Hello all,

I have totally lost track of time. I have no idea what day it is. One of the other fathers and I had a 30 minute discussion about what the date and time was in the USA. I think the answer remained a mystery and we just dropped it.

Today we got up very early (5:00am). We got on the bus and off we drove to the airport. We are headed to Guangzhou. This is our last stop before we get our baby home.

BUT, before I tell you that story let me tell you this: The hotels in China that are NOT American brands such as Hilton, etc., are very different in their attitudes towards payment. When you go to check out, you have to wait until they send someone to your room to check it. If everything is ok then you are permitted to leave. Can you see where this is going? After we hiked the Great Wall, we came back to our room and the kids rinsed their feet real quick before we went to dinner. I laid down a towel so they would not slip on the floor. It got dirty. They charged me for the towel. Mind you, it was only 8 Yuan (about 80 cents) but please! Later, in our other hotel during dinner, the baby dropped a cup and it broke. That, too, was on my bill. When we got to the airport in Changcha, the Bell Boy runs up (yes, he had driven to the airport to catch up with us) and they were trying to charge one of the couples for a bathrobe. He told the guy to hold on then went through security. It was very funny.

Anyway, we got to Guangzhou and went to the hotel (The White Swan). Our rooms were not ready so we had to put everything in the lobby and run to our appointment. Amy and the kids guarded their bags and I took Olivia to the doctor to have her physical (required), then to get her photo taken for her visa to the USA.

She already has an American visa and is officially our daughter, so now we have to complete the paperwork to get her into the USA.

Then we checked in from there. We got our "Red Couch" photo taken and then it was time to crash. However, there is a lot of great shopping here. It is not as good as Shanghai or Beijing, but it caters to adoptive parents. It is very cool and the clothes you can get are awesome. I bought some pink Polo outfits for 3 USD.

That is all for now, but more tomorrow. China OUT !