Scaling the wall

Of all the sites in Beijing, the Great Wall is probably my favorite for the simple reason it's not in Beijing. Don't worry, I'm not going to go into a tirade about the ills of Beijing again. Yet the scenery surrounding the Great Wall is almost more attractive to me than the wall itself. Getting to the wall involves a two hour drive, which ends in twisting roads through mountains and forested parks. After four months of living and traveling though cities of row upon row of cookie cutter concrete buildings, this scenery is a breath of fresh air. I forget how much I miss nature, and hills that are taller than me. Being able to stand on the wall, with a glorious blue sky, and nothing but hills upon hills in front of me was simply spectacular. Not to mention, it was a special day since I was celebrating Kasey and Kurt's third wedding anniversary with them. Missing their wedding my first year in China was one of the hardest days of my time here, so it was great to mark this occasion together. We couldn't have chosen a more perfect place to celebrate!