This is me bragging about my wonderful last summer in America before we move to China (yes, I know we're only going for a year [maybe...], but i still like the drama of referring to it as my "last summer in America").

So far this summer I've driven (ok, ridden in the car while Lauren drove) to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to volunteer for a week with tornado relief efforts, hiked to two seventy foot tall waterfalls on opposite sides of the country (one in Harrisonburg, VA, the other in Mt. Shasta, CA), kayaked the marshy estuaries of Murrells inlet in Myrtle Beach (and came across a small island filled with goats...but that's a story for another blog), white water rafted the Sacramento River, deep sea fished (and barely escaped getting very sea sick) in the Atlantic, watched a hawk dive fifty feet to catch (and subsequently show off) a fish, hand-fed carrots and shredded wheat cereal to a deer, spotted a skunk, a badger, a fox, a baby black bear, an osprey, and a pile of snakes, and reunited with many friends and family members from across the country.  Still on the docket for this summer: participating in the FAMOUS Mt. Shasta fourth of July walk/run (tomorrow), boating and water skiing on Lake Gaston in North Carolina, zip-lining in Kissimmee, a friend's wedding in San Jose, exploring San Francisco and touring Alcatraz, and a possible kayak-camping trip in Florida's Everglades (or perhaps somewhere on the St. John's River in Jacksonville).

After that, we're selling our cars, packing our home, and heading off to China.

We booked our tickets.  $762.80 later and we are officially leaving on August 22 for a three hour flight to JFK airport in New York City, followed by a fifteen hour flight to Shanghai/Pudon airport.  We booked a one-way ticket because we're not sure from where we'll be flying home next year.  We've got two extra months to travel China before our visa runs out, and we'll have time to tour southeast Asia as well.  I'm curious to hear about any interesting places that you have visited/seen/heard about or something that you think a person can't go without experiencing while traveling southeast Asia.  Let me know, and maybe Adam and I can go there and take pictures to share on here! :)

Happy summer everyone!