More photos to excite you

Sunday, April 30, 2006, 9:15 a.m.

HATTIESBURG - It’s hard to believe, but on Wednesday we will have had Camryn with us for one month.
And it’s hard to believe that you are letting me continue to bore you with these photos from our trip to China to get Camryn.
But until I have time to take some interesting new photos, I guess you’ll just have to make do with what I post.
And, you have to admit, these photos are interesting and fascinating - just like our trip was. Maybe I’ll be able to post a few fresh shots later this week.
Until then, I hope you enjoy these 10 photos in a look back at the China trip.
- Terry R. Cassreino



PHOTO 1
This is from our own personal excursion to Beijing. Thursday, March 30, 2006, I believe. Pam and I took a taxi into the city near the Forbidden City and we just walked and walked and walked. We came across an entire store that only sells chop sticks. That’s it. Nothing else. Just chop sticks. Porcelain chop sticks. Metal chop sticks. Wooden chop sticks. It was a veritable Chop Sticks R Us. The Chop Sticks SuperCenter. Chop Stick Express. I couldn’t believe it. So I snapped this picture.




PHOTO 2
Later that day, Pam and I got hungry. Our hunger only grew as we passed restaurant after restaurant in town. Many served the Beijing specialty: Roasted duck. We passed by this restaurant and admired its menu; for some reason I can’t remember, though, we skipped eating there. I think, maybe, it seemed too touristy.














PHOTO 3
In front of the restaurant was this huge sign highlighting the major dishes served. I thought this was rather neat. Why can’t restaurants in the United States do something similar? I’d love to see photos of the dishes I’ve ordered so I know when to send it back if it looks wretched. Oh, yeah, take a look at the crispy crab and the roasted duck. I’m getting hungry just looking at this photo.














PHOTO 4
Friday, March 31, 2006. Speaking of food, we visited the Summer Palace on this day with other families in China with Holt International Children’s Service. And part of our tour included lunch at this restaurant on a hill overlooking the lake. Unfortunately, the view of the lake was obstructed by construction. But the food inside was excellent.






PHOTO 5
And here it is: Our lunch. Like in most Chinese restaurants, lunch was served on a Lazy Susan or a revolving table. Each dish was placed on the table; diners take a little here and a litte there. While the food was good, it was a bit Americanized and not quite the real Chinese experience you find in a neighborhood restaurant.







PHOTO 6
Outside, we noticed the incredible detail on the exterior and ceilings of the ancient, classic Chinese buildings. And while at first it looked like intricate paintings, I later discovered this is intricately detailed fabric. Over years, the fabric rots and the colors fade. Workers are now restoring just that at the Forbidden City and other area attractions.







PHOTO 7
Sunday, April 1, 2006. This was Pam’s idea. She and I, along with other Holt families, had just spent the afternoon touring the Forbidden City. We were across the street when Pam wanted a shot of the four bald guys on the adoption trip. Now, I have to admit I found it interesting that three other guys also shaved their heads. Pam did too. She laughed her butt off at the photo. I, by the way, am the good-looking bald guy second from right.





PHOTO 8
Here it is Monday, April 2, 2006. We are in Nanchang. We just got Camryn a few hours ago. And she is fast asleep in the crib. What a bizarre, surreal day. We started with Pam and me and ended with Pam, Camryn and me. After all that crying she did, Camryn just exhausted herself. Looking back at the photo, it’s easy to see how much she has changed in just a few short weeks.







PHOTO 9
Wednesday, April 5, 2006. Pam, far right, me and Camryn take a few minutes to relax in the Gloria Plaza Hotel before joining a few other Holt families for dinner at the East Restaurant. This also was Camryn’s birthday. And you can tell from the photo how genuinely excited she is to celebrate her first birthday.








PHOTO 10
Here we are about an hour later at the East Restaurant. We had just finished dinner when the folks from Holt surprised us - more than Camryn - with a birthday cake for the baby. The cake was incredible. The food, by the way, was one of the best meals we had in China.




Photos and text copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.

Random photo gallery

Thursday, April 27, 2006, 11:54 p.m.

