Moving

Wow, moving is so stressful when you aren't just moving things from one house to another. We have moved lots of unnecessary things from San Diego to Ann Arbor to our three homes in Irvine. So now that we are in the mode of getting rid of everything except the bare essentials, it makes me realize how much I have and how little I really need.

I think the other thing that is challenging for us is that we want to make sure that all the things we are getting rid of finds a new home elsewhere and doesn't go to waste. Thank goodness for Freecycle (and Craiglist too)! If you haven't checked it out, go to http://www.freecycle.org/ to get the scoop. We've been able to pass on everything from a filing cabinet to partially used toiletries (like lotions and such). If I had more time, I'd probably Freecycle the spices and other miscellaneous things that we are finding in our last 2 days here but can't take with us. And of course, Goodwill does not take partly used food items!

I cannot believe that I have one more night here in Irvine. Though there is a possibility that if we don't get everything packed up and cleaned in time, we are S.O.L. (and I don't mean our house, which for those of you that don't know, is named Sol) and will have to stay for another night and push our trip out.

Too much miscellaneous!

Ok well it is very late but I'll post pix of the mess that is our house!!

All my scrapbooking supplies that ended up not fitting in the car (aside from Lupe's Cricut supplies since they weren't mine). Now I am renting storage space from Jennifer Gamble. ;)

Miscellaneous things for the road...like Zout!

Taipei 101 and Goodbyes...

January 10- We ended our trip to Taiwan by taking the MRT over to Taipei 101. We first stopped to eat lunch, and then Betty, Adam and I headed up to the top floor of the building to see the amazing views. Mom & Dad decided to stay downstairs and do a little shopping and relaxing.





The views were amazing from the current tallest building in the world. We also got to see all the hype about the "damper babies." The damper is what keeps the building from swaying to and fro. Also, the ride up the elevator was pretty impressive...we went up 90 floors in less than 45 seconds!





After Taipei 101, we went to a very nice bookstore where I purchased a few items for Susan. After that, it was back to the hotel to pack up our belongings and head to the airport with my uncle, who graciously took us to the airport in a van.


It was sad to say goodbye, especially since I am not sure when the next time is that we will get to go to Taipei as a family to visit my uncle, aunt and cousins. It was such a wonderful time, and I really was so appreciative of getting to spend that time with family that I hadn't really spent all that much time with before. We will definitely be visiting Taiwan again- it was a very beautiful country and we didn't get to see all that the country has to offer.


However, next time I don't think we'll carry as much luggage... ;-)

Dim Sum for Dinner!

January 9- Our last full day in Taiwan was spent walking around Taipei. We started off looking for somewhere to eat brunch. After much wandering, we found a lunch place that served boxed lunches.


After that, we took to the streets. Close to the homestay were lots of shops and bakeries. We stopped by another dunkin' donut, followed by a yummy bakery that had Portuguese style egg tarts (so we of course bought several!). We also found a lot of stationary stores that were selling things for Chinese New Year (as you can imagine, lots of cute little cows and oxen). We then went in search of a place to buy pineapple cakes to bring back to the United States for friends and family. After lots of searching, talking with my uncle, and wandering around town, we finally found a grocery store close to my uncle's house that had inexpensive, but very delicious, pineapple cake. We also got to walk around my mom's old neighborhood some more. She showed us where she went to college, the church that she went to, and where all the shops were that they used to go to when she was young.

(a very funny warning picture at the MRT station)

We then spent the remainder of the late afternoon at my uncle's house. During tea time, we had the birthday cake that we bought for him, as well as pineapple cake and egg tarts.


We ended the evening by meeting up with one of my mom's best friends from school for dinner. Her and her husband, as well as her daughter, have stayed with us before in Ridgecrest. It was nice to see them in Taiwan, and my mom was excited to be spending some quality time with her good friend. And as the title of this post indicates, we had some dim sum for dinner!

Long Life Peach Buns!

January 8- It was my uncle's birthday! After we moved hotels that morning (we moved from one hotel into a homestay that consisted of 2 studio apartments), we headed out to go shop for a birthday cake before making it down to my uncle's house. We found a beautiful fancy cake (from one of the MANY bakeries in Taipei), and for some reason it took us FOREVER to get to my uncle's house. By the time we arrived, it was fairly late in the afternoon. Adam and I took a walk around the neighborhood before we headed out for my uncle's birthday banquet.

It was a wonderful banquet (again, with tons of food! Peking duck. hot pot, spareribs, soup, etc.). It was the first time that I had ever seen the Long Life Peach Bun too. They served it to us at the very end (see pic below) and it is typical for birthday celebrations- it was a bun that looks like a peach and has red bean inside. Apparently you can get them here in California from Asian bakeries. I think I'll have to check that out! Adam was just shocked at how much food there was. When we thought we were done, more food would be brought out. My cousing Elmer joked that it was because we had a "starving" gene in our body that allowed us to order and eat so much food but not gain hundreds of pounds. After dinner, we then drove to my other cousin's house. Her home was very beautiful, and again, they were such gracious hosts. Coffee, tea, and lots of fruit!

Afterwards, they drove us back to our homestay with the bajillion bags/suitcases that we had...which was very nice of them because it took two trips since we had so much stuff with us!!

Goodbye Hualien and back to Taipei!

January 7- We definitely enjoyed the morning at the Sea-Hi B&B (Betty, Dad and I watched the sunrise, Paul went for a morning run, Susan and I walked over to the rocky beach with these huge cement blocks, ate breakfast) before we headed to the train station to ride back to Taipei.

Here is the Sea-Hi B&B with its big grassy area (the ocean was behind me when I took this photo)

Closer shot of the Sea-Hi B&B. We were on the rooms on the left side of the photo

View from the deck by our room as the sun rose above the Pacific from the east

Dad getting some hot water for a quick cup of hot tea at sunrise

Rocky beach with the huge cement blocks

Me with my morning cup of coffee

Susan doing her morning workout... =)

Family photo before departing Hualien

Train ride back to Taiwan

When we arrived back in Taipei, we headed to my uncle's house. Since it was Susan and Paul's last day and they were flying out later that evening, we had to make sure to squeeze in walking over to the location of Mom's old house. Our uncle lives in the same area, so it was easy to see where they used to live when they were kids, visit her old primary school, and see the streets that she used to walk in as a child. Her old house is no longer there, and is replaced by a modern building. There were a few "Japanese style" homes still left standing, but most have been replaced by new buildings.

Mom and uncle at the location of their childhood home


Walkway by mom's childhood home

Mom's former junior high school

Mom's old elementary school

Picture with Susan & Paul's friend Fanny. She was such a wonderful woman and took care of us when we went to visit the National Palace Museum