Day 1 – Thursday, 2/10 – Washington, Dulles – departure flight through Newark to Beijing
Day 2 – Friday, 2/11 – Beijing – arrived in Beijing, checked into Radisson hotel, ate dinner at hotel Chinese restaurant, went shopping at Carrefour
So, we’ve already talked about the “Young Frankenstein” aspect of our flight. There were a few other highlights that are noteworthy. First, Lucy fought sleeping on the flight like I have never seen before. While this was extremely frustrating at the time, in retrospect, we think she might have been afraid that she would miss something on the plane. She slept less than 90 minutes on the whole flight. Yay. Second, our flight attendant, Debbie Reidy, was nothing short of awesome. She, like so many other people, fell in love with Lucy right away. We talked as often as her work would permit about our adoption journey and Lucy’s triumphant return to “her people” (Lucy’s words). Without any prompting or requesting, she brought several “extra” items back from the First Class section to Lucy, including the travel kit with lotion, lip balm, etc.; and a handful of chocolate truffles. We will certainly be sending a note of appreciation to Continental on her behalf.
We got into the Beijing airport without incident and found it to be very large, clean, and modern. This was no doubt due to the 2008 Olympics modernization efforts. Thankfully, all of our bags arrived at the airport and we cleared both immigration and customs without any major effort. Once we were officially processed into China, we met the AWAA guides, Lineker (“LEN-a-ker”) and Sherry, both of whom were two of our guides back in 2004. It was really good to see them again and Lucy couldn’t get enough of Sherry. From the first moment, Lucy was glued to Sherry and Sherry loved having Lucy as her shadow.
All seven families that were participating in the Beijing portion of the trip boarded the tour bus and rode to the Radisson Blu Hotel together. Along the way to the hotel, Sherry and Lineker gave us information about our trip and reviewed the schedule for the next few days. Once we arrived at the hotel, Sherry got us checked into our rooms, distributed our room keys, and reminded us of our schedule. We went to our room long enough for our bags to be delivered, then we went around the corner to Carrefour (a French version of a Super Wal-Mart) and did some shopping for food and supplies. We love shopping in these Chinese stores! There’s always something bizarre to be found and tried! Given the in-country luggage weight restrictions (mentioned in an earlier post), we decided not to go too crazy… yet…
So after buying a couple bags of things (including some apple soda), we returned to the hotel room to struggle through a difficult night’s sleep. While in the room, we got to enjoy the reminders of being in the middle of the two-week long celebration of Chinese New Year: decorations and firecrackers by the thousands.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Way Overdue Update (or, “Na-na, na-na, na-na, na-na Nanchang!”)
Holy cow! I am wayyy behind in sending out updates to the blog! Sorry, friends, readers, and Big Brother.
When last we left The Dynamic Duo plus one, they had just arrived in Beijing after flying for 14 weeks (or so it seemed). Here’s a quick summary post of what we’ve done and where we are today. Musings and observations follow in separate posts:
Day 1 – Thursday, 2/10 – Washington, Dulles – departure flight through Newark to Beijing
Day 2 – Friday, 2/11 – Beijing – arrived in Beijing, checked into Radisson hotel, ate dinner at hotel Chinese restaurant, went shopping at Carrefour
Day 3 – Saturday, 2/12 – Beijing – Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, pearl factory, Summer Palace, silk factory, Olympic stadium, tea house, Peking duck dinner
Day 4 – Sunday, 2/13 – Beijing – church service, jade factory, lunch, Great Wall, dumpling dinner, acrobat show, packing
Day 5 – Monday, 2/14 – Beijing/Nanchang – flight on Air China, arrived Nanchang, bus to the “Galactic Peace International Hotel”, walked to Civil Affairs office, Gotcha Day!
Day 6 – Tuesday, 2/15 – Nanchang – Notary visit, shopping at Wal-Mart, free time
Day 7 – Wednesday, 2/16 – Nanchang – Sightseeing at the Tengwang Pavilion, free time
Day 8 – Thursday, 2/17 – Nanchang – People’s Park, Porcelain shop, free time
Day 9 – Friday, 2/18 – Nanchang/Guangzhou – Chinese passport for BSP, flight on South China Airlines to Guangzhou, bus to Marriott’s “China Hotel”
Day 10 – Saturday, 2/19 – Guangzhou – Medical examination for Penny, shopping, free time
More detailed information to follow...
