Week 22: 8/28/05

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFCC80" TEXT="#080000" background="67cc8b83.jpg"> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Random Things to Make You Giggle"><B>Random Things to Make You Giggle</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id77.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hong Kong Disneyland"><B>Hong Kong Disneyland</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Our Parkview Apartment"><B>Our Parkview Apartment</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 1: 4/3/05"><B>Week 1: 4/3/05</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 2: 4/10/05"><B>Week 2: 4/10/05</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 3: 4/17/05"><B>Week 3: 4/17/05</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id32.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 4: 4/24/05 "><B>Week 4: 4/24/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 5: 5/1/05 "><B>Week 5: 5/1/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id37.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 6: 5/8/05 "><B>Week 6: 5/8/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 7: 5/15/05 "><B>Week 7: 5/15/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id41.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 8: 5/22/05 "><B>Week 8: 5/22/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id42.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 9: 5/29/05 "><B>Week 9: 5/29/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id48.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 10: 6/5/05 "><B>Week 10: 6/5/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 11: 6/12/05 "><B>Week 11: 6/12/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id53.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 12: 6/19/05 "><B>Week 12: 6/19/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id55.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 13: 6/26/05 "><B>Week 13: 6/26/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 14: 7/3/05 "><B>Week 14: 7/3/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id60.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 15: 7/10/05 "><B>Week 15: 7/10/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id62.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 16: 7/17/05 "><B>Week 16: 7/17/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id64.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 17: 7/24/05 "><B>Week 17: 7/24/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id65.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 18: 7/31/05 "><B>Week 18: 7/31/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id67.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 19: 8/7/05 "><B>Week 19: 8/7/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id70.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 20: 8/14/05 "><B>Week 20: 8/14/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id71.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 21: 8/21/05 "><B>Week 21: 8/21/05 </B></A></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f00000cc00.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Week 22: 8/28/05 </B></div> <div> <A HREF="id76.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 23: 9/4/05 "><B>Week 23: 9/4/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id79.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 24: 9/11/05 "><B>Week 24: 9/11/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id80.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 25: 9/18/05 "><B>Week 25: 9/18/05 </B></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Australian Sunrise" ><B>Welcome to Chase family planet!</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Australian Sunrise" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >    |    </FONT> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Welcome to Chase family planet!">home</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Adventures in Asia">Adventures in Asia</A>   ·   <A HREF="id46.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us">Contact Us</A></div> <bR> <div> Week 22: 8/28/05 </div> <div> Hello fellow travelers!<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Can you believe that we have been in Hong Kong for five months and have just four weeks until we get on a plane for America? (Okay, in "real life" we have just seven days till we depart, I'm trying to catch up as fast as I can!). We are not anxious to leave by any means. Hong Kong has been wonderful, interesting, and incredibly memorable. Our only regret is not being able to enjoy more of what it has to offer as a family. We knew Mike would be working horrendous hours, but we were not prepared for the added two hour daily commute with no days off and the process of grieving that the two littlest Chase's would go through as a result of missing their beloved dad, not to mention my own sorrow at having to shoulder so much of the household and parenting duties without support. It's been a rough road, and our shocks are giving out so it's good we'll be going home soon. But what a sad day it will be!