A harbor cruise, a trip to Macau, a sports day and a Discovery Bay

Okay, I think it's time for an update. I finally uploaded pictures onto the computer, so here's a bit of a disjointed post with some of the pictures I've taken in the last few weeks.  

This was taken on the night that Mom and Nett and I went on a harbor cruise. I hardly took any pictures while they were visiting because they were both making up for that by documenting everything we did, but this night I could bring the camera. The red boat below (Aqua Luna) is the one we went on, and it was wonderful. Mom is insisting that Mike and I do it again for a date night. 

It felt quite luxurious to be sitting on a corner sofa enjoying the balmy evening temperatures and sparkling skyline with a complementary glass of wine in hand. All made even more fun by the enthusiasm of Mom and Auntie Nett. 

 And a few pictures of our last-minute jaunt to Macau. We stayed at the Galaxy, which was a newer Vegas-style glittery hotel. Actually, I really liked the Galaxy compared to the one we stayed in last year. It had a big man-made beach and wave pool with a little lazy river with paddle boats. It was actually a cooler day than what we had the week before, so we just used the hot tubs, but it would be fun to go back with Mike and Annika on a weekend and just hang out at the hotel. 

 (walking through the streets of Macau)

 Leila and I declined to climb the steps of the St. Paul ruins and hung out by the rickshaws instead. For some mysterious reason I woke up with a sore knee, so I was limping my  way through Macau (embarrassing!). Thankfully it left as quickly 

and mysteriously as it came.   

 Leila (and her monkey) enjoying a free ride from Auntie Nett. 

 Our room at the Galaxy. Good thing the bathroom had a curtain that could be pulled down. haha

 I thought for sure the flowers had to be fake- but they weren't!

 AND...  last Friday, Annika had a sports day with the other grade one and twos at her school, so Leila and I made the trip out to cheer her on. She was on the red team. 

 Getting ready to race. It was the most uncompetitive sports day ever. Each activity the kids could participate in... or not... no one was paying too close attention. There was no mention of who won. At the event in the picture below, the kids could run, and then walk back and run again if they wanted to. And again... until the horn sounded to move to the next event. I was talking to another mom, and she was telling me that the sports day at her son's school (Japanese International School) was completely the opposite. The students there prepared for it for a month, and it was very much all about who came in first, second, and third. She thought it was pretty funny that this one was so uncompetitive. Although, Living Waters was pretty competitive too, so it's not like it's just Asian schools...  
We also thought it was interesting that sports day is in November when Mike and I always remembered track and field days being at the end of the year. But then it occurred to us that that's simply because June is really the only month of the year (besides September maybe) where the weather would be warm enough to have it. And even then, most of his Track and Field days at LWCA ended up being blustery and cool, even though they were in June. Here, most outdoor things have been planned for November because that's the month when the weather is ideal. The start and end of the school year are way too hot to have a sports day... you wouldn't want to have it in June! So all the school camps are this month, and Annika also had a school picnic the week before. 

 Sweaty little runner...

 And... then on Saturday, we went to Shatin and rented bikes from the Good Luck Bike Shop and rode along the river. The bike they gave me had a little seat in front that Annika could sit on. Pedaling was a little tricky with a 6-year old sitting in front of me, but I wouldn't feel comfortable with her biking on her own since the bike trail was pretty busy and we didn't have helmets or anything. Riding bikes in Shanghai reminded us of how great a mode of transportation biking is- you can go so much further and faster than walking and see parts of the city that you wouldn't otherwise. I really wish we had bike trails near us and that it would be more feasible for us to ride bikes in HK as a family. Still, it was a pretty fun afternoon and we would like to do it again and next time rent them for a whole day and go a lot further. 

 Hanging out in Shatin Park after we returned the bikes. 

 Lovely scenery on a November Saturday, no?

 And... then yesterday we took a little trip out to Discovery Bay, which is a community on Lantau Island where it doesn't really feel like HK. It has a beach and lots of restaurants, and when it was first established, I think it was only British expats who lived there. Now, there are local people as well, but it still has a big expat presence there. 

 We met up with our friends who moved from Kowloon to DB just last weekend. 

 Discovery Bay isn't very big and a big chunk of it is the beach. It seemed like it would be a pretty fun place to live! 

 Annika walking with "Other Layla". That's what Layla and Leila both call each other (cute!). A year ago when Valerie was pregnant with her second, she pulled me aside and told me that the name "Annika" was on their list of name choices. That would have been funny... what are the odds?! In the end they chose the name Aly for their baby. 

 Then we hopped on a short bus-ride to "Central Park" where there were fish and turtles that you can feed. 

It was a really great Sunday afternoon that we spent with the Crawford family. It will be great to have an excuse now to head out to Discovery Bay!