Oct. 18 Leaving Hong Kong and China behind

    We have to get up at 7:00  to finish packing, eat breakfast and be ready for the bus.  We go through customs and security.  Today and tomorrow will be our 6th and 7th flights in 11 days!  We had 3 after we arrived in China.  They process people through security pretty quickly and you don't have to remove your shoes.  They didn't spend much time with the wand on Tom ( he has an artificial knee).
    We say goodbye to those on our tour who will fly elsewhere in the States.  Our flight will be to San Francisco and will be approximately 6000 miles and last about 12-1/2 hours.
    We board and the woman in front of me puts her seat back as soon as she can.  Although it is 11:30 A.M. most people go to sleep.  I sit with my knees against the back of her seat for 9 hours.  We are served 2 meals and a snack of ramen type noodles. The stewardesses pass the bowls of noodles to everyone and then walk through the cabin with boiling water in coffee pots.  They are more tasty than some of the Chinese food we've eaten on this trip!  We read, watch movies and TV shows and follow the map of our location whenever it is flashed on the screen.  Neither of us ever goes to sleep.
    Once we land in S.F. we pick up our luggage and go through customs and then have to go through 2 security checks, checking our bags at the first one.  How nice that we have an 8 hour layover.  By the time we get to the gate there are only about 6 left.  We called lots of people, read and ate.
    The flight to Seattle lasts 2 hours.  We call the hotel shuttle, return a phone call and fall asleep quickly since we have been awake 28 hours!  I thank Tom for keeping his promise of taking me to China and he says he has always wanted to take me there.
    Tuesday morning we are able to spend 4 hours at our friends' - Mike and Donna's- in Bremerton before driving home 4-1/2 hours.  We feel rested and stop for a nice dinner enroute.
    Wednesday we are worn out and glad we didn't feel this way yesterday.  It takes several days and nights for us to get back on schedule.  We spent several hours in the middle of most nights awake.  I tell Tom he didn't have this problem 40 years ago when he did all that flying all over the world!
     This was a trip of a lifetime and I'm sure we'll never go back because our bucket list is real long.  But it was very enlightening and interesting and I am sure we will see China become more of a major player in the world's economy etc.