Shanghai (conclusion)
Our guides had arranged three transfer shuttle times for getting our group members to the airport for our flights home: 6:30 AM, 7:30 AM, and 11:30 AM. Traci and I were assigned to the 7:30 AM shuttle since our flight was scheduled for noon. There was only one other member from our group on the shuttle. She was headed to Atlanta, Georgia on a flight that would depart a little earlier than ours. Our tour guide also accompanied us on the shuttle ride to the airport.
Traci and I flew from Shanghai to Washington Dulles on United Airlines. This was my first time on an airplane that had an upstairs. Our seats were on the lower level. I was a little stressed because although we had boarded the plane on-time, we did not take off until over an hour later. We needed to change planes in San Francisco for our flight home. We would have two hours in San Francisco to retrieve our bags, go through customs, go through security, re-check our luggage, and find the gate for our flight to Dulles. I was worried that the delay would seriously cut into the two hours we had to get through the process. Fortunately, all was good. The pilot must have made up some serious time on our flight that was supposed to take 11.5 hours. We landed in San Francisco only 20 minutes late. Traci and I went through the U.S. arrival process and made it to the gate for our flight home with 20 minutes to spare before boarding.
Our friend Tonya met us at the airport to give us a ride home. She is such a trooper. She had just been in a serious accident a few days prior that totaled her car when a distracted ran a red light. Despite the horrific event, Tonya was waiting for us at the airport in a loaner car and a boot on her leg.
Our trip to China far exceeded my expectations. I will always remember our experiences there.
By the way, I promised I would talk about the White Rabbit candy Traci and I bought to share with our co-workers. I jokingly blame Traci for my mishap with the candy. She jinxed me. I tried the candy when I got home. It is basically taffy. Traci did not think I should be chewing it because she said I would damage my teeth. I disagreed with her assessment because I have been eating candy all my life without any problems. Less than a minute after I dismissed her warning - Uh oh! One of my crowns came out. Traci rolled her eyes. I then had to endure the words, "You should listen to your wife." to which I groveled, "I stand corrected."
It turns out that I already had a 6-month dental cleaning scheduled for two days after the crown came out. My dentist was able to cement it back in. In my defense, she told me it was a very old crown. However, after the ordeal, I did not feel right taking the candy to work knowing that it could cause damage to dental work. Main Page
Magnets Purchased on this Trip: (click to enlarge)
Entire fridge magnet collection...
