Wuhan Day 2 - Yellow Crane Tower

Well, the number one attraction in Wuhan is the Yellow Crane Tower so that is where we headed this morning. We went with Kathy, our guide and a driver. The grounds and gardens were beautiful and the tower itself was very impressive. It served as a military lookout tower for the past 1500 years (!). It has been destroyed by fire a few times and every dynasty would rebuild it according to their likings...they had scale models of each reincarnation of the tower over the past few hundred years. As expected, we were part of the display/attraction so many people wanted to talk to us and take our pictures. It is weird to have people just grab your arm and pull you over into their group to take pictures with you. One thing you lose in China is your need for personal space...there just isn't any. We have all adjusted to being stared at. And I mean stared at...not a quick, polite glance but full-on in your face-Yes, I am staring at you staring. It was unnerving at first, but now it is just part of our day, especially here in Wuhan. Our guide said, "Just wait until you have the babies..." Oh boy..... Speaking of which, tomorrow is the big day. We will leave the hotel for the Civil Affairs Office at 9:30 am China time, that is 6:30 pm Easter Monday your time. By the time you finish Easter dinner we will have the girls. The appointment tomorrow is informal and will simply consist of us meeting the babies, having a chance to ask any questions we have of the nannies that bring them to us then coming back to the hotel to get to know each other. Our first formal appointment will be on Wed. when we sign some papers, make a pledge in court, etc. We will be going to the orphanage and the girls' finding places on Thursday. On Friday we fill out paper work for immigration and citizenship then fly to Beijing on Saturday... our first flight with the girls. We are all pretty excited about tomorrow. We have this afternoon and evening to get ready for tomorrow...We went to the equivalent of Walmart to buy water and diapers and are now unpacking, set things up, getting ready... Today is our 4 year anniversary for being logged in to adopt Hildy. After all this time, I will finally hold her tomorrow. I wonder if I will sleep tonight? I wonder if Norah and Hildy have any idea what is about to happen in their lives... From here on in there is going to be a lot of change in our little group... The next email will have pictures of our little peanut...

Lots of love, T