Conquering the Great Wall

Let me preface this by saying: climbing up just part of the Great Wall is HARD!!!!! Our legs are still jelly and we finished 9 hours ago!! Words and pictures cannot do the wall justice, but I'll try:

It was a little cool as we started out, but by the first break in steps (that are SO uneven) the sweater was in our bag. It looks high, but not TOO bad, but it just never stops!! Chairman Mao claimed that if you got to the top, you were a super hero, so the challenge was accepted!! Actually, right behind Benson's head is the plaque stating that.

It gets narrower and steeper as you continue. My strategy was to climb behind an older person so every time they stopped, I got to also :) Benson just kept going and would practically be crawling up the steps. For those of you who know my complete aversion to germs, I held on to the handrail whenever I could!!!

Still awe-struck!!! 

So one woman in our group has returned to China to adopt her second son, and her six year old is here. He is hilarious and has an endless supply of energy!! He would run up the stairs, passing all of us, and then run back down exclaiming how he was in first place :) even competitive Benson was ok with letting the little guy "win" His mom and I started struggling towards the end so the boys ran off to finish the climb, so they are official super heros, but i still bought the shirt that says I climbed the Great Wall :) we all thought going down would be easier, but with the uneven steps and trying to hurry back to meet the group, it went faster but it sapped all our last energy!! 

We had lunch at the Cloisonné factory, which is the beautiful vases/enamelware. Everything was delicious again. We got back to the hotel and had an hour to shower and then most of us went to the acrobatic show. It was incredible! The thought of walking anymore was horrible, but we needed dinner so the group of us walked back to the mall for McDonalds or Subway. Pineapple Pie, where have you been all my life?!?!?!? 

I keep forgetting to mention all the things that go on each night in the open area leading to the entrance to the Catholic Church.  The first night was karaoke, last night was a red carpet thing we think for some Chinese movie, and tonight there was a wedding photo shoot along with a line dancing display. It's been hilarious!!

We're now trying to pack as we fly to Zhengzhou tomorrow morning, which is the capital of Henan Province, where our little boy is at!! We're coming buddy!!!!!! Time has gone faster than I thought it would here, but Monday can't come soon enough!!!!!