Adventures

It was time for a break!

A break from boxes.

Yes, I am packing (again)!

Yes, we are moving (again)!

No, we are not moving to another continent!

We are moving to an apartment on the school campus, but I will save that for another post.

Needless to say, since graduation my focus has been on packing, organizing, and cleaning.

Enough is enough! 

Time for some adventures!

The first of our adventures this week stems from a necessary errand- a trip to the AIT (American Institute of Taiwan) in Taipei to renew the kids passports. They expire next March and before you start to think how organized and top of things I must be, Taiwan denies travel to anyone whose passport expires within six months. This means Abbi would not be able to join the swim team in October on their annual mission trip to the Philippians. Ben would not be able to return to Taiwan during his Christmas break. Jacob would be denied his first chance to travel as a high school athlete with the track team to Okinawa. 

So off to Taipei we went!

Our first stop was at the AIT to take care of business. No pictures allowed! They collected all phones, ipods, ipads, cameras, and other electronics as we entered the building. 

After that, the real fun began. After a short bus ride, we arrived at the Taipei 101 building. It is currently the 4th tallest building in the world and houses the fastest elevator. On a previous school trip, Jacob had the opportunity to go to the top.

Its hard to get a complete picture while standing on the street!

Our goal was not to actually go to Taipei One, but rather use it to find our other desired locations: 

H & M clothing store and Krispy Kreme!

We were successful on both counts. Abbi, Melissa, ans Ben shopped for about an hour. bThe best part was the air conditioning! Carl, Jacob, and I soaked up the refreshing cool air as we wandered around the store and then went outside to explore.

Using Taipei 101, our next destination was easily located.

For those of you who have never traveled to Taiwan, doughnuts and other pastries have a very deceiving quality. The look amazingly delicious, but when your teeth sinks into the flaky flesh, reality smacks your anticipating taste buds. Looks delicious, but its not.

Krispy Kreme is about the closest you can get to American tasting doughnuts this side of the Pacific Ocean.

We each picked two scrumptious looking treats, which we then shamelessly inhaled.

Family consensus- they were good, but Schulers in Springfield are better! 

The next part of our adventure required a mode of transportation of which we have little experience- the MRT, Taipei's subway and rails system. Tamsui, on the outskirts of New Taipei city, was at the end of the line, a fifty minute ride.

Before leaving home, Abbi used the internet and knew exactly what, when, and how. We arrived at our seaside destination with no problems.

Melissa wasn't the only one passing their time with an electronic devise. Phones have revolutionized long commute rides. Most people were either napping or surfing the net one way or another.

Arriving in Tansui, we immediately began looking for lunch. A Subway was sighted and my American food need was met.

Our ultimate reason for traveling this far north was to visit the son of a an old friend. Carl and Damian met at the YWAM Texas base where they both completed a DTS (Discipleship Training School). Carl had the pleasure of being a groomsman in Damian and Traci's wedding, and honored us by standing with Carl at our nuptials twenty-one years ago. 

Their oldest son, Andrew, arrived in Taiwan two months ago to attend a school of cartooning through the Taipei YWAM base. Unfortunately, his classes didn't end until 5pm

But as Tamsui is a coastal town, I wasn't too despondent. 

While the temperature reached the high 90's and the humidity  about 80 percent, a breeze accompanied those strolling along the boardwalk. The salty aroma and gently lapping waves, overshadowed the discomfort of sweat drenched skin.  

Statue dedicated to a Presbyterian doctor and missionary. 

On his previous trip, Jacob visited a fort. Our afternoon stroll led us there.

Not something you usually see at a fort. These were probably added to represent the Dutch, who at one point controlled the fort as well as the island.

The church built by the Presbyterian doctor and missionary and son.

Of course temples are everywhere.

As evening approached, we rendezvoused with Andrew. It had been five years since our last visit.

After supper, we introduced him to one of our favorite Taiwanese cuisines- mango bing.

Fresh sliced mango served on top a mountain of shaved iced milk is the best way to cool off after a hot day. Lucky for him, this shop is very near his classroom!

It was a wonderful ending to a super day! Andrew will be in Taiwan for another four months, but we most likely will not make it this far north again. Hopefully, we will make it to the upper Michigan peninsula next summer to visit the whole family!

At the end of the day I realized while Taipei is a nice place to visit,  I wouldn't want to live there. 

I'm a country girl.

Which is why our adventure two days later was more up my alley....