Last Post from USA

It's a mad dash right now to make final preparations before we leave tomorrow morning.  Documents, carry-ons, hope-we-don't-forget-anything, extra camera batteries, snacks for the plane, worry-about-the-carry-on-size-and-weight-limit, and on and on.  The next post will be from halfway around the world, hopefully safely holed up in the Asia Pacific Garden Hotel in Beijing.

The bags are now all packed, things are ready to go. We're all nervous as cats, as we've never done anything of this magnitude before.  We've had many adventures, but this far eclipses them all.  We are going to do what we've done before other big happenings in the past--go for a late night walk. Perhaps we can walk off some of that nervous energy and get some sleep.

See you in Beijing!