Just A Little Train Trip - Hualian

Call us crazy but we decided instead of going straight to California after Tony's last day at work, we'd stick around Taipei for a week and hang out with friends and let Tony get his big theology assignment done before going on 'vacation' in the US. Looking back now, it may not have been the best idea - a bit stressful to say the least - but we did get to spend yet another week with our dear friends in this great place.

So... after leaving Vienna Garden and moving into Anna and Sharon's place by 2am on June 9 - we woke up a few hours later and headed to the Taipei Railway Station for a little adventure (you're probably starting to call us crazy). Enze Jie had wanted to take us to her hometown of Hualian for a long time but the timing was never right... so here we were - on the train (one of us really loved that!!!) heading to the East Coast. The only other time we'd been there was with Amber and Jason back in 2005! This time we had an expert tour guide.

Enze Jie and her dad picked us up from the train station and helped us buy some lunch - then transported us out and up to the top of a hill where we got settled in a great little minsu (BandB). After our plentiful lunch, we all took much needed naps before heading out on the town.

The weather wasn't so cooperative but Enze Jie took us to this great beach. Hunter was so impressed by the big bubbles... he wasn't the only one!!! But we did manage to restrain ourselves from buying a jumbo bubble blower for the sake of luggage allowances.

It's a little weird looking back at us wearing shorts and t-shirts when it is so dark and rainy there - of course in NZ when it's dark and rainy, it's actually usually very cold to boot... but not Taiwan - it's usually finally comfortable when it's dark and rainy - it means the humidity is down! Anyway, here we are on the East Coast of Taiwan for the last time (as far as we know it).

These rocks were so cool... Annie collected a bunch of them (shhhhhhh!!!) to create some artistic installation piece in their apartment in Taipei. I just like them because we've got placemats that have the same rocks on them - maybe I can use my photos when the others finally get too waterlogged and warped from spills by littlies...

After the beach we had an early dinner at a 'famous' noodle house in town then bought some regional specialities to enjoy once the kids finally fell asleep. We had a nice evening sharing stories and snacks and reminiscing about the past five years in Taipei.

It was still overcast in the morning but we all agreed it was more fun to eat breakfast out on the lawn. What a lovely view, eh?

Helena actually has taken a real liking to Anna Jie over the past few months (good thing as we stayed at Anna's place for a week) so it was fun to see them together.

Some Taiwanese B and B's have a disappointing breakfast, but this place did a really nice waffle and coffee... we did plan ahead though and brought plenty of extra fruit.

And somehow Annie managed to keep her waffle safe from the wandering hands of Tony who was trying to charm the others away from theirs! I wonder where Hunter and Helena get their food snatching habit from??? SO after breakfast we decided to split up for a few hours... Annie wanted to see some of Hualian's natural scenery, but we knew our kids couldn't handle more time in the car before heading home on the train so the ladies dropped us off at...

OCEAN PARK!!!

And we had the BEST day out!!! THIS is vacation!!!

Going to any amusement park on a weekday is really the way to go... we got to see all the shows and ride the rides without any lines or crowds. It was FANTASTIC and the kids both really enjoyed it! And I enjoyed seeing them enjoying themselves so much.

For the first time in our lives we discovered that walruses are actually quite graceful in the water - maybe not well-mannered above, but yeah, they were so quick, strong and graceful - we were impressed.

Check out these pearls!!!

 

Hunter was just big enough to go on the water ride - so Tony took him along and they had a blast! In fact, Tony enjoyed it so much he practically made me do it too... so I went by myself (not sure why Hunter didn't want to go a second time, but hey... I'll take a few minutes by myself when I can)... and it was a pretty fun ride.

Then it was onto the carousel so mei mei could also participate...

once it got going, she lost that bewildered look and wanted to go back again... but we didn't want to miss out on:

THE DOLPHIN SHOW!!!

Yeah, being there on a weekday with fewer people meant we got good seats - but somehow the kids weren't satisfied... they wanted to get in the pool too...

Well, he didn't quite make it into the pool but Hunter was selected as part of the audience participation segment in the show... I think he had to hold a ring so the dolphin could put his nose/snout (what's it called on a dolphin???) through... it took a bit of coaxing but he ended up doing it... what a blast!

After a fun morning out, we re-grouped on the train and headed back toward the big smoke!!!

Enze Jie's i-phone was the saving grace on the train trip home for these tired two...

Thanks, Enze Jie, Anna and Annie for a really fun excursion!

Countdown From Vienna Garden

Well, in typical Clark fashion, the last two weeks in our apartment at Vienna Garden was jam packed with friends and fun...

On Tuesday, May 25 the Torch Church Mother's Group came over for one last farewell feast at our place. I love these women... they have been so loving, accepting and generous to us in these three years we've been at Torch Church. Though many of us can't really communicate deeply with words, we can convey our hearts with smiles and hugs... this was a morning with lots of both and a few tears too.

Enze Jie and Shirley - oh, you've got to love their smiles!!!

and of course Helena loves Taiwanese ah-yi's because they let her play with their stuff... their pretty stuff that mama doesn't let her play with... their purse stuff that mama doesn't actually carry around...

I will miss these ladies and this group... they have demonstrated that God's love transcends culture and language!

Thursday, May 27- was the Playgroup Farewell at our place (see other entry)

Saturday, May 29 - Tony was feeling the crunch to keep working on his theology assignments so the kids and I met up with some friends for a play at Happy Bear and a delicious dim sum lunch... poor ole Tony missed out!

Lily and Cynthia

Gerald and Hannah almost hiding out in the ball pit...

