the weather wasn’t any better. In fact, it was worse. Rainy, muggy, and a lot of “fog.” Fog is in quotes because, well, in China, you have no idea if it’s pollution or clouds that make the clouds.

The good news, however, is that the main attraction in Xian for us – the Terra-cotta Warriors – is indoors. We’re also excited to see the Shaanxi history museum – another indoor attraction. The only out-doors attraction we’re planning to see is the well-preserved city wall, Asia’s oldest original city wall built around 600 AD. It might sound a little dorky to visit a wall, a museum, and some stone warriors, but so be it. This is what the guide book recommends.

The bright spot in an otherwise dreary-looking day – we got to fly FIRST CLASS from Beijing to Xian! Not sure why, not sure how, but we were sitting at the very front of the airplane. I got a glass of water, a cup of green tea, and a snack (appetizers basically) while enjoying a HUGE amount of leg room and a very helpful flight attendant. This trip may have ruined me – it’s hard to imagine sitting in coach after this experience.

The taxi ride into Xian was exceptionally long. There wasn’t a lot of traffic – hardly any in fact – but it still took more than an hour. When we left the airport, a woman followed us for a while shouting “HELLO!” and motioning for us to follow her to her car. Considering the fact that it would be a dumb thing to do to get into a stranger’s car anywhere in the world, it baffles me as to why this woman is trying to convince us to follow her. Evidently, it’s worked for her in the past.

Travel Tip #88: Ignore anyone who approaches you at the airport and wants you to follow them (anyone not in uniform, that is).

Our hotel in Xian is excellent – the Hyatt Regency. I know what you’re thinking – it’s expensive, right? Yes and no. While it’s quite a bit more than some of the “budget” options in Xian, it’s still only $130 a night. Even more importantly, it was the least expensive hotel in Xian that recieved consistently good ratings on TripAdvisor.com.

By the way, have I mentioned how awesome Trip Advisor is? Amazing. If you’re planning a trip, go visit the site. In fact, even if you aren’t planning a trip, go bookmark the site right now so you don’t forget about it. I’ll wait – go ahead.

Trust me – you’ll thank me later.

August 29, 2008. On the way to Tahoe this morning, we had a slight incident. Less than 10 miles from Reno (and about an hour from our final destination in Tahoe), one of the studs on the right rear broke.

See the two holes that don’t have lug nuts? Both of those studs broke.

For those of you that don’t know, the stud is a “bolt” about a half an inch in diameter that the lugnut spins onto. It’s rare that this happens – in fact it’s extremely unlikely. The person who installed my wheels a few weeks ago must have cross-threaded the lugnut and weakened the stud. Once one of the studs broke, it was only a matter of time before a second one gave way. Since the wheels only have four studs a piece, losing one is kind of a big deal, and losing two is cause to stop driving. Sara and I heard a thump-thumping once the second stud broke (we had no idea one was already broken) and we pulled off to the side of I-80.

We called a tow truck and after about an hour we were towed to a service facility in downtown Reno, Nevada known as Generator Exchange. The shop manager was named Dodger, and even though it was lunch time when were towed in, he worked hard to get us back on the road. He has our thanks.

Next we headed for the Cal-Neva Resort which straddles the California-Nevada border. The joke is that you can swim from Nevada to California and back in the hotel pool. Back in the day, Sinatra owned this resort, and it doesn’t look like it’s changed much since the 60’s. Mirrored ceilings in all the hallways, a sort of “swinging 60’s” feeling, you can definitely see the Rat Pack strolling through. Learn more about the Cal-Neva Resort’s history (it’s a quick read and definitely interesting).

The Indian Room of the Cal-Neva Resort with the border lines colorfully emphasized.

I gambled tonight and had no luck. All I won at the casino is a free drink for Sara – not very cost effective. Evidently I’ve already done all the winning I’m going to do two weeks ago in Aruba.

Soon we’ll be attending Kim and Kevin’s wedding. Sara is excited to be a bridesmaid, and I know she’s eager to hang out with her friends after spending so much quality time with me this past month.