Beijing to Dalian

Today we flew on Air China from Beijing to Dalian to visit Kenton’s parents. The improvement with this airline from 16 years ago is amazing. Everything was neat, clean, and professional. It was a pleasant flight.

A friend of my brother-in-law drove us to the airport. This friend, who used to work a 9-to-5 job five years ago, decided to start his own business. He was successful with his first company, so decided to begin another one, and another one. He now has 5 very successful businesses, three nice apartments (each that cost in the $300,000 range), and an Audi that cost $80,000. He also just came back from Hainan, which is a resort island in the south, bringing several business associates for vacation. He’ll be purchasing another apartment soon. Everything is done in cash - no need to borrow from the bank. The growth in businesses and business opportunities is amazing. People are becoming very wealthy almost overnight. China is being compared to the Gold Rush in California years ago. People within China and from many other countries are rushing in to strike it rich.

When we arrived at the Dalian airport, the kids had to use the bathroom. I was dreading having to use public toilets, but they needed to go. I was shocked to see a squeaky clean and modern public restroom. Again, I am comparing everything to 12-16 years ago, and keep being pleasantly surprised.

Kenton’s best friend met us at the airport, and drove us to my in-laws home. We had called my in-laws on the drive to their house, so they were waiting outside their home for us when we arrived. It was a joy for them to meet Brian for the first time, and see how the other two boys had grown.

The boys: Brian has had a fever for almost 24 hours now. Justin’s fever finally broke, but he still is warm to the touch. Both of them are dealing with diarrhea and throwing up. We have been through many changes of clothing and many diapers since yesterday. We’re having Justin wear Brian’s diapers (yes, we’re back to two kids in diapers temporarily). Justin complains bitterly and begs for his underwear, but we just can’t get him to the toilet in time each time. We’ll now play the waiting game – waiting for this virus to pass …