For most people, it would be pretty far out of the way to drop in at our place for a visit. But not for Mark’s sister, Barbara, whose pharmaceutical consulting business takes her around the world. After spending time working at some of China’s east coast cities, she was able to swing by our city for the weekend before heading back to Delaware. For such a special occasion, we thawed out the exclusive, frozen steaks and had a genuine Western meal.
The next day, we climbed the stone steps to the top of Western Hills park mountain:
It’ll take the breath out of you as you approach 7,000 feet above sea level, but the view is worth the climb. Here we are with our obligatory “Tiger Rag” photo (since we are both Chemical Engineers from Clemson):
After the hike, you can stop for dinner on the way down. I always find it hard to choose between the restaurant that serves eight different kinds of dirt or the one where you start off trying to decide about where to place the blame:
Instead, we chose to join some students at a hot pot restaurant behind our school. Unlike the Sichuan hot pot, this is actually mild enough for Westerners to eat:
On Sunday, we traveled across town for meeting and eating with friends. It didn’t seem fair to keep Barbara shielded from our normal world, so we decided to take the bus. Can you spot the foreigners?
We are so glad you have had family around! How did you like the steaks?? We have tried ours with just some Montreal steak seasoning as well as once in a fajita marinade and sliced for fajitas. Both turned out nicely! I put that marinade recipe we talked about on my blog, Susan!
I can spot Aunt Barbara…Mom is starting to blend in! hahaha.