Monday, May 23
Well, our journey to Isabelle is officially out of St. Louis as
we headed to and arrived in Atlanta on the 21st. The
packed down minivan left our house at 0800 just as planned and
we stopped for gas and then went on our way. As we drove
and talked, I could have sworn that several two-seater speedsters passed and looked at the van and the driver shook his
head, but that could have been my imagination. Anyway back
to the trip, we were moving right
along when I told Stefanie that it is always interesting when
you cross railroad
tracks on an interstate! We looked at each other and that is about when
I realized that we were lost and that I needed to muster some
bravado and
explain that I knew exactly where we were. Stefanie, in
her usual loving manner, allowed me the opportunity to take more
rope to hang myself and said she didn't think any of the
surrounding countryside looked familiar but didn't say to stop.
Then, we saw the sign at the same time - We were headed
west! OH NO! A quick U-turn later and we had only
added 2.5 to 3
hours to our trip. Several back roads plus a stop for food
and we were back on
the interstate that we originally should have taken to
Nashville. We arrived in
Atlanta slightly behind schedule and were greeted by our
extended family.
The 22nd was a day of rest as Stefanie and her sister Angie went
shopping and I went with my brother-in-law Bob, his daughter
Avery, and Asher and Dalton to the pool. Some burgers were
had for dinner and then it was time for Desperate Housewives and
Grey's Anatomy. We prayed with the boys before bedtime and
that is when Stefanie and I realized the gravity of leaving
Asher and Dalton for the first time in their young lives.
Probably tougher for
us than for them because Angie and Bob love them very much and
will be awesome substitute parents while we are away.
Today we woke up to the realization that we fly out tomorrow to
get our precious daughter. Everyone is excited and we are
accomplishing some last minute details, including: packing,
washing clothes, saying goodbye to the boys, introducing
ourselves to the family that we will meet in Nanjing, and going
out to dinner with Stefanie's mom. Tomorrow it is off to
the
MARTA station for the trip to the airport and then we slip the
surly bonds of earth for our trip to China. |
|
 |
|
Trip
Itinerary |
|
Tue., May 24 |
Depart from Atlanta at 9:00 a.m.
Make stops in Detroit and Tokyo before arriving in
Guangzhou, China at 10:35 p.m. on Wednesday, May 25. |
|
Thu., May 26 |
Leave Guangzhou at 9:20 a.m. and
arrive in Beijing at 11:55 a.m. |
|
May 26-29 |
Make several tour stops in
Beijing, including the Great Wall and Forbidden City.
We'll also have the opportunity to shop. |
|
Sun., May 29 |
Depart Beijing at 12:45 p.m. and
arrive in Nanjing at 2:25 p.m. |
|
Mon., May 30 |
Gotcha Day! We receive Isabelle
YangTing, who will have traveled from the Huai'An SWI in the
province of Jiangsu (about four hours from Nanjing). |
|
Sat., June 4 |
Leave Nanjing and head back to
Guangzhou on Saturday, June 4. |
|
Tues., June 7 |
American Consulate appointment |
|
Wed., June 8 |
Chinese Visa issued |
|
Thu., June 9 |
Depart from Guangzhou at 8:20
a.m. and, after stops in Tokyo and Detroit, land in Atlanta
at 7:14 p.m. |
|
