Friday, October 17, 2008
WE ARE IN GUANGZHOU!!!

Today was a hectic day which is why this update is LATE!!! SORRY!!!

We woke up later than usual and made it down to breakfast. I was very upset as the buffet had been picked clean and we were forced to sit in the back of the restaurant where people were smoking. We had to wait 15 minutes to get food which made the kids (and us) very unhappy. We were asked to stay in our hotel room this morning so our guide could deliver Logan's adoption paperwork. We spent the time relaxing and packing for our afternoon flight. We hadn't heard from our guide by 11am so we phoned her to see if we could sneak out for some lunch. We had to meet in the lobby to check out of the hotel at 1pm and we knew if we didn't eat lunch before we left that it would be a LONG afternoon with NO food. About 20 minutes later our guide Chai came to our room with our paperwork. We were sad to hear that she would not be able to accompany us to the airport because of a prior commitment. It was a tearful goodbye. She was a wonderful guide... very friendly and knowledgeable and she really loved Kiah. After our goodbyes we were forced to eat at Burger King for lunch due to our time constraints. After lunch we completed packing and met in the lobby. Nancy, the guide that helped us with Luke's adoption, assisted us at the airport. Nancy had come to greet us on Gotcha Day as she remembered us from last year. We had pleasant conversation with her on the 40 minute drive to the airport. She got our tickets and helped us check-in.

We had about 2 hours before our flight so we walked around and ate some snacks. We kept Logan awake so he could sleep on the flight. We boarded the plane and took off on time. Logan slept for 1 hour of the flight and played quietly the rest of the time. We arrived in Guangzhou at 7pm. Our guide Bob met us at baggage claim. For Logan's adoption we chose to stay at the Victory Hotel instead of the White Swan. Brandon really wanted to stay at the White Swan however we are traveling during the Canton Trade Fair and hotel prices are crazy. We got to the Victory Hotel and checked in. We got to our room to find we were in a tiny cramped room. The toilet didn't flush properly and the window was 1/2 obstructed by a cement wall! To say I was angry was an understatement. We are paying top dollar even here at the Victory. After Bob left we inquired with the front desk about cha nging rooms. They told us they had suites available but it would cost us more. When we originally booked the rooms we were willing to pay for the suite however our agency thought the price was too high so we were booked in a regular room. We were willing to pay the extra money for a different room. We told the hotel staff that we were going to eat dinner and that we wanted to view a new room when we came back. We went to eat dinner at Lucy's restaurant. OH HOW I WAS SO HAPPY TO SEE THAT RESTAURANT!!! Chicken Quesadillas never tasted so good!!!

After dinner we took a look at the suite and I wanted to move immediately but we were already moved into the other room so they wanted us to wait until tomorrow. We went to bed soon after and slept well.

WE MISS AND LOVE YOU JAKE, LUKE and KATELYN! Hi Bobby!

More tomorrow!!!