Home again

We finally arrived back home in Shanghai after a VERY long day of traveling.  We woke up at 4am to pack and meet the hotel shuttle by 5am.  From there we were transported via van to the jetty port where we caught a ferry to the mainland.  We were greeted by several porters who carried our bags from the beach to another  waiting van which took us on a short ride to the airport.  The prop plane we flew on was operated by Cebu Pacific Air and took us uneventfully to Manila.  We arrived at 8am and now had 12 hours to kill in Manila before the only flight back to Shanghai.  After a breakfast in the airport we were able to check our bags around 11am so then we were free to explore the city.  We took a taxi to The Mall of Asia - imagine The Mall of America but much of it outdoors - and spent the next 6 hours walking around somewhat aimlessly.  We found a bowling center that had pool tables and we had a family competition that was won by Regan - he has become a pool shark and I am not not sure how or where he has picked it up - maybe he is a natural.  The mall also had an  I-Max theatre where we decided (based upon my poor judgement) to watch a "hollywood thriller action movie" call "Sucker Punch" - I mean with a name like that how could you go wrong!  We walked out after 20 minutes of inappropriate material and decided to take in "Under the Sea" which was playing later in the day.  A much better choice - it was in 3D and the effects and photography were amazing.  We had dinner at the Pancake House before catching a taxi back to the airport where we still had 3 hours to kill before catching our 3.5 hour flight back to China.  We finally arrived in Shanghai to the smiling face of our driver - Mr. Dong at about midnight.  Lying down in our own beds around 1am never felt so good.  Today we are picking up Didi and meeting a potential new Ayi who will be able to work for us full time.  When Cynthia and the boys return to Minnesota for the summer we will need someone to look after Didi and take care of Mason and I since I will be traveling and Mason is away at school all day.  Today is a holiday in China - May Day so we have a bit of time to get adjusted here at home before hitting the routine once again.