HATTIESBURG – It’s been a long, long week.
I’m still trying to find time to sort through my hundreds of photos and hours of video I took in China.
And then I hope to arrange them into photo galleries for my Web site and for a home video I want to make of the trip.
I simply have not had the time.
And I don’t know when I will.
So, that said, here is a look back at a few photos you never saw from our trip to China (and a few extras, too). These photos are in random order. - Terry R. Cassreino

PHOTO 1
Saturday, April 1, 2006. Pam and I joined other families from Holt International Children’s Services for a tour of the Great Wall of China. This is what we call in America a “Big Ass Wall.” It’s long. Very long. Here, Pam and I share a brief, quiet moment while someone we don’t know snapped our picture. You can see the “Big Ass Wall” streaking up the mountain in the background through the arch. This wall was big. Correct that: This wall was big-ass.





PHOTO 2
Thursday, April 13, 2006. We are in Hong Kong on our last stop before flying home to Hattiesburg the next day. Here I am holding Camryn while shopping in what’s called the Ladies Market in Hong Kong. It’s sort of like the New Orleans French Quarter Flea Market multiplied by the thousands. Camryn didn’t much care for the shopping. She wanted to go out drinking instead. I, of course, told her no because we had to find a “Big Ass Suitcase” to pack her in for the return trip home. She didn’t like my joke.




PHOTO 3
Friday, April 7, 2006. Our last night in Nanchang for the 10 Holt families who adopted a child from the Jiangxi province. That night, we all ate at a Nanchang restaurant (I don’t know the name, but I didn’t like it as much as I did the East Restaurant near our hotel). After dinner, the three girls from Jiujiang City posed for this photo with their moms. Camryn, in blue on the far right, is from the orphanage in Jiujiang City and shared this final moment with fellow orphans.





PHOTO 4
Tuesday, April 11, 2006. Here we are in the lobby of the White Swan Hotel in Guangzhou for a photo session with all the children in our group from Jiangxi province. Poor Camryn got there late (we fell asleep in the hotel room) and was forced to sit on the arm rest for the photo. Needless to say, the photo sucked (something the child on the sofa, third from the right, also felt).






PHOTO 5
Tuesday, April 4, 2006. Pam, Camryn and I had just finished visiting the Nanchang Wal-Mart when we stopped outside for fresh air. Pam and Camryn sat on a bench while I turned my attention to this child’s split pants. Don’t be shocked. This is a common sight in China. And it’s a perfect example of the pants that Chinese families use to potty train their children. Children walk and run all over town in split pants, which I guess makes it easier for them to take care of bidness, as they say in Mississippi (I can’t help but think they also must leave you cold when you sit on metal or concrete). They were neat in a strange kind of way. I sort of liked them. I looked for a pair of split pants for myself; I thought I’d wear them to work or out to eat with my wife. I bet they are great when you are in a hurry. But, alas, I couldn’t find any in my size.




PHOTO 6
Sunday, April 2, 2006. Out last night in Beijing before we flew to Nanchang to get Camryn. Pam and I met another Holt couple for dinner and walked to this Korean restaurant. When we arrived and found a long line waiting for a table - and everyone talking in thick Mandarin - we skipped it and went back to the hotel to eat. We thought we’d rather eat Chinese food than Korean. I love the neon sign, though. And it is interesting that we were able to walk to the restaurant in safety despite it being about 10 minutes from the hotel.



PHOTO 7
Friday, March 30, 2006. Beijing. Bikes. Bikes. And more bikes. They are everywhere in China. You can even rent one to ride. Appparently, they are faster than driving in a car and getting snagged in Beijing’s nightmare traffic jams.










PHOTO 8
Tuesday, April 25, 2006. Camryn is adjusting just fine to her new parents, her new home, her new city and her new life. She is a different child than she was when we first got her. She is growing fast. And putting on a little weight. She’s even almost as big as that lady bug behind her - a reject from one of those Japanese nuclear-bomb-causes-mutant-insects movies.


Text and photos copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.

Hattiesburg photo gallery

Monday, April 25, 2006, 9:25 p.m.

HATTIESBURG - Sorry it has taken so long to post. Between work, jet lag and other things, I simply have not had the time to post as often as I did when Pam, Camryn and I were in China. Oh well, c'est la vie. At any rate, here are a few photos I thought you'd enjoy. Oh, and as a side note, I have not yet watched "Lacombe, Lucien." - Terry R. Cassreino



PHOTO 1
Here, Sophie, Camryn and I watch television on Saturday night, April 15, in Hattiesburg. It was one day after we returned from China. We were wiped out; I still haven't recovered from jet lag. Sophie seems a little jealous, but she also seems to have accepted Camryn.









