We're in Beijing!!!

(M3's note: Catherine wrote this and emailed it over for posting because Blogger is blocked in Beijing right now. She sent it at 7am Pacific time on Friday, which was 10pm on Friday in China. I think...?? That's pre-coffee morning math...)

Mom and Dad arrived at my place bright and early at 4:45am Thursday morning. After some last minute packing...putting my clothes in an extra suitcase they had brought for me since I didn't have room for anything but a nightgown in Hannah's suitcase, we were off!! It was surreal to be driving out of the driveway and realize that the next time I entered my home it would be with Hannah in my arms!!!



Norma's hubby had dropped her off at the airport and she was waiting for us when we arrived. (Yes, this was our luggage and didn't include Norma's as she had already checked hers while waiting for us to arrive. Oops!) We checked in and then decided to grab one last cup of Tim's before taking to the skies. Our first flight was about 5 hours long and took us to Vancouver where we had a 3 hour layover before boarding our 10 hour flight to Beijing!!! Cool....we're going to China!!





One of the treats on our 2nd flight was flying over Alaska and seeing these beautiful mountains. They were breathtaking!!



We enjoyed having the individual screens to watch TV and movies and I we were all thankful they were there as it helped to pass the time. Got fidgety a few times but not bad. Caught 2 good naps of over an hour each which is a big help when just sitting there but excited to be reaching our destination!

We arrived in Beijing shortly after 4pm local time on Friday. Wow! We're in China!!! All went well with customs and the temperature checks. We were all glad to get the stamp of approval and be on our way! One of our guides for this trip is Sarah and she met us outside baggage claim. Georgia and Mike (who are adopting Tessa were there too so Sarah took a group pic for us. Not too bad considering we've been travelling for more than 24 hours by this point!





The drive to the hotel took us longer than normal as we hit Friday evening rush hour but it did give us an opportunity to see some of Beijing's beautiful buildings lit up. While we were travelling today we also came across these:

A guy waiting for his wife/girlfriend. Check out that bouquet!! Never have I seen such a bouquet. It was gorgeous!!

Yes, we're in Beijing and squatty potties abound. Norma took a pic of the first one she found. :o) Thankfully we had the option to choose a western style one so that was our preference given the choice!!



OK - MUST go to bed. Only got about an hour and a half sleep last night so my body says it needs sleep! Signing off for today and will post again either tomorrow or Sunday.

Greetings from Beijing!!! Only 3 more sleeps to Hannah!!!!