We made it!

We are finally here!! Doug shares his calculations that we traveled 6,500 miles at an average of 550 mph on a route that took us over the Arctic Circle and across frozen Siberia. Did I mention that he kept saying that he would be glad when the flight was over?

Well, we made it through without a hitch! Natalie slept during take-off and landing on our 13 hour flight. She and I got about 4-5 hours of sleep on the plane while Doug's napping was more spotty.

Another bonus is that all of our luggage made the journey, too - while only 2 out of 3 of our travel companions' bags did! We hope their bags will make the same flight tomorrow. If not soon, we can share some baby clothes. Wish we could help with clothes for their 10-year-old daughter.

We ventured out of our hotel tonight. We could see Mickey D's arches across the way from our hotel window. We went underground to cross the street and then pointed and gestured inside to get our hot fries, Cokes and fish sandwiches. Natalie was thrilled to get a Happy Meal complete with a Chinese toy!

It seems we're not far from home in another way. Near the McDonalds, we stumbled across the Henderson Shopping Center, how ironic! Could it be a red thread?

Tomorrow we're off to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Olympic Village and a Chinese acrobat show, but not until 1:00. There's a walking street nearby that our guide Catherine encouraged us to explore! They say we're just a few blocks down from Tiananmen Square!

We're relieved to be off that never-ending flight, ready for some sleep and actually sleepy when we're supposed to be. Then it's off to take in the sights before we are united with Abigail on Sunday!