PHOTO 2
On Easter Sunday, we celebrated Camryn's homecoming with family and friends at our house. The main attraction was a crawfish boil orchestrated by my brother-in-law, Paul Amore, aka Uncle Paulie. We also celebrated Camryn's first birthday, which actually took place two weeks earlier in China. Here, we nearly set the birthday cake in flames.







PHOTO 3
Pam wanted to see Camryn's reaction to her own cake. So Mommy bought her baby daughter a special cake. Camryn stared at it at first; she only got aggressive after I urged her to do so. And even then, it was relatively uneventful.















PHOTO 4
Nana Jo came by to visit for part of last week. She helped Pam with Camryn. And while I was away at work, they kept the house clean. Here, Nana tries to put Camryn asleep while I recline in an adjacent chair.











PHOTO 5
Aunt Brandi visits with Camryn outside our house. Aunt Brandi also visited last week and helped Pam and Nana Jo decorate Camryn's bedroom. Sorry the photo is overexposed.










PHOTO 6
At first Camryn despised baths. She screamed bloody murder, puked green pea soup, spun her head around and shouted frightening baby gibberish. It was a horrifying sight. Then, she found out she loved taking a bath in the kitchen. Here, she decided to eat the bath sponge before Pam begins the rinse cycle.








PHOTO 7
Here, I watch Camryn practice for this year's running of the Kentucky Derby. I actually thought it's a bit too soon for her to try something so ambitious. But Camryn disagreed and said the best way to prepare is to ride the rocking horse Maw Maw Gay gave her. After all, Camryn says, you can even hear the horse gallop when you squeeze the ear.




Photos and text copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.

What a difference two weeks make

Friday, April 21, 2006, 7:31 a.m.

By Terry R. Cassreino
HATTIESBURG – Camryn is a different child.
Two weeks after getting our daughter at the Gloria Plaza Hotel in Nanchang, China, Camryn has quickly changed from a scared little girl to a happy, fun-loving child who enjoys the non-stop attention from everyone she meets.
Two weeks ago, Camryn cried and scrreamed her head off. Today, she eats regularly, is adjusting from the 13-hour jet lag of our return trip, loves to be around her parents and enjoys attention from her grandparents and other relatives.
But for you to better understand the progress, allow me to go over a few key points in this young child’s life. Then sit back and take a minute to ask yourself if you could have done any better adjusting to the many changes Camryn did.
• Camryn was born April 5, 2005, possibly somewhere in Jiangxi province of China. We will never know exactly where. And there is a distinct possibility that Camryn is from Hubei province which is one over from Jiangxi.
• Her mother abandoned her. Think about that for a moment: Her mother abandoned her the day after her birth, possibly placed her in a basket, left her on the side of the road and fled. Luckily, someone found Camryn and she was placed in an orphanage.
• We’ll never know the real reason the child was abandoned. But there are several possibilities: Her mother wanted a boy so she abandoned the baby because she was a girl; the mother was affected by China’s limit on children; or her mom was a teenager ashamed of her pregnancy.
• I’ll throw in one other possible reason: Her mother was freaked out by Camryn’s polydactilly, an extra thumb on her right hand. So mom abandoned the baby with hopes that officials could care for her; they did, by the way, and her hand is perfectly normal.
• After a year in an orphanage, Camryn was ripped from her daily routine on April 3 and casually handed off to two strange-looking white people (one bald guy with a strange sense of humor who likes to visit Wal-Marts in other countries) with unusual accents.
• The child lived in three different hotels in three different cities over the next two weeks before being dragged (well, carried) screaming and crying aboard a jet for a 24-hour flight away from her homeland and to a new country.
• The child was bombarded by family and friends at the airport in Jackson, Miss., and again at our home in Hattiesburg. Plus, she found herself in another strange place, although with two white people she has slowly come to like.
This is a tall order. So, in my opinion, it’s not that shocking that Camryn has needed a little time to adjust to us. What is surprising, though, is how quickly she has appeared to adapt to her surroundings and new people.
They say children are resilient; I have proof.

