2/23/05
We left Home around 4:00 and drove to our friends' place just south of Chicago, where we spent the night (thanks Ron & Debbie!). It was tough to sleep thinking about the trip (and trying to think of anything we forgot to pack).
2/24/05
One of Ron's neighbors just happens to own a limo service, so we hired him to take us to O'Hare in the morning so we wouldn't have to worry about traffic or leaving our car.
We met up with some other families in our group and boarded the plane around noon.
6 1/2 hours into the flight, we crossed very near the north pole
Here's a photo out the plane window. If you zoom in real close on the spot I marked...
...you can see this:
;-)
2/25/05
After 14 hours in the plane, we finally landed in Beijing (3:40pm Friday 2/25 Beijing time)
After what seemed like hours standing in line to get our passports checked, we took a bus to the Jianguo Hotel
We unpacked, got a bite to eat down the street with some of the group at the nicest Pizza Hut you have ever seen - it looked like an art gallery inside. The strange thing was that it appeared that they didn't actually make the pizza there. We could see couriers on motorbikes brings pizza to the restaurant from some other location. They must call it in to the 'kitchen' after you order. Afterwards we went back to the hotel to get some rest. Tomorrow will be a big day!