Day 1, 2 and 3travelling to XiAn 6/1 6/2 & 6/3

Travel Day #1  June 1st 2012
the big day has arrived...
bags are packed
all last day of school activities are done
kids, dogs & chickens will be taken care of
all care takers have all info needed in case of any emergency
all documents are collected and stored safely for legal process
we are already exhausted before even leaving, lol
Todd and I leave our home around 10 am for a relaxed drive to Charlotte. Eat Fatz for lunch on our way then get to the airport in plenty of time.
Our flight to Detroit leaves at 4:30 arrives around 6:30 pm very bumpy but uneventful flight.
We get delayed it Detroit for a few hrs due to engine difficulties and don't leave until almost midnight on 6/1/12.
Again our flight is very bumpy and uneventful, our flight attendant "Michael" is a father of two beautiful girls from China who gives us many tips on bonding etc. My legs and ankles are so full with liquid you can hardly make out my bones.We arrive in BEIJING China around 2 am on 6/2/12, take a cab to the hotel Crowne Plaza which is beautiful. It's a suite with a living and bedroom.
Funny thing is, we took an UNmeetered cab from the airport to the hotel. The driver charged us $40 US for a 8 min ride, lol can you say SAP... However there were parts of the 8 min ride where we weren't sure if we were being kidnapped or taken to our hotel... so we were very happy to get there alive.
After dad showered, I got in the shower. Dad decided to go have a beer while I got cleaned up, NOT knowing as soon as he left the room with the key, ALL went dark. The power shuts off to the room once the key is taking out... Needless to say, the end of my shower was interesting without any light.
We had a whopping 5 hrs at the hotel to rest before leaving at 8 am to make our next flight to our daughter's province city XiAn. This flight is only a couple hours leaving Beijing at 10:25 am getting us to XiAn just after noon. Now it is June 3rd already as China is 12 hrs ahead and our flight was over 12 hrs long.
I had to use the bathroom and had my first China experience with the Squatty Potty, no toilet paper or soap in the bathroom. What do I do?
After we get our luggage is where we meet our 1st guide Jenny who is very nice, speaks great English and gets us to our hotel Holiday Inn Greenland to drop off our bags. We eat a quick lunch at the hotel before meeting up with Jenny again to go pick up our little baby girl.

We are so anxious, excited and Happy to be holding Evangeline within an hour...
waiting in Detroit... what a loooong layover

a very nice bathroom, especially when the lights are on

Jenny and Todd in XiAn, where we will meet Evangeline

The infamous Squatty Potty




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