Hard-knock life

Life in the orphanage probably was not easy.
Pam and I were unable to visit the orphanage in Jiujiang City where Camryn spent much of her first year of life. The city was simply too far away from Nanchang and in another part of Jiangxi province.
But we did visit an orphanage in Nanchang and, like most social service institutions in the United States, it was sad to see the residents. This place was filled with children, all homeless and all looking for a place to live.
If anyone in their right mind visited, they would have been emotionally touched and wanted desperately to help these children. Of particular note were the older children of 3, 4, 5 and above, who are harder to place in families than infants.
Anyway, I digress.
Life in Camryn’s orphange probably was similar to a degree to the one we visited in Nanchang. And in these institutions, children long for attention and love of which they don’t receive enough. The orphanages simply don’t have the staff.
And that leads to the children being substantially behind the curve compared to those of the same age in the United States. For instance, Camryn can’t crawl, sit up on her own, prop herself up on the stomach or hold her bottle.
Here’s another sad image: Many children from orphanages, including Camryn, have a flat spot on the back of their heads which indicates they were left in their cribs. Some who were adopted the same day as Caryn had a bald spot on the back of their head for the same reason.

Re-adoption process

Now that Pam, Camryn and I are back, the next step is for our social worker at Catholic Charities in Jackson to visit our home and file a post-placement report on the baby for the China Center for Adoption Affairs and Holt International Children’s Services.
I talked this week with our social worker and she will get back with me with a date for the visit.
Then Pam and I must initiate re-adoption procedures in Mississippi. We will re-adopt Camryn here through Mississippi courts and obtain a state birth certificate; she already is a U.S. citizen, so this is just a formality most families follow.
And finally, we’ll apply for a new passport for the baby in case we ever go on a cruise or visit China again (which, by the way, we just might do because Pam and I are interested in doing another adoption in the future).

Photos and text copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.

Jet lag causes havoc

Friday, April 21, 2006, 6:23 a.m.

By Terry R. Cassreino
HATTIESBURG - Damn, this jet lag is awful.
I have been battling it for several days now. It really hit hard on Monday night, and I've been struggling with it ever since. The good part is that I don't go to work today until about 2 p.m. or so, which gives me a few extra hours to relax at home.
It also means that Pam, Camryn and I likely will remain at home this weekend, Sunday and Monday, instead of driving to New Orleans for the annual French Quarter Festival. The festival is a free concert on stahes throughout the French Quarter.
The festival is an incredible event made even more special because it’s free. And don’t forget that it is the first huge even in the Quarter since Hurricane Katrina laid waste to this city in August 2005. Oh well, c’est la vie.
Maybe next year.

Copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.

Back on the job again

Tuesday, April 18, 2006, 7:20 p.m.

By Terry R. Cassreino

HATTIESBURG – Back to work.
Today, I returned to work for the first time in three weeks. It wasn’t too hard to get back in the swing of things. It’s the jet lag that is still slowing me down. Crossing 13 time zones in one day has finally caught up with me.
I was so drained Monday night that I fell asleep at about 9 p.m.; I hope it’s not that bad tonight.
Highlights from the past few days:
• We had a successful Easter Sunday crawfish boil that attracted family and friends to our house to celebrate Camryn's homecoming. We even celebrated Camryn's first birthday (we also celebrated it in Nanchang two weeks ago).
• Camryn had a Monday doctor's appointment. But Pam and I arrived at the doctor's office too late, so we pushed the appointment back a day. Camryn went today, and the doctor said she is a perfectly healthy girl.
• And I’m still toying with the idea of pulling together all my posts on this blog and using it as the basis for a book, maybe expanding it and turning it into a memoir or sorts. This is just in the early stages.
I’ll try to post a few new photos when I have a chance. Until then. . .

Copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.

Camryn visits with her godfather

Monday, April 17, 2006, 9:22 a.m.

HATTIESBURG - Camryn sits on the lap of her godfather, Fredie Carmichael, on Easter Sunday at the Cassreino house. This family gathering (Pam is sitting in red in the background) was a crawfish boil to mark the homecoming of Camryn after our 19-day trip to China. Note how calm and content Camryn is with Fredie. She just seems so cute and calm sitting with her godfather. No doubt, a perfect match. - Terry R. Cassreino

Photo courtesy of Fredie Carmichael (but taken by Terry R. Cassreino).

One more photo gallery from China trip

Saturday, April 15, 2006, 12:06 p.m.

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Here are a few new photos I thought I'd post to wrap up our trip to China. These aren't that spectacular, but some are, dare I say, cute. At any rate, enjoy them if you like. - Terry R. Cassreino.



