The Great Wall . . . And the Countdown Begins in Earnest

Today started with going to church at one of the international churches in the city. It was a great service and we really enjoyed worshiping together. From there we visited a jade factory where we learned that there are many colors and qualities of jade. They did an outstanding job of making us feel guilty if we didn't buy the best possible bracelet for our new daughter (one bracelet cost $5000!) but we resisted.

After a very good lunch, we shopped at a Friendship Store (they know how to drain our wallets here, that's for sure) and then it was on to the Great Wall. We don't have great photos today because of a camera mishap on the Wall and because I haven't uploaded the pictures from Laura's camera yet. The Great Wall is truly astounding. It is more immense than you can really comprehend without seeing it for yourself. Jameson and I climbed to the first watchtower of the section our group visited and it was a pretty challenging hike. Laura, Jeannette and Beth Lyman insisted on going all the way up to the the top, to the fifth or sixth tower (over 1500 uneven, worn away steps), a pretty impressive feat. Frankly, I was afraid that if I went on, I'd have trouble walking back down and I think I made the right call there. My left knee was complaining as I neared the bottom as it was.

After dinner, we rushed off to see a Chinese acrobat show. It was something I kind of regarded as a "must do" on this trip and we enjoyed it. Acts included things like THIRTEEN girls all on one bicycle.

The talk on the bus much of today was about tomorrow . . . Gotcha Day as most people call it. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that term yet. People would gladly have sacrificed the day of touring to get to their daughters sooner. Pictures were exchanged, birthdates compared, feeding plans discussed. The family from Durango who we have sat with at every meal has six children already and this will be their seventh. Others are coming to get their first child. Needless to say, their anxiety level is just a little higher than that of the experienced parents, but we're all heading into the unknown. Our guide told us today that this group's daughters are younger than most--MelodyJoy at just over eleven months may be one of the older girls--and assured us all that this means the transition will be much smoother for them. We'll see!

We leave Beijing about 9:00 in the morning, get to our hotel in Guangzhou between one and two, then travel to meet our girls around 3:00.