Suitcase Saga...

Hi All!

For those of you who know me well, know that I have had the worst luck with suitcases. On my first trip to China, Ericka and I did carry-0n only, which meant we had to buy a suitcase in Guangzhou to bring home all our treasures. By the time we arrived in the U.S., our $30.00 "Polo" suitcase was already hammered and missing at least one wheel and one handle. "Polo" went with me on my second trip to China. Throughout each our our nine Provinces and 14 flights, poor Polo continued to have little mishaps: it fell off a pile of luggage into sticky, gooey Kaifeng mud; it lost it's last three remaining wheels and all it's handles; and the hard plastic lining inside crushed into a million teeny pieces. Needless to say, Polo was a "gonner" and went out with the Tuesday trash when I returned home. Now, I am getting ready to go to China to bring Abbie home. Of course, I needed a new suitcase to replace poor Polo. So, off to Wal-Mart we went, where I promptly purchased a snappy red "Swiss Alps" suitcase that matches nicely with our other luggage. It is even made by the makers of the Swiss Army Knife! Ooh aah! On the way home from Wal-Mart, we decided to stop by the house to drop off our purchases before taking the girls to the aquarium. After Dan safely stowed our purchases and perishables in the house, he returned to the car and began to back out of the driveway - we were now aquarium bound. CRUNCH!!! "What was that?" asked Tracie. "Nothing." replied Dan. Much to my dismay, my brand new, cherry red "Swiss Alps" suitcase didn't make it to China. Actually, it didn't even make it out of our driveway. Maybe this time I will travel with nothing and just buy it all when we get to China! :)