PHOTO 1
Pam, Camryn and I were eating dinner Thursday night at the Harbour Metroplis Hotel in Hong Kong after a long afternoon of shopping. Camryn, who went without a nap, was exhausted. Here, the poor thing fights sleep in between bites of dinner.










PHOTO 2
Camryn fussed a little later that night, but then went right to sleep. The hotel incidetally, provided a crib for the baby at no charge. The hotel was nice, but a bit pricey and the rooms too small for our tastes.















PHOTO 3
Here is a better view of the cubicle, or rather room, where we stayed at the Metrolpolis. The room was small compared to the rooms we had in Beijing, Nanchang and Guangzhou. But the bed was comfortable and the air conditioning worked.














PHOTO 4
Pam smiles here in the Toykyo airport in between flights on Friday from Hong Kong and to Detroit. Little did she know that the upcoming Tokyo-to-Detroit flight would become "The Flight from Hell." Keep telling yourself "It's only a movie. It's only a movie. It's only a movie."









PHOTO 5
Camryn enjoys a bite of delicious pureed corn and chicken from Heinz baby food. Yum. This, of course, was before the baby took over a featured role in "The Flight from Hell."











PHOTO 6
Ba ba (what the Chinese children call their dad) falls asleep with Camryn in his arms after trying to quiet a restless baby following more than 24 hours of flying that left everyone on board with three hours of sleep at most (in between showings of "The Flight from Hell" starring Camryn and Pam). I was exhausted. So was Camryn. But, boy was she fussy Friday night and Saturday morning.




Photos and text copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.

Notes from China trip

Saturday, April 15, 2006, 11:43 a.m.

By Terry R. Cassreino

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Now that Pam and I are home after our journey to adopt our daughter from China, I offer these comments about the trip.

Holt International Children’s Services
Our social worker from Catholic Charities said she had good responses from Holt and a longtime friend and fraternity brother also had a great experience.
Now, after Pam and I spent the past year and a half working with Holt on our adoption, we also have words of praise. This organization is first-class all the way.
Foreign adoptions can be time consuming, complicated and intimidating. Holt walked me through the process and helped me every part of the way.
If I had a question, all I had to do was pick up the phone and call the office in Eugene, Ore., and I had an answer immediately. Holt representatives also were great in China.
Folks, if you are thinking about a foreign adoption, this is the group to use.

Lotus Travel
Holt uses Lotus to help arrange travel inside China. We used Lotus to arrange our flight tickets and our extra days in Beijing and Hong Kong, as well as extra tours in Beijing.
Here is another organization that is top-notch. From the minute we arrived in Beijing on Tuesday, March 28, until we left Guangzhou on Wednesday, April 12, Lotus was there with us.
Lotus representatives offered great suggestions for sightseeing and dining in Chinese cities. And they offered practical advice for the novice traveler in China.
Beijing was a highlight of the trip when it comes to sightseeing Lotus arranged not-to-be-missed tours of several Buddhist temples, the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City (see earlier posts for more details).

Hong Kong
This is a busy city.
In many ways, it reminded Pam and me of New York City. We’ve never seem so many people - no, make that hordes of people - everywhere we turned.
And to top it off, we only visited one small part of the city.
Too bad the merchants in this city weren’t in the mood to bargain the way they did in Guangzhou. I picked up a new suitcase in Guangzhou for $10 and in Hong Kong for $20.
The suitcase from Guangzhou wasn’t quite as nice as the one from Hong Kong. But, the Hong Kong folks simply didn’t want to deal at all. I was disappointed.
I wish we had more time in Hong Kong if only to try one or two restaurants in town. We simply didn’t have enough time to eat anywhere other than the hotel restaurant Thursday night.

Odds and ends

• What is it about neon? It’s everywhere in China. Every city becomes a spectacular nighttime display of neon as restaurants and billboards endlessly tout products in neon.
• We finally discovered the secret to Coca-Cola in China. The Coca-Cola Bottling Co. there uses sugar and not high fructose corn syrup to sweeten Coke. You can certainly tell the difference.
• Pam’s mom flew from Jackson to Detroit with her nephew’s wife to meet Pam and me on our way to a connecting flight to Jackson. The visit shocked Pam, who was reduced to tears.
• The Jackson airport also was a memorable scene. Our family and friends, holding balloons and gifts, burst into cheers and tears when they saw Pam, me and Camryn.
• I imagine their excitement must have been similar that of Pam and me on the day we met Camryn. And the poor baby was so confused by all the people who wanted to see and hold her.
• After some disgustingly awful and inedible plane food (see previous post), Pam and I joined other family members at Cock of the Walk before we brought Camryn to see pop-pop.
• We returned home for the first time in more than two weeks and slowly began unpacking. I didn’t realize how much stuff we brought back. Besides that, I need to buy a lawnmower and cut the grass.