I don't know if Hunter landed on Helena's head, but these kids have really loved tumbling at Happy Bear and the perks of playing in the playground! We'll have to see about getting a trampoline once we get settled in NZ!

Sunday, May 30 - after a great (almos)t last service at church and a birthday party for Michael, we headed over to the Residence for Tony's NZCIO farewell...

Though she battled through a back surgery, Sandra made it through her language study and was also getting ready to move on...

Tony has learned a lot working with Michelle and we've enjoyed her family's hospitality.

So after a full weekend of socializing and packing/planning, Tony went back to work on Monday and we continued to enjoy the remainder of our time in our community. Tuesday, June 1 - Hunter's final photo shoot with Annie (see April and May - Good Times in Taipei). 

Wednesday, June 2 - our long time friend Julie came over to introduce us to dear sweet Charlotte... Helena is getting a bit better with babies, but still - we're always very watchful! It was so nice to meet her and say farewell one-on-one for a bit.

After a bunch of packing, etc... Cynthia came over for a last hoorah with Hilo! It was also our last meal at our favorite dumpling shop... boy, we'll miss those (and Hilo too)!

Thursday, June 3 - the big move/pack (see "Out to Sea")...

On Saturday, June 5, after an action-packed week with all the move stuff (not to mention Tony's work), we had the chance to actually go out - the two of us - with hundreds of other Aussies and Kiwi's for a riverboat dinner cruise! It was a blast to be out of the house together... with some other folks we haven't had a chance to hang out with for a while.

And what a treat - Suzanne and I got to hang out WITHOUT KIDS!!! Phew... in reality, it was still too loud to really hear each other, but at least we didn't have to holler "Stop" "Come back here!" "Get off your sister"...

My neighbor and friend Reema is about to relocate to another country too, but she hadn't ever been on the MRT!!! Well, I wasn't going to let her leave Taipei without experiencing some that aspect of it... so on Monday, June 7 when Ashee got out of school we met at Taipei City Hall Station and rode on two MRT trains to our destination - lunch at TGIFriday's! As Ashee descended on the escalator onto the MRT platform she kept looking around saying "it's just so beautiful, mommy"... I was wondering why we hadn't done this before... but it was fun. I hope they settle in well in their new city - I'll miss them.

Then this was it... Tuesday, June 8 - Tony's last day at work - our last day in our apartment at 92 Song Gao Road! We met up with Suzanne and Michael for a play at the Mitsukoshi playground... I have really appreciated these guys - I will miss our spontaneous and planned play dates.

We also stopped by our market to say good-bye and get our last fill of good fruit. The market ladies are so generous they gave Helena a new hat (thankfully, not this one... you'll notice her bright pink Doremon cap in other entries and they gave me one too!!! Wow - really they are so generous!)

And then... we met up at Tony's work in the evening for the very last farewell at his office... then came home to finalize our stuff before moving out of our beloved apartment. We honestly weren't really thinking straight when we kept out so much of our guff from the ship... all this stuff had to fit into Anna's place and somehow has to get to NZ via airfreight... YIKES! Farewell, Vienna... we've enjoyed living here so much!

Farewell Playgroup...

Our Thursday playgroup has been a highlight for me and the kids ever since Hunter was about 9 months old! Not only did it provide us with friendship and playmates, information and inspiration -  it also provided me with an outlet to connect people to each other and exercise hospitality - two things that I realize God has placed in me to work out his love. Without this opportunity, I probably would've been a bit unhappy or felt unsatisfied during my life as a mom in Taipei. I believe we each have our own unique personalities, gifts and talents and that when we don't exercise those giftings we can just feel a bit 'off' or 'purposeless'. Well, facilitating this group was a blast and I really enjoyed the ladies and children who have been part of our lives through it.... so this was going to be a somewhat sad good-bye for me. On the last Thursday in May, we met at our apartment building for our last Hoorah! It was an all out madhouse since it did rain a bit... but what's that in Taipei - we expect it?!? We did get outside for some of it... We had a pizza party with enough food to feed an army... plus all the fruit and snacks... (and my attempt to have the kids make icecream by kicking a can around with all the ingredients - total flop! but fun to watch). WOW... we made a bunch of noise (and mess) in our lobby, but one of the residents thought it was so cool to see so many moms and kids gathered that she brought down some treats for the kiddos... how generous (this was after we were asked to move from our side of the foyer because we were too loud). The kids rode their bikes - inside and out... and then Cynthia presented me with a super cool scrapbook made by the moms as a memorial to our times together!!! Really, super touching and such a great present...

Rachel and her two - Micah and Caleb - braved the commute to say good-bye...

It was Michael's birthday too, so Hunter and Hilo wore their matching shirts (unfortunately Mikey's too far up the slide to notice his is the same) in honor of their buddy!

Then we just had to try... we had to try to capture one last large group photo of the kids... oh baby, what a process...

If anybody actually got a good one, I'd love a copy... but anyway - we can see most of our friends somewhere on the slide!!!

Suzanne made a non-birthday Thomas cake for Michael and Hunter... I think Hunter wants something like this for real on his next birthday - we'll see if I can muster up the guts to try...

After the mess was tidied up we made it back outside for a bit more steam burning... Ellie, Tilly and Hunter found a slice of nature in the big city - caterpillars!!! Just keep it off your skin... you may get caterpillar dermatitis!!! (Really, I got something itchy called that on my tummy last year, the doc said some caterpillar fuzz must've got in my laundry... yikes!!! And that was from the 7th floor of an apartment... what will happen on the NZ laundry line!?!?)

Farewell, Conrad... enjoy Taipei!!!