going to China

it must've been sometime in the late fall that Samuel mentioned, 'hey, my friend Richard and his family are going to China this summer...he wants to know if i can come along.'  casual-like...the idea of a trip halfway around the globe dropped into our everyday conversation.

that we said 'yes!' with hardly any hesitation
kind of surprised him, i think.

and by the end of winter break, things were well-underway with trip preparations!  with only domestic travel under his belt, Samuel needed a passport.  back in the day, i think you could just mail off all your documents and your glamorous photo and sit back and wait.  now, however, you must either make an appointment (months in advance) or wait, wait, wait in a long line of wanna-be international travelers for your two minutes of fame with a passport agent, hoping you have filled out all the paperwork exactly so that you might receive a pretty navy blue U.S. passport in the mail in 4-6 weeks.

once that document was in-hand, it was time to apply for a Chinese visa!  Richard's family provided us with the exact specifications for completing the somewhat lengthy form, including a Letter of Invitation (which is required for visiting China), a trip itinerary (which you must submit), and residential addresses where they would be staying.  with the help of one of my mother's friends, we located an excellent visa agent in Cary so that we did not have to go in person to the Chinese Embassy in D.C.!  another 4-6 week wait, and we finally had a U.S. passport with a 60-day Chinese visa inside!

the visa agent location in Cary

the all-important passports with visas!

in the meantime, Richard's family had been keeping a close eye on good plane deals from our small local airport (illustriously called Piedmont Triad International, for we do, indeed, have international connections) to Beijing...and tickets were procured that required only a connection in D.C.!  they were, also, busy figuring out travel details inside China for visits south to Kaifeng, where Richard's maternal grandparents live, and for an amazing trip farther west from there to Xi'an, where the Terracotta Warriors were discovered back in the early 1970's!

naturally, we bought Samuel a Lonely Planet guide

(the cool, retro parents that we are)

an Actual Book

with several major events converging on a small stretch of time, i was mildly frantic (is that an oxymoron?) trying to make sure we didn't forget to do something essential.  during all these trip preparations (which were super-important to get right), Samuel was accepted to NCSU, and we needed to get all of those requirements (vaccination record, insurance waiver, orientation sign-up, dorm arrangements, etc., etc.) wrapped up before he left the country.  oh, and by the way, he was about to graduate from high school, which had its own checklist of things to do.  so....mildly frantic might be an understatement for my state-of-being during this past month or so.  (plus, hey, i've got a full-time job and another kid!)

but it was all SO EXCITING!!!

trying to travel light (and red, which is just a coincidence, really)

 finally, the DAY IS HERE!

(and the cruise director is in high gear)

receiving final instructions before launch

 we are fortunate that our airport is excellent...and small.

checking in, getting boarding passes, checking luggage, and going through security

took a total of about 30 minutes!

arriving at PTI

cruise director gone crazy

see you in China!

 YAY!

Richard and his family arrived at PTI!

sending him off to China!

the travelers!

 given that we arrived at the airport

almost two hours before boarding,

we had plenty of time to sit and chat

before they went through security.

Richard and Samuel

 and then

they were off!

navigating the security maze

waiting for the adults on the other side of security

one last time,

before he flew halfway

around the world

 ~ swoooooosh! ~

meanwhile,

back at home,

while he wings his way

towards the north pole...

 his mother was obsessively checking

the location of the plane.

 just one more time,

before i go to sleep.

p.s they arrived safely

Samuel did not sleep on the plane;
instead he got awesome pictures
of the North Pole
and the Cherskogo mountain range in Siberia!

this is now his story.
but i may do a blog with photos he sends me
so you all can see it, too :)