August 5th was a momentous day!! Michael finally made his way back to the shores of Hong Kong. He left us on June 9th. The past two months have completely flown by and I simultaneously can't believe he has been so long gone from us, and that it also feels like no time has passed at all. It's just been a really busy time.
For days if not weeks before his arrival date, I'd been anxiously scouring the quarantine updates and facebook quarantine group (a true crowdsourcing lifesaver and one of the only reasons I'm on facebook currently) to learn details of potential restrictions. We managed to make it through the very imminent and real threat of the US being potentially labeled an A1 territory (all flights banned indefinitely), that arrivals from US had to quarantine for 21 days instead of 14, and at the last minute, the fact that he might have been denied boarding at JFK because his PCR test was lacking his middle name. It's not over yet, as he still has to get through 14 days of quarantine, but at least he has managed to get back. He is now at the Kerry Hotel, and if all goes well he will be free on this Thursday the 19th. Just four more days!!!
We were hopeful (perhaps too optimistically so) that he would be subject only to 7 days of quarantine (due to pending regulations to relax quarantine for those who have been vaccinated and have a positive antibody test) but alas the regulations were not updated in time to accommodate.
These are the pictures from the afternoon of that Thursday (August 5) when we drove to the Kerry Hotel in Hung Hom to see Michael. Well, "see" as well as we could peering up at the hotel through the reflective glass. A huge part of the reason we booked this quarantine hotel (other than the really nice accommodations, good reviews) was that we were hoping with his sea view room he would get a good glimpse of the waterfront, the boardwalk, the podium, etc. It turned out to be even better than we expected, where he could see us pretty clearly. In the car on our way in the rain:
This was what we could see of Michael's hotel room - it was hard on the first day but he helped us by pulling down his shades. After we delivered our metallic balloons up to him it became easier to find him because we looked for the shiny pink and blue tints:
The kids ran around on the grass and fought over fruit when it was snack time...
We horsed around on the grass until it was time to go home.
Here are some pictures that Michael took from his room and sent to me. First, his view from his living room. This is what he sees when his blinds are up, and where his stationary bike is set up. Unfortunately, it turns out his windows are tinted (Ack!) so he hasn't seen real daylight in a while. It was the weirdest thing because when we went to his hotel to swim on Sunday, he thought it was cloudy and didn't realize that Lola and I had burned slightly as a result of the sun.
His views of the podium and walkway (and Hung Hom ferry terminal behind), on one side:
His view of the swimming pool (and another part of the Hung Hom ferry terminal), on the other side:
His view of us setting up that afternoon. Looking at it now, it's a wonder he could figure out what the balloons said! It was much clearer on the ground, ha! And yes, we were doing this in the rain - that's dedication.
It turns out the Kerry offers a pretty good staycation/day pass package - HK$700 on weekends or public holidays for all day rights to lounge by the pool, including a set menu lunch. The pool is open from 9 to 6, so those are some serious hours. Last weekend we went to the hotel to swim for the day. On Saturday we went based on a misunderstanding and thought that we could swim for free, and ended up taking a dip but not staying long because we got there so late. That day was mostly spent exploring the hotel and eating dinner at the restaurant on site. The kids loved the little truck at the front of the restaurant, as well as the steps, as well as the escalators.
We returned on Sunday and purchased two day passes (for the adults). Lola and I were there from approximately 10:30 until 5:30, and then Al and Teo were there until approximately 1, and then returned at 4:30 after their nap. Michael had a great view of us all day, as evidenced by this picture he sent me:
Here are some pictures from my phone (check out the light contrast to his - it was actually an incredibly sunny and hot day; we totally lucked out)!
I love this one:
As you can see, the pool was lovely and really pretty empty!
After swimming all day the kids ran around on the grass for a bit, shrieked and screamed and cackled and were generally deliriously loud for a while, then we went to enjoy dinner, then we ran around outside enjoying their beautiful grounds for a little bit longer before heading home. Only a few more sleeps before Michael returns home (fingers crossed)!
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