This has to have been the longest day of my life. I got up at 3 AM, after only getting 3 hours of sleep, got ready, got to the airport, our luggage was overweight and a wheel broke off, we had a 2.5 hour weather delay but ended up making our Beijing connection as they were boarding, only to have over an hour of delay sitting on that plane due to an ill passenger. I did doze a little, but here I am in Beijing and the sun is going down on Friday evening. I'm too tired to be coherent, but the luggage did make it, although the suitcase missing the wheel came out in Beijing missing a handle as well. I hope there is a patron saint of luggage that can help us get it to Lanzhou, where we need to buy another bag and pitch it. We just don't have time here, the schedule is so tight. We are checked into our room. The beds are just as hard as everyone says, but they look very good to me right now. And the driving is just as crazy as I have heard. They honk all the time and create lanes at will. Add in some scooters and bikes, many of them going the wrong way, and you wonder how they manage to avoid total gridlock. Hannah said the parking garage at the airport where we met our driver was the scariest thing she has seen. It is hard to describe. I think I sat there in the car with my mouth open. Tomorrow we will take a whirlwind tour of Beijing. We are so close to meeting the kids! I'm so happy about that. In two days I will meet Therese Marie, at long last!
