After a Looooonnng day, we made it!

Cackie, Deanna, Daddy, Mom & Me before heading thru security at the Memphis airport.

Walking to our gate at the Memphis airport.

Finally in the air headed to Beijing. We just ate our first meal!

Me & Cackie, about 5:30 a.m., waiting for our plane to Chicago in the Memphis airport. (By the end of the trip, we don't look quite as good!)

We made it to Chicago about 7:30 a.m., and got to spend our layover burning off some energy, eating breakfast and spending time with our Uncle Donald that came to visit us. He lives outside of Chicago. After making it through security again and check-in, we boarded the plane to Beijing at about noon. Unfortunately, after the plane left the gate, we were informed of a mechanical problem that we had to return to the gate for. This took about an hour & a half to fix and was extra time that we were on the airrcraft. So, our flight was delayed, causing us to have additional time in the air of about 13 hours. There's also a first time for everything...not only the first time for me to fly that long, but also the first time to use the bathroom on an airplane! It wasn't so bad. We also took many opporunities to get up and walk around because our legs were cramped when sitting down for such long periods. I also have to say that the horseshoe-shaped travel pillows we bought for the flight were probably the BEST investment so far!
When we arrived to the Beijing airport, it was 4:30 p.m. local time and 86 degrees! HOT! After we claimed our luggage, Helen, the CCAI (Chinese Children Adoption International) guide met us and a driver took us back to a hotel. Beijing traffic is by far the worst I've seen...I guess I shouldn't say Memphis is so bad anymore! And I probably shouldn't criticize daddy's driving, because the driving is just crazy here! I probably paid more attention to that than other things when we were driving into the city to our hotel.
We arrived at the hotel about 7:00 p.m., checked in and Michael got us some bottled water at a store around the corner (we can't drink the tap water here). After the long day and being in the same clothes for more than 24 hours, we were each ready for showers, ordered room service (Chinese dumplings and fried rice) and called it a night. Cackie & I slept in one room, and Deanna & Michael were across the hall. Cackie & I woke up about 3:00 a.m. (2:00 p.m. to us/central time), but had to try to go back to sleep to make sure we had energy and got adjusted to the time difference.


Our hotel lobby...isn't it beautiful!


My & Cackie's beds.

This morning, we went downstairs for a HUGE breakfast buffett that was delicious. Our plan is to meet Helen downstairs and go to the Temple of Heaven. Then, we are going to relax close to the hotel for the rest of the day.
Stay tuned...

It's about that time!

All of the packing is done and we're ready to go! As the last link says (that Cackie is holding in this pic) "I leave today". We've gotta get to bed EARLY because we have to be up around 2:30 a.m. We will have about a 5 hour layover in Chicago, so we'll get to meet our Uncle Donald at the airport for some breakfast and down time before getting on the flight to Beijing.

I can't believe it's really here! Now, the real fun begins! Until next time....

1 Week!

Well, folks...only 1 week left and I will be on my way to Beijing! For those of you who might not know that much about what's done on these adoption trips, here's our trip itinerary: 4/29 - Fly to Chicago, then on to Beijing 4/30 - Arrive in Beijing 5/1 - Rest day & explore on our own 5/2 & 5/3 - Beijing tours 5/4 - Depart for Tianjin 5/5 - Gotcha Owen! 5/6 - Adoption Registration & Notarization 5/7 - 5/9 - Free time in Tianjin 5/10 - Depart for Guangzhou (White Swan... here we come!) 5/11 - Free day in Guangzhou 5/12 - Owen's visa photo & physical 5/13 - Consulate Appointment 5/14 - Oath at the U.S. Consulate 5/15 - Fly to Hong Kong, then on to Chicago and HOME So much to do between now & then! Thankfully I am caught up with most of my work stuff. At home, I have already taken care of organizing my bills that need to be paid while I'm gone, I've got most of my toiletries already purchased, and I have an idea of all the clothes I am going to take. So, all I need to do is pack! Really, that's easier said than done, because I have to pack for my time in Memphis (before & after the China trip) and for work, as I will start back to work with a 2-day meeting in Nashville. I won't actually make it back to Knoxville until May 23rd. This Thursday night, I'm going to have a "packing party" with one of my dearest friends, Erica, since she is so sad to see me leave Knoxville for a month (I am actually leaving this Friday to spend the weekend in Memphis before we fly out). I don't know what I'd do if it wasn't for her, because she is going to watch my house, get my mail and manage some of my bills for me while I'm gone. Is that a great friend or what??

New additions

As I am getting things together & preparing to pack for my trip, it is helpful to keep up with the various temperatures of the cities in China I will be visiting. So, I've added Weather Pixies for the temperatures in Beijing, Tianjin & Guangzhou. I hear that the weather in Beijing can be compared to that of NYC, and the weather in Guangzhou is like that of southern Florida. Thankfully, it's not too different and shouldn't be too difficult to pack for this time of year. My sister has advised me to be prepared to be HOT! Especially in Guangzhou. So, my plan is to pack many shorts, T-shirts & tank tops. I pretty much have everything prepared for...I can only check one bag on the plane, 44 lbs., and we will be able to have laundry done while we are there. But, if anyone has advice for lightweight, easy to pack stuff, let me know.

Travel Update

I see that I’ve had some more visitors, so I’m going to give an update… The dates for the trip are set! My sister got the travel confirmation today! We are leaving Memphis at 6 am (yeah, that means we have to be at the airport at like 4 am! Yippee!) on Tuesday, April 29th. We will have the first 2 days in Beijing, in which we will get to go to The Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, possibly an Acrobatics Show, and of course The Great Wall! "Gotcha Day" for my nephew, Owen, is arranged in Guangzhou (southern China) for May 5th...that's right, Cinco de Mayo in China! I wonder if they celebrate Cinco de Mayo...probably not! My sister has their appointment with the consulate on May 13th and we'll be returning to the states on May 15th. There is a lot to do between now & then, both at home & with work, so you can bet that I’ve been keeping busy! I’m excited & nervous at the same time, as you can see from my travel map at the bottom of my page, I haven’t traveled outside of North America (I’m looking forward to adding China to that map!), so I am certain that I’m in for some culture shock. That’s alright…I’m ready to explore things I’ve never seen before, eat some crazy Chinese food, and bring home my beautiful nephew to spoil!