Pretty catchy Chinese advertising

Here is a sign we saw on a walk along a narrow tributary to "The Grand Canal", 
in Suzhou,  "The Venice of the East"....

According to our tour guide, the face says: 

"Incense for sale & silver, too."



Pretty catchy, I think.

You have to give credit to the Chinese.....

their clothes sure liven-up the most dreary days.

I was looking at my pictures and I suddenly wondered...
why do the Chinese always put their Temples at the top of a hill?

Like this one. 

First you have to take a boat to get there.
Then you you have to climb and climb!

But, once you get there.....

they are indeed quite beautiful.

A side trip off the Yangtze River

While traveling up the Yangtze river this Fall, we took a side trip in a small boat  up a side team, called Shennv Stream.

They say some of the oldest people in the world have lived here.

We stopped at one of their markets and saw what they claim help give them their longevity.

Take a look, if you have nothing else to do.

PS #1 Enlarge the video to read the text

PS # 2 Turn on the sound to hear the music. I recorded it during a diner in the city, but it seemed to fit as "background" for the trip.

Working women along the Yangtze

We found these folks doing their work, on a typical gray day,
on a boat ramp along the Yangtze.

By the way....if I may digress....
That's the Shibozhai temple in the background, built in the Ming Dynasty 
(that's about the time of Columbus). 
More about that 12 story structure another day.

Anyway, back to my story......
This young woman was doing her work

when these guys walk down the ramp behind her.

At first I thought they were there to flirt. 

But, no. 
They take out their poles and start fishing right over her head. 

Within a few throws, they got a fish.


In China it seems, that just because you got there first, 
you can't claim a spot on the boat ramp.

There is just  NO  personal space.

Muslims left over form the Silk Road Days

We were in central China last week. 

(Didn't hear about the situation in Paris till after we got back.)

While there, we visited the Muslim district along one of the central cities.

The tour guide said there were 29 million Muslims, out of the 1.3 billion Chinese. 
They were left over form the days of active trading along the Silk Road, staring over 2,000 years ago. 
And 95% looked just like any other Chinese, he said.


Yes, lots of Muslims were there, selling foods in the market.
You can spot them by their hats.

It was quite a lively place.

And the smells were so exquisite.......

I told Cindy I would not mind living there.

Just in case you are wondering, though, these are not pig's feet. 

It's lamb feet.

There were some things that at 1st. looked appealing,

like fried crabs.

But, how about what this guy is preparing?

Here's a close-up.

Yes, it's octopus. 

Well......to me it seemed a little too far form the coast to be real "fresh"
...so it might be best to pass it by, I thought. 

Changing the subject.......
These seem to be hard-working folks.....

These young guys pounding and rolling a nut brittle candy.

But there is something that gave me some concern.

(Tell me if you agree.)

Here's another pic of what I was noticing.

There were just not many smiles in this side of town.

Yep. I think I am glad I was there with a big group.

And, I thought, as we headed out.....
It might just be best to get our tail out of this place.

Going to a Texas T Party

OK, Leebral Friends (I am using my Texas accent here)......
I went to a Texas T Party this past Saturday. 

Here´s a few pics I took there. 

As you see, this one has to do with Bastrop, Texas.

Yep, home of the recent Jade Helm controversy.

But, before you start sending dirty e-mails, keep an open mind.

It was Model T party.
And in fact it was in San Antonio. 

This was a car that had won something at the Bastrop show a few years ago.

It was representing Carter´s Pig Farm.

There were quite a few well-done cars.

Some looked like they were ready to go on a race.

This one was from 1911.

And this one looked like it had been collecting dust for quite some time. 

But, I actually liked the ones that were not worked upon yet.

Like the one above, with it´s crooked wheels and it´s wooden floor.

Shiny, finished engines looked really cool, too.

In my opinion, though, this one was the prettiest of them all.



That´s not paint on the engine block.

It´s oxidation of the different metals giving that blue and green hue.