When last we left The Dynamic Duo plus one, they had just arrived in Beijing after flying for 14 weeks (or so it seemed). Here’s a quick summary post of what we’ve done and where we are today. Musings and observations follow in separate posts:
Day 1 – Thursday, 2/10 – Washington, Dulles – departure flight through Newark to Beijing
Day 2 – Friday, 2/11 – Beijing – arrived in Beijing, checked into Radisson hotel, ate dinner at hotel Chinese restaurant, went shopping at Carrefour
Day 3 – Saturday, 2/12 – Beijing – Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, pearl factory, Summer Palace, silk factory, Olympic stadium, tea house, Peking duck dinner
Day 4 – Sunday, 2/13 – Beijing – church service, jade factory, lunch, Great Wall, dumpling dinner, acrobat show, packing
Day 5 – Monday, 2/14 – Beijing/Nanchang – flight on Air China, arrived Nanchang, bus to the “Galactic Peace International Hotel”, walked to Civil Affairs office, Gotcha Day!
Day 6 – Tuesday, 2/15 – Nanchang – Notary visit, shopping at Wal-Mart, free time
Day 7 – Wednesday, 2/16 – Nanchang – Sightseeing at the Tengwang Pavilion, free time
Day 8 – Thursday, 2/17 – Nanchang – People’s Park, Porcelain shop, free time
Day 9 – Friday, 2/18 – Nanchang/Guangzhou – Chinese passport for BSP, flight on South China Airlines to Guangzhou, bus to Marriott’s “China Hotel”
Day 10 – Saturday, 2/19 – Guangzhou – Medical examination for Penny, shopping, free time
More detailed information to follow...
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Short & Sweet
Mystery blogger here. I received a quick word from Andrew this morning:
All is good. Exhausted & crazy busy. Penny's more of a handful (thank you, Karma) than Lucy was. Working on catching up on the blog.
All is good. Exhausted & crazy busy. Penny's more of a handful (thank you, Karma) than Lucy was. Working on catching up on the blog.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Photos from Day 1 in Beijing (no BSP yet)
I just wanted to pass along a few pics from Beijing. No sightseeing yet, just meeting up with an old friend and having some dinner.
 |
| Sherry was our guide when we got Lucy! |
Notes from the Plane Ride (or "How We Got to Beijing")
Today started with a 4:00 AM wake-up alarm for Melanie and me. Actually, both Melanie and I were up until Wednesday turned to Thursday. At least we were both in bed by 1:30 AM with 99% of everything packed and standing by the door. After just a few hours of sleep for the umpteenth day in a row, it was physically rough getting up, but the little red thread tugging at our hearts made it much easier than our bodies would admit. We took care of the final chores around the house, showered, got dressed, and woke up Boo around 4:30. She too seemed remarkably willing to “rise and shine” after a very late night (somewhere around 10:00 PM). With almost all of our last minute items complete, our dear friend, Amy Noory arrive at about 4:50 to give us a ride to the airport. That’s some kind of friend who will be at your house before 5:00 AM on a school day to give you a lift. Amy, we can’t thank you enough!
At the airport we went through a self-check-in kiosk and got our bags checked all the way through to Beijing (or so they’ve told us). I’m a tiny bit nervous about their ability to get them delivered, given the hypothetical merger of Continental (our primary carrier) and United (the operator of the flight from Dulles to Newark). Although we checked in with United in Dulles, Melanie and Lucy had to “re-check-in” with Continental in Newark. While we haven’t had any real trouble or difficulties, I just don’t have a great degree of certainty that we’ll see our bags right away in Beijing. That said, we’re hoping that since there was only one plane change (Newark), the handlers had a better chance of getting our bags on the right flight.
We’re now about three hours and 45 minutes into our Beijing flight, roughly 1800 miles flown since Newark, and we’re over the middle of the Davis Straight (between Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea). In our “up and over” polar route to Beijing both our geographical and chronological skills seem to be tested. It’s getting dark now, but it’s not even 4:00 PM EST yet. This is a result of flying this far north during the winter – it may be “the land of the midnight sun” during the summer, but this time of year the Arctic is more dark and dreary the closer you get to the pole.
During our last trip to China, we flew a route that took us from Detroit to Tokyo over Alaska. This time we won’t be flying over Monster Island, but we will see if we can see the lights on at a certain well-known workshop as we cross the North Pole. Before we get there, though, there’s still a lot of Greenland to cross.
For our first in-flight meal, we had a very nice meal. We got a choice of fish or beef, and all I could think about was the meal in the movie “Airplane!” in which all the people who chose fish got violently ill. Even though the movie offered “fish or chicken”, the similarity tickled me.