<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Arm Update</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Monday was my cousin Josh's last day with us and Mike's second day off in five weeks. We tried to make it count by returning to Ocean Park in the morning, and then Michael and I accompanied Nathan back for another visit with the orthopedic surgeon to see how his arm was doing. He poked and prodded and twisted and pulled, and basically determined that Nathan didn't break anything, it was just a bad injury to the elbow joint where blood and fluid collected to cause massive swelling and pain. I took some photos of his arm which are quite grotesque! Nathan normally has the skinniest arms around so this was very noticeable. I was grateful it wasn't broken... the thought of having to get a cast here in Hong Kong and then have it removed after we return to the US was just more than I could handle. The hard part was the doctor telling us that for two weeks Nathan should not run, jump, or climb. I had to laugh, since if Nathan is not running, jumping, or climbing it means he's deathly ill or asleep. There was no way that was going to happen! He recommended swimming, and as Parkview has a very nice indoor pool, Josh took Nathan for a swim a couple of times and although I did not witness it, I'm proud to say my little boy swam half the width of the pool unassisted! My hopes for our time here in Hong Kong were to come home with Nathan fully proficient in swimming, but with no second adult to help out, it's impossible for me to take the kids alone into the pool. Benjamin <I>thinks</I> he can swim, so he cries and pushes away until you finally let go and not even his blubbery baby fat keeps him from sinking like a rock. Nathan loves the water, but he won't let go of you for even a second. So I was thrilled to find out that Josh's one on one attention to Nathan had him taking his very first strokes as a swimmer! Now if we can just keep that up until next summer...  Sadly, we did have to pull Nathan out of his Multi-Sport class, which consists of nothing but running, jumping, and climbing, and just when he was finally mastering how to connect his foot to a soccer ball in such a way to propel the ball forward.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Goodbye, Hello</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Tuesday meant a trip to the airport to drop off Josh and hang out until his plane took off, and then the very same evening another trip to the airport to pick up our friend Jeff Davis from California. After Josh was safely in the air, Mike asked if I'd be willing to stop at the Tsing Yi station, conveniently located in a mall on both the Airport Express line and the Tung Chung line which is Mike's way to work. He needed me to drop off his ID that he'd forgotten. Of course I was happy to see him, but it proved to be a disaster and a big reminder of why I haven't been able to go many places by myself with the boys, forcing me to miss Josh and his extra pair of hands immensely. I got off the Airport Express train at Tsing Yi, carrying the stroller and holding Nathan's hand. Benjamin, my little train fanatic, ran back towards the train and got back on in a different coach. I dropped the stroller and Nathan's hand, and raced towards the coach while two airline stewardesses from the back of the train also began to run to get Ben off the train before the doors closed and my two-year-old got sent to Hong Kong Island unaccompanied. The stewardesses beat me to him, grabbing him just in time before the doors slid closed and the train pulled out. Looking around, I found Nathan using the luggage carts as skateboards as I buckled my littlest troublemaker safely into the stroller. Mike called to say he was just getting on his train, and could I grab him something from the mall for him to have for lunch. I went into the mall, and the place was PACKED with young boys in Cub Scout type uniforms. The line at McDonald's looked like they were giving away free ice cream cones it was so long. The other quick deli shop was just as packed. To make matters worse, Nathan was not at all interested in staying near me, so one step from my side had him caught in a sea of people with no way to get to me, and no way for me with the stroller to get to him. When he finally pushed his way back to me I gave him an earful and then called Mike and said he'd have to go with no lunch or brave it on his own, I was leaving the strangely crowded on a Tuesday afternoon mall. </div> <bR> <div> I made my way back to the train station and found another roadblock- the ticket barrier was not wheelchair accessible and therefore not wide enough for me to push the stroller through. So I had to pull Ben out, fold up the stroller with one hand and one foot while gripping his arm with all my strength in the other hand. I sent Nathan through the ticket barrier first since he is old enough to require his own ticket, and then I picked up the stroller in one arm, Ben in the other and used my super mommy powers to hold them both up high enough to get through the barrier myself. The strap of my backpack caught on the turnstile, which meant I had to put both the stroller and Ben down to retrieve my pack, and I watched Nathan and Ben run ahead and get on an escalator by themselves in the middle of a crowd of people. I grabbed my backpack and the stroller, getting a good sized gash in my shin in the process and then pushed my way to the kids, who BOTH know it's never okay to get on an escalator alone and I'm ashamed to admit I became that screaming mom you sometimes see at the grocery store or gas station who is totally loosing it on her wide eyed and fearful kids. By the time Mike's train pulled into the station, I was near tears and desperately missing my spacious and wonderful minivan that is sitting in storage in California, and fully understanding why so many Hong Kongers put off having kids. This is not in any way a childfriendly country! I do not feel I am exaggerating when I tell you that our experience has been downright hostile. I managed to get back on the train with the boys, and then wrestle them and the stroller into a taxi back to our home. I fully wanted to collapse, but the clock was ticking on Jeff's arrival, so I washed the sheets on the air mattress and tried to bring some semblance of order back to our apartment. Dinner was delivery from Pizza Hut, a quick bath and story for the kids and then I put my feet up for the first time that day and popped in a DVD that had nothing to do with the Wiggles, Bob the Builder, or choo-choo trains, and waited for Mike and Jeff to walk through the door.