Pearl Market, Lychee Bay Park, and Yue Xiu Park

Today was a long but eventful day. We started the day saying good bye to Sarah and Isabella who headed for home. Then, a group of us headed for the Pearl Market. I've never seen a market like that. 5 stories tall with stores and stores of jewelry. They sell wholesale to jewelers around the world. I was extremely overwhelmed!! After the market, we went to a restaurant in the 2nd park near the hotel.

After lunch, we headed to Yue Xiu Park with the Guangdong team. The 1st 4 families - Vesa, Katja, and Jesse; Rebecca, Keith, Andrew, and Nathan; and Patrick, John, and Benjamin. Fed the fish some cheerios, found the 5 Rams and the large amusement park. The amusement park was truly a display of motherly love. The boys wanted to go on a monorail, bicycle ride, but they had to have an adult with them because they couldn't reach the pedals. Rebecca and I went along with them. Got my exercise in for the day (besides the hiking through the park)! Of course, we had to stop for ice cream. It was a great treat for everyone! Jesse was super funny with it. They'd give him a bite, and he'd make a face like he was eating a lemon. Then he'd want more and cried when it was all gone.

For dinner, we headed out to the "red latern" restaurant with the 2nd group of Great Wall families who came in this week. Scott and Veronica with their two adopted daughters; Nancy and her two daughters; and Tim and his two children; and John. We had Veronica tell Jack what we wanted to eat, and he wrote it down for us. He has been a huge help when trying to order stuff and pay for things.

The quiet of our room is welcoming! Trying to decide what to do tomorrow afternoon. We have our Consulate appt in the morning. Leaving the hotel at 9:15am, and we have to tell Rebecca, Keith, Andrew, and Nathan goodbye. They've been wonderful to hang out with! The kiddos have gotten along great!! Possibly going to the leather market. I really need Veronica to translate a letter for me. Hope she has time to visit with us.

I need to start packing soon and figure out if I need another suitcase. We already bought 1. Need to see if I can get it all loaded in what we have. Heading out on the 4:50pm train on Friday for Hong Kong. I think there are about 5 families heading out on the same train.

I've enjoyed the time here, but I'm ready to get back to the kids. Not so ready to get back to the grind of normal life, but ready for the rest! Let's get this show on the road!