From Wisconsin to Miami

Just a quick note to report that we spent all day yesterday traveling from Lanzhou to Guangzhou.

It was not that much fun. Jackson liked the long car trip to the airport and had no problems on the 

plane, but he was very unhappy waiting at the airport and our flight was very delayed in its departure.

We are grateful to be back in Guangzhou where the weather is warmer, the air is cleaner, and the

hotel room is more spacious. We are going to spend most of today waiting in the medical clinic.

Prayers are welcome.

The mountainous terrain of Gansu province

There was snow on the ground at the airport. Nearly unheard of.

It is very cold in Gansu but it is also a desert and rarely snows.

A bit further down the road, we saw many snow makers.

Why you would cover an airport with snow is a question unanswered.

After landing in Guangzhou, the snow was replaced with palm trees.

The city Jackson was born in

The city where we adopted Jackson (province capitol)

The city where we the U. S. Consulate will give Jackson his immigration visa.

The view out our window at the Garden Hotel

Five Springs Park (Wuquan Shan Gongyuan)

Wuquan Park is in the southern part of Lanzhou, in the northwest Gaolan mountains.

It is named for the five springs that run through the parkin warmer weather. Currently frozen.

You can climb up the mountain and have a picnic if you like; probably more fun in the spring.

The park is home to a zoo, a carnival, multiple Buddhist temples, and many pavilions.

This is a famous general and folks around here come and touch the

nameplate of the statue because it is believed to give them long life.

Ironically, Huo Qubing died in his twenties.

Lots of retirees gather in the park to exercise, dance, and do tai chi.

Birch forest? Nope.

Ice skating 

Tibetan Buddhist Temple

Hoping Joshua will translate this for us when we get home.

The park is really close to the city.

Heading back to the room.

Lucy asked for more pictures of dad. Here they are.

Well Fed Lobbyists

This noodle dish came from the breakfast buffet.

It was quite delicious and had "Joshua-level" spiciness.

The noodles are all hand made by this guy, known by everyone as Noodle Man.

Speaking of Feeding:

This is Jackson. Notice that he has no food.

It turns out that he has never had anything but liquids.

The Thompsons and the cleft palate feeding team at VCU have some work to do.

He is used to being fed by lying back and pouring juice or formula into his mouth.

We are feeding him and then going to the restaurant to feed ourselves.

As you can imagine, it gets pretty boring at a restaurant when you are 

three years old and don't have any interest in table foods or the like.

In this photo, Jackson is enjoying playing with a NutraSweet wrapper from Susan's tea.

We have tried giving him finger food but he just tears it up and throws the pieces in the floor.

The elevator is made of mirrors so we can see each other forever.

This is the lobby were we wait for our guides: Steed and Melody

Everyone gets advertisements for Coke.

KFC and Pizza Hut are also hugely popular here.

The JJ Sun Hotel in downtown Lanzhou