Day 1 in Shi'an... We got to visit the Terra Cotta Warriors. As we walked in the complex, people and preparations were a buzz with preparations for 'Michelle'... That would be First Lady, Michelle Obama. We never saw Michelle, but we did get to banter with her Secret Service Crew. They were all fun and games until we starting asking questions about Michelle. They buttoned right up. Too Funny. I did not realize that the Terra Cotta Warriors were only found in 1974, by a farmer digging a well to water his crops. As we were in Pit 1, we observed workers oh so carefully excavated the tunnels, unearthing warriors and war-horses. I would have thought the Chinese would have it completed after 40 years. We found that over time, the wooden supports that held the tunnel up, collapsed and the statues were crushed. We heard that it takes one worker a full year to put a warrior or horse back together. It was an amazing site to behold. Definitely the 8th wonder of the word. We lunched at a local restaurant and had Hot Pot. Hot pot is a pot of boiling soup you add meat, veggies and sauces. Once it is boiling, you take the items out of the soup with your chop sticks (or your waitress does when you keep dropping it everywhere) and put it on your plate and then shuffle it in your mouth. Messy but fun. I continued to place the verbal target on my chest, as I went to open my hotpot, there was little pressure. Went I applied a little more force, the pot and much of the soup found my shirt and pants. The ONLY pants and shirt I had, mind you. Awesome. The waitress felt terrible and brought me a huge bag of ice and proceeded to try and place the ice in a most sensitive area. NO, THANK YOU! After I cleanup a little, I really enjoyed the meal. Really enjoying the family style, lazy-susan turn table eating. Fun! After our meal we arrived at the Shi'an City Wall on a gorgeous smoggy Day. The wall was built around the city to protect the people back in the 1300's. The wall is impressive. It appears the city wall maybe bigger the actual Great Wall we will visit next week before departing China. The wall was big! It sat about 100 feet tall and about 70-80 feet wide. Great view of the city scape and the traffic! The traffic is crazy. Lots of horn honking, J walking, fast scooters and lots of inexperienced drivers. We saw MANY parents on scooters with their elementary student on the back of the bike, no helmet, reading a text/novel. MANY. It would have been really funny if it wasn't so scary. I took a video I will post when I get home. Crazy! Went to the local Market. Too amazing to explain here. Suffice it say, I thought I was in a scene from the Bourne Identity. Awesome. Ate some BBQ squid. That was for you Neil Branson!

Went home and slept hard. Great day in China!