Home at last

It took planes, trains, and automobiles and we finally made it home. Not really as adventurous as John Candy’s version, but we could not be happier to be home. For the most part the trip home was really smooth. Nathan did get sick all over Jackie on the last leg of plane travel from San Fran to Chicago, but otherwise he did real well. When we got into Chicago we were hoping to get in our SUV and take off, but United didn’t get our checked luggage on the plane to Chicago and I mistakenly put our vehicle keys in the checked luggage, so we were stuck in Chicago for the night waiting for the keys & luggage. Nathan did surprisingly well in our vehicle traveling from Chicago to Onalaska. He slept part of the way and then sat pretty well for the other half.

We finally got home around 1pm on Friday. Once home, Nathan seemed very happy exploring our home. He even let me carry him around a bit and show him the basement family room. He was so excited that he would not lie down for a nap either. Grandma and Grandpa Lenz came over with a Grandma-made home cooked meal. They also brought our doggies (Sophie and Riley) that they were caring for while we were gone. Nathan wasn’t too sure about the doggies at first, but he was not afraid of them. While eating supper, Nathan finally gave in to his heavy eyelids and fell right asleep in the high chair. The rest of us didn’t make it much longer than that either.
It is now 4am on Saturday morning and all five of us are awake dealing with the jet lag and colds.  Thank God for the 3 day weekend to get back on track.

Below are some more pictures of the final days of our journey.
--Craig

Walking around shops near hotel in Guangzhou

Shop selling meats

Fast food (China style)

Abby & Micah enjoying the hotel pool in Guangzhou

Ouside the US Consulate in Guangzhou

Inside the US Consulate in Guangzhou

On the train to Hong Kong

On the train to Hong Kong, Micah being silly

On the train to Hong Kong, Nathan exploring

Micah & Abby enjoying the view from our hotel room in Hong Kong

Finally home, Nathan trying out some toys

Last day in China

We are down to the last day in China. We are all looking forward to getting back home and getting back to the normal routine. We are just packing up now and ready to leave in the afternoon via train to Hong Kong. We’ll stay in a hotel in Hong Kong tonight and then leave that hotel in the morning for the airport. We have an 11:45am flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco.


Yesterday we went to the US Consulate for the citizenship oath, so Nathan will be a US citizen when we go through immigration in San Fran. For all of us taking the oath, the consulate official said that all the visa paperwork is on track. We will get Nathan’s passport with visa prior to going to the train station. We could not take photos inside the consulate office, but we have a few from the outside. Otherwise we did some more swimming and shopping yesterday and watched a movie in the room.


We feel very blessed that our trip has gone so smooth. Thanks you all for your prayers, we definitely know that God has watched over us.


--Craig

Weekend Photos

Street Mall

Micah and Craig relaxing in the room

 

 

Micah and Little bro

Abby and Little bro

At the zoo - Micah planning out the trek

In the Safari park

Deer, it's as bad as Wisconsin in November

 

feeding baby white tiger

Pandas, at last

DJ Abby

first Abby kisses Nathan

then Nathan kisses Abby back

these are my sandals that are ready for the garbage can

these are my new shoes.  Don't laugh, I couldn't be too choosy with my shoe size in China.

Qing Ping market - turtles

Qing Ping market - puppies

Qing Ping market - Chinese medicines and herbs

Qing Ping market from the hotel roof

kids enjoying the pool

all 3 kids watching TV

yes, I can make it

there is nice smile

Weekend in Guangzhou

Saturday we had the medical appointment required for the adoption and visa. We walked there from our hotel at 9:30. There were 4 families there from our agency (AAC). Two are staying at the White Swan and us and another couple staying at the Holiday Inn. The exam, ears nose & throat, and height weight stations went O.K. But it sure got loud and chaotic. The vaccination part took forever. We finally got out of there by the time it closed at noon. Nathan ended up needing 4 shots. He didn’t enjoy that much, but he got over it quickly. In the afternoon we spent several hours swimming in the outdoor pool on the roof. The weather was perfect for it (upper 90s). Outside of our hotel we have the Qing Ping market on one side leading to Shamian Island. Shamian Island is where the U.S. Consulate is located. The Qing Ping market is a traditional Chinese street market. This market has pets on a few streets (dogs, cats, fish, birds, mice, chipmunks, bunnies and some exotic things). On the next couple of streets were Chinese medicines (herbs, roots, etc.). We bought a little doggie to bring home. Just kidding! We did feel a bit sorry for the animals in this heat. At one shop it looked they were trying to revive a kitty. We bought some dried star fish for show-and-tell.

On the other side of the hotel is a street mall. Mainly clothing, but lots of specialty shops. This is where all the locals shop so the prices are set and you don’t need to barter. There are also lots of variety of restaurants (including American ones like KFC, McD, Pizza Hut and Papa Johns). I purchased a pair of shoes because my sandals split down the middle from my excessive walking. I would not buy these shoes in America, but they were the only pair available in my size. Jackie could not contain her laughter when I came walking down the hall in the mall that the sales clerk picked out for me. Actually I have been laughing too. But they feel comfortable and not a bad price. The mall is normally swarming with people. The other AAC family staying at the Holiday Inn described it as busier than New Orleans during Marti Gras (and he lived in New Orleans for several years). Our guide informed us that 12 million people live here in Guangzhou.

On Sunday we went to the Safari Zoo. It was about an hour van ride there. We shared the van with the other AAC family from our hotel. They have 2 twin bio boys (age 6) and adopted a 5 year-old girl. We got to the zoo at 10 am. Half the zoo was made for riding in a car or train and the other half was made for walking. We started out on the safari train. It was pretty neat ridding though all the areas. We saw deer, zebras, rhinos, giraffes, hippos, lions, tigers, and some exotic birds. Some of them came right up to the vehicles. In the walking section we got to hold and feed a baby tiger. But the best part was seeing the pandas. They had several and we got to get very close to them while they were feeding. The temperature really started to climb and we decided to leave before 2pm. Overall it was very cool and Micah and Abby really enjoyed it.
Monday we did not have much planned and we really relaxed. We visited the markets and did some more swimming in the hotel pool in the heat of the day. I will post some pictures soon. Nathan is doing pretty well. Today is our 1 week anniversary with him. His cold is getting better and he continues to be more comfortable with us. He still hasn’t let anyone but Jackie hold him, but he does give us all a kiss and he loves playing with everyone.

Next up on Tuesday we go to the consultate for the ceremonial oath, then Wednesday we start our way home after we get Nathan's visa.

--Craig

Pictures from Friday

Almost packed and ready to leave our room Changsa

Leaving hotel (Anna, our Changsha guide, is in the middle)

Getting ready for the train ride

Abby playing DS on the train

Jackie, Nathan, and Micah playing DS on the train

inside the train

arriving in Guangzhou

waiting in the Holiday Inn lobby

Nathan showing his personality

Nathan showing his personality