We made it to Beijing! It was an amazingly L-O-N-G flight, but we're here and are at our hotel, the "Crowne Plaza." Our room is surprisingly modern.....everything from a flat screen TV to a glass bowl sink in the bathroom!

We took a shuttle from the airport to our hotel with six other adoptive families who are with our same agency. Several of them will have the same travel itinerary as we do, so it is nice to get to know them a little.

We ventured out to the grocery store to buy bottled water tonight.... you don't realize how hard it can be to buy the simplest of things when you can't read anything. Also, just trying to figure out how to pay is a challenge all on its own! Trying to figure out how much 22.00 RMB is in American dollars on little sleep for two days was a challenge! We managed to get our water, pay for it, and make it back to the hotel in time for me to call Ashlyn before she goes to school to tell her that her parents finally made it to China! Luckily I have the cool two time-zone watch so I can figure out what time it is in China & Frisco, TX easily....oherwise my brain would really be going crazy! Ashlyn is glad we made it, but wants to know "when are you going to my sister's house to get her?!" I told her two more days.... she's been waiting like the rest of us so patiently and now she's ready!!

Mike is out exploring the area for food.....this was a little more adventure than I wanted on my first night here! He's with a couple in our travel group so I'm not as worried! We have the computer up and running, but now I need his help to get the video card reader set up and then we'll be able to post pictures which will make this travel journal a lot more cool when you can see some of what we're seeing!

Tomorrow, we go with several families in our group to tour Tiananmen Square and the Summer Palace so we'll write tomorrow evening and let you know how things are!

Thank you for continuing to keep our family in your prayers. If you would like to contact us while we're in China, please click on the "Contact Us" icon on any page of our journal and it will enable you to send us an e-mail at the address we're using while in China. gagefamily1@comcast.net

Angela