April 17, 2016 Coming Home

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One journey ends and another begins, the journey home. But before that let me take you back to last night. After our nap,it was about 5:30 and we were getting hungry. So Rick and I decided it was time to go downstairs and scope out up some dinner options.



When we hit the lobby we spied Heidi sitting on the couch waiting for Marilyn and Bob, her parents. She waived us over and gave us the plan. It seems she was plotting to ask Jo to join us for dinner, something usually frowned upon by tour companies, but we didn't care, Jo was worth it. John came down next and we let him in on the plot. Mike joined next and the plot thickened. Heidi called Jo, and she accepted our invitation.



Unfortunately, as we approach the hotel exit, it was pouring outside. The wind was blowing real hard and it looked miserable. We decided to get some cabs to take us to the mall where we hoped to find a western styled restaurant. Jo assured us she knew a of one.



As we prepared to get a cab, Mike and Rick backed out. Rick hurt his knee earlier and he felt that the weather and walking in the rain was not in his best interest. Mike did not like the rain, so our party was reduced to six. Despite some rain, we chose to walk to the mall.



Out the door and into the rain we headed. We were in the bad weather for only a few minutes, when the rain suddenly stopped. It was cool, but dry, so we continued our journey to an unknown restaurant.



When we arrived at the mall, Jo came clean and told us that she really had no idea of where to eat, so we looked for the information map and picked out the only western restaurant we could find, The Blue Frog. So we headed over.



It took us a few minutes to negotiate the right direction but we soon arrived at our destination and were seated imeadiately. The Blue Frog turned out to be a burger joint that served good food and and good beer. It was also a swinging place with music and the young crowd, we fit right in.



We were told by the waiter, through Jo of course, that we were still in happy hour, so the beers were two for one. We quickly ordered three Tiger Beers, and they delivered six. Nice. We ordered some specialty burgers, while Marilyn ordered Fajitas. Yup folks, she ordered Mexican food in a Chinese restaurant in China.



Now there is something about ordering and getting food in China that is a bit disconcerting. The food is all ordered at the same time, but it is delivered soon as it is ready. My food and John's food came first. We waited a bit to be polite, but the rest of the food seemed to be nowhere in sight, so we decided hot food was better than polite food, so we started eating. Next came Jo, Bob and Heidi, who all ordered burgers. Now there was Marylin, waiting for her Mexican food. I told her it was a bad idea. Her food finally came and we all enjoyed our fare.



The food, the conversation, the company and of course the beer, was absolutely wonderful. As John said, "Last week, no one knew each other and now we are even best of friends." He was right and we all agreed. We talked and laughed, alot; told stories and just enjoyed the evening. This too, however, had to come to an end, and all too soon we had to leave for the final walk back to the hotel and bed. Jo had a wake up call set for 5 AM.



Wake up call came at 5 and we were ready. Rick and I packed last night.Jo helped us out by buying back our Yuan at a very favorable price. All we had to do was dress and lug our bags to the lobby. When we got there Jo was waiting to greet us. She arranged for us to to get a take away breakfast and hot coffee. She thinks of everything. We loaded the bus and headed to the airport.



We were going to the city Airport, so the trip was short. At check in, when Rick's bag was scanned, they saw something they did not like. We headed to security who asked us to open the bag. Upon a complete inspection, they discovered the dreaded refrigerator magnet. They inspected the magnets for contraband and finally passed his bag for flight approval.



We had about an hour before our flight so we chatted while we waited. Some of us were on a later flight, about an hour different, because these folks were going to San Francisco, while the rest were going to JFK in New York. When our flight was called, we had to say our final goodbye to some of the travelers. The rest of us boarded the two hour flight from Shanghai to Beijing.



The flight to Beijing was uneventful Rick and I slept. We arrived Beijing and took the very crowded bus to the international terminal. That was a hoot. Good thing Asians use good deodorant is all I have to say.





We had a long walk to our terminal, lost Dick for a minute, but we found him and Mike so the entire crew made it this far. No problems with Customs, they really don't care what you are taking out of the country. The bigger issue will be customs in the US. We will see. The flight leaves in 90 minutes. We have a 13 hour flight to NY.



We boarded our flight on time and took off about 20 minutes late. The flight was long but uneventful. We arrived NY and caught our final flight home and back to normal. It is hard to believe we woke up this morning in Shanghai China and went to sleep in Toledo Ohio. The vacation had ended, the memories will go on. There is one chapter left in the story.

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Photos

China Spree 2016
The best Travel Family EVER

China Spree 2016
Tea House setting