Greetings

Hello friends,

It has been awhile, and I decided I'd say hello. Hope you've been doing well. It seems as though Fall is in full swing back on the east coast. The pictures I've seen involve turtle necks...really? Already? I do love love turtle necks, but I don't think I'll see any here for awhile. It's hot right now.

I took a brief hiatus from blog writing this past  week.Rob and I have been busy here meeting new friends, working on the job search and exploring some of Hong Kong's surrounding islands. We went on a hike this weekend on the island called Lantau. We took a ferry over to a largely expat area for families that was reminiscent of the film "Pleasantville." The community's actual name is Discovery Bay, and it is like a suburban living community/mall on a beautiful tropical island. One of our older ex-pat friends who once lived there calls it "DB-Dogs n' Babies." It's a very nice, safe-feeling place. Two of the first things you notice upon stepping off the ferry there are leashes and strollers. Discovery Bay may, in fact, be code for Dogs and Babies. Anyway, it was a very nice community full of golf carts and smiles. We began our hike there. After meeting several other expats from the US, Canada, Australia and Mainland China we began our 2-hour, GRUELING journey up to the peak of Lantau and crossing over to the other, more natural side. It was gorgeous. Rob's blog has pictures posted of the hike. I have been running a lot here, and I feel like I'm in pretty good shape, but that hike kicked my hiney. All's good that ends at a beach, and that is what we did. We ascended, descended, and then went for a swim. Then we ate burgers on the beach. Yum. 8 hours later, Rob and I dragged ourselves back to Hong Kong proper. Big Day.

On Tuesday, Rob and I hopped on a public bus and rode down to the southern side of Hong Kong Island to see the much-talked-about markets there...in an area called Stanley. The bus ride was INCREDIBLE. I felt like I was motoring along the coast of Southern Europe. I even thought about Grace Kelly and how she must have felt driving along the coast of Monaco. While I cannot believe I just admitted that, the views truly were amazing. Steep cliffs lead your eyes down into crisp blue waters and then back up to hazy mountains in the distance. Beautiful homes, small fishing boats and huge cargo ships dot the scenery. Lush, tropical trees and vines cover everything. Once we arrived, Rob and I had lunch--pizza & salad--and explored the markets. Notables from the market were high thread-count sheets and cashmere sweaters. (Wow-writing that makes me feel like a grown up). I didn't buy any because I don't have a job, and I just couldn't justify buying linens without a job--and seriously, what 24 year old goes out to buy linens??!?! I'm scaring myself except that the linens were beautiful, and I will go back one day and buy, even if it's as a wedding present for Lindsay Doswell.

Anywho, apparently I need to run. Rob's "sling box" arrived at his home in Irvington, which means that we can now watch his parent's American TV, any channel, any time from our laptops in Hong Kong. He's watching MTV Real World right now. Yay! I can now watch the TV shows I thought I'd said goodbye to for a very long time. The world just got a LOT smaller.

Talk to you all soon. Lots of Love.

Leaping Lizard