Bohai Sea Trip

Kobe is off leash as we walk along a nearly deserted part of the beach. There is a sheet metal lean-to hut just above the sand. A middle age man, tan and worn, who apparently lives there is walking from the hut to the beach carrying some lightweight anchor and other gear towards a make shift raft. Kobe runs up to him, curious and social as Kobe is. The man spins around to track Kobe. At first I think he's being playful with Kobe. Then it's clear Kobe and the man are both spooked. Kobe darts up and then darts away. The man gestures the anchor at Kobe. I can't understand what the man is staying. Kobe runs around, the man follows. The man lurches at Kobe with the anchor. Aidan says the man says he will kill Kobe. Aidan jumps between the man and Kobe. The rest of us block Kobe's path and I grab Kobe and leash him. I was about to explain to the kids there are some crazy people out there, but that word is out of favor these days.

This was the final morning of our two-night getaway to the Bohai Sea, about a four hour drive east of Beijing. The trip started out Friday morning, the kids, Sabrina and I piling into the car at 10:30am. Sabrina's sister and her daughter would meet us there, driving their own car. As we got close to the resort area there was a police checkpoint and as foreigners we had to register. China is a mix of high tech and low tech. High tech systems can track your every move, read your license plate from the myriad of cameras, detect you social network connections along with contact tracing. Low tech in that some cities and departments use paper. At this police checkpoint there were temperature scanners and license plate scanners but the needed to write down our passport numbers and phone numbers on paper. They used mobile phones to take photos of our passport and visa papers.

We eventually got to the apartment we rented though an Airbnb like service. That's when we were informed, they don't take foreigners.  Sabrina tried, saying she would reregister and the rest of us would just "visit". No dice. The week before they let a foreign passport holder originally from China stay there and the police came and took the landlord away. So then we were stuck. It is an incredibly busy season for this resort area as people flock to the beaches to avoid the summer heat and get in that last vacation before school starts. And we had the double problem of finding a place that would take foreigners and a dog. Sabrina found a villa about 10 miles away, along the beach. It was expensive for the first night. For the second night we'd need to move to an even more expensive villa. What did we get for the expense? The second villa had five bedrooms, the middle one so big no one dared sleep in it. It overlooked the sea. It had three pools including one indoor pool. It had a putting green.

Just after we arrived, Lydia wanted to see the ocean, so we unpacked and walked the two minutes to the shore. I have an album on Facebook called "Lydia at the Beach" which I started when Lydia was two. She's now 16 and given everything it doesn't seem right to keep posting to that album right now. But here she is, on the beach this weekend.

After the beach walk the focus was dinner and specifically seafood which the kids love. I'm not crazy about it so I had noodles. The restaurant allowed us to take Kobe in as long as we kept it "low key". Lydia was stressed after the day's drive and I stayed close to her until sleep came. Aidan, 17, went exploring at night. Elisa played with Sabrina's niece who is the same age.

It rained most of our second day there which was nice relief from the heat of the city. The area is known as Yudao Hot Springs and attracts the tourists. Hot Springs are big in China. Why one would want hot springs when coming to the coast to avoid the heat, I do not know. In addition to the hot springs there is a water park, a live "hollywood stunt" show, and amusement like rides. The beach is enough for me.