Around the world in 27 days . . .

nutshell: Seattle-LA-Seoul-Khabarovsk-Moscow-Zurich-Chicago-Seattle

the nutty details:
24 Aug 06 - Thursday

• depart Seattle at 6:20 pm on United 703


• arrive LA at 8:57 pm


• dink around for 3 hours


• miles on this leg 954: miles total 954

25 August Friday

• depart LA at 12:20 am on Asiana 203

26 August Saturday

• arrive Seoul at 5:00 am


• miles on this leg 5999: miles total 6953


• dink around until 7:00 am at which time the SHOWERS and the GOOD COFFEE SHOP and the INTERNET opens. Choices. Choices.


• depart Seoul at 10:10 am on Asiana 572


• arrive Khavarovsk at 3:10 pm


• miles on this leg 886: miles total 7839

27 August Sunday

• celebrate my birthday at Scalinis

28 August Monday to 30 August Wednesday

• visit the children!


• redo our medical exams

31 August Thursday

• Court

1 Sept Friday to 10 Sept Sunday

• wait out the TenDay Wait - children may be with us for some or all of this time

11 Sept Monday to 15 Sept Friday

• adoption decree is finalized


• apply and wait for children's Russian passports with our names included

16 Sept Saturday

• depart Khabarovsk 3 pm on Domodevo 126


• arrive Moscow 4:35 pm


• miles on this leg 3835: miles total 11674

17 Sept Sunday

• explore Moscow

18 Sept Monday

• Children's Medical Exams for US Embassy


• Children's Visas for US entry


• Register Children with Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

19 Sept Tuesday

• depart Moscow at 7:15 am on SwissAir 1325


• arrive Zurich 8:45 am


• miles on this leg 1368: miles total 13042


• dink around for 4 hours - buy Toblerone


• depart Zurich at 12:40 pm on SwissAir 8


• arrive Chicago at 3:15 pm


• miles on this leg 4443: miles total 17485


• Clear customs and Immigration


• take pictures, get weepy, admire our new little citizens


• repeat


• depart Chicago at 7:45 pm on United 689


• arrive Seattle at 10:05 pm


• miles on this leg 1721: miles total 19206


• rent car, drive home, collapse.

This last part is a 32-hour-from-bed-to-bed trip. You will have probably seen your pillow at least twice in this interval. Can you tell I am dreading this part? At about 6pm Pacific Time on the 18th, think "The Chandlers are at the airport now." Enjoy your evening. Go to bed. Get a good night's rest. Appreciate that. Get up in the morning. Think "The Chandlers are still either in an airport or in an airplane." Think this through breakfast, through lunch, and through dinner. Go to bed. Fluff your pillows. Drift off to sleep. At about midnight, wake up to think "The Chandlers have finally left the airport. Now they are in a car on the freeway." Pray for our safety. Go back to sleep.

[Listening to: Postcards from the Sky: II Weeping Clouds - Juliette Kang, violin; Nora Bumanis, Julia Shaw, harps; CBC Vancouver Orchestra: Mario Bernardi - Affairs of the Heart (4:19)]