Travels With Petey

We're back. And in case you're interested in what the BCs were up to during our little catnap from blogging, here's our story (and we're stickin' to it) . . .

For some time now, our buddy Petey has been wanting to visit his ancestral homeland in China. And since we were planning to take a break from blogging anyway, he asked us if we'd like to accompany him on a trip halfway around the world. Our answer? "You bet!"

So we all filled out our Chinese visa applications, kept our fingers crossed that the Chinese authorities would not be concerned that Petey might cause some panda-monium in their country, and breathed a big sigh of relief when our visas came through. We set off in mid-May on a tour of China that would start in Beijing and take us on a 4,000-mile loop through the country, ending up two weeks later in Shanghai. It all began with a 14-hour, nonstop flight from Dulles to Beijing that took us over the North Pole; we think we even saw Santa waving up at us. (Or perhaps that was the effects of the Ambien altitude.) In any event, we all arrived safely in China, and late in the afternoon checked into our hotel several blocks from Tiananmen Square.

Our first evening in Beijing, we walked over to the Square to watch the daily flag lowering ceremony at sunset. It was a very impressive event. A platoon of soldiers marched over from the Forbidden City, and the flag was lowered and meticulously folded. Even more impressive, the moment the ceremony ended, the soldiers from the People's Liberation Army immediately ushered the thousands of onlookers out of the Square, and locked it down for the night. Welcome to China.

A few days later we returned to the Square in the daytime, and then headed across the street to the gates of the Forbidden City. Is there a more iconic symbol of Beijing than this? It was a pretty amazing sight for a couple of baby boomers. Chairman Mao is revered in China, and we're told that young people are taught very little about the Cultural Revolution from Chinese history books. According to our guide, international news networks like CNN and BBC are not allowed to be broadcast in people's homes, and the nightly news on Chinese TV consists only of "happy news."

Inside the gates, the Forbidden City looks like this.

As impressive as those sites were, our visits to the Great Wall were a dream come true. Petey and the BCs first climbed the Great Wall at Mutianyu, a couple of hours outside Beijing. It was a spectacular day!

And then a few days later, we climbed another section of the Wall, at Badaling. Here, the Wall was so steep in places you literally had to pull yourself up using the handrail. But the views -- and the experience -- were definitely worth the effort!

Another stop on the Beijing part of our itinerary: the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests inside the Temple of Heaven Park, where only the Emperor could worship. The wood building was constructed without a single nail.

Each morning, scores of retirees gather throughout the Temple of Heaven Park. They can be found singing, dancing, practicing Tai Chi, stretching, playing chess, doing calisthenics. So very unlike any park in America. It was a very happy place; we joined in a line dance, and we could easily have spent the day there. Beijing is a fascinating city, with lots of green space and water.

Though Petey's a vegetarian, the BCs are not. So while Petey ordered room service, we enjoyed Peking Duck . . . in Peking Beijing. Delicious!

As much as the BCs aren't fans of flying, we still managed to get ourselves on a flight from Beijing to Xi'an in order to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. Petey was pretty amazed by the 2,000 excavated figures in Pit 1 (as were we, of course).

Archeologists believe there are 5,000 or more Warriors still buried. (Xi'an itself, unfortunately, is a depressing and terribly polluted city where, even on a "sunny" day, you cannot see the sky, just a thick grayish haze.)

From Xi'an, we flew Sichuan Airlines (really) to Chongqing, where we boarded a riverboat for a five-night cruise down the Yangtze, the world's third longest river. (Bonus points if you can name the two longer rivers without using a search engine.)

Along the way we visited old pagodas . . .


. . . and met young children at a local elementary school.

Our river cruise took us through the five step locks of the Three Gorges Dam, in the middle of the night, in the pouring rain (our only rain-day of the entire trip, fortunately). It was awesome!

We sailed through the spectacular Three Gorges of the Yangtze, shrouded in classic "China mist."


Life along the river was fascinating; so much to see . . . gorges, towns, cities, commercial shipping, dams, people fishing, people doing laundry.


The river is a very vital part of life in this area of China.

Meals on board were served family style at large tables. Here's Petey with some of his new friends, enjoying boiled milk and beancurd.

Petey didn't get to see Tai Shan on this visit, but he did visit a Chinese panda nursery.

Our trip ended in Shanghai, along the beautiful Huangpu River. Shanghai is a city of modern skyscrapers, so very different than all the other cities we visited in China.


On more than one occasion, our guide described his country as "complicated." After our brief, but exhausting, introduction to his homeland, we'd have to agree. A handful of pictures can't even begin to tell the story of everything we saw and learned about this complicated super-power and its friendly -- but complicated -- people. What an extraordinary experience! We couldn't be happier that Petey invited us along!

Photo Credits: DC BasketCases

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Edge of Seventeen?

According to Andy Katz's blog, Big East coaches want to continue to bring every Big East team to the annual conference championship tournament at Madison Square Garden in 2013, when the league will have expanded to 17 teams with the includsion of Texas Christian.

Some AD's apparently want to bring only 12 teams to New York, but the coaches would prefer all 17, with a five-game Tuesday kicking things off. Winners from that day would play seeds No. 5-7, then the quarterfinals on Thursday would look as they do now, and so on.

