Travel day to GuiPing City, China

Thank you for following along and hanging in with me and all of my typo's, fragmented sentences and bad writing. Sometimes I feel as if I don't use my brain very often since I don't work full time. So this is me trying. Lol. I know Anna will appreciate the attempt someday. 

We went to breakfast at 8am today in order to see the Mueller's. (Grace). We knew the girls would want any last moments together. We had a farewell dinner last night and some of the girls did a little skit, dance or groups did something. Anna sang with a few other girls. It was cute. 

These chairs were hilarious. Black and sparkly. 

So hard for Anna to say goodbye to these girls she had spent all of her time with for two weeks. It was hard to say goodbye to our main National guide, Eric. He was amazing. Anna has shed quite a few tears over having to leave Grace. I was video taping the girls earlier and ask them what the highlight of their trip was. They both said the girls they have met. Looks like we need an excuse to pass through Nebraska to see Grace sometime. The girls on this trip have had so many good laughs and could embrace China and its beauty together. They share a common bond, whether we understand that bond or not. They were once orphans who waited for families. Some of them waited months and some waited for years. Some were left healthy and some were not. Some were left at the steps of an orphanage and some were left in spots all over China. These girls were the lucky ones who were left and found and taken to safety.  There were two boys on this trip, too, in the older group. A few big brothers came and a few sisters. 

Regardless of their past, these girls were given a future. They are thriving in America in loving homes. For two weeks we came together from many many states all over the United States. They built friendships that could last a lifetime. We feel very very blessed to be able to give this experience to Anna and to experience it with her. We hope to repeat this trip before she graduates from High School. The agency we are traveling with has been phenomenal. I can't say enough about them. 

We met Phoebe, our new guide, at 10 am. Phoebe is from Guiping City and is tall and lean like Anna. She works and lives in Guilin as a tour guide. She said she goes back to Guiping once a month. 

I am writing this as we take our six hour drive to Guiping City. The ride is a very very bumpy ride. I can't even describe it to you. The van is somewhat rickety and very noisy. I think our vehicles at home would handle this a bit better. ;)We are three hours in and the entire drive so far is surrounded by mountains. Therefore, we are in the mountains. :)  For those of you who know me well, you know I love two things....mountains and beaches. I haven't seen a beach yet in this trip, but we did the last time we were in Hong Kong.  It is beautiful here. Green and lush landscapes surround us as we wind around through the mountains. We have a lot of time on the straighter roads, too. Some roads are more bumpy than others. We can only go about 50mph. Quite an adventure! We stopped at a gas station and I experienced the "squatty potty".  Wowsa! Pretty sure it won't be my last. 

Leaving the hotel in Guilin

Bary did laundry last night LOL

Our local guide, Phoebe

Hotel here in Guiping City