Leaving Formosa

We're ready and packed to head back home to DC. Funny thing is,
Brian's coming too! He's lives in San Francisco, but he's got a meeting out
in DC. And then we'll see him again Thanksgiving time back in Seattle!
November is National Brian Month, where you hang out with your
friendly neighborhood Brian every day all day! I have to say that it's
been great having Brian with us on our trip. One, Evan has pretty much
bonded with Brian and he loves to play with Brian. Two, its nice to
have someone that doesn't speak Chinese either on this trip, then I
have someone to chat with when I don't know what's going on. Bonus,
Brian takes LOTS of great pics of our little boy and trip for us!
Evan's got his own paparazzi.
Yesterday we drove out to HuaLien and spent the night there and drove
back this afternoon. Its a 3 hour drive, but with Mr. Huang at the
wheel it'll take you 2.5 hours. It's one crazy drive out there. You're
on the cliffs edge on winding roads. It was scary, not because you're
on a cliffs edge, but because Mr. Huang and everyone on the road are
NUTS! I had to 'sleep' just to not give myself an anxiety attack from
watching the road. People were passing on blind curves, and big trucks
or buses that make wide turn on tight curves; we'd have some near
misses as these huge vehicles rounded the tight bends! And I can't
even begin describe how people drive in the city! If you've never
been, you have to see it for yourself! Its like traffic rules are just
words of advice or recommendations.
HuaLien was fun. I always enjoy being at the ocean, but it's never
enough time. We also went to Taroko park to see waterfalls and walk
through the huge gorges. I remembered the rock to be a lot bluer last
time I went; perhaps it was just the time of day and the cloud cover
that made it seem blue. And it wouldn't be complete without trying
some local mochi. yummy.
well that's all I have time for now. We're just waiting around in the
lounge. I'll post more about it and pics from Ottawa when we get home.
Its been a great trip. I feel bad that Mark didn't get to enjoy it
more because of the massive sores in his mouth. Thanks to Ben and CC
for housing us and cute little Evelyn for making us laugh so hard! And
Rose for organizing time for us to meet with the relatives and
spending time with us especially. And a HUGE thank you for Mr. Huang,
cause he was pretty much our personal guide, chauffer, and babysitter!
He knew all the best places to eat. We never ate so much!