Our China Trip: Prologue – SoCal layover

This summer, we took the trip of a lifetime – almost 4 weeks in China, to see Emily’s and Elisabeth’s country of origin.  The last time we were there was for their adoption, when they were only 11 months old.  I’m breaking the trip into separate posts, which I’ll release over the next few weeks – starting with our half day layover in Southern California.  Originally, we were going to stay overnight in LA, but our airline Cathay Pacific actually contacted us to see if we could fly out the same day instead – with a free upgrade to Business Class.  Talk about a no-brainer!

As a result, we only had about 12 hours in LA.  After renting a car and grabbing lunch, we decided to hit the beach – Huntington Beach to be specific.  It had been a few years since we had seen the Pacific Ocean, so it was a great way to spend the afternoon.  I’m including a few photos below:

 

Since our flight was around midnight, we were able to camp out in the OneWorld Lounge, which was a great place to chill before the 15-hour flight to Hong Kong (followed by a three-hour flight to Beijing).  Flying Business Class on Cathay Pacific was outstanding. The lay-flat seats enabled us to actually get some sleep, and the food and amenities were great.  We felt fairly well refreshed by the time we landed. After the (relatively) short flight to Beijing, we were ready to begin the trip!

Next up

– Chapter 1 – Beijing

– Chapter 2 – Guilin

– Chapter 3 – Nanning

– Chapter 4 – Yangtze River cruise

– Chapter 5 – Shanghai

– Chapter 6 – Hong Kong

– Wrap-Up

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