Crocodile Restaurant

Thursday, May 22
Hi – it’s Crystal.
As previously stated by Jim we are home safe and sound. Thank you for all of your prayers and supportive thoughts while we were gone on our journey to meet our daughter. We will think every day of our wonderful, life changing trip but also feel so much grief for the victims of the earthquake. This life changing event makes us so thankful that we were not hurt or others that we know of first hand in China but we will pray for those lost lives and for those who are survived and are having to pick up the pieces from square one. Please keep praying for the victims and their families.
We arrived home yesterday at 7:30 am and were met at the airport by family and friends. They had to wait about one hour or so as we went through immigration and customs. It was a very smooth process for us. It is good to be home with our Maddy but to be honest I could of stayed at least another week site seeing, eating and receiving top notch service at the hotel.
Madeline did quite well for the rest of the day. We all took naps at different times and then Maddy laid down for the night at 10 pm ish. She woke up at 3:30 am and sat up with Jim until I woke up at 5 am and managed to put her back to sleep for a couple more hours. I had an acupuncture appointment today at 1pm so my parents, Jim and I piled in the car and went to Vancouver. Then we went to lunch and called it a day as Maddy had a meltdown in the car on the way home from the restaurant. She went down for another nap for only an hour or so and then we put her down at 10:30 pm. Maddy met Abby our dog, daughter #1 today. Abby was so excited to see her dad (she is daddy’s girl) that she initially scared Madeline so Jim kept Abby a safe distance away from Maddy. Tonight, though Maddy liked Abby and now Abby is the one that is a little scared and unsure of what to think of this little one who will soon be torturing her. It is truly amazing how resilient children are in general and how well they can adapt to change.
Okay, back to pictures from Tuesday – we started off the day with our exit meeting. We were given paperwork to take with us and to guard with our lives to deliver to immigration in Portland. After the meeting we went to the restaurant featured in National Geographic Magazine that serves Crocodile. The restaurant was amazing. First of all our driver pulled up to the place and there were two Rolls Royce’s parked in the front and roped off. These cars belong to the owner. Then you walk into the lobby and there are huge crystal chandeliers with gold all over the place. In the room adjacent to the huge dining room there is a Koi pond with turtles and three very fancy sports cars on display – I only remember one it was a Lotus. I thought this was all quite funny. Then we walked around and picked our lunch from tanks full of different seafood and other creatures. It was amazing. Yes, we saw the crocodiles and ordered some for all of us. They were about 4 to 6 feet long with their mouths taped shut. Jim observed the cook taking our croc out of the tank to prepare for the meal. He set the croc on the floor and kicked it all the way back to the kitchen. Now exactly how I would like to be treated before I take my last breath but maybe the cook was tenderizing it for us. We had absolutely fantastic food. It was served family style as we had two other families with us (all from Oregon I am proud to say) along with Catherine Han – the Holt office manager in Guangzhou, her intern Kenny and our van driver.
We ate chicken feet, pickled plums, pickled cabbage, scallops cooked in Garlic, Mussels, steamed fish, rice, noodles, greens and of course the main entrée was crocodile. Everything tasted very good. All of the entrees were very flavorful, fresh and very healthy. The crocodile was excellent. It was sautéed in a sauce and it was very tender. It tasted like chicken except it had a slightly different texture – it melted in your mouth. Catherine informed us that we indulged in the feet and arms of the croc as that by far is the most tender part of the croc. We had fruit for dessert. We ate all of this for $25.00 per person and that included the van driver’s fee. Wow! It was fantastic. I’ll have to run down to the local Safeway’s like my friend Christina suggested and put in a special order for some crocodile. I am sure that they would be willing to accommodate to our culinary needs. =)
After lunch we went the Consulate and with about 40 other families took our oath to take care of Maddy and she became a US Citizen! Yay! We received her passport and visa to take home with us to Oregon.
Jim went off for a massage to the parlor that I went to the day before. He said that it was excellent. He deserved it as he has been sharing the load of parenting and not feeling too well. It was relaxing for him. As he was off doing the massage thing, I ran to the supermarket one last time to buy some more formula for Maddy. I want to make sure she has enough as she only drinks formula and has been slow to transition to new things so we want to keep her well fed until she starts to eat solids or at least baby food. I returned to the hotel and started packing. We had a late night and were off to bed at 11 am and woke up at 4 am. Madeline was very cranky on the flight from Guangzhou to Tokyo. We were at the back of the plane so I stood up with her in the Ergo and tried to comfort her. An elderly Chinese gentleman was sitting next to Jim and I think he was a bit annoyed with Madeline but fortunately we were not the only ones on this flight with screaming babies. She was an angel and slept or played for the 10 hour plane trip from Tokyo to Portland.
I was very sad to leave China. Especially, in southern China where Madeline is from. I wanted to go to more places especially where she was found and explore more so I can recall as many details for her as possible when she becomes older. We enjoyed every moment of our trip – no regrets or complaints. Of course, we were blessed with the greatest gift of all – our beautiful daughter. We will return for a homeland tour when Maddy is between 8 years and 12 years old if not before then. It is good to be home to start the next chapter of our lives with family and friends.
Our adoption agency, Holt has been outstanding and we are so thankful for every single person that has helped us from A-Z.