First Stop: Dalian

We're back from our week-long vacation for the Chinese New Year holiday. It was a fun trip, but I wouldn't call it relaxing. We were on the go: Saturday, we traveled to Dalian; Monday, we flew to Seoul; Wednesday, we took a bus to Yongpyong/Alpensia, the mountains of South Korea; Saturday, we took a return bus back to Seoul; and, on Sunday, we took two planes back to Shanghai.

I'll get to Korea tomorrow. First up was Dalian where we celebrated the Year of the Snake with Mike's mom. You think there are fireworks for the Fourth of July? You ain't seen (or heard) nuthin'. I didn't get photo or video evidence myself, but my friend in Shanghai did --

Besides the fireworks, CNY traditions include fish for dinner, which, Mike's mom told us, you don't finish -- some must be left over for your ancestors -- and dumplings for breakfast. 

Other highlights of the Dalian leg: a few hours at Happy Snow World, two bunny skiing/snowboarding slopes that warmed us up (slightly) for the trip to the South Korean mountains; and, Teddi, my mother-in-law's dog, who knows how to give high fives, and when you hold her front paws and count to three, lifts her hind legs to be picked up and carried like a baby.

As a side note, I really liked Dalian. It was nice to see the ocean and a couple of mountains (nature!), and I'm looking forward to going back in the summer and enjoying some beach time, Chinese style (minus the face mask).