Sometimes we never learn....

Hello from the Hong Kong Airport Regal Hotel! The countdown is getting smaller and the longing for home is getting greater! We have loved our time in China, but the time has come to return home!

Today we got off to a rocky start with everyone in our group splitting up leaving for different destinations on the island, some going to Disney, some going to the Po Lin monastery, and then some of us just making our own plans. Well, we fell into the latter group along with two other couples and at this point we think we made an unwise decision (Chris & Heidi can relate to this one!) in picking downtown Hong Kong as our destination of the day! We really only wanted to ride the train and view downtown, but then again the best laid plans can sometimes go astray!

Around lunch after a couple of failed departures (one I burned my hand with hot water and another when the hotel would not exchange the Chinese Yuan we had for Hong Kong dollars) we made our way to the Express Train to downtown Hong Kong. True to most all stories we have heard the train delivered us to downtown from the airport in about 20 minutes. The ride is unbelievably smooth and even at high speeds is very quiet! With three couples, three babies and one three wheel stroller (okay, one four wheel stroller whos fourth wheel kept falling off!) in tow we all headed down the streets of one of the busiest cities in the world! It was crazy! We visited just a few blocks around the train terminal due to the baby factor, but man was it intense! We saw so many high rises, so many people and a whole lot of money in a very small area. The mall that we visited was not your every day run of the mill mall, rather is was populated with Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci and any other store you would expect on 5th Avenue in New York! The guys let the girl walk around for a little while and "window shop", but luckily the urge to purchase anything was outweighed by the responsibilities we gained a few days ago in Guangzhou. I mean, a $100 baby sleeper and a $500 pen are not necessary items these days!

We the proceeded to walk around a little more to find something to eat, but little did we know this would be such an adventure! We really wanted some simple cuisine due to our longing for home and the fact that we had three babies which would make an upscale restaurant a bit of a pain, so after a few wrong turns we found "The Union Bar & Grill". The food was excellent, the staff was friendly and they played Frank Sinatra the whole two hours we were there! A good time and good conversation made the time fly!

We left the restaurant and began our trip back to the airport around 5:30 so our entire trip only took 6 hours, but in the process several babies missed naps, didn't get the normal feedings and therefore were a little more cranky tonight than we expected! Needless to say the beers by the pool we had planned were cancelled and appeasement to the children was granted. Its now 9:30 and the baby is resting comfortably in Ann Maries arms and we have learned our lesson.....the hard way! We are just thankful this mistake was made TWO days before we leave for home on a 16 hour flight rather than the day before! Yes Loflins, even those forewarned can sometimes stray from the path!

Tomorrow we plan on hanging around the hotel a little, taking a bus over to Tung Chung for some last minute shopping, and repacking our bags for the trip home. There will be a couple of beers by the pool, but I promise you we will be in bed early so that we can get on that plane bound for Newark, NJ at the proper time! Till tomorrow Ladies and Gents.....

Michael (the bottle maker), Ann Marie (the diaper changer) and Savannah (the new center of attention) Kennedy