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>A Dream Come True?</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Michael has known Jeff for at least a decade, they both work for Disney and share, along with Jeff's twin Steve, the same birthdate. For as long as I've known Jeff, he and Mike have managed to share a part of their birthday together, with Jeff driving to where ever we live or us managing to be in Southern California where he lives. So not only was it totally cool that Jeff came all the way to Hong Kong to celebrate their birthday... the guys were about to have an even cooler than imagined day, never to be forgotten.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Michael got word that a miracle was about to take place... he was going to get three days off, not just in the same month, but... <I>in a row!</I> We knew only one thing that we've been wanting to do should Mike ever get more than one day off... fly to Beijing and see the Great Wall of China. The fun part was that we had only eight days to plan the trip, book the tickets, get our visas and go. This week was all about me making that happen. I had made contact with a tour company over a year ago that provides personal tours for just your party... a tour guide and a driver. I felt that was the best option considering we have two little guys that tend to go at their own pace. So I contacted them again and asked if they could put together something last minute. Then I contacted a travel company here in Hong Kong that is actually named "Last Minute" and talked to them about airfare for five people. They had an amazing deal we could get, but only if we could leave the night before we had originally planned. I put the airfare on hold and waited as Michael had to clear leaving the office early on our day of departure with his committee of bosses. I had to have an answer by five p.m. or the tickets would be released since we were now in the seven day window. I called poor Mike every 30 minutes to see if he had an answer. At 5:05 p.m., Mike called and said he got the thumbs up. I raced down to the lobby with my credit card authorization form to fax in the information to book the flight. I raced back upstairs to call and see if the tickets had been released. At the same time, we got confirmation that the hotel, tour guide, and driver were available. When all the pieces fell into place, I did a little happy dance. Although we were going to be in Beijing to celebrate Jeff and Michael's birthday, it has been my dream for many years to walk along the Great Wall. When we thought it wasn't going to happen, I just suppressed that dream, thinking that maybe someday we'd return here and see China, but still felt greatly depressed that we are so close, yet cannot go.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> Our last step was to acquire visas to go into China. Yes, Hong Kong is officially part of China, but we don't have free access to cross the border without a visa. I asked the concierge here to tell me the best way to get a visa, and they recommended just going straight into the Chinese consulate and cutting out the middleman travel agencies who tack on a fee to do the same thing. So Mike delayed going to work so that we could be the first people at the consulate the next morning. We filled out our applications and noted the instructions informed us we were not permitted to bring into China anything of a religious nature or anything that contained anything negative about the Chinese government. That was a bit sobering in light of the recent events in New Orleans and the public outcry against America's leadership. Whether you agree with the protests or not, it's not to be taken lightly that we, as Americans, have the right to protest! Here we were, agreeing to check our American rights so frequently taken for granted at the border. We turned in our passports and were told to return on Monday to retrieve them.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Mouse House</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> We also got another day at Disneyland with Jeff, and Mike got to join us for most of the day, which made everything that much better! Jeff, like us, has now visited all of the Disney theme parks world-wide except one. This summer he went to Disneyland Paris, and six years ago he went to Tokyo Disneyland, but he hasn't been back to Japan since they opened Tokyo Disney Sea, which Michael worked on. The only Park we are missing is Paris, and truthfully, I have no burning desire to go there. There are too many other places on my "Travel Wish List" that come first! Robbi joined us for a viewing of Mike's show, The Golden Mickey's, and both Jeff and Robbi gave it two thumbs up. I was doubly impressed with the show after seeing all the technical aspects in working order for the first time! We all ate dinner at the Riverview Terrace Chinese restaurant, and poor tired Benjamin passed out with his face in his bowl of rice, staying asleep even through the fireworks show that ended our evening.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Next Week...</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> You can plan every detail but you can't control everything. Not on our original itinerary: an emergency tour of the local hospital in Beijing. A week that the five of us will never forget! But for now, come check out some great photos!