5/3 - Today was our last day together as a group. We hit the breakfast bar with Tara and Aaron as soon as it opened. The food was great like always. I tried some pickled something that looked like caterpillar larvae. You will have to see the picture to believe it! Anyways it was really a vegetable root. The reason I'm telling you this is because Dan had a handfull, too, which came back to haunt him later in the trip. We packed our luggage and repacked and repacked trying to keep both suitcases under 20 kg. After we got to the airport, Zhou said they combine the wait and count it that way! Oh well. We met the bus and others at 9:00 am again and headed to the Temple of Heaven. This is where the Emperor would go to pray for a good harvest. It reminded me of the Forbidden City in that there were lots of different courtyards and structures, but not individual rooms. There were many gardens (and restrooms) along the way, too. It looks to me like the Chinese people come to these landmarks and hang out the way we might go to a local park - just a lot more crowded. Halfway through the trip, the pickled caterpillars caught up with Dan. The next stop was the bus and a shopping emporium. There were 4 floors of shopping with little vendors set up to sell their wares. They were vultures. "Lady, Lady, lookie, lookie, you want a purse?" Everything was for sale - knock off purses, clothes, shoes and jewelry. Most places to shop are on the barter system. We looked, but I knew there was no room left in the suitcase. There will be more shopping in Guanzhou when we have Kimberly's suitcase and the weight limit is 50 lbs. The Harp family had to split because they had an early flight out. We finished up our visit along with the other 3 families and headed to the Hard Rock Cafe for a relaxing lunch. Dan was revived and tried the soup. After a little shopping in the store we headed to the airport. Zhou walked us in and helped us check in and sent us off at the security gate. We waited for 2 hours and boarded a bus to drive us out on the tarmac to climb a large plane. It was an easy flight, but my stomach was a little quesy, probably from anticipation of what is to come. Vickie, our local guide, was waiting for us at the airport after we collected our luggage. She has worked for the adoption center for 7 years and explained the events for the week. Changsha is the capital city of Hunan Province. Hengyang City, where Kimberly was found is about a 2-1/2 hour ride away. The Hunan Province is known for their agriculture - lots of rice patties and fish. Hunan means south of the lake and the name came from their location. Hunan is south of the second largest lake in China and is also home to part of the longest river in China. There is not a lot of factories here, but they do have a bike and twin engine factory in the outskirts of the city. Traffic is crazy, like in Beijing; Vickie called it "unorganized". That is an understatement! Scooters, cars and pedestrians weave in and out of the streets and somehow manage not to hit each other. In general, there is a lot of horn blowing and swerving. The hotel is downtown and beautiful; it looks like Vegas! Vickie helped us check in and we headed upstairs to crash before the BIG DAY!

5/2 - We started the day again at 4:00 am China time. That's what happens when we go to sleep without dinner the night before! We picked up around the hotel and headed down to breakfast early. Most of the other couples appear to be on the same schedule, too. When 8:30 rolled around, we headed down to meet Zhou and the bus. Today's adventure started at the Opera House, locally called the Bird Egg. Yesterday we saw the Bird Nest, the Olympic Stadium. Somewhere in Beijing there is a communications station that is called the Bird Leg. The Opera House was surrounded by water and beautiful! It was built prior to the Olympics and cost millions of dollars. There were 4 or 5 floors and 3 full theatres inside, along with many galleries and small stages. We sat down for one mini performance and chatted up with a local computer science student who was interested in America. The people here are very friendly and curious about us. Next we walked to Tienneman Square, which is the largest square in the world. It was bustling with people, so we didn't get the full effect of what happened here 20 years ago. Dan was a little nervous about the crowds, but we've been told China is a very safe place. The security and military presence was heavy. It was surrounded by political buildings where the dignitaries meet when they are in country. We headed off under the many-lane road and came to the Forbidden City. This estate was used by the previous emperors and has 999,999 room. It is now a National landmark. It really is like a city - many different buildings and courtyards attached to walkways. We didn't really get to see inside any of the buildings, but we did venture to the back by the gardens. There were trees that were hundreds of years old, beautiful flowers and a huge rock that was used to climb and see for miles. Speaking of miles, it feels like we must have walked miles! Zhou set up rickshaw rides and a traditional lunch in a family's home next. Dan and I squeezed into a rickshaw which was operated by a bike and driver. We were by many small courtyards and this looked like a common setup in Hutong. These homes were hundreds of years old and very valuable due to their location and history. The home where we stopped had been in the family for 4 generations. The wife, husband and daughter lived next to the father's parents. We only met the mother, who was a great cook, and the translator, Kendy. I was a little afraid when I saw 4 crickets in little cages on the table. I was told those were for good luck - not eating! The house consisted of a living/dining room area, bedroom, small kitchen and a shared bathroom. It was nothing like a home in America. A typical home cooked lunch was totally different than I expected and DELICIOUS! We thanked the woman and headed back to the bus. Before we boarded, we stopped at a porcelain factory and saw how they make clay vases, apply color and glaze and cook them in the kiln. By this time we were all beat and hot. The bus took us to the silk factory, which was one of my favorites. We saw exquisite silk oriental rugs. The finer and larger rugs can take one worker up to 1-1/2 years to make! The real thing is beautiful and the price was steep. Upstairs we learned how the silk moth becomes a worm and eventually spins the cocoon. It was cool to see the entire process of how to make silk thread and a silk comforter. We purchased a silk comforter which will need a cover, but should be cool in the summer and warm in the winter and will last 30-40 years. The showroom was filled with scarves, ties, clothes, handbags and other decor. I settled for 2 meters of beautiful fabric. I missed my fabric shopping buddy, Celeste, but Dan helped me pick a beautiful lavendar fabric with pastel butterflies that I hope Kimberly will like. We piled into the bus and headed back to the hotel. Zhou briefed us on what to expect for the next few days when we all go our seperate ways to the orphanages. We will meet up again in Ghaunzhou with our babies in less than one week. Today was our last full day in Beijing and I originally wanted to go to dinner tonight, but it looks like sleep one out again! Dan has discovered that Chinese food is very easy on his stomach and a big breakfast means no dinner necessary.

