The Grand Canal

On Sunday afternoon the weather was unbelievably nice and we decided to find a park alongside the Grand Canal. By really nice, I mean that it was in the mid-80s as opposed to the 95+ that has been the constant since June! We found a park by the canal but at first had trouble finding a spot where we could actually SEE the canal. All alongside the canal were paths but the view was blocked by dense shrubbery - maybe the barges took away from the beauty of the park? Finally, we found a bridge with an unobstructed view. Of course, the bridge had a VERY LOW railing (lower than my knees) and Tori kept giving me heart palpitations by wanting to lean over the edge. Josh was fascinated with the barges and as soon as he saw one he began to wave to the people on board. We stood there for almost an hour and he waved to every boat. Most people did not wave back, but instead just stared at us strangely. Ah, but we are pretty used to strange looks! ;-) Becca was curious to know why some barges were bigger (higher out of the water) than others. We encouraged her to think about it.... she came to the conclusion that the low-riders had lots of heavy things on board. It was fascinating to watch the barges go by! The people who operate the barges also live on board so you would see laundry hung out to dry, chickens (for dinner not pets), and one even had a satellite dish! After coming home, I researched a little more about the Grand Canal. The canal begins to the south of us in Hangzhou and traverses all the way to Beijing (1114 miles long!) and is one of the oldest canals in the world. 

Waving at the barges

(See Tori looking over the low railing? I wouldn't let her get any closer than this - though initially she was holding on and leaning over. I don't know if you can see, but I am just off to the left ready to grab her she gets any crazy schemes in her head! I am really trying not to be a neurotic parent but this water was GROSS not to mention how deep it is!)

Two low-riders (is it just me or does anyone else have a song playing in their head?)

As opposed to a barge riding higher in the water. . .