Chasing Cherry Blossoms 賞櫻
Dad was a big fan of cheery blossoms and heard that it started blossoms around 台７線 (A mountain road around Yi-lan). Given the popularity of Yi-lan lately, we didn’t want to take the risk of going on the weekend. By randomly picking a Tuesday afternoon that Dad didn’t need to work, we picked up Anders and Arden from school, packed some 胡椒餅 (pepper pie) as snacks, and we were on the road to chasing cherry blossoms. Went onto 台７線 to stop at 大同鄉 first; continued our journey to 長埤湖, routed back to 玉蘭茶園 (tea farm)。 Anders wanted to play with the sticks and dirt while Arden happily being the “little model.” She kept saying, “我是小 model.” It was a nice little trip.
Running Horse Trail
Grandfather took us on a little hike up 跑馬古道 (Running Horse Trail). This is a historical trail that was a trade route that brought goods from Taipei to YiLan. Unfortunately, getting to the entrance required a steep hike, and the kids were spent after half an hour of climbing. Grandfather soldiered on, while we took a break. Christine was able to dig out an old bar of chocolate which instantly perked up the spirits of the young ones. Maybe next time, we will get to walk on the historic trail itself.
Selena Takes Us to Nan-Fang Aou Beach
這次春節的假放得出奇的長，但多半在下雨，到了假期尾聲了，天這才晴起. 小妹珊珊本來打算回新竹了，卻也抵擋不了艷陽的熱情呼喚，用她的小Yaris帶我們去了南方澳海邊. 說來真是好笑，這大概是我第一次踏上南方澳的沙灘耶！珊珊說這個情人灣是她最喜歡的海邊了!...
At the Park with Kids and IPhone 4S Camera
It took some getting used to, but I am slowly getting used to the iPhone 4S camera and teased out some more interesting pictures this time. Just another day at the park with the kids when Christine was off buying some meats and vegetables at the market.
2012 Chinese New Years in Nantou
Nantou for 2012 New Years. Grandma, in her 80′s, hasn’t missed a beat with yet another outstanding New Year’s dinner with 3 different soups, 2 different pork, 3 different seafood, a duck, and some vegetable dishes. All of us were stuffed to the brim with good food. Big Aunt took us to a Mochi factory where you can sample an infinite amount of sweets. The kids went wild with their appetites. We also went to the hottest Pineapple Cake Factory in Taiwan. They give out free samples of their cakes. It is reported that they give out 7,000 cakes in a single day, and sell up to 30,000 cakes on the peak days!
Dancing Dancing Dancing!
回台灣才幾週，妹妹再次為大家獻上勁歌熱舞。這次的歌我也是第一次聽到，不知道她在哪裡學的。