Final word
Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to read and visit our blog during our trip to China.
This began as an experiment, as a way to keep our family and friends informed about our adoption trip. But the more I played with it in China, the more fun I had writing.
Consequently, this blog took on a life of its own. And, I’ll have to admit, the responses I got from everyone who read my posts and looked at our pictures, fueled my enthusiasm.
This truly has been an amazing journey for Pam and me - and we were more than happy to share it with you.
I plan to keep updating the blog, hopefully on a daily basis. It obviously won’t be as intensely updated as it was during our trip (I do have a job), but I’ll try my best.
Thanks.
And God bless.

Photos and text copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.

Return flight from hell

Saturday, April 15, 2006, 10:47 a.m.

By Terry R. Cassreino

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Call it the plane ride from hell in which our new daughter suddenly and shockingly turned into the living manifestation of Regan McNeil.
While her head didn’t spin like “The Exorcist” character, Camryn screamed and cried almost non-stop Friday on our four-hour flight from Hong Kong to Tokyo and 11-hour flight from Tokyo to Detroit.
Camryn was miserable, and, damn it, she was going to let us know. Can you blame her?
She’s a year and a week old, she’s been jolted from her life in a Chinese orphanage and thrown together with two strange people who speak and weird language.
That’s not all: Camryn also lived a few days in one hotel in Nanchang, in another one for several days in Guangzhou, and in a third one for two nights in Hong Kong.
And she’s still surrounded by two strange people who don’t look like the Chinese adults she’s been with all year and who speak that strange-sounding English language.
With all that combined, why wouldn’t she be miserable during 24 hours of traveling half-way around the world to her new home, new family and equally strange new surroundings?
Despite all that, the plane ride from hell was just that - HELL.
And even though Camryn’s inability to calm down and sleep for more than three hours was part of the problem, our three separate flights also sucked for other reasons.
How and why were they bad? Well, let’s look at the myriad of reasons.

Airline food
Pam and I flew Northwest from Hong Kong to Tokyo, Tokyo to Detroit and Detroit to Jackson. The last leg was on a 50-seat jet operated by Pinnacle Airlines.
The Hong Kong to Tokyo leg served breakfast: Bland, scrambled eggs topped with nasty salsa, one link of sausage that tasted like paper and coffee that had no flavor.
The Tokyo to Detroit leg served dinner that included a disgusting Thai-like chicken dish on top of rice. When Pam accidentally toppled her tray of food on to me, a bad dish grew worse.
Also on the Tokyo to Detroit leg, flight attendants served a foul tasting spice cake as a snack and another breakfast meal (at noon, go figure that one out) that also wasn’t worth eating.

Flight attendants
Pam and I can’t figure out why the flight attendants were such jerks when we flew on March 27 from Detroit to Tokyo and then when we flew on Friday from Tokyo to Detroit.
On both flights, the men and women attendants were snippy, mean, grouchy, and all-around miserable to deal with. They seemed to detest their job, and it showed.
And heaven forbid if you asked them a question or requested a favor.
Pam asked the male attendant on the return flight for hot water so she could warm food for Camryn. You’d have thought she asked him if she could fly the plane.
The flight attendant got the water for her, but he was a jerk about it.

Unsympathetic passenger
Pam and I had seats in the middle of the center aisle of our return flight. Single seats flanked both sides of us, so Pam planned to ask one of those passengers to switch places.
The reason: We had a 1-year-old baby and were traveling 10-11 hours overseas and overnight. Pam wanted easy access to the aisle so she could walk with Camryn.
When we boarded the plane 30 minutes before take-off, Pam took the aisle seat. The man whose seat that was arrived just before takeoff; when Pam asked him to switch, he refused.
“Fine then,” an angry Pam told him. “I’ve got a baby and I’ll just let you know that I’ll be crossing over your feet repeatedly throughout the flight to walk with her. So be prepared.”
The man stared at her and sat down.
Luckily a second man who had the single seat on the opposite aisle offered to switch places with Pam, which she did. It turned out the man was a pastor of a church in the Midwest.

