And it was not a problem. The airport was very hot and muggy and after trudging through for luggage and then having the passports checked and such, we went to the part for declarations and explained that we left that question blank because of our having to carry the orphanage fees. They just shrugged and said "have you been in your luggage?" No - we were waved on. Zip, zip, and zip and suddenly we are at the Beijing airport, free of customs and not sure how to get to our hotel. Great Wall Adoption still didn't know we had missed the flight and we now realized that we could wait for our original flight but that was too long. Marty announced he wanted to go to the bathroom. Well a man approached and said "Taxi?" Marty said "Not yet" and told the man he wanted to find a restroom.

He asked our address. Well I knew it was the Poly Plaza and next thing I know this man has the luggage and is trekking away to the regular parking garage. We're trying to get him to hold up and Marty is wanting to know a price. He did show us a laminated card showing a range of rates to downtown and we're off again! He spoke in short, sharp words and again demanded that I tell him the address. Well it was in my backpack and I was too busy pumping my legs trying to keep up to get it. We arrive at his car and he looks at me and says "PAPER." I'm fumbling and hand it to him. He glares and then says "Not Polly - but Poli" Plaza.

Our trip to the hotel is a mixture of silence and him deciding I need to drop the Southern accent and learn Chinese. We drive 15 minutes and Marty begins whispering that this is not a metered cab, it's this man's private car and he's gesturing slitting his throat and stabbing his gut and I'm giving him the "mean Mama" look and hoping this man has not noticed.

30 minutes and two pull overs with him on his cell phone later we arrive. We get a room and call Mary Romer at 6:00 a.m., because she was the only person I called when we were stranded in LA. She was up and awake and had not gotten my message. She is delighted we are early and asks if we are interested in taking the tour with her she was scheduled for. We decline as we are weary, but our Mary is so delighted to be with her aunt and we figured that she just might love the tours and assist in getting her set to the 13 hour time difference.

The rest of our day was resting and meeting the others (finally) and bonding. Our guide, Rui, will not only be with us in Beijing, but she will fly to Taiyuan with us and be our guide there as well. We are elated as she is very personable as well as helpful. It's almost surreal being here. I don't care what anyone says about the hard beds in China - I loved it and slept like a LOG!

Now to Mary Romer (pictures to be added when we can download them)...

Mary and I eat breakfast at the breakfast buffet at the Poly Plaza which is absolutely fabulous. Western and Chinese cuisine was enough variety for anyone. I don't know if they can add Mary to the tour as I have booked it through Delight Travel at the last minute, so Carole and Mary stay up to meet the guide to see if Mary will be able to tour with the group as well. We meet Lucy who is an absolute doll and so pleased to have Mary as her first child to take her tour. I had already talked to a bus driver who said he was with Lucy, yet when we head to the vehicle it is a black car instead, with a driver. When I question her, I learn that today's tour is Lucy, Mary, and I for the entire day. Off we go to the Beijing Zoo.

The traffic is New York City bumper-to-bumper and our driver is very adept at dealing with it. They show us points of interest along the way and for a city of 14 million it is very modern and I am amazed at the number of cars. He gets us into a back entrance where he pulls us up to the back door where the pandas are. We go in the door and get tickets. When we get inside the door it is filled with bamboo on each side and there are two panda statues and I want to take Mary's picture on them. It was 3 yuan to do so, so of course I did...

We are blessed when we go in because the pandas are awake and one is eating the bamboo. One is moving around quite a bit and we are able to see one in action. As soon as we are looking at the pandas we have our very first encounter with Mary as a movie star. While we are taking pictures of the panda, the Chinese families are taking pictures of Mary. They are the friendliest people and so eager to associate with this four-year-old girl from America.

She is so gracious. When Jesus said "Come as a child" children learn to love despite language. She would pose, hug, let adults pick her up for pictures, hold hands, shake hands, wave, and say "hello" or "ni hao" as was best received.

The zoo is huge. There are open spaces with ducks and lakes and birds and then very closed in small places for animals (which is sometimes sad) but such a vast variety of animals and such. We were there for hours and did not see it all.

We met our driver who was waiting, and he then drove us to the Summer Palace. This is an absolutely must for anyone looking for something to see in Beijing. While Beijing is hot and humid, the Summary Palace is breezy, filled with trees, and a beautiful lake. It really is gorgeous and the architecture for the palace and the breezeway with innumerable paintings is just a glory to behold. We walked to the end of the lake where they have dragon boat rides. Mary informed me she had never ridden on a boat before and was thrilled at the prospect of doing so. We went across the lake and disembarked to a restaurant for lunch. Mary loved the flat noodles.

After lunch we met our driver to head to the Temple of Heaven. Mary finally crashed in the car from her long journey to China. On our arrival, we stopped at the Pearl Market. They take you in and first open a live oyster and show you many pearls in the oyster. The pearls have different colors according to which mineral they absorb such as black pearls - iron, white pearls - calcium, etc. Of course the pressure is on for you to buy these magnificent pearls. I was able to come out very well with minimal purchases. Mary was still asleep and Lucy was kind enough to hold her in the back of the store with the air conditioner on while I shopped. Lucy had attracted the entire store with people amazed at the beauty of this child - again a movie star, even while sleeping in her lap.

We had not purchased a stroller yet so when we arrived at the Temple of Heaven the choice was to carry Mary or to skip this attraction. Lucy insisted that I could not miss the Temple of Heaven (which she was right) and she was kind enough to carry her and then find shade for them to sit while I explored. Each time I came back another crowd had gathered, including soldiers and policemen - all to view Miss Mary. She slept the entire way back to the hotel where we walked into the lobby and were met by Carole and Marty (coincidence) who were better rested. It is hard to adjust to a 13-hour time difference, so we let her sleep. She awoke at midnight and we played until 2 a.m., and took a good bath and slipped into pajamas. I'm amazed at how magnificent a traveler she is - especially considering that she is four. We are blessed.