Regarding our fellow passengers, I would feel remiss to not point out that there always seems to be a lot of interest in getting on airplanes quickly when flying to, in, and from China. I can appreciate the enthusiasm with which people board the flights, but at some point the pushing and shoving does not improve the efficiency of the boarding process. Yet again Melanie had someone try to pass her while in the aisle of the plane with a suitcase in tow. Perhaps in some way, the rudeness helps these individuals arrive at their destination ahead of the rest of the passengers.
The gentleman seated directly behind me has some sort of illness that has had him coughing, sniffing, and then strangely grunting every 30 or so seconds. At first we thought he sounded like Billy Bob Thorton in “Slingblade”, but then we realized it was more the monster from Young Frankenstein during the dining room/Schwartzwalder kirsch torte/”yummy noise” scene. Every few groans, I’d lean over to Mel and say, “But you made a yummy noise”, or one of the other lines from the scene. Laughter is about the only way to deal with the situation.
We’re crossing over land now, Greenland. According to the plane’s info screen we still have 8:45 until we get to Beijing. So at this point, I think I’ll try and grab a nap on the plane. More blogging fun later.
At the airport we went through a self-check-in kiosk and got our bags checked all the way through to Beijing (or so they’ve told us). I’m a tiny bit nervous about their ability to get them delivered, given the hypothetical merger of Continental (our primary carrier) and United (the operator of the flight from Dulles to Newark). Although we checked in with United in Dulles, Melanie and Lucy had to “re-check-in” with Continental in Newark. While we haven’t had any real trouble or difficulties, I just don’t have a great degree of certainty that we’ll see our bags right away in Beijing. That said, we’re hoping that since there was only one plane change (Newark), the handlers had a better chance of getting our bags on the right flight.
We’re now about three hours and 45 minutes into our Beijing flight, roughly 1800 miles flown since Newark, and we’re over the middle of the Davis Straight (between Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea). In our “up and over” polar route to Beijing both our geographical and chronological skills seem to be tested. It’s getting dark now, but it’s not even 4:00 PM EST yet. This is a result of flying this far north during the winter – it may be “the land of the midnight sun” during the summer, but this time of year the Arctic is more dark and dreary the closer you get to the pole.
During our last trip to China, we flew a route that took us from Detroit to Tokyo over Alaska. This time we won’t be flying over Monster Island, but we will see if we can see the lights on at a certain well-known workshop as we cross the North Pole. Before we get there, though, there’s still a lot of Greenland to cross.
For our first in-flight meal, we had a very nice meal. We got a choice of fish or beef, and all I could think about was the meal in the movie “Airplane!” in which all the people who chose fish got violently ill. Even though the movie offered “fish or chicken”, the similarity tickled me.
Regarding our fellow passengers, I would feel remiss to not point out that there always seems to be a lot of interest in getting on airplanes quickly when flying to, in, and from China. I can appreciate the enthusiasm with which people board the flights, but at some point the pushing and shoving does not improve the efficiency of the boarding process. Yet again Melanie had someone try to pass her while in the aisle of the plane with a suitcase in tow. Perhaps in some way, the rudeness helps these individuals arrive at their destination ahead of the rest of the passengers.
The gentleman seated directly behind me has some sort of illness that has had him coughing, sniffing, and then strangely grunting every 30 or so seconds. At first we thought he sounded like Billy Bob Thorton in “Slingblade”, but then we realized it was more the monster from Young Frankenstein during the dining room/Schwartzwalder kirsch torte/”yummy noise” scene. Every few groans, I’d lean over to Mel and say, “But you made a yummy noise”, or one of the other lines from the scene. Laughter is about the only way to deal with the situation.
We’re crossing over land now, Greenland. According to the plane’s info screen we still have 8:45 until we get to Beijing. So at this point, I think I’ll try and grab a nap on the plane. More blogging fun later.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
First Mobile Posting (or "4AM Really Stinks!")
Here's a quick posting from the gate at Dulles Airport (IAD) to let everyone know we are en route. The theme of the day is "So far, so good" (SFSG). We executed our 0400 wake-up call, performed the remaining prepatory tasks, and met our driver (thanks Amy!) all on schedule. The trip to the airport, check-in and security all went frightenly smoothly. I'm not sure if that's proper grammar, but I haven't had more than 2.5 hours of sleep, so it will have to do.
I'll post more later today.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Flight Information and a Warning!
We've had several of our friends ask for our flight information, so I'm posting it below.
But first, for anyone considering taking advantage of our being away from home...
BE WARNED! We have two overly protective dogs, a cat with a history of injuring full-grown adults, a whole-house alarm system, a watchful former Marine next-door neighbor, and a house-sitter with a very low tolerance for B.S.. At least two of the aforementioned will be armed! Think again and live to tell about it, Bub.
