July 20
We got up early as usual at 7 o'clock. After a much simpler breakfast in this hotel, we set off again. It's said that along the coast there were many tourist attractions, so we just drove along the seaside and tried to find some newness in scenery.
At one point, we saw many tourists walking down the wooden stairs which led to a thick woods. We also stopped there on the roadside. Considering the strong sunlight, we all wore straw hats or sunglasses and then we began to enjoy our thicket trip. On the way I heard a man's voice singing the hot ballad called Chengdu with a guitar. The cave where the sound originated added to the charm of this song.
Later we rested by one side of the plank road, sitting directly on the wooden parts. The naughty wind still went through the woods to meet us, for which I never regretted coming so far to this place. One should know that in our hometown in Hebei province, it's always hot and without any cool wind at this time.
My son couldn't stand walking all the way together with us, so we had to carry him by turns. Of course, my father was the main carrier. Poor Daddy! While resting, I urged my son to take a close look at the ants on the ground. Thanks to his following my direction, we could all have a quiet break. During this short period, his dear grandpa made up a hat of grass. Pretty cool!
As time went by, it became hotter and hotter. We had some rose-flavored drinks to relieve the languish. My little boy's spirit was completely aroused soon after this. Then we chose a way to go back to the previous roadside. The lucky boy nearly exhausted my father, for he always asked his grandpa to carry him, maybe because he liked a higher view...
Huludao didn't impress me that much, but the wind captured my heart successfully.^_^
At first we didn't plan to go to Qinhuangdao, because we knew we must go through some necessary check if we wanted to go there. But now, my husband strongly suggested us going to Qin directly when he heard we were going to Tangshan. Ha, perhaps he didn't want his little son to breathe the dirty air. We finally decided on Qin, despite the sensitiveness of it during these days when many government leaders were spending their holiday there.
We were checked before we entered Qin and given a pass certificate by the police. Since it's time for lunch, we went to a small dock and enjoyed a feast of seafood. My boy just ate rice and some stir-fried vegetables. The owner suggested us going to an island nearby by sea, but it's too hot then, so we gave it up.
When we reached The Shanhaiguan Resort, it's already late for us to enjoy the view within, so we checked in at a hotel nearby. This time, we lived in a family suite, with a double bed for three of us and the other singal bed for only my father who always needs more space to sleep well. But it's a little narrow on the whole, so I don't think it's worth the money as we paid for the previous rooms.
Earlier when waiting in a parking lot, we came across an old beggar with a little boy who is only one year older than my boy. Unlike the common beggars, the old man looked clean and tidy, so if there weren't the steel bowl, we couldn't have recognized his status. I watched him bathing his face and arms in the place set for visitors to wash feet, helping the little boy clean himself all over, and at last helping him put on the dirty little clothes again. That was a pathetic scene to see, especially in such a merry resort. Looking at their backs, I couldn't help shedding tears. Later the boy saw my boy and they chased each other and played together for a while. Despite the fact that there were many red spots in the boy's face, I was more happy than anxious to see them together. The grandpa told us in a pitiful voice that the boy's mother had run away. I don't know the real misfortune behind it all, thinking maybe the mother was also cheated into a marriage. It made me blue even long after we parted.
Late at night I was troubled by the din from the streets. It's just like the sound from a big stage or the KTV, but I couldn't tell exactly what it was. Maybe the local night life reached into that hour? Oh my! It's too noisy to bear, especially for old people with heart diseases.
