Leavin' on a Jet Plane!

Well, it's been a whirlwind weekend, to say the least! Bill & I have officially taken the plunge and purchased a tour of Vietnam for the ten days leading up to the start of our adoption process. Translation: we leave on Wednesday night - June 4!!!!! Wednesday, as in 2 DAYS FROM NOW!

.

We are flying into Hanoi and will land there on Fri, 6/6. (Don't even get me going on trying to explain the travel times and time zone changes. Just know that we are the opposite of you - exactly 12 hours different when we are in Vietnam.)

.

We will be touring Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hue, Hoi An, and Saigon. In Hanoi, we will get a tour of the city and some of the tourist highlights in the Old Quarter for a couple of days. Then, we are both so excited to spend the night on a Vietnamese Junk boat (see the photo below) in Ha Long Bay and watch the sunrise over the ocean. We'll then fly to Hue, the original imperial city of Vietnam and see the beautiful architecture. Hue is the culinary capitol of the country, so I'm especially excited to try the food there. My travel books say the best chefs at the best restaurants in Hanoi and Saigon all trained in Hue - we'll let you know! :) We'll also take a boat ride up the Perfume River in Hue.

.

From Hue, we will drive over Hai Van Pass to Hoi An. The drive overlooks the China Sea - supposed to be beautiful and strikingly similar to Route 1 in California. We'll visit China Beach - a popular R&R spot for American soldiers during the Vietnam war. Hoi An is home to the silk and tailoring industry of Vietnam, and Bill is looking forward to having a suit or two custom made there for a fraction of U.S. costs. (Eat your heart out, Wade Speas - the man with the custom suits!!! :) ) I am personally going to shop shamelessly in Hoi An, as it is known for handcrafts, including embroidery, silk linens, and pottery. I've personally never met handmade pottery I didn't like, so I expect to enjoy Hoi An a lot!

.

Finally, we will fly to Saigon, where we will spend two days seeing the sights of the city. We'll meet up with our adoption group about 6/16 - 6/17 and get ready to meet David!

.

And now for the star attraction......David! :) We are scheduled for our Giving & Receiving Ceremony on 6/19. (For you non-adoption folks, the G&R is when we officially take possession of David - Vietnam gives him to us, and we receive him! From then on he is ours!!!) We'll probably be in David's province, Vinh Long, for a day or two before the G&R.

.

After G&R, we'll head back to Saigon for some adoption necessities (translation: more paperwork!). Then, we will fly to Hanoi to complete our final paperwork at the U.S. embassy before returning home. If everything goes smoothly, we would love to be home just in time for the Fourth of July, but don't be too surprised if we don't make it back until sometime the next week. After all, we know that everyone enjoys a vacation in July - including airline staff! :)

.

Check back often! We promise to try to update the blog with travel photos and stories when we're not out having the trip of a lifetime!