And we are here, finally!  I apologize for not updating everyone on our progress but as you can probably tell, I've been busy planning one of the most important trips of our lives.


We got our TA (travel approval) on June 6th! I was not able to schedule any trip until we had a confirmed CA (Consulate Appointment). The consulate appointments were full and our hoped for, June 28th appointment was doubtful. Our terrific agency got to work. After one day, we got the phone call that changed everything. We had a confirmed Consulate Appointment for June 27th! Then our swearing-in ceremony is on June 28th, Rebecca's 10th birthday.


I hate to miss her birthday but I am truly glad that this little girl has a very special day to share with her very special sister. Rebecca was so sweet about it.


Helen has taken very good care of us. She and her driver picked us up from the airport and drove us the 2 hours (almost) to our hotel, only about 15 miles away. The traffic was very interesting. The lines on the road mean nothing here. They drive in the emergency vehicle lane, they drive on the wrong side of the road, they are careless.

Ok, back to the above picture. We had only hours, literally, to book our guide for Beijing. After requesting quotes from a few others, we decided on a terrific guide, Helen. She took us to this great section of The Great Wall. We this picture is from the Mutianyu section. This was challenging! The steps were uneven, many, and varied in height. Usually, the height of the steps were inches. Some of the step heights were approximately 18 inches. Our legs were tired. We successfully climbed up and back to 6 watch towers. Jeremy could have gone on a few watch towers farther but we decided to come back. Helen was shocked we went so far. We were sort of proud that us foreigners were able to impress a young guide with how far we walked and climbed.


We were given the choice to ride the ski lift back down or toboggan. We chose the toboggan while my parents rode the lift. It was a lot of fun. We had beautiful weather.


After the wall climb, we ate at the wall. There is a restaurant called The Schoolhouse. It was a real schoolhouse at one time. It is now a somewhat American restaurant. The four owners are American and we had a very nice time talking with them.


Oddly, there was a glass blowing demonstration in the attached building. The owners of The Schoolhouse also own a glass shop. It was beautiful. I loved the glass being sold there. 


As I am tired, I will close out here.  God Bless!!!  We should have Mariah in our arms in about 36 hours!