We made it. Our trip started out great. We arrived at the airport at 5:15 in the morning. We’d been told we may not even be able to sit together on the plane since we made our reservation the day before we flew, but they were able to move us together for the flight from Orlando to Washington, D.C. It was only a 90 minute flight or so and Price slept on my lap for a little over an hour. It was a sweet moment between us. Then, for our flight from D.C. to Beijing, they upgraded us to Economy Plus and there was quite a bit more leg room. They put us in the bulk head row, but the arms don’t move up between the seats. So, while we were waiting to move to the other row they had for us, we (ok, it was me) asked for some of the champagne they were serving in business class. Oohhh Suure! They moved us to a whole row so we had 5 seats with moveable armrests!!!! Price fell asleep soon after takeoff and slept for 3 and a half hours. Then he was awake for 4 and a half. He was pretty busy but very well behaved. One nearby couple even commented that they hadn’t heard him the whole flight. Tom and I didn’t really get any sleep. I got a couple 20 or 30 minutes rests and Tom had a good period of time at the end of the flight where he was working hard to get rest.

So, we made it through immigration with lots of looks at Tom carrying Price in a backpack. We got our bags and made it through Customs, and then we met up with our guide Ms Maggie. She brought us back to our hotel (Novotel Peace Hotel). We learned that Tiananmen Square is near us so we wanted to visit it. Tom agreed to go to the lobby with her to get directions. I stayed in our room to organize things. That’s when I found out we’d left Price’s suitcase at the airport. So, unfortunately we headed all the way back there (1 hour each way) and blew our chance to go see Tiananmen tonight. So, we’ve turned in for tonight and are looking forward to a day of touring the Great Wall of China, the Summer Palace, and the jade factory,

Jack and Madeleine, we miss you. I hope you are having fun with Baba, Remember to be respectful. LOVELOVELOVE, Mommy