5/1 - Since we went to bed early last night, we woke up early this morning, probably about 4:00 am Beijing time. We unpacked, watched CNN and checked email. By 6:00 I was ready to roll so we went for a walk outside with the camera. 6:00 am in Beijing looks a lot different then 6:00 pm! We decided to check out the hotel continental breakfast - good choice! There was Chinese and American food at the buffet. We've been told - no ice, no water and no fresh fruit. So we stuck to fried rice, bacon, sausage, pancakes, french toast, croissants and potatoes. After a filling breakfast we met in the lobby for our day's adventure with Zhou. Our first stop was the jade factory. We learned about the hard gemstone jade and jadeite. We saw some workers carving jade and saw many fine pieces of jewelry and sculptures. Unbeknownst to us, May 1st is a holiday in China - their version of Labor Day. The trip to the Great Wall was modified since there were so many tourists. We started to walk around and came upon a mass wedding. The brides were beautiful and all a size 2! Half of the families made the loop and the other half made a small venture around. Dan and I were in the latter group. We took it easy on the knees. The great wall is really thousands of steps going up a mountain! Instead of climbing, we bartered with the local merchants. They saw americans and called us over. Ken and Dan were mobbed by Chinese wanting their pictures taken with Americans. The wall itself is very impressive. About 1:00 pm we left and headed to lunch, which was really the Friendship store in disguise. We learned how they make copper/brass vases and color with the beautiful inlay. After the quick tour we sat down to lunch which was served family style. We had some sort of sweet & sour chicken, breaded chicken, pepper steak, rice and some other dishes that I didn't try. Neither one of us tested the fish that was in full attire on a plate. We walked around the store after lunch where they sell all kinds of pretty little trinkets. Mid-afternoon we left and headed to the Olympic stadium. We all traveled together in a small bus and had room to relax. The traffic by the stadium was CRAZY again. I guess everybody had the same idea for a way to spend their holiday. The plan was to see the inside of the stadium but found out it was closed once we got there. It was closed because of the holiday. We were able to take some pictures from the outside and then headed back to the hotel which is where I am now. Mary Clare nicknamed Dan Freckles on the busride back. Aaron was named Showoff. I'm not sure what they decided to name her, other than Too Much Energy. Dan is napping and I am tapping and munching on some of his chips. He bought cucumber flavored chips and they are pretty good! The food has been excellent and his stomach seems to be doing fine. He had an earache after we landed yesterday, but it seems to be better this afternoon. And our luggage made it in one piece. What could be better?

4/29 - The alarm clock didn't go off and we woke up 35 minutes late, but still got to the airport on time. Good thing John showed up early! After that little SNAFU all went well. We met the Harp family - Ken, Sharen, ShuShu and sister Sue while we were waiting for our plane. We were delayed leaving Cleveland by about 15 minutes and had an easy flight to Chicago. After sitting in Chicago for almost 4 hours we took off on the longest plane ride of our lives! Lucky us, we got bumped to Economy Plus! That means about 2 inches extra of leg room. We went up through Canada and above Alaska and over the Berring Sea. Coming down over Russia we hit some turbulence about 1-1/2 hours before our arrival. The ride was LONG and the seats were not made for sleeping. Somewhere on the plane, Dan found the Finnegan family - Jamie, Kathy and Mary Claire. We landed in Beijing about 3:00 pm local time (3:00 am Cleveland time) and were running on maybe 1-2 hours of sleep on the plane. We met Tara and Aaron (can't spell the last name) and Barry and Denise Schwartz at the baggage claim. We made our way through Customs - piece of cake and met Zhou (Joe), our guide. John, our bus driver, took us to the Holiday Inn Beijing where we checked into our rooms. The room is small and has a king size bed that is hard as a board. The lights only stay on for 1-2 mintues unless you leave the key in the inside key slot. That is one way that China conserves energy. The traffic was CRAZY driving to the hotel. We saw lots of people on bikes and small cars and some out walking their dogs. After a 20 minute break at the hotel, Zhou took us to the local supermarket and showed us around some. There is a Pizza Hut, McDonalds and KFC within walking distance of the hotel. Dan bought some chips and pop at the supermarket and we crashed for the night.

Well as most of you know, We leave out in the morning. It will be full day (19 hrs) of travel to reach Beijing, China. We will post as often as we can. And keep all our friends and family as updated. So start looking for updates about Thursday or Friday. Thanks to all that have helped. And we will see you all soon.
Dan&Julie.

The baby shower.

What a GREAT DAY. The weather was the best it's been this spring so fare. Friends and family started to arrive about 2 pm. And the temp. at that time was well into the mid 70's. The food was fantastic, And there was plenty to go around to all. And the kids all had a blast. Julie's aunt Char brought some small animals to pet from there farm. And I'm sure that they had fun on the slide and jungle gym.

And a BIG Thank You for all the gifts. I am sure Kimberly will enjoy them all.

It was so nice to see old friends and family that we have not seen in such a long time.

Dan.

4/17/2009

It all starts now. 1-1/2 weeks away from our trip to China and the night before the baby shower. Actually it all started over a year ago.

This site will be used to keep our friends and family up to date on Kimberly's adventures in China and after we come home. This picture is one of Dan's favorite and was taken late January/early February at the orphanage. We are anxious to see how much she has grown since then. With Dan's cooking at home, she'll be sure to grow big and strong!