Getting ready to go home

We got packed up and headed down to the hotel lobby to wait for our guide and driver to pick us up to go to the airport.  We were so excited to be going home, we got down there a little early.  So Megan and Jason rode the escalator a few more times before it was time to leave.  Jason came back saying he was so happy that now he too is a "rock star."  Someone had asked to take his picture which made his day.

We got to the airport over 3 hours early.  We had been talking to different people, including the China airlines, immigration officer in Vancouver, our agency, and the Canadian Consulate in Guangzhou about us having any difficulties with Kora going to the United States through Vancouver, Canada without a Canadian visa.  If you are from the US, you don't need one.  And basically all the information we got was wrong.  When we went to the airline desk, there was no way they were going to give Kora a boarding pass without a Canadian visa.  They said the Canadian government has warned them absolutely no Chinese citizen can board without a visa, or else big fines for the airline.  Apparently China and Canada aren't too friendly.  Getting a Canadian visa was not an option, since it takes 30 days to get one.  Jesse even tried calling the Vancouver Consulate to see if they would give us approval, but no luck.  So the only thing left to do was for Jesse and the kids to go home on their scheduled flights and to buy a whole new ticket for Kora and I going straight to the US.

By the time we got this all figured out and repacked carry-on luggage, Jesse and the kids had to go through security to get on their plane that left at 2pm.  I got a new ticket purchased and then had to wait 7 hours in the airport until my flight from Guangzhou to Los Angeles left at 9pm.  Luckily, God has mercy on me and gave me an isle seat with no one sitting next to me for the long 13 hour flight back.  Kora was able to lay on the seat next to me and sleep almost 7 hours.  I slept on and off for a few hours.  I would keep waking up to make sure Kora wasn't going to roll off the seat or hit her head on the armrest of the person next to her.