But first, for anyone considering taking advantage of our being away from home...
BE WARNED! We have two overly protective dogs, a cat with a history of injuring full-grown adults, a whole-house alarm system, a watchful former Marine next-door neighbor, and a house-sitter with a very low tolerance for B.S.. At least two of the aforementioned will be armed! Think again and live to tell about it, Bub.
| Thursday 10 February 2011 | Air | ||
| Continental Airlines Inc - Flight CO 7655 | Status: | Confirmed | |
| OPERATED BY /UNITED EXPRESS/TRANS STATES AIRLINES | |||
| Depart: | Washington Dulles Int'l Airport | Airline Ref: | AS2CZP |
| Washington, DC, US | Seat: | 08A 08B 08C | |
| 8:17 AM | Class: | H-Economy/Coach | |
| Mileage: | 215 | ||
| Arrive: | Newark Int'l Airport | Travel Time: | 1:13 |
| Newark, NJ, US | Stopovers: | 0 | |
| 9:30 AM | Aircraft: | ER4 | |
| Terminal A | Meal: | ||
| Thursday 10 February 2011 | Air | ||
| Continental Airlines Inc - Flight CO 0089 | Status: | Confirmed | |
| Depart: | Newark Int'l Airport | Airline Ref: | AS2CZP |
| Newark, NJ, US | Seat: | 43D 43E 43F | |
| 11:50 AM | Class: | H-Economy/Coach | |
| Terminal C | Mileage: | 6817 | |
| Arrive: | Beijing Capital Airport | Travel Time: | 13:45 |
| Beijing, CN | Stopovers: | 0 | |
| Friday, February 11, 2011 | |||
| 2:35 PM | Aircraft: | Boeing 777-200/300 | |
| Terminal 3 | Meal: | Lunch | |
| Friday 25 February 2011 | Air | ||
| Continental Airlines Inc - Flight CO 0098 | Status: | Confirmed | |
| Depart: | Hong Kong Int'l Airport | Airline Ref: | AS2CZP |
| Hong Kong, CN | Seat: | 20D 20E 20F | |
| 11:25 AM | Class: | H-Economy/Coach | |
| Terminal 1 | Mileage: | 8055 | |
| Arrive: | Newark Int'l Airport | Travel Time: | 15:20 |
| Newark, NJ, US | Stopovers: | 0 | |
| 1:45 PM | Aircraft: | Boeing 777-200/300 | |
| Terminal B | Meal: | Lunch | |
| Friday 25 February 2011 | Air | ||
| Continental Airlines Inc - Flight CO 3262 | Status: | Confirmed | |
| OPERATED BY /COLGAN AIR DBA CONTINENTAL CONNECTION | |||
| Depart: | Newark Int'l Airport | Airline Ref: | AS2CZP |
| Newark, NJ, US | Seat: | 06A 06B 06C | |
| 3:25 PM | Class: | H-Economy/Coach | |
| Terminal C | Mileage: | 215 | |
| Arrive: | Washington Dulles Int'l Airport | Travel Time: | 1:30 |
| Washington, DC, US | Stopovers: | 0 | |
| 4:55 PM | Aircraft: | BOMBARDIER Q400 TURBOPROP-2 ENGINES | |
| Meal: | |||
Friday, February 4, 2011
Cultural Education (or "I'd have rather had a moon PIE")
We are now five days and a few hours away from our scheduled flight time! (Keep checking the Countdown Timer tab!) The excitement (a.k.a. "Stress") keeps building by the minute. We've double-checked our paperwork for our trip and we've started packing suitcases. We've set aside our original orphanage donations for a local christian charity that helps homeless and needy families in our area.
An interesting story of cultural education:
With the Lunar or "Chinese" New Year, we decided to do a little celebrating with BSP's godparents & their children. We went to an authentic Chinese restaurant in east Fairfax that has long been a favorite of ours. As always, the dinner was phenomenal and the service was wonderful. Once we were done with dinner and had paid the check, the waitress brought out an unexpected and unidentified gift for us. The gift was an odd, heavy, round, brown, pie-like object with five red fruit or beans on top and a leaf wrapper underneath. It was roughly eight inches in diameter and more than an inch thick. |
| One half of the object |
- The Chinese are really bad at desserts, and this was really bad by Chinese standards.
- This was a decoration, made in fact from synthetic materials and was not meant for consumption.
- This was the Chinese equivalent of the immortal fruitcake and was meant to be eternally re-gifted.
- This was a practical joke that went too far - and the wait staff are still laughing at us.
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