We made it!

After a very, VERY long day of travel, we made it safely to Nanchang.

I can't say enough about Delta airlines!  We had, no exaggeration, at least 150 movies to choose from, HBO, Showtime, network tv, radio, and lots of albums, games.....Entertainment was NOT an issue on the flight!  With such a short time between buying tickets and flying, I wasn't able to get us aisle seats (shouldn't be a problem going home when we will have an entire row).  Not too big a deal on a 777 where the configuration is 3 3 3, but it IS a big deal when the gentleman seated next to you literally gets on the plane and hunkers down for a 10 hour nap.  No joke, the guy was asleep before we were in the air and did not wake for at least the next 7 hours.  It was getting close to the point that we were going to have to wake him when he finally got up to use the bathroom.  We got up also and then stood and stretched for a good 20 minutes before sitting down again.  Then he was back off to dreamland for another few hours.  I've never before used the bathroom only once on a 14 hour flight!  Although the fact that I was ABLE to do that means that....Dramamine is my new best friend and I wasn't sick at all on the flight.  HOOOOORAYYYYYY!!!!!!

Then we had a five hour layover in Shanghai.  It felt good to walk and stretch our atrophied legs and move some of that retained water around, but that wore off after about 45 minutes.  I know that we won't be so exhausted coming home, but if the drudgery of a 5 hour layover during "normal times" is any indication, the six hour layover during the middle of the night with a two year old will not be going down on my list of "the best times of my life."  Oh well.... 

We got some raman noodle buckets at the little convenience store and availed ourselves of the omnipresent hot water machines to make supper.  Add some "foods on sticks" flavored chips and we called it good. 

I snoozed on and off during the layover (and had the lines on my face to prove it since I was resting on my backpack), and felt semi-human by the time we got on our flight to Nanchang.  Seats were tiny and my legroom was non existent after the guy in front of me reclined his seat, but it was a mostly smooth flight and only an hour and forty minutes long.  My legs were SCREAMING from sitting again, but it was tolerable. 

Someone forgot to make our hotel reservations, but thankfully our sweet guide, Yan, was able to right things with a simple phone call.  We have a "queen" bed that rivals a California King and a marble slab.  It still felt mighty good last night! 

We had porcelain (what Jiangxi is known for) shopping on the agenda today, but Yan felt it would be too hard to get a cab in the rain, so we're just chilling instead.  I think in a bit we'll venture out to find the grocery store and look for the restaurant Michelle Hyatt recommended to us.  It's nice to have a down day before the chaos and excitement begin.  Tomorrow at 4pm our time (2am home time) we will meet Molly Kate.  They wanted to bring her to our room, but I said we'd prefer the lobby.  It was a welcome moment of clarity after 28+ hours of travel.  I'm sure we'll be a spectacle in the lobby, but I would rather that, than have her associate our room with one of the worst moments of her life. 

I promised Steve he could have the computer for a bit, and I'm out of things to report for the moment, so I'm off to work on the lovey blanket I'm making for MK.  More soon!