DH and I packed (almost) everything we are taking today to see if we can actually carry it all in the bags we planned to use. The first attempt to close the suitcase with all the clothes DH wished to take failed. I also had to be very judicious about my choices. Using the second "personal" bag passengers are allowed, I think we can get everything in. We faced some difficulties due to having to take some token gifts for officials. Also, all of Alice's clothes, a backpack with some activities for the return trip, and her bulky winter coat had to be squeezed into one bag. When we fly from Beijing to Guangzhou for our second week in China, Alice will be wearing her coat and we will have given away most of the gifts leaving us more space. We briefly considered using a large suitcase we own for Alice's items, the gifts and a few extra winter layers. The thought being we could send it home with our adult DD as she returns home the same day we leave Beijing for the warmer climes of southern China. DH was determined to try and avoid the large bag if possible and we think we've done it!
Here are the 3 bags for myself, DH and Alice, plus 2 additional personal bags for myself and DH.
The red and purple ribbons are to identify me as someone from the RQ adoption forum: purple = forum member; red = February traveler. I go by "beijingbee" on the forum. I actually have an extra special version of the ribbons was some extra bling.
In addition to our personal bags we are taking 2 checked bags for New Hope Foundation. They arrived yesterday and are filled with baby items: clothes, bottles, wipes, special formula powder, and preemie diapers. They are rather large compared to our own bags.
Missing from these pictures is the bag for our adult DD. She is suppose to travel with one carry on (plaid like Alice's) and a backpack. She will check one of the extra bags as hers so we won't have any extra baggage fees. She was planning to come by today to do some travel prep, but her busy life resulted in a change of plans. We hope to see her tomorrow. Either way we trust that she will be ready to travel come Thursday morning!
Looks like you are READY!! Now to wait until Thursday! I wish you the best and will pray for you for safe travels etc.
ReplyDeleteThis is so exciting!!
I have the exact same luggage from LL BEAN. Even the same color. You have to let me know how it holds up. Are these the carry-on size or the bigger one. I got the 3 piece set with the two bags and the carry on.
ReplyDeleteToo funny! The red and plaid bags are LL BEAN and are the carry-on size. They have the backpack shoulder straps available in stow-away pocket on the reverse. The green backpack is LL BEAN and holds a ton of stuff. I have a pretty print version packed for Alice to use as her personal bag for the return flight. The red & black bag is from Ebags and was almost half the cost of the BEAN bags, but is a smidge smaller and heavier. Loving the little red personal bag - top has special section for storing snacks, but I've used it for all our OTC medications. Easy to access without digging through everything. Opted for new travel bags when I saw the size/weight limits for the in-China flights. Our old bags just weighed too much empty to be useful.
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