Well, I'm back in China. Can't exactly say that I missed being here, especially the overcrowded everything, the pushing and shoving, or the general disrespect for personal space, but it is somewhat nice to be back all the same. While I was home, I got to do almost everything I wanted to do and see almost everyone I wanted to see (I feel really bad about not having time to see everyone). I golfed, went fishing, enjoyed a small town fireworks show and participated in a backyard fireworks show, took a boat ride, and spent a lot of time with my family ... among other things.
I played a couple rounds of golf, one 9 hole round and only 7 the second time (time constraints). Neither were exemplary examples of golf prowess, but I did have my moments. The first game, which was the first time I touched any golf club in about 2 years, I had a couple really long, straight drives, and, as usual, I could hit my short irons well. The second game, I couldn't drive worth a shit, but my short game was, well, awesome. On 5 of the 7 holes, I hit the green with my pitching wedge from as far away as 100 yards and as close as 3 yards, I even made a 30 foot putt, which is something I had never done before (previous best was a 7 or 8 footer ... I usually suck at putting).
Fishing is one of my favorite things, in the world, to do, and I went twice with my grandfather and our good friend, Larry. Both Larry and my grandfather are excellent fishermen, and it's wonderful to get to go with them because, no matter how much I think I already know about fishing, I still learn something new every time I go out with them. We were fishing for white bass in Lake Shelbyville, which the fish have kind of overran, like bluegill do to most small ponds, which is one reason we always kill when fishing here. We caught 110 fish in about 6 hours the first day, 95 in about 4.5 hours the second. I love catching fish, cleaning them is a whole other matter. My grandfather has macular degeneration, and cannot see much of anything (but he's still one of the best fisherman I, and many others, have ever met), so I became the fish cleaning helper. It wasn't hard, mostly because Larry can fillet an entire 13 inch fish in about 30 seconds (using a traditional, non electric knife ... which, from talking to some other heavy, hard-core fisherman, I've heard is really impressive), all I had to do was cut the rib cages from the fillets. All in all, I had a great time, not because we caught fish, I can fish for hours, not catch a thing and love it, but because I got to go fishing with the man who taught me to do it.
On July 3rd, my family, my grandmother, and my uncle's family went to Arthur, Illinois for their annual 4th of July festival, and it was a good time. I got to enjoy a lemon shake-up, my all time favorite beverage, watch a pretty neat air show, including ultra-lites, a mock dogfight between World War 2 era planes, and a couple of sky divers, I thought about taking a helicopter ride, but opted to just watch it fly around instead, watched the fireworks, and, most importantly, I got to spend the evening with my family. Here's a video of some of the fireworks show (sorry, our seats weren't the greatest).
On July 4th, my family went to one of my best friend's parent's house for a private, backyard fireworks show, which are always great fun. Mike, my friend Jason's dad, is awesome on a BBQ, making everything from hot dogs to chicken fillets (he cooks other things on it equally as well, but just sticks to the basics for this party), and he and Liz (Jason's mom) keep a beautiful house and yard. We started the day with a little swimming, then moved on to the BBQ, at night fall, we started lighting the fireworks. There were about 10 of us lighting off the assorted mortars and ground displays, and, if I do say so myself, we did a pretty damn good job of it.
The next weekend, we went to down to Roper's Landing just south of Golconda, Illinois, and spent some time in my cousin's and uncle's cabins. This is always one of my favorite parts of living in Illinois, the area is absolutely beautiful, the people are incredibly nice, and the river combined with the hot sun makes the ice cold beer taste so good. On Saturday morning, we hopped in my uncles boat, went through the Smithland Lock and Dam (really cool experience to see a lock in action), and on down to old town Paducah, KY for lunch. On our way back, we stopped at a small bar along the Ohio River banks in Hamletsburg, Illinois. It was nothing fancy, but we had a really good time and the people were, as I said early, extremely friendly. All of that was a lot of fun, but the best parts of the trip included seeing a herd of deer just 5 minutes walk from the cabin we stayed in (reminding me that despite the lack of wildlife in China, it does still exist), throwing on a life vest and just floating, beer in hand, in the river, Stewart Island's tiki hut (always fun, no matter how long you visit), sitting out under the stars with good company and good beer, and just generally laying back, putting my feet up, and relaxing as much as possible. If you're interested in where these places are and have Google Earth installed, click on the following links to see:
The best part of the trip was spending time with my friends and family. I shouldn't have been, but I was surprised how much my little cousins and my niece had grown in the past year. During my visit last year, I, honestly, had trouble conversing with them, they were still a little bit in that "baby talk" phase, but this year, I could sit down and have a long, understandable conversation ... of course, we talked about Scooby Doo, Littlest Pet Shops, daycare, and such, but it was nice. My parents were absolutely wonderful. They didn't hesitate to go out of their way just to make sure I was comfortable and they even loaned me one of their cars so I could go around and visit all the closer places I wanted to see. One of the days I'll remember the longest was just my dad and I throwing a Frisbee® around in the back yard. We didn't get fancy, just tossed it back and forth and talked about whatever came to mind. Some other highlights, saw "The Last Airbender" with my sister and niece, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" with (the before mentioned) Jason, went to Mattoon, Illinois' Bagelfest with my cousin and his family (we got rained out, but it was still a lot of fun), and spent evening at a cabin with two of my oldest friends and their families. This last one was great, too. The cabin was on Borah Lake, just south of Olney, Illinois. Most of the night was spent sitting in front of a fire, catching up, and enjoying some ice cold beverages (read: beer).
The rest of my trip was equally as enjoyable and I can't wait to go back again. I'm starting to think that my next trip home, or the trip following will be my last. I've been in China since early 2006, and it's getting to be that time where I either move on to something different, or back home to enjoy my family. Here are some pictures, most were taken with my iPhone (I forgot to bring my digital camera's charger).
First, let me introduce you to my wife of the past 3+ years
My niece's dog
Some pictures from Paducah and the river
