Chasing the Sun

We are well into our journey, and everything is going much better than I ever expected! My precious baby girl, whom we were so worried about, has far exceeded any expectations I had! Granted, she's been quite cranky, but that's to be expected having only gotten a few hours' of sleep. She's cried only a couple of times:  when we first went through the security check, she got really scared of walking through the metal detector (thankfully, X & I were allowed to just do that & not submit to the full-body scan or pat-down—GO TSA!!); and then she not only shed some tears, but added in some screams when she had to use the restroom on our layover (she takes after me- we both HATE using public restrooms!).

I was soo shocked when she did not have the expected meltdown during takeoff or landing on the first leg of our trip!! She did get a bit upset when I tried to put her in her own seat, so I relented & let her sit on my lap for about 45 minutes of the hour & a half trip to Newark. But once she discovered she'd be able to look out the window easier from her own seat, she hasn't looked back!

So, we're now getting near mid-northern Canada (about 4 hours into our 14 hour flight). I'm exhausted- I've yet to take even a cat nap (soo hard to sleep on a plane!!), but Xandra slept through takeoff!!! I couldn't believe it!!! On both flights, Matt & Tommy have been a row in front of us, and it appears that I'm the only one who hasn't relaxed yet. Such is the life of a mom, I suppose!

I so proud of my now-seasoned little traveler!! She's growing up right in front of my eyes… if I wasn't so excited to see this side of her, I'd probably cry. 

> The title (chasing the sun) is referring to the fact that it never got dark outside while we were flying. Bright sun the entire time. We literally chased the sun around the world!!

5/7/11

We have arrived in Shanghai. The last couple/few hours on the plane weren't the best. Of course, we'd been travelling for nearly 19 hours by that point, so what can you expect? Xandra had a couple upsets, but no major meltdowns. Mostly, she just could not get comfy enough to sleep (join the crowd!), so her tiredness turned to grumpiness & let's just say, I'm thankful she was sitting directly behind Matt, because anyone else would have been ticked off with the kicking.

So, we come through customs without problem (they are really good with that here!), and find our guide who immediately rushes us outside. This was a problem because Xandra hadn't had anything to drink in quite some time & was dying for some water… & Matt and Tommy both had neglected to go to the restroom prior to landing, so they were a bit, umm, pissed not happy. ;)

Once we were outside, we stood & waited for our car. & stood. & stood. & waited. & waited. It finally came, everything & everyone was loaded on. This is when our guide told us it was about an hour's drive to the hotel. Sorry guys… hold it a bit longer (there was some water on the van, so Xandra was happy).

We arrived at our hotel to find the reservations were not right. Somehow, they had Tommy's room, but not ours (Matt was at the boiling point by now… how could they not have our room??? & dear God, where is the restroom???). It took nearly 45 minutes to "fix" things, though they are far from fixed. We were booked for 2 adjoining rooms, both with king-size beds, a roll-away bed for Xandra, & a crib for Milo (tight squeeze, I know). We got 2 rooms next door to each other, but we don't know who connects to ours because it's not Tommy. And we only have a crib for Milo in here, so Xandra's bunking with us.

As soon as we got our room, we proceeded to do exactly what we were told not to do: we fell asleep almost instantly. I think we got into our rooms around 3 in the afternoon ('ish – I was too tired to look at my watch). I just woke up, and it's now almost 8 in the evening (8 am back home). We never had dinner, and don't plan to. I think we're just going to snack on what we can find (Pringles, granola bars, & cheese crackers anyone? Only the best gourmet for us!!), and go back to bed!

Shanghai is beautiful from what we can see of it through our window. We'll figure things out tomorrow. We have a free day tomorrow since it's Sunday. But our guide will be meeting us at 10 am to see if we'd like to do anything… grocery anyone??? And figure out what & where to eat in this place!!