Wednesday, August 31, 2011

1617 miles down!

1397 miles to go until we reach Vermont!

Yep ... we're in "the middle" somewhere :)  These cheery guys are lining all the roads making for a pretty drive.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Beautiful China: Rafting the Yulong River

Our next stop after Guilin was nearby Yangshuo and to get there we decided to take the scenic route.  It was a blast!  A rafting trip down the Yulong River -- sandwiched on both ends by bus rides :)  The breathtaking landscape followed us the entire way.

 



 



 


Friday, August 26, 2011

Beautiful China: Hiking the Dragon's Backbone (Longji Rice Terraces)

The morning after my camera got stolen in Guilin we weren't really feeling up for much, but we'd previously made transportation arrangements to go to the Longji Rice Terrace villages and spend a day hiking through the hills, spending the night in a local guest house.  So off we went.  The day started pretty rough since I was still really, really sad over losing our pictures from the earlier part of our trip.  Jason caught my attitude perfectly in this first photo!  :)
















We were dropped off in Ping An village -- it was beautiful and quaint ... and very touristy!






















Our hike began and PingAn and was scheduled to take 4 - 5 hours to DaZhai village along these lovely stone pathways.  It was gorgeous every step of the way.  The sign Jason is standing next to says "no photos while walking."  :)


Unfortunately for us, the path was NOT well marked at all.  We'd been told we could ask for directions in the small villages along the way, but the locals refused to point us in the right direction, insisting instead to be our guide (for a fee of course!).  At one point we were literally running to get away from one of the women who had decided to "guide" us even though we'd refused very directly. 

So .... all that being said, the hike took us 8 - 9 hours and we ended up walking on a desserted highway after dark, in the pouring rain.  Not exactly what we'd imagined!  We eventually stumbled into Dazhai and took the first room offered to us.  The next morning when we awoke, this was the view from our window!  Amazing!


Looking a bit tired, but still enjoying the gorgeous scenery.


Monday, August 22, 2011

Catching up soon

Wow! It is hard to believe how quickly our summer is coming to an end. I'm hoping in the next few days to get caught up on sharing some pictures -- from the 2nd half of our southern China trip and some from our time here in the US. We'll see how I do :)


We depart on Sunday for our road trip to Vermont to start our new job. We had a good test drive for "red rover" over the past weekend when we drove back up to Spokane from California. The trip was not without a few auto glitches which we think have now been fixed.  It made me think about how trouble (of any kind) tends to force me into constant prayer. And how sad that when things are going well, I often forget to continue to pray. Perhaps these glitches were what we needed so that we would not forget to pray as we go through this move across the country.  

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Celebrating a milestone with a road trip

I have to admit something ... a week ago, I turned 35! 

For some reason this number has sounded VERY much like a big number and I had told Jason in advance that he needed to plan a getaway for us ...

He decided on a road trip up Highway 1 through Big Sur to Carmel.  Along the way we found this spot that looked to me like the perfect picture of paradise.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

And, we're heading to ...

VERMONT!!!!

We're very excited about moving to Vermont later this month to begin work as property caretakers for Forest Echo Farms and living off-the-grid for another season of our life adventure together. 

Some of the things currently on my shopping list are:
- full body women's snow suit
- snow shoes
- snow boots

Do you see a theme here???

One BIG item off our shopping list is our very first car together which my mom has already nicknamed 'Red Rover.'  We feel really blessed to have found a used car with four-wheel drive that was within our budget and seems to be in fairly good shape.  We continue to pray that it will get us to Vermont without too many snags.

Friday, August 5, 2011

The waiting game

Well, we have made it to California and have been getting some much needed rest at my parents house for the past couple days.  I'm very happy to say we've been to the ocean twice this past week and going again today!  How I have missed that!

On another note, we are playing the waiting game -- waiting to see what God has in store for us next.  We seem to find ourselves in this position often and I don't know if the process gets any easier.

We have interviewed for two jobs and are excited about the potential of either one:

- One is in Spokane, WA and is a 6th grade teaching position for Jason at the Christian school he attended.  He interviewed three weeks ago and has heard that the principal will make a decision today! 

- The other possibility is a caretaking position in Vermont - at Forest Echo Farms.  It would be a c-o-l-d winter, but the thought of living off the grid in the middle of this gorgeous place thrills us.  We have received positive feedback from the owners and have been told a decision will be made next week.

So, we wait & see.