Gao Roe a.k.a. Dog Meat

Yes, it took a while to find it but we did! In China it is normal to see sausage or other meats hanging out side of a restaurant, apartment, on a clothes line right next to the linens drying so we usually don't pay much attention. Today was different. After a long day of exploring the city and coming across some great deals, we were headed home - still exploring so, the area was new to us when we happened upon a fine dining establishment. Andrew quickly asked, "is that cat?" and when I looked at it I agreed, "yea I think so, it has claws". WHile I scrambled in the bottom of the stroller looking for the camera, Andrew went inside to ask some questions. When he and a lady came back outside, and he asked "what is this" she proudly declared "Gao Roe". It must have been silly to her becasue as a family we all instantly said " DOG!!"  - Yes ladies and gentlemen, for your viewing pleasure:

When talking with a co-worker, the day after our discovery, Andrew was assured that any dog eaten is "farm raised" and not someone's pet... really?

The Finishing Touches

Even though we spent the last week packing and weighing everything that we intended on taking with us we had to make a few slight changes.

On the way home from Chicago Andrew learned that Delta actually allows up to 52 lbs per bag so of course we had to maximize our allowed weight. So, in our last minute effort, Andrew picked up the calcium vitamins that we had not yet purchased and we began to add a few other things that had been put to the side.

The plan for our last night in Georgia/United States was to load my mom’s (Taurus station wagon) Car and my Dad’s (full size conversion) Van with all of our bags, have a nice family dinner and stay overnight in Atlanta close to the airport since our flight was scheduled so early (09:55). We stopped at Buckner’s Family Restaurant – known for their fried chicken and lazy susan serving style. Nothing like a home cooked southern meal as a proper sendoff to Asia.



We stayed at the Westin Atlanta Airport – the accommodations are decent and because we had stayed there before, we knew that they had an indoor/outdoor pool so the kids took their suits and enjoyed the pool for a few hours. After bath time, we room hopped most of the night but usually ended up in my mama’s room (Granny) because she bought snacks and drinks. So that night Colten stayed in Granddaddy’s room and Drake and Avery stayed in my Mama & Aunt Carrie’s room. Again, Andrew & I barely slept (maybe 1.5 hours) – I think at this point our bodies had started to reject sleep as a necessary function.