China, Part 1

In October or November 2017, Sam and I started tossing around the idea of going to Hong Kong for our 10 year wedding anniversary. At Thanksgiving, I approached Mom about watching our kids for us while we went and she said that she and Dad wanted to go to China as well, and it would be nice to do it with someone who can speak Chinese (Sam). We attempted to find another family member who would be willing to come to Houston to watch the kids but it was a big ask and we ultimately decided it would be too much. Then we realized we would be going to Utah in July for the Merkley family reunion. Although it did not correspond with the date of our anniversary, we talked to family members who live in Utah to see if they would be willing to watch our kids at their houses instead of traveling to Houston. Everyone was much more willing to do that and our trip started to come together. We bought flights in May and started planning the trip from there.

It was easy for Sam to request the days off of work but I had to find substitutes for all of my classes at the gyms where I work; I needed a total of 16 classes covered. In an attempt to not need one more sub, we stayed in town until after I taught my Saturday 10am Turbo Kick class. Sam dropped me off at the gym and then went home to lock up everything and make sure my laptop shut down correctly because it was getting really funky and has about three years of unbacked-up pictures. He picked me up after class at 11am and we were on the road by 11:17am. That meant I wore stinky gym clothes on the whole drive!

Mei did really well on the drive. But it is a long time for anyone to be strapped down and she was always happy when her small-bladdered brothers needed a break.

When we stopped for dinner we realized that our license plate had blown off somewhere. A piece of it is still attached to the frame, but the rest is ripped off and likely on the side of the road somewhere in Texas.

We arrived to a dumpy motel in Albuquerque around 12:40am and the kids were sound asleep.

Everyone was up early Sunday morning. Mei got some exercise in by running ladders at the motel.

Sam's brother (Seth) and Seth's girlfriend (Brittany) met us at our motel for breakfast. It is nice to see them whenever we pass through ABQ. We visited for one hour and then got on the road at 8:30am.

I spent a few hours of the drive writing instructions for the people who would be watching the kids. It is so hard to put into words the quirks and cares of four little people. I did my best and I hope that it helped at least a little.

This looks a lot like Taco Bell! Where's my Del Taco?!

We stopped to take a picture with the Utah state sign which is not something we usually do. We took a bunch of pictures for other strangers who were stopped and a stranger took pictures for us. Then Mei met a stranger's dog.

We arrived to Matthew and Laura's house at 6:45pm. Laura had prepared a delicious dinner and the kids jumped on the trampoline like crazy people.

After that it was bedtime for the kids, which was kind of an ordeal. They were hyper and in a new place. Eventually they all fell asleep and Sam and I chatted with Matthew and Laura and then prepared our suitcases for the main event of the trip. Sam was asleep before midnight. I was up much later but that's because I am a perfectionist and worrier.

On Monday, Edison and Declan woke up early and got a second goodbye in the morning before we left. We hurried out the door before Mei woke up because she would have struggled with seeing us walk away. 

Matthew drove us to the airport. We checked in and made it through security with only one little hiccup: Sam tried to smuggle a tissue in his pocket through security. Busted! He had to be screened for that. But really he needs to be busted for walking around wearing this neck pillow.

We first flew to San Francisco. We had a two hour layover there. We enjoyed our lunch and then played on the moving sidewalks, which I will argue are the best thing about airports. We also got to talk to the kids before we boarded a long flight to Hong Kong.

When I was asked what I was most excited for about this trip, I answered the flight there. I love flying but I also could not see anything past that portion of the trip. I could not imagine Hong Kong. It was so much work getting ready to go that I was in tears and wondering how we could cancel. Four kids is a lot to put on other people and I was so extremely worried about their safety and the mental health of everyone involved. So the flight was as far as I could see. We boarded the plane for our flight bound for Hong Kong. Brittany had recommended a few stretches for my arms and legs on the plane and I also downloaded an app. I looked up when to sleep to combat jet lag. I was ready. Ish.

The flight went smoothly. I slept sporadically, watched multiple movies, read a lot of my book, and talked to Sam. For some reason my left knee was really hurting on the plane. I don't know if it was because I had been sitting still too long but it was unpleasant. We only stood up once on the entire flight.

I was very disoriented. I was trying to keep track of time as if I had already arrived in Hong Kong but it was bizarre to have such a drastic time change.

When we touched down in Hong Kong, twelve hours later plus a fourteen hour time change, we were happy to be on solid ground. We had left San Francisco on Monday afternoon and arrived to Hong Kong on Tuesday evening. We got off of the plane onto the tarmac and loaded onto a bus. Then we drove across the airport. It was official: Sam was back in Hong Kong, 18 years after he arrived there last time.

We waited for quite a while for my parents' flight to land. Then we met up with them and waited even longer for their luggage. They had decided to check their carry-on sized bags and then the airport really struggled getting everything to baggage claim.

Eventually we got everything, bought Octopus cards for the train, and headed toward our Airbnb. Walking out of the train station at night was such a cool experience. It was surreal, but probably because I was sleep deprived.

We made it to our Airbnb in Mong Kok at 8:50pm and I was asleep not much later than that.