Sunday,
May 16, 2010
YANGSHUO TO NANNING - THE LONG AND
WINDING ROAD . . .
We were up bright and early and well
rested…we kept checking our balcony so we could see the view as
the sun came up. It was a “sleepy” morning but wow the
reflection of the mountains in the water was breathtaking,
combine that with the early morning exercisers doing Tai Chi
along the river walk and we had a front row seat. We ventured
out to the “western” buffet breakfast and it was just fine…my
breakfast fried noodles with vegetables, steamed broccoli,
spring rolls, a few French fries, a piece of French toast and
some toast…lots of milk and orange juice and don’t forget the
banana bread. Mel had more of the western choices eggs, sausage,
pancakes etc…Afterward we visited the lobby gift shop and bought
a small print done by a local Guilin Fine Arts student, it
depends the river, the mountains and the activities that go
with, very nice.
At 9:30 am we met our guide Lily in the lobby and loaded up for
the 5 hour one way drive from Yangshuo to Nanning via Liuzhou
City, the surrounding scenery was spectacular and then at
Liuzhou we stopped at a rest stop and amazingly they had a
western toilet that nobody had used…imagine that lucky me my own
“potty”. We were at the ½ say point so it wouldn’t be long
before we were in Nanning. Mel took a photo of nearly every
moving and living thing as well as signs…I suppose we both feel
like we want to bottle up each moment to share with our girls. I
dozed a bit but found myself very antsy thinking about our big
day…the day we have anticipated for nearly a year. I hope we can
comfort her and show her we are here for her forever, her little
life is all she knows and this will be such a change for her. I
suppose I just want to know how it will be before it even
happens then I could have a plan, so I keep playing out the
scenarios…crying non stop, misbehavior, shutting down and the
slim possibility that she just takes this all in stride…it won’t
be much longer until we know. I ask each of you to lift us up in
the next few days as we navigate getting to know our new toddler
daughter and if you think you have a good tip…give it.
Soon we could see the outskirts of Nanning mostly new and a lot
of development, beautiful landscaping and very “Florida-ish” and
we could feel the heat, much hotter and more humid if that is
even possible. The city was bustling with people on a Sunday
afternoon, nobody must be home, scooters with multiples of
people on them, bicycles, people walking and of course the
traffic of cars…a very festive scene. We found our hotel readied
for a wedding…we even caught a glimpse of the bride and groom.
Before long it was time to say goodbye to our guide and
driver…our guide Lily was absolutely tremendous in every way,
she was the crème de la crème and nice and empathetic and really
helped us to make the most of our time and create memories to
share for years to come. We have her card and would love to have
her escort us and the girls in a homeland tour in the future.
Our driver was fabulous as well “Mr. Young” who I wanted to call
Louie, ran the air, drove well no crazy antics and really made
our very long trips in the car very pleasant.
So now it is just me and Mel, tomorrow an hour before meeting
Emma Lynn we will meet our new guide Glenn. The bar is very high
and I am anxious to see how he fares…..we arrived in our room to
see the crib for Emma and at that very moment….it all changed in
less than 24 hours we will be here front and center navigating
her transition into our family. I quickly began to unpack her
clothes in the drawers. I moved the room around to situate the
crib to allow a play area by the couch and I found a basket to
put all the toys in and then made a diaper/baby area and began
the list for Wal-Mart…wipes, snacks, milk or juice for
Emma…possibly a pillow for me as my pillow is a case with
“beans” in it NO JOKE! Maybe even an eggshell for the bed, for
years I have heard people complain of the hard beds in China and
thought oh you babies how hard could it be… well our bed is
basically a board and Mel does not seemed to be phased by it at
all, me…between the bean pillow and the board bed oh my “sleep
helper pills” here I come. I feel like my sister Margie “the
princess and the pea” she travels with a fan, special pillow and
eggshell….and now I know why! Otherwise the room is great a
super view of the local park and the pool below and of course
the skyline. The bathroom is a bit small but I can say first
hand the tub is more comfortable than the bed….2nd choice for
sleeping if the going gets tough. Pretty much everything has
found a spot and now we just need to do our morning Wal-Mart run
for supplies and then we wait…..we hope to update as soon as
possible, but that will all depend on Emma and if we can manage
her and the technology to update you at the very least a note on
face book saying “we have her and…..” Thanks for your love and
prayers, the days ahead may be very tough so we need you more
than every, pray for us all and sending your loving wishes and
advice to help us see our way through this transition.
Much love from the travelers…
Mel and Em
Ellie Lu update:
I spoke to Aunt Sheshee tonight and Ellie Lu seems to be doing
great, she has helped bottle milk and I hear has asked more
questions than you can imagine, she has chased a peacock out of
the farm house, she has pet the white horse Sky and has named a
baby calf Ellie Lu….oh and don’t forget her Elmo Umbrella for
helping deliver milk. We miss her so, but can see how she has
been such a little ray of sunshine on the farm…counting the days
until we hold our sunshine girl!
A few funnies…I hauled my flat iron 7000k plus miles to China
and it won’t even turn on, besides that I bought a special
transformer for it…never mind that the humidity is so high my
hair is a big frizz upon exiting a building…
We brought 2 sets of pjs each, we have been so tired we have
fallen asleep in our clothes sitting up and have yet to wear the
pjs
In Guangzhou we paid the extra fee for heavy luggage one
weighing 67 pounds the other 56 and I don’t think they weighted
our carry on luggage. So what weighs so much..maybe the pharmacy
of medicine we brought for any ailment a traveler could
encounter or is it the mounds of toys we brought our girl to
entertain her…maybe the 5 tablets of paper…what was I thinking.
|
Bicycle rider with umbrella...
Breakfast
Ceiling of lobby
Dragon boat
First Glimpse of Morning
Funny building in Nanning
Hotel view
View from our room
Our huge bed |