Cool, I thought. 
Almost made me want to get a new hobby of converting old cars into working ones.

But, this guy reminded me it was work to keep these guys running.

So, I got in my air-conditioned Toyota, 
and headed out for the International Accordion Festival instead, on the park by the Riverwalk. 

(It was just another weekend in San Antonio.)

Lunching at La Gloria

There is a place by The Riverwalk, down by the old Pearl Brewery.....
where you can get good old fashioned ¨street¨ Mexican food.

And for those who have never lived on a border town, 
I have to tell you that the very best tacos are sold by the vendors, form their old wooden carts.

Well, here in San Antonio, we are more Americanized..... 
so he have to eat it at a restaurant-

like, at La Gloria.

They might tell you that you can enjoy the ambiance of local music

and, yes, there´ll be mariachis to entertain you.

But, whether you´re Mexican or not,
be ready to sit outside, 

and wait for them to let you in.

Like this lady, you might think you are about to die from hunger.

But, don´t despair.
As soon as you eat this food, you will come back to life,
and be happy that you waited!

It was supposed to be a special moon out tonight.

It was supposed to be a Blue Moon 
because it was the second full moon in the month.
But it was as white as ever.

It was, however, larger than most moons...´cause it is the ¨perigee¨,
meaning the moon is closer to earth than usual.
But, it didn't look that large to me.

If you missed it, don´t despair. 
Next month, on Sept 28, there´ll a full moon and it will even be closer to the earth than this one.
So it might appear even larger.

Anyway... since my photo looked just about like any other moon....

I decided to have a little fun:
waited till a few clouds came over it.....

and saw some sort of big bad woolf-bat grab it & carry it away, 
while other demon-looking creatures stood and watched close by.

Is it the South Texas heat affecting my mind? 
Or am I just ready for Halloween?

I think this is one of the most beautiful cities.

What do you think?

I took these Tuesday, during a sunset stroll along Corpus Christi´s marina ¨T-heads¨

Can you imagine sitting in your boat, having a Margarita?

How about stopping by the shrimpers to buy today´s fresh catch?

Or  if nothing else, how about meeting with your grandmother, 
to find out what things were like in the good old days. 

If you are ever this way, be sure to make a stop and enjoy it for a while.

Visiting more western Colorado

Went to visit friends near Pagossa Springs.

Didn't expect to actually enjoy going out in their ATV.

But, you get to see things you would not, otherwise.


Next day, headed south for Navajo Lake. Took off form Colorado.
But right outside the marina we were in our former home state of New Mexico.

Weather didn't look good, 
but the rental people had assured it those clouds would pass over without any incident.

There were lightning strikes all around us however.
Yes, I was too scared to take out my camera for a single lightning picture......

And we were too busy looking for a cove in which to hide.

A 40 hp motor doesn't get you there fast. 
Finally found one in which we could anchor and tried to stay dry under the small canopy.

Our fearless captain, on the other hand, had no concerns.

Of course, according to his wife, any adventure he returns from alive, is a great adventure.

This was an adventure. Yes, indeed.

Learning from a by-stander.

Took a side-trip while they worked on our van this Tuesday.

Yes, this is Garden of the Gods, in Colorado Springs.

But, when we made it half way through the park, the weather from the west, 
on this side of Pike's Peak, started looking rather bad.

A young guy there was so excited; claimed he was some sort of a weather guy.
He kept talking about those downward pointing clouds and how they sometime came down as mini tornadoes, right here in Colorado.

Claimed occasionally the spirals reached the ground. 
But the wind is not too bad from these. 
Much of the damage is form the hail that comes with them.

He was sure one would develop.

I didn't give him much credit....
specially when it started to rain and I saw him in his car, rolling up a cigarette with light green, broccoli-like stuff inside. 

But, sure enough, it soon started to hail.

Later in the day the weather cleared and we returned back towards the Garden.

and there was lots of hail around, almost looking like fresh snow.

Guess the fellow knew what he was talking about, after all.