We got an early an early start this morning with our flight to Orlando. We were very thankful to not have to contend with any inclement weather. We've been monitoring the tropical updates for the past week. We left just in time for a possible Isaac landfall later this week. Smooth sailing! Sophie did fantastic! What a difference a couple of years makes. We went from October 2010 with a screaming, crying, petrified child to an expert traveler! She is engrossed in all things technological and really enjoyed the plane ride. Of course when we landed in Chicago she did ask "are we done with China yet?" Lucky for her we had a break built into our itinerary with a little stint in the priority club at O'Hare.
Little did we know, this was going to turn into a big break. We went from a noon departure time to a 2:00PM departure, to a 4:00PM departure time. A few extra hours at the airport don't seem like a big deal. However, that puts us arriving in Beijing an hour before we have to depart for Jinan. That means one hour to clear customs, find our luggage, re-check our luggage and check-in with Air China. Probably not possible. So we got on the phone with the travel agent who booked our tickets and called our adoption agency to see about taking the train from Beijing as other families are doing.
While we wait I searched Air China's site to learn there are no later flights. That pretty much solidifies that we have a problem. My phone rings and it's the travel agent. I let him know before he can speak "I already know...no later flights. Right?" He informed me that I was correct and added "and now the Jinan flight has been cancelled all together because the connection time was too short." Well, that seals the deal. I guess we're spending the night and taking the train to Jinan Sunday morning (Saturday night for those of you keeping track). This means we'll roll into Jinan (literally) at the morning we'll meet Lucy.
Of course this is a fine plan. A different plan, but a fine one. Then there are looming memories from Sophie's gotcha day where we strolled in to her hotel at an unscheduled time due to a plane NOT being book for us. We met our sobbing daughter after 10PM that night and we were so unprepared! We hadn't even had the opportunity to visit our room. I definitely don't want that to happen again. I'm trying to remain calm and know that trains don't have the same scheduling issues as planes. Right? Who am I kidding??? I know nothing about trains!
The silver lining is that Sophie will get to ride a train for the first time and we'll be with part of the travel party we were already going to meet up with in Jinan. Of course, we will need to navigate our way to our Beijing hotel sans guide. Hopefully that will turn out well!
Until our flight changes or we arrive safely....praying for the latter,
Stacy
P.S. Please excuse our dust on this blog. ;)
No comments:
Post a Comment