We are packing the room up and heading out the door.

We’re having lunch with our guide, Tom, and then he’s taking us to the airport for a flight to Shenyang.

Catch you in a few hours.

Outside of our hotel room window, there appears to be the remnants of an old hutong that is slowly being dismantled. How sad.

Progress is a good thing but I hate when it comes at the expense of destroying something of historical significance.

These are buses that brought in the workers. Possibly from the countryside? They look like ants scurrying around.

It’s just after 4:00 am here and I’m wide awake after a solid 6 hours of sleep. Karys is stirring a bit here and there but she’s a very light sleeper anyway. Carmi and Eliana, on the other hand, sound like dueling freight trains. Carmi snored so loud a few minutes ago that she woke herself up. LOL.

We have nothing on the agenda this morning other than enjoying a nice leisurely breakfast, repacking and checking out at 11:30.

Carmi and I so wanted to visit a site we haven’t seen in 2 previous trips here (like the Temple of Heaven) but time simply won’t allow it. I think proper rest is more important for the family right now.

Here are a few more pics from yesterday.

I asked Tom what the Chinese characters on this rock meant. He said it means “Badaling” which is the section of the Great Wall we visited.

We made it to Beijing.

Our plane arrived at 10:30 am (China time). By the time we found our luggage (and all of it, I might add), it was a little past 11:00 am.

Tom, our guide, found us and presented us with 2 options: go straight to the Great Wall or check in at the hotel and then go to the Great Wall.

Here’s my thought process: if we go to the hotel first and I make the mistake of laying down on the normally-hard-as-a-rock-but-right-now-it-would-feel-absolutely-delicious beds, it would be all over. Call us crazy because we opted for going straight to the Great Wall.

Flying for 21 hours wasn’t enough so we loaded everything in a van and drove for an hour, walked on the Wall for 1-1/2 hours, spent 1-1/2 hours driving back to the hotel, checked in, and met for dinner with another of our agency families who also flew in today.

Now my knees ache, Karys is turning into a werewolf and my brain is mush so after our baths it will be beddy time.

We’re in South Korea!

We were walking to our gate for the flight to Beijing when I noticed this little sign that said Starbucks. So of course we made a pit stop.

The girls have done remarkably well all things considered. The number of flights (3 so far) and the amount of time in a cramped economy seat (19 hours so far) is taking a toll but Carmi and I both still feel pretty good right now.

Made it to the first stop in Charlotte. We board for Atlanta in about 30 minutes.

We are headed out the door and praying to God that we didn’t forget anything.

Hopefully I’ll be able to check in once we reach Los Angeles. We have a 3-hour layover before heading to Beijing.