Planning Planning Planning

Since last spring, we have been planning a trip to China. Well, in truth, Steve started planning a trip to China, and I sort of, kind of invited myself along, particularly after I got a fortune in a fortune cookie that read, "The rubber bands are headed in the right direction."

After that encouragement, how could I resist? Although I do admit a certain trepidation about China. It conjures up images of people wearing grey clothes, food heavily influenced by rice and animal organs, smog, and the crackdown at Tiananmen Square. For those of you who know me, and you do since this blog is only for family and friends, you know that I like colorful clothes, good food, clean air and speaking my mind, so the travel match-up didn't seem very promising.

But, the more I learned about the country, its history, its inventions, its odd claims to fame--like the creation of the civil service system--and the beauty and cultural richness it has to offer, the more curious I became. The sweet clarion call of travel began to beckon. Moreover, my sweetie would be there for 2 months and there was no way I could NOT go there to discover the country with him.

Steve and Qiang Looking Very Handsome and Ready for Their  Lecture Circuit

So, off we go. Today, Steve left to start his teaching and lecture circuit gig with his travel and teaching partner, Qiang Liu. In addition to teaching at Tsinghua University in Beijing, they'll be traveling to 8 other cities to do lectures on Steve's public art and development as an artist, and the glass art movement in the U.S. I leave on May 7th to join Steve in Beijing, and we'll travel together until the end of May.

Steve at the Airport (very early)

Starting with Steve's departure, I'll keep a blog on this adventure to keep our friends and family up-to-date on our travels with photos and postings. Please follow along and comment along the way. I want to keep this lively.