The presidents will likely decide on the number of teams for the 2013 tournament at their annual meeting this fall.

McGarry to Visit UConn This Weekend

Per ESPN recruiting analyst Dave Telep, UConn will be getting an unofficial visit this weekend from Mitch McGarry, a 6-foot-10, Class of 2012 center out of Brewster Academy.

Want to Ride Your Bicycle?


The fifth annual NBC Connecticut Jim Calhoun Cancer Challenge Ride and Walk will be held at the Performing Arts Center at Simsbury Meadows on Iron Horse Boulevard in Simsbury on Saturday, June 11. The event benefits the Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center at the UConn Health Center in Farmington and Coaches vs. Cancer, an American Cancer Society program.

The ride and walk is presented by CIGNA and the Hartford law firm of RisCassi and Davis, and is dedicated in part to the memory of Eileen Fucile and Doris Davis.

There will be rides of 10, 25, 50 and 75 miles and a 5K walk/run. All participants in the ride and walk/run will receive a free gift bag and an invitation to a special closed practice of the 2011–2012 UConn men’s basketball team at Gampel Pavilion in Storrs in October 2011.

The event also includes a cookout featuring Price Chopper’s famous “House of Barbecue,” Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, live music by the Timmy Maia Band, hot air balloon rides, children’s activities and more. The UConn Health Center Department of Dermatology will offer free skin cancer screenings from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Also on hand will be UConn’s trophies for the 2011, 2004 and 1999 NCAA men’s basketball championships.

This annual event is hosted by Hall of Fame Coach Jim Calhoun, head coach of the UConn men’s basketball team and a three-time cancer survivor.

“I stand as a cancer survivor determined to help in the fight against this terrible disease,” said Calhoun. “I invite all of Connecticut to grab their bikes or their running or walking shoes and join me on June 11th.”

Calhoun will participate in the bike ride along with a number of UConn men’s basketball assistant coaches and former players. His wife, Pat Calhoun, will lead the 5K walk/run with the hosts of “Sports Talk” on WTIC 1080 AM, Joe D’Ambrosio—also known as “the voice of the Huskies”—and Kevin Nathan. Nathan is also sports director at NBC Connecticut.

Children and well-behaved, leashed dogs are welcome in the 5K walk. Register online at www.calhounridewalk.com. Visit the web site or call Gold, Orluk & Partners at 860.674.1500 for more information.

UConn White House Tour on ESPNU

I don't like ESPN. Coddles to the NFL so much it might as well be the NFL Network. But I'll give them this free plug:

UConn's visit to the White House, chronicled by ESPN's Andy Katz, will air on ESPNU tonight at 6:30 in high definition.

The Huskies made the most of their trip to Washington, D.C., where head coach Jim Calhoun, assistant coach Kevin Ollie, forward Jeremy Lamb and the team, offered inspiration to local kids during a basketball clinic for area youth. The group also toured the White House and spent quality time with President Obama, the first fan of college basketball.

If you miss tonight's broadcast, it will also re-air on Friday at midnight and Sunday at 11 and 11:30 a.m.

Calhoun on APR

As had been reported late last week, UConn has fallen short of the NCAA's APR standards. Here's what Jim Calhoun had to say, in a press release sent out by the school:

"We are all disappointed in our academic performance and going forward we are going to attack this in the only way I know how and that is to work as hard as possible to get better every day.

I do know that over the past year we have made improvements and are moving in the right direction. I believe that we have good, hard-working people in a position to make a positive difference.
"

Sellers to Hofstra?

The Hofstra men's basketball team could start to look like mini-UConn pretty soon.

According to Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com, former UConn assistant coach Patrick Sellers is expected to be named one of Mo Cassara's assistants. And, the Dutchmen are one of the possible destinations for Jamal Coombs-McDaniel, who has already made one unofficial visit to the Hofstra campus and is hoping to take another.

Either way, good to see Sellers land on his feet. He was let go by UConn in the wake of the Nate Miles recruiting violations, but since then his name has been cleared of all wrongdoing.

Calhoun to Headline SWIM Event

Jim Calhoun will headline St. Vincent's 8th Annual SWIM Prostate Cancer Institute Celebrity Dinner on Thursday, June 16 at the Holiday Inn in Bridgeport.

The event will begin with a celebrity meet and greet reception at 6 p.m., a silent acution of unique sports memorablilia and a dinner program at 7:15 p.m.

The funds raised from the dinner will allow the SWIM Prostate Cancer Institute to continue its free monthly community screening program for uninsured men age 50 to 60 and high-risk men age 40 to 50. The SWIM PCI provided prostate cancer screenings to more than 336 men in 2010. The SWIM PCI also sponsors monthly support groups, the Prostate Cancer Buddy Network, educational lecture series, clinical trials and financial assistance to cancer patients and their families when needed.

Tickets are $250 for the Meet & Greet Reception, Dinner & Program or just $125 for the Dinner & Program only. Table sponsorships are also available.

To purchase tickets or for more information, contact St. Vincent’s Medical Center Foundation at 203-576-5451.

Preakness.136




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Did you know that the last Triple Crown winner was Affirmed in 1978? If
Animal Kingdom wins the Preakness Stakes...
And they're off! (Happy Birthday Sarah!)