We spent two weeks in Taiwan, and had a great time, was super fun to watch the girls navigate a new country, and to use the mandarin they have been studying for years now.
We spent two weeks in Taiwan, and had a great time, was super fun to watch the girls navigate a new country, and to use the mandarin they have been studying for years now.
Our second day in Taipei, Taiwan was pretty packed. Kim was working but the girls and I got up early and went to a small amusement park, which the girls enjoyed until the seats got so hot it burned. Left there and got some fast food lunch. Hazel thought she was ordering a burger but […]
Toroko Gorge is a national park on the east side of Taiwan that was heavily impacted by the 2024 earthquakes that also killed 19 people in the region. They are still recovering and rebuilding and a lot of it is still closed, but we enjoyed our drive through. When we told locals we were driving […]
We took the cheap, fast and really nice train* down to Hualien, on the east coast of Taiwan, and enjoyed a couple of days there, despite the abundant rain. We got a pretty good shake from a 4.9 magnitude earthquake that was relatively close! We found tons of amazing and cheap food, including a dumpling […]
Night markets were one of our favorite parts of Taiwan, Margot was thrilled to get this duck. She wanted to do the game, but I told her her odds of winning weren’t that good, so she just negotiated with the guy (in Mandarin!) and bought the duck. Kim and Hazel loved the foods. Not the […]
We rented some bikes for a hot but very enjoyable ride on the bike path around Sun Moon lake. Had a great time. Margot was thrilled to see wild monkeys!
We’ve had a lot of rain on this trip, but yesterday it was approaching biblical levels. We had a river tracing day planned, but it was cancelled and it was pretty clear we needed to find something to do indoors. I had earmarked a stone working workshop as something interesting, so we headed to that. […]
I wouldn’t call it a must visit, it was kind of expensive and crowded. But we had a good time and it does make for some fun photos.
Most all museums and such are closed on Monday here, and since DIY workshops have been a good opportunity for the girls to practice their mandarin, we signed up for another. This time was leather working. Margot made a super cute over the shoulder purse, Kim made a very nice little card holder, and Hazel […]
Margot might have a full blown gambling addiction from the claw machines by the time we return.
Taipei 101 was once the tallest building in the world. It doesn’t have that title anymore, but still pretty impressively tall.
View from our room tonight. I don’t think I’ve ever been somewhere with as many butterflies as Taiwan. Ecuador might have been close, but I’m sitting catching up on some accounting stuff for another trip just watching dozens and dozens and dozens of butterflies outside my window.
Taiwan->Korea->Japan this trip. Inexpensive -> A little more Expensive -> most expensive Not very touristy-> some tourists -> Tons of tourists* *I’m sure there are some less crowded/touristy parts of Japan, but comparing the capital of Taiwan, the capital of Korea, and not-the-capital of Japan, I’m comfortable making that claim. I’ve heard more English, Spanish […]
Hazel and I had an absolutely fantastic trip to the Eastern Sierra. Kind of last minute, we threw all our gear in the truck. We left Saturday AM at 2:30, which was early enough to get great parking at June. All weekend we had spectacular
We took a road trip after Christmas, but it turned out to be one of the wettest weeks on the west coast. Tons and tons of rain, including some of the heaviest rain I’ve seen in a long time, and snow. This changed our plans
Winner winner! We’re in Bend, OR, on a last minute trip. Went to an outdoor gear shop and spotted a fun looking place with a collection of food trucks. The girls wanted to eat dinner there, so we did, and discovered it was also trivia
After two wins Saturday, including an amazing comeback game, they secured a spot in the semifinals and their best tournament finish to date. Unfortunately they struggled against a really good team in the semi finals and lost. Some tears were shed. They placed either 3
Second part of our local-ish staycation, a visit to an old favorite place. 28 years I’ve been coming here and loving it. A couple days of camping and climbing. Gravity felt strong to me, but it felt great to knock some rust off and get
A quick mini bike tour vacation.Sunday we left the house and headed to Melrose ave, to ride the ciclavia event there. Honestly, not my favorite CicLAvia , but still fun. It was a short course, and had some fun Stranger Things themed decorations, but it
Absolutely legendary. I’ve been fortunate to go to a lot of concerts over the years, especially in the 1990-2010 range. And there have always been a handful of shows that have stood above the others as memorable to me. Tonight David Byrne (Talking Heads) put
Margot had her last game for the fall league yesterday. They played incredibly well against a strong team and ended tied 3-3. It was a great season. They moved up a flight, and started the season with some losses. But they didn’t give up, they
Another 5k. 1300+ entries. Margot was 3rd in her age group, 10th female overall, and 56th overall! Hazel was 14th in her age group. Proud of them both.
