and I remember being relieved that by the end of the day, we’d be finished with this Shibble-forsaken adventure. I also remember thinking even if someone paid me a million bones, I would never–and I mean never–take on this trek again. Before I go on to finally show you the photos of our last day, I’m just gonna throw a little sum’in’-sum’in’ out there:

Never say never.

Anyhoo, so The Ig and I ambled outta Dandong and headed towards Tiger Mountain, the Eastern-most section of the Great Wall. Along the way we encountered some new sights,

(yes, that’s the American flag flying behind the Chinese flag)

and some old familar ones.

The Ig was tres excited when we reached the wall and learned there was no museum or Maze of Terror to distract us from our task.

It was windy, cold, and icy, and the doorways were far too short for The Ig,

but we schmutzed along until we reached the end.

And of course Adventure Turtle was feeling a little saucy, you know, with him being the first one to finish, and so he demanded his own photo shoot.

Well, that A.T. might just be in for a big surprise when he’s ripped from my grandmother’s arms in West Palm Beach and dragged, flippers a’ flappin’, on another Shibble-forsaken adventure.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to find a gargantuan bottle of tequila before posing a few questions to The Ig…

We sat down at a table, where I tried my hardest not to be Chineseey by staring at the foreigners.  They were just as shocked to see us, however, and so they invited us to join them at their table. 

It turned out this mother-daughter duo from Louisianna had seen us walking towards Jiayuguan earlier that day and tried to get their cab driver to turn around to offer us a ride.  Dorothy, the mother, could think of no reason we’d be out there other than that we were stranded, and she pleaded with the driver.  He was in no mood to pick up stray lao wei and, determined to stick to their strict itinerary, hadn’t even tapped the breaks. 

Dorothy was in China visiting her daughter Meagan, who was teaching English in the southeast, and they were out in Jiayuguan to see the wall and other Silk Road attractions. 

It was a fantastic meal and great conversation, and Meagan even taught us some dirty stuff in Mandarin…score! 

A few days later The Ig and I flew outta Jiayuguan to Lanzhou, where we had a connecting flight to Beijing.  As we emerged from the lower level of the Lanzhou airport I was surprised to see a familiar colorful coat with a foreign head sitting atop it.  I yelled Dorothy’s name, and by Shibble, it was she and Meagan.  

(Below; Dorothy, Meagan and The Ig at the Lanzhou airport.)

The Chinese have this weird idea that all foreigners know each other, and we had a laugh about having just reinforced the notion. 

I then related the story of when The Ig and I were in a wang ba waiting for the power to come on when a girl who spoke a little English approached us and asked if we knew Sam from America who taught in Zhangye.  When we said no she ran and grabbed his business card and physically described him, sure that we must all know each other.  She seemed genuinely surprised when the description and his full name on the card rang no bells. 

Go figure!

Well, after a long absence I’m here today to spam ya’ll with pics of my new little psycho-bundle of joy, Mojo.

He’s about as sweet as they come, but like his new mama, he’s a tad unpredictable and adventurous.  For example, there was the day I was eating at my desk and Mojo wanted some of my food.  After I’d shoo’d his head outta my bowl he got up on my bed and gave me his cute begging face.  When that didn’t work he got a running start down my bed, took a flying leap off the end and landed, claws extended, splayed on my back.

I’m sure more than just the surrounding block of neighbors heard my blood curdling scream. 

I’m gonna need all Shibble’s help nurturing this little guy, as I can’t even keep a plant alive.

A year ago today we were nearing “Tiki Torch/Robot with a Toupee” town, and although The Ig only had black shorts to don and I had to make due with a bandana and a chicken stick for a sword,

we were still able to make the most of the holiday.  I distinctly remember a van pulling over, the side door sliding open, and me dancing around fiercely wielding my chicken stick and yelling something like, “Avast, ya scurvy bastards!  Away wi’chya unless ye be wanting to walk the plank!” 

The man obviously had no ideer who he was dealing with, as he laughed before they drove away.  Had he known it was ITLAPD, that I was a descendent of a notorious pirate listed in the Pirate’s Book of Who’s Who, then surely the man would’ve been shakin’ in his land lubbing boots.

And had I known the first link above listed pirate speak in Mandarin (!!), then The Ig and I could’ve really impressed the locals.

Maybe next time!

Although the photo below (taken out the window of the Yu Yang hotel) dispays a day far from a Blue Sky Day,

I can tell you that The Ig and I were thrilled to be in the city.

We’d been hiking for over five months, and it was our first time back in Beijing.  After checking in, we got our bags out of hotel storage and picked up packages sent from home.  As Ig had lost a lot of weight, he had a new pair of jeans sent from home, then modeled his now-too-big jacket.

Tired of seeing me threaten to chuck my dysfunctional camera into a field for so long, he had a new camera sent for a bday/xmas present.  I was a bit overwhealmed by the gift, but absolutely thrilled.  After seeing the photo below again, I have to say I kinda miss the funky melanin art on my feet.

The Ig took advantage of the goods offered in the city and bought a new sleeping bag, which he saucily modeled below.

We dressed up to go out on the town, and in my journal I’d written how utterly strange it was to be wearing jeans and make-up again, both of which had been in storage at the hotel.  I commented in my journal that I looked a bit “oh-so-harlot-ee,”  

and looking at the pics again now, I’d have to say I’d definitely been out in the sticks too long.

has returned to Mongolia to be treated for stress and depression after being slapped with a two tournament suspenion.   

I have to admit I feel partially responsible; surely my absence as Lead Stalker in the bowels of the Osaka stadium started him down the path of despair. 

To make up for my slack then, I’ll be drinking from my Asashoryu coffee mug only from here on out,

and I’m pullin’ out the big guns and calling on the almighty; if anyone can fix this mess, then it’s my man Shibble!

To our delight (and astonishment), they actually wanted to meet us in person, and so when The Ig was home last week, he, Jill and myself met Jeremy and his parents, Laura and Tom.  We met at Jer’s favorite restaraunt, and–how fun is this–ate our meals with the chopsticks we sent.  I was most impressed by Jeremy’s ninja-like chopstick skills; you’d a thunk he’d been using choppies as long as we had, and it was his first time!

From left; Tom, Laura, The Ig, myself, Jer and Ig’s mom Jill.  Any ideer what restaraunt we’re at?

Meeting them was fantabulous, and just as I’d expected, they made us laugh in person as well.  And on top of the laughing, they completely surprised us with this!

Thanks guys–you rock!  :~)

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Thanks to everyone in advance!