One Year Ago

The Stitzel 3 departing at PDX

It's hard to believe that one year ago today we landed in Beijing, China at the beginning of the end of our journey to get our little Gracie. Now that she become part of our family it's hard to believe that she wasn't always with us. As I sit to write this I am flooded with memories of those days that are surprisingly vivid after a year. I remember the long, and seemingly endless flight to get there and how the immigration check in area of the Beijing airport seemed so outdated. The first family we met were the Wrights, who were on the same flight with us but we were completely unaware of how our families would be linked forever.  They loaded us in a van to go to the hotel and the thing that struck me was how dark it was because there were so few street lights. 

Diana looking out of the hotel window

The hotel was nice but the beds were smaller and harder than we expected and after a less than perfect nights sleep it was off to breakfast where we first saw many of the families who would share this experience with us. It was kind of surreal looking back on it. We were all there together yet for the most part we didn't know who anyone was. One thing we were grateful for was the familiar selections at breakfast, it was very comforting having something familiar. 

Diana and Sarah

After breakfast we all loaded onto our bus for sightseeing at Tienanmen Square, Forbidden City, and Summer Palace. All wonderful places but it was kind of an odd way for all of the families to get acquainted. I recall all of the emotions that flooded my heart as we walked those first few steps in the square, something about that moment kind of brought everything to together for us in that we were really in China about to complete this long journey to Gracie. Looking back it's interesting to think that we knew we were soon going to get her, but she had no idea we were this close. 

Day 1-Dinner Restaurant

The meals together were really special time of bonding with each other. I find it interesting just how close we remain to those families we shared our meals with those first days in Beijing. The food was wonderful and not at all what I expected. It was nothing like all of the stories of strange cuisine that you hear about from other travelers. 

Sarah and Diana with
our pearl sales clerk

We also had two shopping side trips to the pearl market and the silk factory. It was interesting to see how these markets worked and how much they were tailored to tourists like us. The staff were aggressive but so friendly you didn't mind and the haggling was a lot of fun. They were always willing to make a deal. The thing that stood out to me the most was how plain and unappealing the shops looked on the outside. They looked like your run of the mill strip mall but inside they were loaded with expensive merchandise.  

Diana and Jerry at Tienanmen Square  

When we finally arrived back at the hotel after a long day of fighting jet lag and sightseeing we were ready to hit the sack and prepare for our second day of Beijing and one day closer to Gracie Li Hope.