(These messages in our China Trip journal are from the Yahoo group message board set up for our trip)
* * * HELLO FROM HONG KONG!! * * *
12:22 am Sun in Hong Kong
10:22: am Sat Central Time
We made it! Yes, you are reading that time right ... it's after midnight here and I'm posting our first message from Hong Kong. To say we are a little out of whack on time is an understatement!
From the time we pulled out of our driveway until the time we walked into the hotel room, 29 hours went by. We had some delays with flights but ended up ok ... our first leg out of Peoria was delayed about 40 min due to fog, but then we got underway and we had a long layover in Minneapolis anyway, so it didn't matter about catching the
next flight. Little did we know then that the layover in Mnpls was going to get even longer ... we already had 5 hrs on the ground there before taking off, but the 747 that was coming in and would be our plane for the return flight had to divert to Anchorage on the way to Mnpls from Tokyo due to a passenger medical emergency. So that added 2 more hrs to the layover, now we're talking sitting there for 7 hrs. UGH! But we did meet up with one of the other families traveling with us, and they continued on the same flights.
We didn't know what would happen when we got to Tokyo because we only had an hour between flights and had been delayed 2 hrs .. but they held our flight and we got into HK a little later than planned, about 10:30 here, 8:30 am at home. We were thankful that they held it ... many people were told on the intercom right before we landed that they would be spending the night in Tokyo and would be rebooked tomorrow morning.
Other than just being too darn long, the flights were good. That is a long time to be on an airplane! UGH! The flight from Mnpls to Tokyo was 11 hrs 36 min of flying time, then rush into Tokyo late and run for that plane they were holding for us (and another dozen people or so) and then fly 4 more hrs to HK. I told Mitch that if the next plane we have to get on Tues was not taking us to Abby ... I just might refuse to get on another plane so soon. HA!
So we're checked in at the Regal Airport Hotel, you can check out their web site at www.regalairport.com and you will see it is literally AT the airport, we walked from baggage claim. Customs and Immigration checks went smooth, and now we are trying to figure out if sleep is going to come to us soon or if our bodies will insist on
staying on Central Time tonight! I'll let you know tomorrow! :-)
Anyway, thanks for all of the wonderful wishes and prayers and good thoughts being sent our way. We did find out from a note we received at check in that we will get Abby about 4:30 pm on Tues here (that would be about 2:30 am Tues morning at home) so we should be able to get some pics up before the boys head off to school!
Drew and TJ ... big hugs, we miss you! We know you are having a great time with Grandma and Grandpa!!
Lisa