We finally get to fly back to Texas tomorrow.

Texas. Home to Blue Bell, Chick Fil A, Chuy’s, Outback, the best BBQ in the nation, our home, our family, our friends. And dear sweet tea, oh how we have missed you. Over two weeks of not being able to drink anything that doesn’t come out of a bottle has been rough. Not even ice has touched our lips during this trip. Other than Christian’s noon tea with the ladies, which was boiling hot, it’s all been bottled. Basically, it has been Coke, Pepsi, water, or some peach drink David recommended to Monica while we were in Nanning. I’m pretty tired of colas at this point.  The bonus is that none of us have been sick. Let’s hope it stays that way.

We spent our last day in China at the zoo, shopping, and then eating dinner with our newly found friends. The zoo was a rather nice one. We got to see some pandas, tigers, lions, monkeys, and such. The funniest thing we saw, though, was a GIANT preserve for raccoons. Really. Our guide Kathy was amazed that they are so prevalent in the states. She thought it was funny that they will walk up to us to get fed by hand. We only spent a few hours at the zoo, but it was a great way to pass the day. We wanted it to really pass along so we could get down to packing.

After receiving Alexis’s Visa to enter the USA from Kathy, we headed out for our last meal together here in China. Our last dinner was at a local Chinese diner that Kathy wanted to share with us. This place was a dive. The funny part was when we walked in the door and the Chinese boy being adopted by the other family put his hands over his nose due to the overwhelming smell of spices. Even Monica had to question the wisdom of this location at that point.  It cost us all of $69 Yuan (about $11 USD) to feed the family. Definitely one of our cheaper meals, and according to Monica, one of the better ones. It was Chinese. That’s all I can say about it. The chopsticks are no challenge. I guess I should try eating some Q with them sometime. Stab a rib or some brisket. 🙂 Christian now has a box of chopsticks made out of different types of wood. It’ll be fun watching him try them out with different meals. I expect a pair will end up with his lunch at school every now and then.

While I type this, we have 95 percent of everything packed. Monica is still doing last minute things. Christian is reading a book on his iPod (anyone surprised there?). Alexis is rolling around the bed next to me showing me the McDonald’s toy she got at some point in this journey. We have less than nine hours before our van pulls out of the parking lot beginning our three hour drive to Hong Kong International Airport. That’s 6AM China time. Our flight leaves at 11:40AM HK time. Fifteen hours later, we should be landing in Chicago, 1:40PM CST. We will go through customs & immigration and then recheck our bags for the last flight.  A few hours later we will be on our way to Houston.

Are we ready to be home? Absolutely. Are we excited we are going home as a family of four? No doubt. Was it awesome to have our family and friends following along virtually? Words cannot express how much it has meant to us for you all to be with us in this even in spirit. Are we glad our entire family made this journey together? Well, there’s no other way for us to do this. We are a family. Now, of four.

See you in the Texas, my friends.