Our van dropped us off at the Yuntai Garden which is situated at the southern foot of the Baiyun Mountain. This was another first for us and it was beautiful!
This garden trip, however, was not without some flashbacks of a trip we took to Tennessee with some families from our church a few years ago. Emmaline was about 4 months old and we forgot our baby carrier. So, our only option was the stroller we packed. As you can imagine, hiking mountains with a stroller is neither convenient or suggested. I'll never forget reading a sign that essentially said the trail was not suitable for strollers or small children. So, naturally, Eric decided to CARRY Emmaline up the mountain. It was one of the dumbest things we've done. If you know our sweetest Emmaline, she's never been a small girl. Ha!
While this garden wasn't a hiking trail, it had a lot of steps. And they weren't full steps, but rather like half steps. Ok. So I'm obviously out of shape. I will be the first to admit that. But, I wasn't even huffing and puffing. It was the half steps and TONS of them that made my shins and calves feel like jelly. OH! ...and we carried Aliza, IN THE STROLLER, up and down them all. Like, who are we?! Not our smartest decision. Also, while most of the signs were in Chinese, I'm pretty sure there were ones warning us against strollers. We saw English ones that said "Rugged path" and "Mind your step." I love signs in China. Haha! Steps were minded. Mound? Just kidding.
20 Yuan and lots of sweat later, we had two cold bottles of water and a pinwheel that made our girl's morning. We took a break and sat down for a quick leg break. Aliza was so cute as she interacted with the pinwheel. And when the wind wasn't cutting it, she moved that thing herself.
The garden was a giant circle with several different areas built off of it. There were also lots of huge lanterns that we're told are turned on for holidays and special occasions.
We visited the beautiful greenhouse on site. It was filled with an assortment of vegetation. Aliza liked walking this part and is getting more confident with stairs. Going down, she'd still prefer to sit and do them one by one though.
We spent about an hour at the garden before heading back to our hotel. Aliza was exhausted. It was definitely warmer outside, but still nothing compared to our last trip to GZ. She fell asleep in the van and then transferred to the bed in our room. Wahoo! She slept for almost two hours.
We witnessed Aliza's first meltdown at lunchtime...which was noodles in the room. Truthfully, the tantrum wasn't much. Despite the smiles I plaster here...which are 95% of her facial expressions, she does get upset. But it's rare. She even worked up some alligator tears this time. About two of them. It was actually over moving her lunch to the floor so she could eat a little better. She didn't understand that and thought we were taking it away. There can be a lot of food and trust issues with a child who has spent time in an institution. So it's an easy fix to just show her the food and help her to understand it isn't going away.
I laid down for a bit in the afternoon while Eric and Aliza played and played and played. She is so playful. And helpful. She loves to get her changing mat out for diaper changes and put it away. She even folded a floor mat (her giant placemat for lunch) lengthwise by three and then again by 3. I foresee a lot more laundry helping in our future! It was crazy!
Tonight, we were invited by another adoptive family to go out for a Western cuisine dinner. There were three families total and we're all staying at the same hotel. It's easy to be confident under the wings of your guide. But, this dinner meant getting a taxi and communicating where you wanted to go and then getting back to the hotel again. For me, this was a hard NO. Eric suggested we be social, but I really wanted to back out. I am SO glad we didn't. The food was excellent and the company was even better. All three families were completing their second China adoptions.
The family who invited us hailed a taxi for us! They have experience with taxis and the subway here. So much braver than me! Taxis don't often stop for foreigners...and when they do, once you tell them where you want to go...they can say NO. We experienced that a bit. This family found our taxi for us though and then waited for their own...which ended up turning off his meter and demanding double the rate AFTER they arrived. Wow!
The food at this restaurant was delicious! And worth the trip! The owner is a New Yorker and has had this restaurant for several years. He was very accommodating and kind. I had pork nachos and Eric had a burger. Aliza had Mac and cheese...like the real kind. She was so content the entire time we were there.
When we left the restaurant, we walked a block or so and I was able to hail a taxi who said YES! Look at me!? Haha! We had a hotel card with us that we could show the driver which made it easier. The trip back was much shorter and cheaper. Hmmmm... Taxi driver: 1 Murray Family: 0. But, we made it and that's all that matters! Good food and fellowship was worth it all!
Tomorrow, we leave the hotel at 7:55 a.m. for the Consulate so it is a BIT earlier than we're used to leaving. One day closer to home though. Thanks again for reading along and for all of the comments! We love reading them and they help make home seem not so far away.
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