Rough flight
The flight from Tokyo had a rough landing In fact, it was so rough I thought the plane was going to tip over on its side when it hit the runway.
The flight from Detroit to Jackson also had a rough ascent and descent. The rocking was so intense, it left Pam and me nauseous.

Bottom line
That said - and taking into consideration our child’s miserable ride - Pam and I have decided we’ll never ride Northwest again. I’ve heard too many other families who were adopting praise other airlines, so I’m sure we could find something more enjoyable next time.

Copyright 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.

China trip approaches final day

Thursday, April 13, 2006, 11:20 p.m.
One day until Pam, Camryn and I return home.

By Terry R. Cassreino

HONG KONG - We walked and walked and walked and walked.
And by the time we finished dinner Thursday night, Camryn was just about to fall asleep in her chair at the table in the restaurant at the Harbour Plaza Metropolis.
Pam and I originally planned to eat dinner at a local restaurant.
But by the time we were ready to eat, we were so tired from walking and Camryn was so irritable because she didn’t nap, we thought it was best to stay close to the room.
Plus, we have to catch a 5:20 a.m. shuttle Friday to the airport. So we stayed at the hotel and ate (at a rather pricey $50 each), or, rather, grazed at the trough of an impressive buffet.
How impressive, you ask? Well, it featured raw oysters on the half shell, snow crabs, Peking duck, braised duck, roast beef, fried rice, shrimp tempura and many more dishes.
This was without a doubt the most expensive meal we’ve eaten on our trip. Was it the best? Not really. That honor goes to the East Restaurant in Nanchang.
But our Hong Kong meal was good.
Now on to the photos. I’ve prepared a short photo essay to wrap up our stay here. The next post I will make will come after we return home on Friday.
Remember, our flight arrives from Detroit at 4:37 p.m. on Friday at the Jackson-Evers International Airport. We are on Northwest Airlink/Pinnacle Airlines Flight NW2878L.
Check with Northwest on the flight status.
Maybe we’ll see some of you there. If not, thanks for following our journey and enjoy our last photo gallery from China.



PHOTO 1
Here is the Hung Horn Station, the train station across from the Harbour Plaza Metropolis where we stayed in Hong Kong. While not as impressive as airports, the train station was nice. It had a McDonald’s and a Starbucks.









PHOTO 2
Camryn takes a much-needed break Thursday morning after munching on a huge bowl of noodles for lunch. We bought that and an interesting dish with eggs, tomatoes and a sweet red sauce. She loved both of them. I’m not sure the name of the restaurant, but it was on the second floor of the train station.













PHOTO 3
After Camryn dined, we took a taxi to the Ladies Market. This is a section of Hong Kong our good friend Raymond Joe recommended. It looked like the New Orleans flea market times 20 with people selling clothing and videos and jewelry. In the midst of this were a few beggars like this poor man. Most people and shoppers ignored the beggars.






PHOTO 4
Here is a shot of the street we spent all afternoon walking up and down. Hong Kong felt much different from other cities we visited in China. It seemed more crowded, crammed and fast-paced. I’m sure a lot of that is because of its former status as a British colony.















PHOTO 5
Food is everywhere in Hong Kong. Every place you turn you see a street-side vendor or a restaurant. Some restaurants are right next to each other, competing for business side-by-side. Here, worker prepare snacks they sell to people shopping in the market.







PHOTO 6
Even for a late-week day, the market was jammed. Look at the people.













PHOTO 7
Look at the purses. Pam said her sister would have gone nuts with the purses on sale in the market.













PHOTO 8
And if you didn’t like purses, then you could shop for watches.












PHOTO 9
Camryn went shopping for hats. She told Pam she really liked this one, complete with a braided ponytail in the back. Pam thought it was cute, but told Camryn she had to pay for it herself because “mommy just bought lunch for Camryn and was tired of buying things for my sweet little angel.”















PHOTO 10
Camryn even tried that tired act with me, grabbing a pair of goofy sunglasses and demanding I buy them for her. If I didn’t, she said, she was going to tell me what happened the last two weeks on “The Sopranos” before I have a chance to watch the episodes on tape. I caled her bluff and said she didn’t know what happened. “Oh yeah,” Camryn said, “try me. Go ahead and try me.” So I cracked and bought the glasses.


Photos and text copyrighht 2006 by Terry R. Cassreino.