Continuing the Journey

Our Last Full Day in Zhengzhou…

…and it was a good one! Since we opted out of the museum tour, we had to make our own fun today. No problem! Miss Molly plays very nicely with her toys, so we spent the morning in the room where she played…

…with Daddy (note that no Barbies were involved this time)…

…with her play dishes…

…and calling Meggie and Carson on her pink (of course) cell phone!

We borrowed John and Christie’s camera and were able to see the kids on Skype and talked for over an hour. It was wonderful to see their faces and for them to get to see Molly in action! Later in the day, Molly and Daddy went with John to the supermarket to buy us another camera…and it works!! YES!!

After Molly’s meltdown, she slept right through lunch, so we again had peanut butter crackers in the room. For dinner, we wanted to try something different. We decided to go to the New Island Coffee House with Ann, Erin, and Lily Ming. The food was great and reasonably priced and the meal was definitely an experience to be remembered. The highlights included being led past numerous empty booths and tables to a room way in the back of the restaurant, where we had our own private dining room…

…and a waitress who spoke no English. Before the meal was over, we saw at least five different waitresses! We figured they were drawing straws, figuring out who had to put up with the Americans. After we placed our orders (with much difficulty), they set the table for us. I got a placemat, a fork, and a spoon. Ann got a placemat and two spoons. Erin got a placemat, a fork, a spoon, chopsticks, and a cloth napkin. Kevin got nothing. It was bizarre!

Molly was enjoying the ambience of the place…

…as she propped herself up on pillows to check out the drink menu. When our food started to arrive, we tried to get cloth napkins for everyone. We could NOT get the point across. When Erin’s food came, we saw why she was the only one to get a large cloth napkin…

…it was provided to protect her from the sputtering and popping grease in her dish. (The waitress showed Erin how to hold her napkin appropriately.) What were we thinking, wanting cloth napkins just to wipe our fingers and mouths?! After bringing in all the food except for Daddy’s, the waitress shut the door to our private room. We wondered if that meant she wouldn’t be back. The rest of us were halfway finished with our food before his food ever arrived…

…and, lucky for him, utensils came with it. The meal was one of the best we’ve had here in Zhengzhou and definitely one of the cheapest. What started out looking like it might be a disastrous meal ended up being delicious and a lot of fun!

After dinner, we decided to head out to the park just down the street from our hotel. Tasha and Jim (with Lily and Aaron) and Mark and Christina (with Olivia and Grant) went with us. It was a great way to spend the evening. This park was large and elaborate and – to the dismay of the kids – the playground area was buried way in the back. We tried to make the trip back to the playground fun. Good thing we brought bubbles…

…since they distracted Molly from trying to jump into the lake that wound through the park. (She got VERY close to jumping in numerous times.) The bubbles were a huge hit with all the kids…

…and Grant, Aaron, Molly, Lily, and Olivia (from left to right) ran around squealing with delight for a good 15 minutes.

When we got to the playground, it looked really nice…from a distance. There was an enclosed area with various activities (rides, slides, a trampoline) and it only cost 10 RMB per child to get enter…which is about $1.49 in U.S. money. The kids DID have fun, but the parents who went in with the little kids said it was filthy and disgusting. Oh, well…sometimes you gotta get dirty to have fun! There was also a huge (and disgustingly filthy) bounce house across from the enclosed play area. Thankfully, they deflated it almost as soon as we arrived.

There was a group about 50 yards away doing tai chi in the park…

…and I wish my camera took better nighttime photos ‘cause that little one in the walker was trying so hard to do the motions with the grown-ups. It was adorable!

We headed back to the hotel and, after bath time, Molly got the second half of her spa treatment…

…her pedicure. Yes, she’s blowing her toes dry in that pic. I think this Princess has been pampered before ‘cause she knows just what to do.

As I started working on this blog post, I had an unexpected surprise…

…as Molly squirmed her way onto my lap. I think we’re making progress here, folks!

Molly is responding to her American name (we only use Yu Han when we need to catch her attention emergently, like in a safety situation), and can say “Meggie” and “Carson.” She says a few phrases in English: “come awn” (aka “come on”) when she wants us to hurry, “up, please” when she wants Daddy to pick her up and carry her, “love you,” “wait,” “no,” and “sit down” are the ones that come easily to mind. She follows directions very well…well enough that a few people have been fooled into thinking that she speaks English. She is the life of every party with her devious sense of humor and her hearty laugh.

So, how was that for a day of rest? I think we did a bang-up job of making it fun…and we are one day closer to coming home. Tomorrow we leave the hotel around 2:30PM to head to the airport. We should be arriving in Guangzhou around 7PM tomorrow night. White Swan Hotel, here we come!

Closing pics tonight are of the kids goofing around on hotel beds…

…and this trip is officially halfway over! Eight more days ‘til we head home…