The Game Plan - for Now

It's all well and good to talk about going to Taiwan to pick up our baby, but it's all speculation unless we have plane tickets to get us there.

I'm delighted to report that as of today, we have officially booked our airfare and in so doing, have dropped a huge weight off our shoulders. Here's our schedule as it now stands:

Friday, February 29th - Catch a 7:40 a.m. plane from Philadelphia to Taipei via San Francisco

Saturday, March 1st - Arrive in Taipei at 10 p.m. and immediately board the southbound high-speed train to Tainan (approximately a 1 1/2 hr. trip). Check into a hotel.

Sunday, March 2nd - Drive down to Pingdong, one hour south of Tainan, to visit my 87 year-old maternal grandfather and other relatives. Drive back up to Tainan that same night

Monday, March 3rd - Load up the diaper bag and head to St. Lucy's to pick up our baby. Perform a happy dance and frighten our baby with our stuck-in-the-'80's dance moves. Hop back on the high-speed rail with baby and my parents in tow. Head back up to Taipei, where we will stay at a rental home some relatives have graciously offered to us.

Tuesday, March 4th - Go to the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) in Taipei to apply for the baby's Visa to enter the United States.

Wednesday, March 5th - Return to AIT to pick up the Visa. Squeeze in some shopping in Taipei depending on how well the baby is adjusting.

Thursday, March 6th - Deal with any possible lingering AIT issues (hopefully not). Head to the airport and board the outbound flight to Philadelphia via San Francisco at 11:30 p.m.

Friday, March 7th - Arrive in Philadelphia at 6:09 a.m. Who wants to come pick us up? We'll treat you to a cup of coffee from a concourse vendor on the way to baggage claim. (But wait - coffee shops may not be open at 6:09 a.m. - doh!) Head home to give Andrew countless hugs and kisses and to slowly recover from the whiplash effect of traveling halfway around the world and back in seven days.