Pink Velvet Baby

We made it safe and sound and truly can not tell you what a GREAT traveler Hayden Magee is......She did amazing.  Our day started very early on Sun and got on a 7:25 flt to Detroit where we met up with Shiyu who was exhausted from 3 weeks of working summer orientation at Denison.  We were a bit concerned about whether we would actually get on the flight to Shanghai, it was really full and for a bit it was not looking promising(gotta love the perks of standby travel as an airline employee)  But we were fortunate enough to be 3 of the lucky 6 that got on.....Shiyu scoring a business class seat as me and the 3 year old headed for coach:)  I was thrilled we sat next to a super nice lady from NC who was going on business and was not at all wearing the face of "winner of the short straw" I am sitting next to a pre-schooler for the next 15 hours!!  Hayden did have some issues with the fact that Shiyu sat in business and she was sent packing to coach.....She pretty much talked about the travesty of it all all the way here and is still discussing it.  When we boarded our flight to Chongqing we were seated next to each other but the row across was empty and Shiyu "attempted" a move over there to give us more room......that did not work out and we "all" sat snug as bugs in a rug:)  Someone is also already discussing where everyone is sitting on the way home. 

 

Anyway, I have to say and sadly admit I was basically terrified of this flight and what was to come.  Hayden is a professional traveler, she loves to travel, and we have had very few problems or issues with her on the plane.  However we do not make a habit of 15 hour flights and 26 hour travel days.  But let me just just tell you that she was AWESOME!!!  I know she was awesome because the people around us complimented her on a job well done.  She only slept about 4 hours of the flight.  1 hour at the beginning and 3 at the end.  Yep the rest of the time she watched movies, colored, talked, ate, played with her dogs(thanks lexie) and basically just chilled out.  She fought the sleep really hard, but in general I would say she did better than I did.  I had really had enough at hours 7 and then was ready to bail by hour 10.  But she handled it like a pro and I have to say I am incredibly proud of her. 

 

We spent the first day in Shanghai and all I can say is WOW!!!  What a beautiful city and full of grandeur and architecture.  We had lunch at a very famous dumpling house that we had eaten at in Taipei.  We met Shiyu best friend Chaio and had a GREAT time.  She is in town doing an internship for the summer and she was just so gracious to come and meet us and entertain us for the afternoon.  We rode a ferry, went to the world financial center building and then rode the magnetic train back to the airport(7 minutes people at 300 mph) it was AWESOME!!! 

 

We then boarded our flight for Chongqing and by midnight we landed and were greeted by EVERYONE that Shiyu is related to, is friends with, or perhaps has EVER met!!  LOL they take this meeting and departing the airport thing REALLY seriously.    I was handed the BIGGEST most beautiful bouquet of flowers I have EVER seen and we were met with hugs and more excitement than you can imagine.  Hayden did well for about 3 min, and then the I am SO tired, and there are WAY TOO many people trying to say hi, touch, or hold me that I can deal with.....and broke out into full blown melt down mode:(   She recovered and while is still adjusting a bit to the time change is doing fairly well.  Around 4-6 p.m. is when she starts melting and to be honest that is not that much different from home.  The famous witching hour. 

 

Anyway, we are here and feels great to unpack, and see Shiyu surrounded by those she loves so dearly.  I love that this family embraces Hayden as their own.  They could not be happier or more excited about her visiting.  They have again rolled out the red carpet and already done WAY too much.  Everything to make sure the princess is comfortable. 

 

I have to tell you that when we were here before we did not have Hayden yet.....and so we did get some stares, but nothing that unusual.  When we had Hayden in Taiwan, we didn't go out that much because Hayden was grieving so hard.  So I had very little interaction with eyes staring or mouths whispering.  But MAN this trip is totally different.  The stares are just uncomfortable and filled with curiosity as well as a bit of ....well I am not actually sure, but for the most part it does not feel that positive.  It seems Hayden had not really taken notice and hoping that continues.  Today someone was certain that I must be Shiyu's mother in law and Hayden was my granddaughter.  Yesterday at the airport we had a girl walking with a friend that literally almost fell down because she wasn't paying attention to walking and instead was too busy staring at Hayden and I....it was funny and hard  not to laugh.

 

Well we are off to Chengdu this weekend for the Dragon boat festival and hopefully see the panda sanctuary.  Should be a blast and I think Hayden will have a great time. 

I am mailing my posts as it seems that I can not get on blogger.   So updates will not come everyday.  I also can not access FaceBook.  Seems the Chinese are not interested in where I want to go online!!

 

Thanks for sending us good thoughts for the flight, I would say it worked 10 times over. 

 

enjoy the pictures.