A Trip to the Chinese Coast

Best buds, headed to the beach.

 This is another long overdue post, but I figured better late then never. :) A couple of weeks ago, we had a three day weekend and were invited to spend it with some school people at the beach. They've been going to a specific hostel not far outside of town for a few years, so we decided to rent the whole place out and try to get as many families as possible to go. We ended up with 4 or 5 families, all with kids (or soon-to-be parents).

The Gentlemen from work (and a son)

Sun! Beach! Yay!

We packed up for the beach, including food to eat all weekend, and then met up with everybody on the Friday morning to board the chartered bus down to the hostel. It was about a 2 hour ride, mostly due to traffic and then hilly roads outside of the city. We arrived pretty early to the Zen House, and then unpacked, selected rooms (Real World style) and then geared up to head to the beach. It was a breezy, cloudy day, so the water was too cold to play in. It didn't stop the kids, but the adults hung back and chatted while the kids went at it building sand structures, burying each other, and running in and out of the water.  When Paul started shivering, we knew it was time to head back. It was a long walk back to the hostel, but Paul had his scooter so we hiked back up, showered and dug in for the night. The kids were exhausted, so they all went to bed early, and we had fun chatting and socializing with some of the people we work with, but don't see too often.

The next day was sunny and brilliant, so after breakfast, we stalled as long as possible to maximize the warmth at the beach. It wasn't long before the kids were demanding the beach and we headed down in shifts. We spent the whole day out there, Paul took a nap in the tent we brought, and we had a picnic lunch of PB&J's. It was an epic beach day and I was so tired when we headed back up to the hostel. Donnie mustered enough energy to grill some chicken and veggies to make fajitas, and after that, we turned in early. I was too tired to join in the adult time after dinner. ;)

Sunday was rainy, so we watched movies all morning until it was time to get on the bus and head back to Shekou. Paul took a nap, I did some reading, and Donnie did a little of both. We got home in the late afternoon with enough time to prep for the week, order some food and watch another movie before heading to bed.

So many kids :) 

The long walk home.

Walking to the beach.

This is the life.

How the kids spent their time at the house.

Chinese beaches are ok. ;)

PAARRTY! :)

Paul, the celebrity.

So it's not Port A, or South Padre, it's definitely not Boracay or Puerto Escondido, but it was nice to know there is a place that's not too far away and definitely not expensive (900RMB for the whole weekend) that we can visit when the city becomes a little too much to handle. It was more like camping than a resort getaway. No western toilets, hard beds a shared kitchen and fridge, but there was an awesome patio and the company was great. It was fun for Paul to be around so many kids, including his bestie, Connor. There may be another trip before we leave for the summer, but we are already planning another getaway to the Philippines. :)

Love to all, expect another post shortly....hopefully.