Our Last Day and The Trip Home

Saturday morning in Guangzhou was gloomy, but not raining. We enjoyed our last breakfast, knowing there would be no one to cook or clean up for us once we got home. And no omelet station either! We finished up the packing and hurried to the exam building to try to find some friends. We were able to meet some other BAAS families which was fun, but my friend Nikki's husband had not arrived. He had gotten stranded in another city due to the weather in Guangzhou on Friday. I was able to catch up with him later, but we only had a few minutes to visit because of our flight, and his daughter's exam. It was so nice to meet him and Quinn though. I only wish Nikki could have been there! I had to hurry back to the room so we could meet our guide Elvin, and head to the airport.

We left 3 hours before our flight which is a good thing as the traffic just getting off the island was terrible. There are no stop lights, and the cars just do whatever they want, meaning no one gets to move. Security in the airport is interesting, as there is a lot of it. Seems like we went through at least 3 lines to have our passports checked! Our first flight was quick.........less than 1 hour to Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, we had a 6 hour layover before our long flight to LAX. They have a nice dining area there with a place for the kids to play that looks like the inside of an airplane. Then we found a play area (by gate 23 for anyone who may be traveling). There weren't a lot of toys, but there were a lot of colorful plastic tables, and stools. Our kids had more fun taking all of the stools and stacking them or arranging them in different patterns, or jumping from one to the other. It was a good way to spend some time!

Then on to our next flight with another security check. This one was at the gate. The agent randomly pulled out one of our passports for a bag and pat down check. He chose Lily. She got a pat down check and they went through her and my bags. Even though we had already been through the main security, he said we couldn't have water and confiscated our bottle of water and dumped out her cup. Meanwhile, Ruben and the boys went through another check where they were allowed to keep their water. Interesting security! At least we were able to board in the short line for families with strollers and kids.

This flight was with Cathay Pacific, a very nice airline with lots of amenities. It was late when we boarded........after 11pm, so 3 of the kids went quickly to sleep. Michael was too enthralled with the new surroundings and the tv to sleep. He was the only child still awake when dinner was served shortly after take off! All the kids did great and slept for about 6-7 hours each! Lily did have one small crying episode. She woke up after about 5 hours of sleep and just started crying. I think she was just so tired and a little confused and scared. I ended up having to stand to quiet her. (fortunately, she has a quiet cry) Ruben brought her some snacks that really helped. After that she fell back to sleep on my lap for another couple of hours. The rest of the flight went really well. The kids kept occupied with their tvs and the airline also gave them each a small gift that kept them busy. There was a zippered bag with stickers, a book, a pen, crayons, and other small items. Lily loved hers and spent a lot of time taking everything out, playing with it, then putting everything back, and then doing it all over again. I was actually able to sit and read a book!

Our next stop was LAX. We thought that once we got to the US we wouldn't have to take anymore buses to or from our planes, but we did at LAX. And the plane was a looong ways from the terminal, which is a lot of fun standing on a crowed bus! Once at the terminal we had to go through immigrations/customs. Once we cleared immigrations, Lily became a citizen! Then it was on to our next flight to Dallas. We were on the red-eye and were very happy when all the kids decided to sleep. At one point, something startled Lily and she again woke crying. This time we knew to get her a snack, and we were able to calm her down. She still has problems with the landing and cries and fights with her seat belt to climb into my lap. I usually just take her out and put her in my lap and hope the flight attendants don't say anything!

The kids enjoyed our layover in Dallas as we got to take the tram to our next terminal. Also, much to their delight, we had Dunkin Donuts for breakfast! I must say, all the kids did excellent during all the flights and layovers. At one point, Ruben and I looked at each other and said that we should take more long trips!

Our final flight was to Atlanta and home. The flight wasn't full and we were able to spread out over 2 full rows. The kids did great, and this time Lily stayed in her seat during the landing. We had quite a surprise waiting for us at the Atlanta airport, but that's for the next post!

Lily and Michael playing in bed Saturday morning.

That Michael sure is funny!

Michael with our guide, Elvin

Flight #1.......ready to go!

Hong Kong airport, shortly after they found our strollers. There was confusion with our gate check and we were told to go to the bus for our strollers. Once in the terminal, we were told we should have been given the strollers by the plane. Toke a little hunting, but customer service was able to find our strollers without us having to do another security check.

The dining area at the Hong Kong airport The play area at Hong Kong Airport...........aren't the brothers sweet!

Michael walking around with his stool.........always ready to sit!

Getting ready to sleep on the looong flight

You can't see Tyler, because he's already sleeping!

LAX and the USA's newest little citizen! (this time I'm the one that made her smile!)

Spreading out on the flight from DFW to Atlanta