Thursday August 14

Benn spent the day at the course today hoping to support Heather in her semifinal run and maybe beyond.  Rick and Casey didn't advance to the semifinal.  After the C2 semifinal it started to rain.  And when I say rain I don't mean the kind of rain that just gets you wet, that would be fine.  They would race.  I mean the hammer of Thor and the bolts from Zues and so much rain you could barely see anything.  The rest of the race was postponed till tomorrow I think.  That might hurt our plans to spend the day with Benn, but I hope not.  I think we deserve a day with him.

The rain didn't catch us at the course.  We took the day as our only chance to go to the great wall.  We got to the top, hiked along the wall for a while, and discovered Rocky is a universal language.  We were hiking roughly along with a group of French when a guy in a Mexico shirt ran up a few step on the wall, threw up both hands and we all understood one word, "Rocky."  It doesn't sound so funny now.  

Addie said for me to write that she hiked a lot further than Davis.

We also discovered that shivering is a universal language.  The rain hit just as we stood in line to sled/luge/whatever it's called back down the mountain.  We waited an hour in an international huddle inside the terminal housing of the chair lift.  When the skydal wave turned to just a deluge we were encouraged.  When it finally subsided to just rain we hiked back down.

You won't guess what we did then; McDonalds.  After four and a half days of deep fried chicken bones, rice, unrecognized vegetables, rice, hunan pepper after hunan pepper, steamed bread things, and rice, guess how many double cheese burgers Davis can eat; five, along with fries and a large coke.    

Davis and Marsha went shopping again.  They think they have mastered the poker face at the bargaining stall; especially Davis.  Addie and I returned to the hotel on the number 60 bus.  I know I mentioned already that the Chinese people are amazingly nice, but I have to say it again.  I have never been anywhere that people just want to smile and say hello and go out of there way for you as a rule rather than an exception.  Everybody loves Addie.  Everybody thinks Davis is worth a notice, but it's hard to tell what they are thinking about the huge young man.  We left them sitting on a curb for five minutes once and returned to find people lined up to have their picture made with the large dude and the cute little girl as if they were movie stars, not kidding.  Cross your fingers that we can arrange a day with Benn tomorrow.

Tom