We Made It!!

All set to go!

After traveling for almost 24 hours, we are finally here in Shanghai, China!! Besides the fact that our long flight seemed just that....L O N G...everything went relatively smoothly -- no lost luggage, no major turbulence, no missed connections. The guide we hired to meet us at the airport wasn't there when we first arrived, but we were all too weary to get anxious. We just waited until she showed up with a sign bearing our name. Her name is "Cindy", and she is very nice and very informative. She will pick us up at our hotel tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m. to begin our Shanghai tour. We are all looking forward to getting out to see "The Future of China", as our guide Cindy referred to this largest city in China.

A few interesting highlights of the day:

*When we were exiting the plane in Tokyo (after our L O N G flight), a young man standing behind me vomited, and a little splashed on my leg. Normally, this would not be deemed "interesting", but something about traveling for hours upon hours makes me numb to gross things. I felt sorry for this poor guy, who also splashed on the guy next to me.

*As we were entering the Renaissance Hotel here in Shanghai, Brittany got stuck in the revolving door...I mean literally stuck! A hotel attendant pushed the button as she was entering the door, and the door stopped - right on Brittany! Thankfully she was not hurt, but I felt so sorry for the young man who stopped it. He rushed over saying, "Oh, miss!" and assisted her out.

*As most of you know, you can not drink the tap water in China. So, we asked a housekeeper here at the hotel if we could have some bottled water. She giggled and left to get some. When she returned, she brought the bottles into our room and wouldn't stop staring at Brant. Then she said, "That's a pretty boy....a very pretty boy" and continued to repeat that a few times while giggling and staring. Poor Brant! A celebrity in China once again (like all the American boys, I'm quite sure)

*We are set up to use Skype with our webcams so that we can see Brielle at home, and she can see us here in China. We had practiced with her once at home, showing her how she'd see us in the computer while we were in China, and she screamed and cried "Mommy, Mommy". Well, we had the same result tonight when we called home and she saw us here in China. Yikes! I think we'll try again, but I hate to keep upsetting her. How very sad. My mom and Cindy say she's been doing just fine, and that when she saw us was the first time she has really cried.

Better go get some rest -- I am exhausted!

Thanks for checking in with us and goodnight from Shanghai, China!

Waiting for our flight from home to Detroit

Max on our L O N G flight (obviously not in business class)

Our layover in Tokyo

All four of us as we wait for our final flight from Tokyo to Shanghai

Finally get to rest our weary bodies at the Renaissance Hotel in Shanghai!!