THURSDAY, JULY 25 – FRIDAY, JULY 26
2:30 am – up and at ‘em
4:00 am – catch airport from hotel to airport
4:30 am – load up two luggage carts at airport with our 10 bags + backpacks
5:00 am – Check-in at Alaska Airlines
5:20 am – Security check (I dropped my passport, but a TSA agent got it back to me before I left the area. (almost a disaster)
5:40 am – get to the gate and find a place to settle. Grab breakfast
7:45 am – begin loading the plane (late due to some maintenance issue)
8:30 am – Flight departs DFW
PACIFIC TIME (2 hours behind central)
10:20 am – Arrive Seattle, flew in over Mt. Rainier.  Wow!  Move to our new departure gate (3 different trains to move us to the correct terminal.)  Find a place to eat lunch and wait for departure.
1:20 pm – Begin boarding procedures for Beijing Flight on Hainan Airlines
2:10 pm – Flight departs Seattle.  Flight is full.  Mostly Chinese on board. Flight attendants speak some English and are very efficient. Meal is served 2 hours into the flight, beginning with warm towels.  Food is decent.  Choice is beef/chicken/fish, with rice and steamed vegetables.  Dessert also.  Very filling.  Another meal was served about 3 hours out from Beijing.  Similar options.
FRIDAY, JULY 26
4:45 pm – Arrive Beijing.  (3:45 am CST, almost 12 hours).  Flew over the “timeline” somewhere between Alaska and Asia.  Sleep was intermittent, very cramped seating.  Plane unloaded down stairs to tarmac.  Pretty interesting after sitting for 12+ hours.  Not as spry as I used to be.  Boarded tram for a very long trip to the terminal.  More walking at the terminal to big room where passports and visa were checked.  More walking to baggage claim and started wrestling all our bags again.  Push luggage to customs area, nothing to claim, but self-serve unloading to exit scanner, and loading back up on the other end.  Beginning to dislike luggage!  We’re both pretty sweated up by now.  Move out into a large waiting area and wait for BISS to arrive.
5:45 pm – BISS contact arrives (traffic issues).  We begin the trek pushing our luggage out to parking garage.  Lots of hustle and bustle. Luggage fell off one of the carts, and almost collided with a taxi.  Finally arrive at a van and loaded up.  Van was for people, not luggage, so no luggage area in the rear.  All bags had to be handed in the side of the van and lifted over seats to get to the back.  Tight fit!
6:30 pm – Drove out of the airport.  Traffic ok, about like DFW area.
7:45 pm – Arrive at the apartment.  It’s a large complex with 10 buildings.  Call housing agent for a keys.  She arrives (Lisa), and we begin ferrying luggage to the elevators and moving it to the 25^th floor.   Lisa gives us a quick tour, some instructions, and departs.
8:30 pm – (7:30 am CST, 29 hours since alarm in Irving hotel) Home sweet home!  Finally!  Very glad Judy had packed sheets for the king bed.  Especially glad she packed toilet paper.  Could have been interesting.  Ate some snack bars and water we bought at the airport.  Defined a plan of attack for the next day.  Unpacked a few necessities, made the bed, and finished off the day.
9:45 pm – Heads hit pillows and ……….