Beijing--Monday

Todd went to work. Mr. Xue picked us up at 11:15. Cameron and I walked out with food bag, duffel bag, cooler, a toy we are returning...full load. Mr. Xue opened the automatic door but didn't get out to help load. Mr. Hu always did. We miss Mr. Hu. Oh well. We picked Todd up and headed to Beijing for a few days. No school for the kids Monday-Wednesday because of Tomb Sweeping holiday. About the same as Memorial Day for Americans.

First stop in Beijing was the indoor go cart track. Mr. Xue kept saying the address so we thought we were in trouble. As it turned out he drove us right to it. By the look on his face we think it was an accident but either way he got us there. Good job Mr. Xue. We drove the carts 2 times. We were excited because they reconfigured the track so it was different. Seemed really fast. I did a complete donut around one corner and scared me. I screamed then laughed. I slowed down a bit after that.

Lets go racing.

Next stop...the dirt market. We wanted to get the pictures we tried to get last time. The shop closed before we got back to her. Boooo, she was closed again for the holiday. Headed to Pearl Market and Toy Market next. Cameron's remote control car broke so we took it back. The nice man fixed it all up for Cameron. A couple new parts and it is good as new. We grabbed McDonald's for the ride to the hotel.

This guy is fixing Cameron's remote control car.

We got all checked in and headed up to the room. At 5:30 we went to the lounge to have snacks and drinks. Good food...pizza, pigs in a blanket, salads, all kinds of breads, etc. we then left at 6:00 to go to Wangfujing Street. Once there Mr. Xue had a hard time finding a spot to park. We went into a very narrow parking garage. Once inside it was a double decker garage so the van was too tall. We couldn't figure out how you would  get your car if it was on top.  Weird.  Out we went. Finally found a sign for another garage but in order to get there we had to drive clear around in a circle but we finally had success. We were late meeting Sharla and Will. All together we finally headed to food street. 100 stalls of weird, exotic food on sticks.

Wangfujing Street.

Jammed packed with people.

What to try, what to try?

How about a sea horse?

Oh yeah, I'll try it.

Cameron ate sea horse, cricket, sheep penis, shark, snake, and fruit. I only tasted sheep penis and that was enough for me. It was chewy and gross. Cameron said nothing he had tasted like chicken. He was very excited because he has wanted to eat street food since we moved to China. He said if he didn't throw up Sharla was his new best friend because she isn't afraid to try the food. Todd bought a couple beers from a mostly toothless lady who was selling them out of a fanny pack. Once he bought one she followed us around for awhile tapping Todd asking him to buy more.  Todd ended the food frenzy by buying a pineapple with rice in it with sugar on top. It was warm too. Cameron loved it.

Our beer lady friend.

Sheep penis...don't mind if I do.

Will, Sharla, and Todd watching him eat sheep penis.

Much calmer food.

Shark meat and snake meat.

The pineapple dish.

Mr. Xue walked around with us so we are pretty sure he thinks we are nuts. Good, gross night. Back to the hotel so we could shower to get the horrible smell off us. Street food vendors have some funky smells.  Bed time.

Mr. Xue enjoyed some food too.
Notice his murse...man purse.  Not cool!!

Beetle juice showed up too.

Here are some of the foods from the night:

Baby pigeon.

Fried enema?  Really?

Squid.

Fruits and candied fruits.

Testicles, penis, and kidneys.

Snake skin and snake meat.

Dog and cat.  Really?

Sea stars or starfish.

All kinds of bugs.  Look at the big spider. 

Frog.  So disgusting.

Shark.  Who doesn't love shark on a stick?