Made it to Guangzhou

Hello to all,

We made it to Guangzhou last night and got to our room at the White Swan about 11:30. Drew did not fall asleep until we were in the car on the way to the hotel. He slept all night and I had to open the window to let some light in to wake him this a.m. because we had to leave to go for his med exam this a.m. at 9:30. I thought he was going to breeze right through the exams. He was just sitting in my lap watching everthing but as soon as we crossed the doorway to a room where there was doc in a white coat he would freak out. You go to three different rooms and by the time we got to the last one he was coming unhinged. That last exam was taking everyone about ten minutes, we were out in less than 4. That doc wanted him out of there. Of course if someone was doing to me what that doc was doing to him I would have been upset as well. Speaking of that the lady at the airport who was doing security screening gave me about as good a going over as the doc that did my physical before i went to basic training. i am not really sure what was going on but she was really, really sure that I was not sneaking anything on the airplane. I think she took a break and smoked a cigarette after she searched me. Well, back to the physical that Drew got. he was 84 cm tall and he weighs 30 pounds. He is a healthy boy. There was no one in my group in Xi'an but now that we are in Guangzhou there are 9 of us. Tonight we all going out to eat at a Thai rest. I enjoyed being in Xi'an, you could get out and walk around but the room was really small. The room here at the White Swan is probably close to twice the size plus there were no drawers for anything at the Bell Tower, here there is plenty of storage area. The Bell Tower is pretty nice and all that you hear about the carpet being nasty is true, but all in all I thing the good outweighs the bad. You could not beat the location.

Back to the physical for a minute. the couple behind me in one of the lines had a little boy and he had on the same shirt as Drew. Kind of funny. The pics that I posted are from top to bottom, Drew at the White Swan watching the fish and the water fall, the waiting room for physicals and Drew sitting in the waiting room. Thanks to everyone for the prayers and the post. I always enjoy reading what you have to say. I miss the people that i traveled with last time they really added to the experience but I have met a couple of people today and they seem pretty nice. Last time we were together from start to finish so we all got to know one another a little. Hope all is well in R'ville. Take care and I look forward to seeing you all.

Oh, I almost forgot, Drew's full name is , Drew Gang Strickland, Gang is pronounced Gong. He was called Gong-Gong at the orphanage and that is what he responds to best. My sister, Vicki, had asked if we had ever decided on his middle name. I figure if she did not know others probably did not either.

Kevin