More travel prep

Amidst all the holiday hubub, I can't stop thinking about the trip, and just want to get packed and go. My mind is completely distracted from everything else. When I see children's clothes I think Holly and want to buy something for her, but, I have already shopped a ton, and have so much waiting for her, and really can't bring more weight in our suitcases, so, I have to tell myself to just wait, and take her shopping when we get her. Time is going slowly, our paperwork process at this point is out of our hands completely, and we are unlikely to be updated on the next step, which is the cable to the consulate. The USCIS National Visa Center (NVC) sends a cable to the consulate telling them we are approved, and that they can issue a Visa to Holly to enter the US as a citizen. When that cable arrives at the consulate, they prepare what is known as an article 5 document.

Lily, our in China adoption coordinator, will be told that the cable has been sent, so she will know that our paperwork needs to be picked up. At that point, she will bring our signed LOA to the consulate, along with our DS230 form, which will be processed and handed back to her with the article 5. This is my understanding of the steps, I could be wrong, but that is how I have gathered the process so far. Once Lily receives all the paperwork from the consulate, she will forward it onto the CCAA in Beijing. They then process it and issue a travel approval (TA) letter which tells us we are free to come to China to complete the adoption.

At that point, Small World will contact the consulate to make our official appointment which will occur at the end of our trip once the adoption is complete. When we have that date, we can make our travel reservations for one week before in order to have time to complete the Chinese side of the paperwork, receive her adoption certificate and Chinese passport allowing her to leave the province and the country.

Since we are looking at travel in January or February, hopefully, we need to consider the possibility of bad weather. I will be packing our clothes in ziploc bags to protect them from getting wet if the luggage sits on a tarmac in inclement weather, which happens fairly often. Holly will be dressed appropriately, Im sure of that because she comes from a very good orphanage, and they will know how to make her comfortable. Once we get her, and after a settling in period, we will take her shopping for more clothes. We did send her a warm jacket and a couple of springlike jackets, but, you just never know what they will let her keep and what ends up in the main laundry pile and shared by all the children, which is fine with us, but, it does make preparing for what to bring a bit more difficult.

In looking at the options, and following other families recommendations, plus my previous experience in China, I am planning on staying at the Shangrila in Wuhan and the Victory in Guangzhou. Both are very nice, comfortable, clean, and have free internet, so we can skype to and from home for free.

Once everything is packed I will start weighing the luggage and redistributing to make sure we don't go over the weight limits.

This is the info I gathered from the most likely domestic carriers, and since at least one leg each way will be in the US, to avoid overweight or extra luggage charges, we will stay with these limits.

For Delta, Northwest, and United

$15 for the first bag, per person, per flight
weight limit 50lbs per checked bag
1 carryon allowed and 1 personal bag dimensions must fit in an airport screening device 22x14x9
most will waive or reduce the checked baggage surcharge if checked online rather than at the airport

Southwest

two checked bags per passenger, free
50lb weight limit, carryon rules same as above

liquids, areosols and gels in carryons must be in 1 quart size zip loc bag per passenger, in 3 oz or smaller size containers

Holly will be given a luggage allowance and we plan to purchase a suitcase and carryon for her in Guangzhou where they are pretty cheap. We can use her luggage for any treasures we bring home to keep us from going over the weight limit. We sent her a cute backpack from the disney store, but, plan to get another one for the trip that is bigger than that one, and will check the disney one if she still has it with her when they bring her to us.