Beijing Day 3

Yesterday we went to The Great Wall. It was so beautiful and it doesn't matter how many pictures I post, it will not do it justice. We cheated and took a cable car to the top and that was fine by me! We spent alot of time just walking the wall and taking it all in. It was our last day to be with our guide, Alice, and our new travel buddies. It was a day of laughter and excitement knowing the 4 of us were one day closer to our Gotcha Day! Alice took us to another local restaurant and it was soooo delicious! My favorite so far. I am still very cautious about dining options, but Alice took care of us and ordered meals she knew we would like.

Right after lunch we headed to the airport. We dropped Dan and Jodie off first and Eric and I waited in the van for Alice to return. While she was inside, I realized I needed a potty break. It took her longer than expected but when she got in the van, she said our terminal was just a few minutes away. No problem. I can hold it. Well, imagine my panic when we went around the corner and the traffic was at a complete stop. Apparently a diplomat was passing thru and no cars could get by. COMPLETE STOP. People were getting out of their cars and standing on the highway! The driver kindly offered to pull over and step out of the vehicle so I wouldn't be embarrassed to "go in a plastic bag". Umm, no thank you. I can hold it. Minutes ticked by and finally I had to make a choice. Pottie in a bag?? Go on the side of the road-believe me, thought about it! These people would never see me again so why not?? The driver was finally able to exit and pull over in the median so Alice and I could run into the small hotel just a few feet away. Not even joking-it was the Norman Bates Hotel. I had to go so bad I didn't take it all in, but I did see narrow, dark hallways, low ceilings, room doors open, people smoking, etc. You get the picture. We navigated thru several hallways until we finally found the "washroom" outside at the back of the hotel. A squatty potty. Sigh. I had avoided them for days but now I was left with no choice. Alice kept me company so we are now very connected with a special bond!

Our flights were delayed and thankfully there was one sweet girl at our gate that spoke English and she was able to tell us the new time for departure. Eric and I roamed the airport until it was finally time to get on the bus that would take us to the plane. Of course it was a tiny plane, I'm pretty sure I could hear the tiny prop ticking and it was a rough flight. As I mentioned before, not for sissies! All I could think is "HOW did we get here????".

We were 3 hours late and it was almost midnight, but our new guide, Sandra, was there to meet us. She helped us get checked in and settled into our new home. Our hotel is AMAZING. We are so fortunate because sometimes the locations are not so great. The hotel is beautiful, the staff are very accomodating, and breakfast was very similar to the U.S. The hotel manager met us after breakfast with a welcoming gift and apologized he wasn't here when we checked in. There's even a track meet going on outside of our window.

We are waiting patiently for the phone call that says our baby girl is downstairs. We have no clue what to expect but fortunately, the long wait is almost over. We will have her in our arms TODAY. Tomorrow is her birthday and she gets a new family for her 2nd birthday!

I will post pictures as soon as I can-it all depends on how the day goes!