Last day in Beijing & arrive in Zhengzhou

Saturday was our last day of touring Beijing.  Our first outing was to the Jade Factory.  Lots of really nice pieces, but nothing I just had to have that couldn't wait for Guangzhou.  It was another one of those most tour type of tours, so we just listened to their presentation and then walked around the show floor until it was time to go.  Next stop lunch another American style Chinese lunches.  So, you cannot go to Beijing and not experience the most impressive and well know sight, The Great Wall.  Let me preface this with the fact the I am incredibly scared of heights.  Do you have any idea how far that thing goes up.  Way, way too high.  I knew that when I started up, that I would not be able to look down.  However, I made the mistake of turning to say something to the person behind me and saw just how high up we were.  I froze, but there were so many people coming up behind me that I couldn't stop completely.  I "rested" for a few minutes and then started literally climbing up like a little kid.  I may have looked funny, but at that point I didn't care.  Ed had climbed on without me, but after noticing I had fallen quite a bit behind him, decided to slow down and wait for me.  I managed to make it up to the first tower and that's all I could handle.  Going down was just as hard. I just looked at my feet and held onto the rail for dear life.  It scared the crud out of me, but at least now I can say I climbed part of The Great Wall.  Kinda funny though, we were all shown up by a four year old in our group who went further than anyone else in the group.  She's a trooper, she just kept going and going.  What an adventure for her to share.  After the wall we went to an old part of town and they drove us around in rickshaws, neat experience.  We visited the home of a local family that was a host to a French swimmer that won silver at the Olympics.  That explained how the village was set up and the different uses for the parts of the home.  It was interesting and very nice for them to welcome all of us into their home.  Last stop for the night, another traditional Chinese dinner.  This time it was noodles.  Not your typical noodles though.  I don't think any of us at our table ate very much, we were all too tired and too busy chatting.  Plus we had to get back to the hotel to pack. 

 

Now we are in Zhengzhou.  We met bright and early, this time it really was, so we could head to the airport.  Got in, checked into the hotel, went to the bank to exchange money, went to Walmart down the street for snacks and soda, had dinner (pizza in the hotel, yummy), and now we are in the room for the night.  Tomorrow morning, the most important part of this whole trip, we get our daughter Jiao Jiao.  Ed and I both are anxious and nervous at the same time.  We don't know how she will react to us, but we can only hope for the best, expect the worst and let her guide the way.  Tomorrow begins a new chapter in our lives.