Drivel Starved Nation!

I got so fed up with the voluminous holiday email blasts in December, we spared you and kept our antsy fingers off our keyboards until today. How cool is that?

First, the Portland Weather Report: As some of you may know, I am an Iowa son, and no stranger to snow. In fact, it is one of the reasons I wanted to move to Portland. No snow shoveling here.

Last Tuesday at 6 pm, I arrived home and it just started to snow. At 10 pm, we had 10 inches of snow on the ground. That is Mt. Hood snow and not heard of in Portland. So, BCTW has been closed almost a week because this city does not have the infrastructure for such events. Tomorrow we get freezing rain.

Anyway, last Thursday, I shoveled snow for the first time in over 40 years. I dug two paths in my driveway for my tires (with a garden spade). Got in the car and backed up about four feet and got stuck. There was so much snow I ended up with my car high centered on snow, no traction for the tires. Am I brilliant or what? At least I didn’t have a heart attack shoveling.

Time for more interesting news. This coming October I have to go to China for Chopstick Master stuff, and for meetings regarding the Bridge City tools being sold internationally.

The thought occurred to me that some of you would enjoy visiting China if you knew you were going to have a good time. So… let’s have a good time!

Here’s how this will work. The exact dates are not quite set, but I am recommending that you plan on taking a week in late October and fly to Shanghai. You will make your own travel arrangements, we will let you know our rendezvous hotel in Shanghai. We will spend two days together in Shanghai and one evening, Bridge City will sponsor a dinner. What part of FREE don’t you like?

On day three, we will all take the bullet train to Nanjing. You won’t believe how cool this is. We have a rendezvous hotel there as well. We will spend two days touring Nanjing, we will visit the Harvey factory and we will spend an afternoon with China’s most famous woodworker. I am positive when you see his work, and that of his students, you will be in complete awe. I still am! One night in Nanjing BCTW will sponsor another dinner get together. Again, FREE is fun.

After two days in Nanjing, you can choose to hang around on your own, or take the bullet train back to Shanghai and vacation there–or do whatever you please. It’s the largest city in the world and there is plenty to see and do. The food… unbelievably out of this world good.

This is not a package deal, we are not in the tour business. The staff at Harvey Industries is going to make sure your time (4 days) in Shanghai and Nanjing is not only educational, fun and eye-opening, but you will have a very safe and memorable experience. The only expense outside of meals and lodging that you may need to occur depends on how many people choose to go… we may need to rent buses to keep everybody together and that expense will be shared by all and it will not be much. The hotels we will be staying in are 4 star minimum, and are typically under $200/night. Friends and spouses are certainly welcome!

For those interested, I should have the dates by early next week. Between now and October, we will make sure you know everything you need to know, from currency exchange to water safety. In the last 18 months I have been to China 6 times. It’s time to share what I have learned with the DSN! I hope you seriously consider joining me, I think it will be a blast!

If you have questions, please ask here. If you know you want to do this, email me direct, john@bridgecitytools.com and I will compile your info in a database.

Something to think about yes/no?

Happy New Year and thanks DSN for making 2016 one of the most interesting in our 34 year history!

-John