Have you ever hugged a panda bear? The Tennessee Aquarium is world class and is different in that it covers seven major rivers around the world including the Tennessee River. They sponsored a trip to China that included many of the major tourist attractions (Beijing, Great Wall, Forbidden City, Xian, Terracotta Warriors, Yangtze River, Shanghai and more) and a visit to the wonderful Panda Preserve with behind the scenes tours. It also included a visit with several young pandas which was a treasure of the trip and of my lifetime. We had to pay a substantial fee and for the safety of the pandas we had to wear surgical-like garb.

I made a connection with my panda quickly. The handlers sat the two of us on a patch of grass and we played together and bonded. I expected soft fur and what they have is sort of course fur. I was in animal heaven.

Following about 25 minutes of togetherness it was time to say goodbye. I got a big hug from my panda bear and as they were taking it away it grabbed my leg and held on for a while. I think it loved me. I loved it!