August 4, 2018... (We skipped August 3rd in the air since China is 13 hours ahead, but we will make up for it on our way home.)
Breakfast at the hotel finally opened at 6 am and we were first in line! The Boudreau's were the first couple we met that morning. We learned that they were from Colorado and also adopting a little girl with a cleft palate. Amelia would be their first child! We all found some eggs, breakfast pastries, milk cartons (We stayed away from the juice as our stomachs weren't adjusting to the new smells and we knew the water could make our tummies sick.) and fried rice and steamed dumplings for me and Scott. We had a big day ahead that started with visiting the Great Wall of China! 👟🧗♂️🥇⛰
Best group of brothers and travel buddies about to see the Great Wall and add 3 new sisters in 2 days!
Anyone with blonde hair immediately become “famous” when they stepped off that bus. William is the blondest of our family and he was OVER the fame and pictures in about 10 minutes. 😂
We grabbed our bags, sunscreen, bottled water and loaded the bus and met the remaining two families. Our drive to the wall was LONG and full of traffic, but it was well-worth it. I first saw the Great Wall with my Chinese students in the summer of 2005, and the magnitude of the wall and beauty of the country-side surrounding was as marvelous as I remembered. Scott and the boys agree that it was breathtaking and something we cannot wait to take Carson and Addie to see someday! The amount of labor that went into making the Wall of China, that can be seen from space, is hard to comprehend. It was a hot day and lots of stairs, but we enjoyed every minute. Scott even climbed to one of the forts and got us cold cokes and Great Wall medallions.
After the wall, we went to the Jade factories and purchased some of China's trademark mineral. Jade is considered to carry good luck and is highly valued in China. We had an authentic, Chinese lazy-susan lunch, which I enjoyed, Scott boiled peanuts and William and Jackson waited patiently until they could have PB crackers and protein bars on the bus. Lastly, we went to a Chinese acrobat show. There are zero safety codes in China...which makes for a fascinating show and I found myself praying for all of the acrobats and motorcycle riders the entire time. The boys loved it and the theatre even had a little air conditioning. Lastly, we skipped the "hot pot" dinner with the group and found a Pizza Hut. It's not the same as American pizza, but we were thankful for some familiar food.
William didn't make it until bedtime and we all slept about an hour longer than the previous night! What a fabulous day exploring China. All of the activity helped our anxiousness to meet YiHan and kept us from feeling the need to go to bed at 3 pm.
