We are home!

The last night in china caught up with us quickly and by the time we finished packing it was about 10pm and we had a 4:45am wake up call. We had a last meal in the Chinese Restaurant in our hotel that was excellent but very expensive for China (about $50 for 3 dishes plus rice and drinks).

It was a long day as we arrived at the airport in Guangzhou while it was still dark and boarded a China Southern plane destined for Hong Kong. We had a 2 1/2 hour layover but only ended up with about 1 hour to kill after checking in at the United Counter. Since we used our frequent flier miles for business class seats we were entitled to use of the United Red Carpet Lounge. WOW! We hadn't eaten breakfast and thought we could get a snack there. We were not expecting 3 different buffet counters with dim sum, salad bar, main courses, ice cream etc. In addition they have a shower facility available.

the flight home was long and crowded. Brooke and Sienna both did exceptionally well. Brooke had a bassinet and Sienna had video movies. Karen was too tired to watch any movies but slept for about 1/2 the flight. Everything was okay except there were two little Chinese Emperors sitting next to us who were running wild with no discipline by the parents who sat behind. Also, one of Karen's clients was setting in the same row on the next aisle. there is always six degrees of separation, as he had also been in Guangzhou on business.

Our arrival was a mess! U.S. immigration held us up for over an hour before they even looked at our paperwork. When they finally did get to us they were rude and very governmental in there attitude. The cell phone that John brought to call the shuttle company did not hold a charge and by the time we got out of immigration the terminal was pretty empty. We had to look for a place to get change for the pay phone and when we did call the shuttle we found out that there was a mix up and we were not scheduled till the afternoon. so we walked down to the taxi stop with 8 pieces of luggage and carry-on and tried to get a cab. the problem was that we had no car seat. Finally, one cab driver agreed to take us home. We had just enough change for the cab ride home.

After stepping through the welcome home sign on the front door (thank you Jan, Juliet and Ben) I went to the garage freezer to defrost the meals that were pre-made for our arrival home. apparently, there was a power shortage and everything had thawed maybe two weeks ago. Unfortunately, the meals including a big turkey and several packages of chicken, french toast etc. had to be thrown away.

so we had a bumpy end to what otherwise was a seamless trip. Brooke is doing incredibly well and we could not be more please. She is a very easy going and happy kid. Sienna is enjoying being the Big Cheese and letting everyone know she is the "Big Sister".

We are happy but tired!