I Climbed The Great Wall!

Today Leo and his friend John and I went to the Great Wall. We had so much fun! We went to a place that was about 2 hours outside of Beijing. It was nice because Leo has a car, so we just drove out there. It was a really pretty drive through the countryside. When we got there, Leo asked if I wanted to ride the cable cars to the top or just walk. I thought a walk sounded nice, but he forgot to mention that the walk was really just climbing stairs. So we hiked about a thousand stairs (not an exaggeration by any means, probably more than that) and finally made it to the top. I felt like it was a good accomplishment. John and Leo said that they regretted it :) Here are a couple of pictures from our "walk" up to the wall.

Once we got to the top, all of Leo's regrets were washed away! See the mighty conqueror!It was pretty hazy today, but it was still amazing. In fact, the haze made it seem a little surreal.

There were a bunch of different types of station buildings on the wall. I was surprised by the diversity, it made it even more interesting.

It was a little bit backwards, but once we were done seeing the wall, we rode the cable car down to the car. Then we drove home through a really pretty area that had orchards all over. Then we had some really good Sichuan style food at a restaurant that Leo and John meet at for dinner all the time. I was so full, I could hardly walk. It was so good, I can't even describe it.

I enjoyed meeting John. He and Leo have been friends for about 20 years, ever since they were in school. It was really cool hanging out with them. It was exactly what I was looking for in my trip, just hanging out.

What a great day. Thanks Leo!