Day One and Two of our Journey

Our journey began on Monday night. Since our flight left Atlanta at 9:10am we we drove to Atlanta very late on Monday night. On the way we dropped the doggies off with Amanda Howell.  She is an angel to watch our babies for us while we are gone.  We are also appreciative of Billy's best friend, Greg Hendrix, who is house sitting  for us. We stayed in a hotel on Virginia Drive in the College Park area near the airport in Atlanta.  Some of what I will share here is for others coming behind us. Thanks to one of my best friends, Lindsay Waltman, who shared a Groupon deal we found completely indoor covered parking for less than the price that any we could find on airport property for outdoor parking.  It is Peachy Parking.  They have a shuttle that runs every three minutes to the airport.  From our first experience we would recommend them. We flew United.  I learned if you register for their frequent flyer points program you do not have to pay for your first bag of checked luggage.  We only checked four so no fees were incurred.  We checked in and made our flight with perfect timing.  We had two issues while being processed through security.  One was that I had the orphanage worker donations in one of my carry-on bags.  I had forgotten that one had bottles of lotion in them.  Whoops - my bad! They were confiscated.  The other incident truly bothered me.  At the first check point where you show your boarding pass and ID each person was instructed to hold their own ID.  I gave Mary Bailey's to her.  I went through first.  The person at the desk started extensively questioning her.  She was asked her full name. Then she was asked how old she was.  She was asked who I was and my name.  She was asked if she knew where she was going.  I am all for keeping children safe but if my child had been blond hair with blue eyes this would NOT have happened.  Anneli was behind her and there were no questions asked.

Our flight to Chicago left exactly on time. It was a pleasant flight.  We arrived in plenty of time to make our connection to Hong Kong.  When entering the gate for the flight I felt as if we had already been transported to Asia.  There were a sea of Asian faces.  It let me know we were almost there.  We grabbed lunch at a McDonald's in the terminal.  

Our fifteen hour flight was also via United.  Other adoptive parents have recommended against flying this airline.  Due to our finances and escalated holiday costs this was our best option.  I can honestly say I have no complaints whatsoever.  The flight left slightly after schedule. We had to sit on the runway.  There was an issue with getting the "weight" of the plane.  We arrived at the scheduled time in Hong Kong.  The flight attendants were excellent.   We were served two snacks and two full meals.  Beverage service was offered frequently.  Also the attendants came by often offering water.  The downside as with any economy seats - they were small and crowded.  We had four connecting seats in the middle aisle.  Billy and I sat at each end and pulled up the armrests.  The girls were able to stretch out between us and sleep.  We got very little sleep but it was only 15 hrs. of our life.  I was extremely envious when we were exiting the plane to see the first class seating. (OK  must throw in that as I am typing it is 7:10am in Guangzhou.  My children are doing the polichinelle dance from the Nutcracker! )

Once in Hong Kong there were no issues going through customs.  It was extremely quick and efficient.  We arrived at 7:30pm.  We entered the airport to hear Silent Night playing over the sound systems. A wonderful suggestion which we did for those flying into Hong Kong is to reserve a room at the Regal Airport Hotel.  This hotel is connected to the airport.  Prior to traveling we had planned to go straight to Guangzhou once landing in Hong Kong.  After realizing that we would not arrive until 7:30p, and then having to go through immigration and obtain luggage we felt it would be too difficult to try and travel to Guangzhou that late. We were so horribly exhausted and aching from sitting in the cramped seats that traveling further would have been absolutely horrid.  Having a good warm shower, a good night's rest, a nice breakfast and allowing the girls to romp in Regal airport hotel playroom was a wonderful choice.  The hotel was decorated beautifully for Christmas.  Our agency guide had sent our train tickets there and we received them with no issue.  The playroom is on the ground level and is amazing. It was large with a padded area.  It had a carpeted area with a television and books.  Many IKEA items were spotted in the playroom!  The breakfast buffet in the hotel is insane and there are many more affordable options in the airport.  Next post will be about our train ride to Guangzhou.