Photos from the last few days of the trip

Since I wasn't able to share photos of the final few days of the trip in Guangzhou, I thought I'd try to catch up a bit tonight. I will also post some other of the good pics in the next few days. I'm trying to get them organized in an online site to make it easier. I took about 550 good shots, so they will take a while to get through.

This first shot was taken at the Nanchang airport, where we said goodbye to our local guide there, Shirley. She was very sweet and helped make all the paperwork and court appointments go by so smoothly - much better than we expected!


From Nanchang, we took a short flight to Guangzhou, where we stayed at the famous White Swan Hotel. Yes, we got the Coming Home Barbie, a custom Barbie that has a Chinese baby girl in her arms. Big collector's item. We had a room on the 15th floor. Here is a picture of the lobby.


On Saturday morning, I took Sophie for her doctor's appointment so that she could be cleared for departure to the US.


That afternoon, I ventured out to the Pearl Market, where this woman hand-strung the pearls while I watched. I bought strands for me and the girls.


As you can imagine, Sophie was excited to hear about her pearls. I didn't have the heart to tell her that she'll have to wait AT LEAST 16 years before she'll get them.


On Sunday morning, we went to the Six Banyan Temple, the oldest Buddhist temple in Guangzhou.


Just inside the gate, you'll find this structure. See the little hole in the top? If you get a coin through it, the Buddha will grant you happiness and good fortune. EJ couldn't resist the chance to try. She winds up...

She shoots...

She scores!!!!

Here is a picture of Connie, our local guide in Guangzhou:


And here is a monk that was sitting on the property:

This is the Buddha that was in the main temple where Sophie and the other babies were given a traditional Buddhist blessing.

We also got to see the only female Buddha in all of China:

Monday was a free day. K had to stay in the room from 11-12 while our guides did the American Consulate appointments for us, just in case there were any questions. EJ and I set out for some shopping! In the afternoon, while Sophie was napping, EJ and I hung out at the pool for a while. That evening, we went on a dinner cruise on the Pearl River. Here is our national guide, Rose, with EJ and a few of the other big sisters.

The skyline is all lit up like Vegas:

Here is the White Swan from the water:

After the cruise, K decided he could no longer resist the urge of the local Starbucks:

Here's Sophie's rappin' look:

Her face looks a little splotchy in this photo. She had a nasty case of heat rash. The pediatrician on the trip told me to use hydrocortisone on it. It looks so much better today...

At the White Swan, travel groups take a traditional photo of the all the babies on the famous Red Couch. Our travel group went to two different provinces. Here are all the babies from the Jiangxi province. They were so composed...for a short while. Sophie is up on the back of the couch on the right.

And this is the Jiangxi Big Sister/Little Sister Club:

EJ and Sophie love each other already:

Our family on the Red Couch:

Today was another good day. We went to my cousin's son's birthday party. Sophie had a good time watching all the kids in the bounce house. And then she crashed and napped for 1.5 hours there. Tomorrow, we'll try church in the morning and then we'll attend one of EJ's friend's party in the afternoon.