</div> <bR> <div> <B>Happy traveling!</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#00BF00" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> <B>Heather, Michael, Nathan, and Benjamin Chase</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="771" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 502 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="56568e00.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="480" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> From the front, Nathan's arm doesn't look too bad.</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="376"><div> <IMG SRC="563680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> But from the back, it looks like his arm is a snake that swallowed a hamster.  Two days after this photo was taken a giant brown and yellow bruise finally rose to the surface and the swelling went down.</div> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 292 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="533680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> A fish the size of Ben at Ocean Park</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="535680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The Chases standing above the South China Sea</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 520 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="54658c20.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> I'm just thrilled that for the first time since we arrived in Hong Kong</div> <div> it isn't one of <B>my </B>children getting the look of death from the people nearby.</div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 325 WIDTH="376"><div> <IMG SRC="537680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Uncle Jeff, Nathan, and Michael on the Disneyland Resort Line MTR train, complete with Mickey shaped windows.</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="376"><div> <IMG SRC="539680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> It looks just like the Castle in Anaheim, but the hills in the background give it away that we're not in CA!</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 325 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="54c680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Ben passes out at dinner after </div> <div> a long day in the Magic Kingdom.</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="376"><div> <IMG SRC="54a680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Jeff, Robbi, Nathan, Michael, Benjamin (sleeping), and Heather at the Riverview Terrace Chinese restaurant overlooking the Jungle Cruise.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 292 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="541680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Fireworks.</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="543680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> More fireworks.</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 472 WIDTH="376"><div> <IMG SRC="554680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The scariest ride at Hong Kong Disneyland is the Jungle Cruise.  On the ride you go through an erupting volcano that shakes the boat rather violently while giant jets of water threaten to capsize the boat.  There's even a fire effect where the water surrounding the boat fills with leaping flames which are finally put out by a flood of water from the volcano.  Definitely NOT the baby and young child friendly ride I'm familiar with from California!  Nathan made us promise to never go on it again, and Benjamin buried his little face in my shoulder and cried "ooh noo!".</div> <bR> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="55268f00.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="240" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> Sampan ride in Aberdeen Harbour after a </div> <div> lunch at Jumbo with Heather and Jeff.</div> <div> Not a scary ride at all.</div> <bR> <div> Michael had to work.  Boo-hoo.</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 504 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="55d58c20.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> The boys with Uncle Jeff at Jumbo Floating Restaurant</div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 536 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="56058c20.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> The rumors are true.  Heather is royalty.  </div> <div> And the boys are little princes.</div> <div> We just left our fancy clothes and crowns with the ladies in waiting.</div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 518 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="55668e00.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="480" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Another sign we aren't at Disneyland in California!</div> <div> A squat toilet in the ladies room in Fantasyland.</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="55868e00.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="480" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The George's Art Gallery at Parkview.  </div> <div> Nathan and Benjamin petted the nice kitty.</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER COLSPAN=2 HEIGHT= 504 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="55a58c20.jpg" border=0 width="600" height="450" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Nathan in a silk dress shop is much like the proverbial bull in the china shop...</div> <div> But he does have excellent taste and only touched the most expensive gowns.</div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>