In an effort to make the time change transition a little easier and to be able to sleep on the plane, I stayed up all night again this time. It seemed to work pretty well our last trip across the Pacific, well, other than Rodney constantly waking me up telling me that if he couldn't sleep I couldn't either...we are all about equality at our house (sarcasm alert!!). We left around 5:00 am (thanks Rick) and headed to the airport to catch our first flight.
Trying to minimize our luggage this trip, I cut our check in bags by 2 this time. Pretty impressive I think, considering the incredible urge to, "pack it just in case". It is really hard to not bring too much stuff. One of the bags was over by 4 lbs. So I pulled out some stuff and crammed in my backpack...totally messing up my whole system, but I managed :-) We finally boarded a plane headed for Newark, NJ...I mean a tiny, tiny plane headed for Newark, NJ. I don't consider myself claustrophobic, but I didn't like the close quarters at all. I have been on a 4 seat wide express jet before, but this one was 3 wide and was very "squatty". I was glad to get off that ride!
We arrived in Newark and grabbed some lunch. I have never been to NYC, so it was nice to see the NYC skyline as we ate. Flying above the city, we could see the Statue of Liberty as well as notable scrapers, like the Empire State Building.
Trying to minimize our luggage this trip, I cut our check in bags by 2 this time. Pretty impressive I think, considering the incredible urge to, "pack it just in case". It is really hard to not bring too much stuff. One of the bags was over by 4 lbs. So I pulled out some stuff and crammed in my backpack...totally messing up my whole system, but I managed :-) We finally boarded a plane headed for Newark, NJ...I mean a tiny, tiny plane headed for Newark, NJ. I don't consider myself claustrophobic, but I didn't like the close quarters at all. I have been on a 4 seat wide express jet before, but this one was 3 wide and was very "squatty". I was glad to get off that ride!
We arrived in Newark and grabbed some lunch. I have never been to NYC, so it was nice to see the NYC skyline as we ate. Flying above the city, we could see the Statue of Liberty as well as notable scrapers, like the Empire State Building.
Next, we were on our way to Hong Kong. Thankfully, the flight was far from full and Rodney and I had an empty seat on our row, so it was nice...lots better than the last time. We were all packed on that flight like a can of sardines! Not much fun to be cramped for 15 hours. We finally arrived at Hong Kong and soon boarded the flight to Guangzhou, a lovely 35 minute flight...wouldn't it be nice if they were all that short?!?
Our driver was waiting for us and took us to our hotel. We checked in and Rodney wanted to go search for some food...imagine that. He nearly made a mad dash to guess where? Lucy's! They were closing, so he has to wait yet another day for his sweet n sour pork. We made a stop at the Seven11 and got some soda and chips. It really didn't matter, we were both pretty whipped, yet somehow I only managed to sleep about 2 hours. I got up, showered and woke Rodney, because I was getting hungry!!
We hit the Victory breakfast buffet (Angela - it was goooooood!). We are staying in the annex this time, so we didn't do the main hotel buffet...which I prefer this one much more. The eating area is very cozy and the food is exactly the same - but without the very strong aroma ;-) Rodney had some fruit, an omelet, toast and seriously probably 3 glasses of orange juice. He definitely got his Vitamin C for the day. I had the fried rice, noodles, toast and dumplings. Honestly, all joking aside for those that remember my loathing the breakfast last time, it was really good...almost like comfort food in a way - odd.
Connie, our guide again, came to our room after breakfast and discussed the coming days and what we needed. We went to the bank to exchange some moola and headed to the department store for hairspray...hairspray? Oh yes, I opened my luggage last night when we arrived to discover that there was a very strong smell, like alcohol...no, perfume...no, HAIRSPRAY! Apparently one of our suitcases was searched because my toiletry bag was all messed up, the straps were undone and the cap on the hairspray was off...all of the hairspray sprayed out - in the bag, all over my denim capris (Shanda, can you believe - the same capris as the pen incident!) some socks and of course all the other items in the toiletry bag. So, after my shower, my hair looked fabulous. In fact, for the last 2 years I have joked Rodney about his "Buddha" comment from Connie - well this time, it was my turn. When she came in we were reminiscing and I asked about getting some hairspray, because there is nowhere on the island to buy any. She told me that she would take me to get some today if I wanted. She said that she remembered last time that my hair was always "so nice and pretty, not like now." How funny is that?
We got a cab and headed to the shopping mall...huge shopping mall. Found the hairspray, got some cookies for Elli and grabbed a cab back to the hotel. Now I am really under pressure. I mean, now Connie knows I have hairspray and is expecting good hair everyday! Just kidding, I am not that vain. And even though Connie remembered a lot about us, Anna and the boys, she obviously didn't remember my hair! We love her!
Tomorrow is free day again and then we will meet Connie on Monday afternoon at 2:00 pm to head to the Civil Affairs to meet Elli. Very exciting, nerve wrecking and anxious all rolled into one big butterfly in the pit of my stomach. She is 3...not a little baby that you can hold and console with rocking, bouncing or a bottle. We are trying to prepare for the worst reaction, but praying and hoping for the best. Either way, it will be a day that we will never forget.
Carter, Jacob, Parker and Anna,
This computer is sooooooo slow. It is about to drive me nuts! I have some pictures that I wanted to show you, but it will not let me download. I don't know what the deal is, but I am going to do some more tinkering and see what I can do. We hope that you all are having a good time, being good and helping out. We love you more than I can put into words and wish we could give you hugs and kisses...yes, Carter and Jacob - kisses!! I miss all of you so much and cannot wait to get home.
Rodney & Marcy
4 comments:
OH that's right....I forgot about the annex having a dining room now. Karen had told me that and said it was really good. That's SO much more convenient too. Glad it was "sans smell",lol. I just spewed my coffee laughing at Connie's comment about your hair....that is very Connie-like. Tell her I said hi, we miss her, and that I wish more than anything that I was there adopting again too. You probably got some kind of funky Chinese hairspray....good luck with that. ;) The entire trip last time I had horrible hair because my curling iron melted while plugged into my "supposed" adaptor. Besides, who can have good hair when it is 100% humidity and 96 degrees outside every day???? Anyway, love y'all and hope you are sleeping tight right now.
Angela
Well, I'm just waiting for the post about authentic Chinese food. And I want another pizza picture. Much love to you guys, and we're praying for you.
Yay!! I'm so excited that you are there!! We stayed at the Victory Annex also and loved it!! Can't wait to read more!!
Loved the hair story - I'm always glad to know I wasn't the only one stressing about hair problems. We arrived in Shanghei and spent our first night there, and I plugged my blowdryer into the supposed socket for "western appliances." We blew the fuses on all(?) the rooms in that wing, and it was so embarrassing. Workers were running in and out of our room, and who knows what they were saying (better I don't know!!). Since they never asked if I was responsible, I kept quiet and squelched the urge to ask to borrow one from the hotel. I looked AWFUL and felt like a very naughtly little kid!
Don't worry about Elli being almost three. Two of our girls were around this age, and it really WILL work. Not always easy at first, but you will start to notice a huge difference within days, and it gets progressively better. You've got lots of mom and dad experience, and she will sense that. Hope you're able to upload pictures by the time you get her. - I can't wait to see her!
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