OMG, what a trip... We made it from Guangzhou to Shanghai okay, after some unnecessary struggles in GZ (see previous entry). Upon arrival, I discovered that the Marriott [an acquaintance] picked out for us to stay in was 35 miles away!! I called Mom who looked it up and said that there was a Marriott 15 miles away but I couldn't transfer my reservation so she booked us a a Ramada and we caught the LAST shuttle of the night, at 12:05am! No free breakfast, and breakfast, if you bought it, was $23pp, so we starved until we got to the airport early afternoon. :o(
We checked our bags in, and headed to the passport line. Yang had been fussy all morning, but when we hit the passport line, she sat on the ground and refused to walk. I pulled her along the ground until we were deep in line and I finally said, "Fine. Stay here. I'm moving forward." and Mei and I continued. Well, against what I was expecting, she did NOT follow!! She stayed and cried on the floor in the midst of hundreds of people! Then, she must've realized she couldn't see us and started SCREAMING!! By that time, she was 30 feet back (how'd she get that far back??) and I sent Mei to go get her (yeah, right!), and Mei swam upstream through the crowd and I was left in line, with 5 carry-ons. People were motioning me to go back to get her, but HOW?? I had FIVE bags to carry and it was shoulder-to-shoulder people! Meanwhile, she's SCREAMING and EVERYONE is looking at me - some amused, some ticked, some understanding. It was AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL. Finally, a security person motioned me out of line while I heard a man mutter, "That's a good strategy to get out of line..." and if I knew who it was, I would have decked him!!! Like the Red Sea, the crowds parted to let us pass and the security lady said, "Take your child and go to the front of the line." Somehow, we made it through the passport inspection and were on our way. Oh, and a Chinese lady kept telling me to give her candy!!! THAT'S what got us in this mess in the first place! Teaching her that if she acts up, she'll get candy!!!
Sleeping on the other side of security. Poor girl was DONE.
After that, she was fussy and whiny, but no more fits. We ate a meal in the airport (had some spaghetti that was actually GOOD!!!) and I met a super duper nice man from Indianapolis, also eating in the restaurant. (Sooooooo good for the soul!)
The 13 hour flight went amazingly well, though we were in the center section and the piece of crap plane had TINY seats and one movie screen for everyone, so we had no choice on what to watch! I was SO hoping the girls could watch "Frozen" in Chinese as offered on my inbound flight 3 weeks ago. It was their last chance to see it in their language! :o( Also, the food was some of the worst airline food I've ever had. When we were embarking, Yang went the wrong way to her seat. Simple error - not her fault. Well, this uppity flight attendant said curtly, "Ma'am, please gain control of your child." I had had ENOUGH at that point. I looked at her and said, "I AM DOING THE VERY BEST THAT I CAN!" and Yang quickly joined us and we found our seats. (btw, that flight attendant went out of her way to kiss my butt the whole rest of the flight - lol - I guess she felt bad!)
Thinking that we were on our way to the hotel as planned...
So we arrived in Chicago and were standing out by the bus shuttle station and I called the hotel. [The acquaintance] screwed up AGAIN, booking us at the Marriott at Midway, not O'Hare!!! By a miracle, I reached him and he was able to get us to an appropriate hotel. Only 2 hours past when we should have been there. Grrrr...
The girls went to sleep around 9pm but woke up, wide awake, at 1:30am!! I offered each a melatonin, but both refused. I took some, as I was awake, too! I dozed off and on, as I kept getting woken up (surprise!) and I think around 4 or 5 they both finally fell asleep.
Waiting to board.
At 7, it was time to get up. Yang would NOT cooperate!! She wouldn't get dressed, wouldn't put her shoes on, nothing!! I pretty much dressed her, for her. >:o( It was time to leave and she was still whining on the floor, without shoes or socks. She knew we were leaving, but holding out on me doing everything for her. We headed out the door with 5 carry-ons, leaving hers for her to carry, and the hotel door closed accidentally, with her in the room, on the floor. Oh, the SCREAM she let out!! As quickly as I could, I opened the door (thank God I had the key!!) and helped her finish getting her shoes on. She whined and whimpered all the way to the airport, lying down in the middle of the swanky hotel lobby with well-dressed professional people standing around (naturally). At baggage check, she kept lying on the scale and people had to keep telling her to move - each time with a grunt and a whine. UGH. At security she kept lying on the floor, refusing to move. Oh, this child... Crying and fighting, she got through security and I managed to get her to a diner and she requested a banana. She ate the banana then promptly (and silently) barfed it up all over herself!! OMG!!!! A very nice man in a uniform kindly brought a bunch of napkins and I managed to clean her up. Thank goodness she barfed all over her jacket - I simply took off her jacket. The poor kid is DONE traveling!!! We are now at the gate and she is out cold. Hopefully she'll sleep the whole way to Orlando...
I need a vacation.
