We are quickly wrapping up our last day here in Wuhan.  We got a couple of unexpected surprises this morning.  First,   we were all able to sit at the same table for breakfast!  What a treat!

Then we found out we were getting a van that fit us all!  An 18-passenger none the less.  Wonder if they would let me buy one and ship it back the the U.S.??

We spent a little time this morning at Ashely’s orphanage.  It was really a beautiful place with around 200 workers who seemed to care so much for the children under their care.

Some of the workers came out to greet us when we arrived.

On the main floor was a very large play area with games and a ball pit and places to play when the weather isn’t good outside.

We went upstairs to see all the kids that were being taken care of on the upper floors.  However, there were no pictures allowed.  That said … I may have had my camera running in video mode.  We will see what turned out and you may see a video in the next few days …

They had a physical therapy room with six therapists working with various children with different physical needs.  When we arrived we found out that Charlie had actually spent some time here when he needed physical therapy and he remembered on of the therapists.  It was cute to see his reaction to seeing her.

While most of the older children were at school, the orphanage had classes going for younger children and those that had some disabilities that kept them from going to school.  They had a complete music room with piano’s and one young mad was in the middle of a lesson when we came in.  They also had a large art room and their was one young man in their working on a drawing and then a 17-year old boy came in and showed us some of the paintings he had done.  It really was an impressive place with a lot of really great workers!

Ashely took us up to her desk where she did her homework and kept her things.

She then led us to her room.  It was a large area that could fit around 17 girls, but there were only nine there currently.

Finally, she showed us her bed.

 

As we left the orphanage, we took a shot with everyone outside the main entrance

Since it was still early in the day and it was a very nice day outside, our guide took us to East Park, which is a very beautiful park along side a local lake.

Ali no longer looks like a little girl … she is growing into a lady.

Kelly is ALWAYS at the ready with hand sanitizer after using the facilities!

And Caleb helped make sure Charlie used proper hygiene.

As with every Chinese park, there was a bridge …

… and a bride.

It is nice to see all these guys bonding together in various ways so quickly.  It will be even more exciting to see them bond with the rest of the crew.

As you can see, Caleb is pretty popular with his sisters.  And even with himself!

We had to head out of the park because we had some last minute paperwork that needed to be attended to, but it was nice to spend some time out in the sunshine.

Kelly let Charlie borrow her sunglasses because … well … his future is so bright!

It has been really nice to eat mostly freshly prepared food on this trip.  You don’t think about how much junk we really do eat in the U.S., although Kelly always works hard to make sure we have a nutritious and home-made meal every night.  But you ask these guys what they want for lunch and it is hamburgers and ice cream.  Every time.  In fact, Charlie instituted the rule that if it is above 25 degrees (77 Fahrenheit) outside, we have ice cream every day.  Boy, is HE in for a rude awakening!

So, although we did go to Burger King the other night, we chose instead today to go to KFC.  The one saving grace is getting a drink with ICE in it!!!  Worth every penny …

No Chinese blog of mine would be complete without a picture of low hanging electrical wires and large transformers on the street at head level.  These things never cease to amaze me.

I am also always drawn to everyone hanging their laundry out their windows to dry.  I guess you do what you have to if you live in a small apartment and do not have room for a dryer!

We have walked by small toy stores every day and Charlie never says a word.  Today we stopped and looked.  We let him get a few toys and let the other kids get something.  It was worth the small investment to get them all a little something to maybe do on the train tomorrow.

On our way back to the hotel and Katelyn wanted a picture with Ali’s glasses.

Tomorrow is one of the highlights for Caleb and myself as we take the bullet train down to Guangzhou.  Who wouldn’t like a train named after a bullet!  That just sounds exciting!  I would imagine it will be a little anticlimactic once we actually start going, but traveling at spends of 130-150mph along a track sounds pretty cool right now!

The final chapter in this book is getting ready to be written!  Thanks for keeping up with us.

Cameron

(Yes … I know that I wrote “Shoot” instead of “Shot”, but if you knew how long these videos take to load on our sketchy WiFi, you wouldn’t complain…)