Aug. 8

The girls got up around 7 a.m. and we got dressed and ready for breakfast. The main restaurant for breakfast was full, so they sent us to a ballroom that had been converted to an overflow buffet. There were two different parts of the ballroom: Chinese breakfast and Western breakfast. We sat in the Chinese breakfast area and I went over to the Western area to get some additional items (such as baked beans, donuts, a pancake, bananas, cheese and yogurt). In the Chinese breakfast room we had congee, broccoli, noodles, rice, fried eggs, fruits and pastries. Sienna mainly was interested in noodles and orange juice. Scarlett decided she liked this hotel's version of congee and drank a lot of milk, too. We were happy to see her eat and eat and eat!

We met Glen in the lobby shortly after 8:30 a.m. and went out to our van. The driver took us on a 30-minute ride to get to the boat dock for our cruise of the Lijiang (or Li) River. On the ride I realized that I had forgotten my Dramamine, but everyone reassured me that I wouldn't need it. I didn't think I would, but I wanted to have it in my pocket just in case.

As we approach the boat, Sienna pulled her pants down and indicated she needed a bathroom NOW. I took her to a nearby bush and that was that.

The boat seemed a bit woobly in the dock and fear set in. But I realized that if I just sat in my seat I would be okay. So that is what I did. The boat will full -- mainly with Western tourists. There was a large group of tourists from Spain, and they sat on either side of our table. They enjoyed interacting with the gemelos (twins). Sienna made games out of nothing. She took water and put it in a coffee cup and added toothpicks and nuts. We have noticed that she seems like to pretend she is a chef. She also liked to pretend she was using her father's camera to take pictures. Meanwhile, Scarlett contentedly ripped tissues on my lap. They both enjoy doing this, but Scarlett has a particular fascination with it. In fact, it was noted on our "instruction sheets" we were given on "Gotcha Day."

The scenery was beautiful for the entire 4.5 hour ride. The time passed more quickly than it did on the cramped train. No one napped either -- except for some of the other tourists. Around noon they told us that the buffet lunch on the second floor was now ready. Two minutes later they told us that we were now at the point of the "most famous scenery." But most everyone was concerned with getting his/her food instead.

There were very few options for vegetarians, but what they did have was excellent. Peter and I had green beans with carrots, Chinese cabbage, watermelon and the last few french fries. Scarlett ate more of the banana we brought, and Sienna had a few noodles. I'm not sure what Glen had.

The boat ride ended in a different town that was another 30 minutes further from our hotel. This town had tons of touristy shops. There was even a restaurant called the "Hard Seat Cafe" (with a familiar brown logo). We purchased a Guilin photo album and two t-shirts with pandas on them for the girls.

The girls and I napped on our hour-long ride back to Guilin. In fact, the girls were sleeping soundly when we arrived at Elephant Hill. They had no desire to go, but we went anyway. We only stayed about 10 minutes. The hill there is supposed to look like an elephant, but I saw no resemblance. Nevertheless, it was a pretty scene.

In just a few more minutes we were back at our hotel. Glen came to our room and showed us a letter from the girls' foster mother that he translated. In it she told how she had take good care of the twins since they were 52 days old. (They were in another foster home prior to that.) She shamed the biological parents for abandoning them. She said she will always love the girls and that she knows we will give them a wonderful home. She would like for us to write to her and send pictures.