Today was a very busy day. We
woke up early as we had a scheduled pre-paid tour courtesy
of CCAI. The tour was for our whole travel group. There
are 28 people in our group. Everyone is very friendly and
our guide, Matthew was very knowledgeable. We left the
hotel at 8:30am and went to Victoria's Peak. Victoria's
Peak is located at the top of a mountain and enables
visitor's to see the Hong Kong skyline and surrounding
area. It was hazy but very beautiful. We were able to
compare a picture of the skyline from 50 years ago until
now. The amount of buildings that are now built is
amazing. Hong Kong has the 4th tallest building
in the world. There was a really nice mall located on the
Peak as well. Several of us flooded into the Hard Rock Café
shop to get shirts and buttons to commemorate the visit. We
understand that there is a tram that goes to the top of the
Peak. We arrived by bus but wish we had time for the tram.
We heard the view was unbelievable.
We then went to Aberdeen fishing
village. This was my favorite stop of the day. There are
many people who both live and fish in the harbor. We were
able to ride a Sampan boat around the harbor (see picture).
They have a floating restaurant in the harbor that seats
3,100 people. The restaurant used to be much larger and
seat 4,500 people but they took a section to the Philippines
to make a floating casino. There are approximately 12
floating casinos in Hong Kong. Gambling is very popular
here. The ride around the harbor took about 25 minutes.
The weather was perfect!!!
From Aberdeen we moved on to a
jewelry market. It was very similar to the 2 others we have
been to in Beijing. You walk in, they give an introduction,
you learn how they make the jewelry and then you get to walk
around the "showroom" as many many sales people tell you how
you NEED this or that or you will be sorry when you return
to the US. We have purchased items at both the pearl market
and jade market in Beijing so Brandon's credit card has been
smokin'. Well, we decided to buy a small jade pendant for
Kiah for when she turns 16. Of course we then needed a
CHAIN for the pendant. So for Brandon.. these market stops
are not good news!!! Kiah has SO MUCH jewelry already and
she is only 8 months old!!!
We then went to Stanley Market
which is similar to an outdoor flea market. We spent about
40 minutes poking around the various stalls. We only made 1
small purchase as we are trying to save luggage space (and
money!!!) and we are planning on shopping in Guangzhou. We
were then treated to a dim sum lunch. We have never eaten
dim sum so this was an experience for us. We are usually
not that adventurous!!! We had many little dumplings filled
with various meats and vegetables. We checked to make sure
none of the food was moving or making noise. Some food
items were good and others weren't. At any rate it was a
great experience and it was wonderful seeing the whole group
surrounding the 3 tables. We had a private room and special
wait staff to serve us.
We thought about staying in the
Kowloon area of Hong Kong after lunch and taking the Ferry
across the Harbor however the thought of traveling back on
the subway by ourselves was overwhelming. It was 4pm by the
time we got back to the hotel. We decided to go to our room
and chill out. I did a little packing as we have to have
our bags outside our rooms by 7:15am tomorrow. This is of
great concern for Brandon and I'm sure he will stand out in
the hall with the bags until they are picked up. We are
told that our bags are "safe" but since we are not used to
the whole "5 star hotel" process, we are weary of leaving
our belongings unattended. We are flying to Nanchang
tomorrow!!! We have found yet another family with a Yingtan
baby. This makes 4 now. We think this family's baby has
the same foster mother as Kiah. She was born the day before
Kiah and was sent to foster care at the age of 1 day old.
If this is correct then the girls have been together for the
last 8 months. We will find out more tomorrow. We can't
wait!!!
Things are chugging along at
home. Jacob had a good week at daycare despite having a bad
cold. This week has been homecoming week for Katelyn. They
had a wonderful pep rally and Katelyn has reported that they
lost the game on Friday night in triple overtime by 1
point!!! That is unfortunate but we all know that the
Battlefield Bobcats are awesome!!! And their cheerleaders
are more awesome!!! (Jessica Simpson would have said "awesomer"
but I know that is not a word!!! Katelyn would have used
this word!!! Our school tax dollars at work!!!) Katelyn
has her first homecoming dance tomorrow night. She is going
with her date, Nick as friends. He was very sweet to buy
her homecoming ticket. I haven't seen this kid but all
reports are good. I hope she has a great time and takes
lots of pics!!!
We ended the evening with a nice
dinner at Ruby Tuesday's. We met up with the 2 couples we
were with in Beijing and walked to the mall. The mall was
PACKED. Evidently this mall receives the most shopping
visitors every year. We were able to get a table
immediately as long as we promised to be finished by
7:30pm. One interesting thing we found out this evening..
When we received the food bill from Ruby Tuesday's we
noticed a 10% service charge on the bill. We immediately
thought that a tip had been included in our bill since there
were 6 people. Brandon happened to ask the waitress and she
said the 10% change was for the "company" and her tip was
not included. What the heck is the "company"???? She
didn't answer us when we asked. Again.. HMMMMMMM.
We are having a great time
however we are still homesick and missing the kids like
CRAZY!!!
We get Kiah in less than 24
hours. It is amazing to think that she is spending her last
night with her loving foster family. There is a saying with
adoptive families when they get their children. "Our hellos
are their goodbyes." I'm sure it will be very hard for her
foster mother to bring her to the orphanage tomorrow morning
after she has cared for Kiah for the last 8 months. We have
created a photo album for her with pictures of Kiah and of
us. We want her to know that we will love and care for Kiah
forever and that we truly appreciate every single thing she
has done for our daughter. It is a little surreal to think
that we will finally be holding her TOMORROW. I began
thinking of this adoption back in June 2003. Brandon agreed
to the adoption in April 2004 and we began the process in
Oct 2004. It has been 12 months of paperwork, waiting,
hoping, praying and finally loving this little girl who we
have yet to meet. It all culminates tomorrow when an
orphanage caregiver from Yingtan City SWI hands us our
daughter at the Nanchang Civil Affairs Office. WOW!!!
Indescribable!!!
Please pray for us as we
continue this journey. Please pray for Kiah's adjustment
and transition. And PLEASE pray for Jacob and Katelyn at
home. It is very hard to be away from them. Thank you all
so so much for following our journey and praying for us.
Stay tuned for our GOTCHA DAY pics tomorrow!!!
Kiah, here we come baby!!!
Mommy and Daddy are on their way!!!
Jacob and Katelyn, WE LOVE YOU
TO THE MOON AND BACK!!! Less than 2 weeks now kiddos!!!
Love,
The Hong Kong Bakers (at least
for another couple of hours!!!)
