Happy Halloween!

This was my first true Halloween handing out candy. Perfect trick-or-treating weather made for a heaving flow of sugar crazed super heros. I was expecting this, but was still not prepared. About an hour in, it was apparent that I needed to head to the store to replenish my supplies. Laura was at the door with about 10 pieces left when I returned with 4 more bags. That lasted about a half hour then we hit the lights and hid.

For the record

Best Candy: there was an unexpected run on gummy bears. I figured I would have those at work this week.

Best Costume: the little boy with the red cardboard Lego costume. He could hardly make it up the steps and struggled to grab his candy, but he looked good.

Best Idea: Next year Dudes and Nat are both Legos with smaller legos (Eloise and George) attached to them. You could all get stuck together for a family photo

Rosy Mound Natural Area

Laura and I took Lake Michigan Drive to the lake shore today. Our final destination was the Rosy Mound Natural Area but we made an unplanned stop at Green Acres farm Market to pick up some cider and pumpkins.

We are big fans of Rosy Mound because it's easy to get to and usually not crowded due to the 1 mile hike required to reach the beach. After some gentle autumn exercise through the wooded dunes, Lake Michigan never disappoints.

This has been one of the most pleasant Octobers in memory. Today temps were in the upper 60's on the beach. I would not have wanted it to be warmer.

With nobody else in sight, we found a nice spot to watch the lake and the biggest seagull we've ever seen - which got away without a photo-op.

This log provided some entertaining training for the approaching ski season

Probably the last dip of the year, and it was a chilly one

The Bund

While in China for work, I had a chance to take the high speed train (217mph) to Shanghai for two days on my way back to the USA. The train shortened a 4 hour drive from Nanjing to 1 hour and 15 minutes, which by the way was the answer Dr. Dave always gave when asked "how long until we get there" during road trip.

I stayed with a friend who has been living in Shanghai for 5 years. Though I only had a day and a half to see the city, I had a great time. Thanks Bonky!

Here are some photos from an evening in the Bund

Shanghai World Expo

More China

Nanjing from my hotel room

I was amazed at how clear the sky was in the picture above. Then the remnants of a typhoon came through and cleared out the smog and haze. In the photo below a mountain appeared.

Chinese food

I visited a Walmart in Nanjing

I was excited to see this burger joint near my hotel, then I noticed the menu had no burgers

This is actually a Thai place that Kyle and I visited in Shanghai. It was fantastic