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At Phoenix Sky Harbor ready to board my flight to LAX leaving @ 640a. Are we excited or what ??? 😜😜😜😜

Arrived LAX on time. \240Now \240at gate 41 to Shanghai scheduled to depart 930a/PST. \240A couple shots of the aircraft taking us over......a Boeing 787-800, with two (2) of those large jets. \240The pictures do not do it justice in regards to the size. \240It holds approximately 193 passengers. How beautiful (I guess that is the airline industry in me. 😜😜😜. \240Next posting will be in the Shanghai airport..... woooooo hoooo

On flight AA 183 to Shanghai, sitting back in the back (where I can cause trouble 😜😜😜), seat 26C, aisle and close to the lav...... Due to depart in 30”, on time.

The flight pattern from LA to Shanghai......pretty incredible 👍👍👍

En route to Shanghai. \240Even though the quality of this picture is not great, I tried to get the moon and its reflection on the wing. \240It was breathtaking.

4 1/2 hours into the flight...stats on the flight.

Can you tell I was mezmorized while looking out?? \240I love flying !!!

Arrived in Shanghai safely. I had phone problems when I landed, due to my recklessness. Long story and too embarrassing. 😳😳😳. This is our hotel. New and beautiful. Additional pictures will come soon. So new that they are still working out the kinks. Very automated: toilet seat raises when you walk close to the toilet. Beautiful property.

Picturesof the “smart” bathroom. \240These were all the options you have while sitting on the toilet, and the toilet seat is heated, yep you read that correctly. \240😳😳😳

More pictures of our hotel room. \240

Incredible breakfast buffet,,,I enjoyed every morsal on this plate. More pictures to follow. Couldn’t tell you what all of this is.....however, it was scrumptious. Get to enjoy it again tomorrow. 😜😜😜😜

Hotel lobby

Additional views of the hotel lobby.

These two pictures are across the street from our hotel. \240A beautiful day in Shanghai, mid 70’s, sunny and no smog. \240

This is a view of our hotel from the view in the pictures above. \240

Is this little guy not adorable???? What a pose. 😃😃😃

Red pandas

He finally woke up and was nibbling on the tree.

Our cabin on the Yangtzee cruise, 8317. \240This ship exceeds my expectations.....very nice.

Toby and I with one of our new friend, Summer. \240She has a little bit of a cold. \240Everyone has been so nice and accommodating. \240

Entrance to one of the restaurants, going to dinner.

The route of our four (4) day cruise.....fascinating.

On our way to the Bund in Shanghai. \240I would say the Bund is somewhat like Wall Street. \240Exciting part of Shanghai. \240Below are pictures of that area

Our cruise boat # 16.

The tour guides performed some local traditional songs. \240

If you look closely or zoom in you will see the Goddess to the right after the tall prak. It is very small from this point of view. \240Hence, the stream being called the Goddess Stream.

Homes along the mountain side. Many of these families (farmers) were required to move up the hill when the dam was built 20 years ago. \240There was wuite a bit of controversy over the building of this damn. \240So many villages were forced to relocate (500,000 people). \240Villages that had been there for centuries. \240

This shot is from Tower 7 heading up to the next towet. \240We had started below where all visitors start. \240This incline is at 16 degrees. \240The rest of my friends made it up, I stopped here as my knees were talking to me. 😜😜😜. \240Enjoyed the sights and the clear blue skies, which is rare. \240

If you zoom in you should see the Great Wall. \240 It was windy and a little chilly. 😳😳😳.

A bagoda at the Great Wall. Here is some info from www.history.com:

Perhaps the most recognizable symbol of China and its long and vivid history, the Great Wall of China actually consists of numerous walls and fortifications, many running parallel to each other. Originally conceived by Emperor Qin Shi Huang (c. 259-210 B.C.) in the third century B.C. as a means of preventing incursions from barbarian nomads into the Chinese Empire, the wall is one of the most extensive construction projects ever completed. The best-known and best-preserved section of the Great Wall was built in the 14th through 17th centuries A.D., during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Though the Great Wall never effectively prevented invaders from entering China, it came to function more as a psychological barrier between Chinese civilization and the world, and remains a powerful symbol of the country’s enduring strength.

Supposedly it is the only man made structure that can be seen from space. \240I never thought in my life that I would actually be walking on The Great Wall in China.....unfrickinbelievable. \240

Cloisonné has been part of the Chinese culture for over 700 years.

Then we visited a tea room and factory. We tasted five (5) different teas, all unique in many ways. Of course I bought some of all five (5). Noe I think I will start a new morning regiment of sipping these delicious teas in my new tea set outside with my pups, Lucy and Loti. Of course there are medicinal benefits feom hese teas, there really are. Here are the five (5) teas we enjoyed along with their health benefits. I need all of them. 😜😜😜😜.

The PP Boy is a unique device in the shape of a boy that helps you determine the temp of the water. \240I will add a picture of it when I unpack. It is a riot.

Our next stop was dinner, pretty good food. Celebrated Debbie’s birthday with a small chocolate yule tide log from Starbucks next door. Thank goodness for Starbucks. \240😉😉😉

We are still not finished for the day. We then drove around Beijing to see some of the night lights. \240The historical sites, like The Forbidden City have lights around the perimeter as well as many if the buildings. \240We also visited The Lotus Market, a shopping and sining area around a lake with a walking path. Very nice shops/restaurants.....a great place to enjoy a walk and a glass of wine. Beautiful area of Beijing. \240

Part of the night light tour was going to a shopping area called The Place. \240It has this unique screens that go the length of the stores showing movies, news updates, advertisements etc. \240hete are some shots of that:

Russ/Debbie and I needed a second suitcase to house our new purchases YIKES 😳😳😳, and we found a great place with looooowwwww prices for decent luggage. That saved all of us.

Areived back at the hotel about 1015p.....another long but fantastic day!!!! Early rise for some of us as we head back to our homes.

Our day of departure after an incredible 15 day tour. \240This is our Table 8 for all our meals. \240A fun group.....they tolerated the 4 of us. 😜😜😜. \240

From left to right: \240Russ, Debbie, Toby (my cohorts in crime), me, Myrna and Paula (from Kansas), Kathy, Larry, Dan and Diane (from North Dakota). \240This is in the lobby of our last hotel, Metro Park of Beijiing. Nice hotel. \240They all departed for the airport @ 10a, I had a later bus departure @ 1p.......it was sad to see them all go.

Our plane just arrived. A beautiful 787....same as we flew over. \240Here are some pictures of it. Smog is worsening, I hope there are no delays.

You can barely see the planes, you should be able to see well beyond these planes. \240Take off should be ok. \240 🤞🤞🤞🤞