Day Trippers

Do not be alarmed. I haven't started dropping acid so as to liven up the more mundane aspects of my existence. Those of you who know our son, Josh, would know that I in no way need to start using halucinogenics in order to make my life interesting. Just stop reading for a moment, close your eyes, imagine yourself tripping and at the same time, having a conversation with Josh. "Yeah, little dude, you're right, if the whole world were made of tomatoes, you sure as hell could eat everything. Right on, man." No, no, no what I'm referring to is Team Lai's love of the day trip. We just got back from another one - weary and cheery - and I just feel so in love with them. Well, to be sure, part of that is because they took the four beetles they caught on today's excursion and rushed over to the beetle store across the street. It's easy to be in love with them when the house is quiet and I'm alone with my thoughts and the keyboard.

Last Sunday we went on my favorite day trip of them all. We went to Dongshi, which is about 45 minutes from here. There is a bike trail and, as you can see from the picture, you can rent all kinds of crazy configurations of bicycles. I was traded to the other team after Josh decided it would be more fun to just sit on the back of our bike and let me do all the work. Having 500hp of Rudy churning along behind me made a world of difference after carrying the slack for Josh for about 8km. By the last kilometer I was just panting, "Come on Rudy! Come on...!" and all I could think of was stopping the bike and lying down in the grass by the side of the trail. Rudy just kept chugging right along til the end.

The highlight for me was when a group of young people rode by and, spotting Jayden on the back of my bike called out to him, "Are you a foreigner?" To which Jayden gleefuly shouted, "Are you a foreigner, you mental patient?"** There was something about that moment with the breeze in my face and the sun sparkling on everything - papayas and guavas dripping off the trees on the side of the path. My boys flushed and happy with the glow of strenuous exercise...The fading laughter of our group as well as the chastised young bikers. I just felt so in love with my husband, my sons, my adopted country. You know those happy-for-no-reason-moments that I jealously suspect are actually a regular feature of Jason's existence? It was one of those.

After we turned in our bikes we were back on the road up into the mountains to the hotsprings of Guguan. If you are able to get over the sensation that your actually taking a bath with dozens of strangers, the hotsprings are lovely. Especially if your muscles are screaming after a grueling "Tour de Taiwan" morning. Before heading back to Taichung, we stopped at a touristy restaurant to have the local specialities - rainbow trout - the fillets grilled and the head and tail made into ginger soup - fried cabbage, river shrimp (the kind you pop into your mouth whole and crunch away on), and stir-fried bamboo. The boys were unconscious by the time we wound our way out of the mountains and they slept through until the next morning.

Our trip today was no less exciting. We went with our family friends, the Chen Family. They are those most lovely kind of friends where both families love to get together. Jason and Mr. Chen talk about computers and sports and other manly topics while Mrs. Chen (Anping) and I talk about our kids, our jobs, our husbands, books, music, and all of the other meaningful and earth shattering things that women of the world discuss. And, the kids love each other. The Chen children (Haohao and Weiwei) absolutely worship Rudy. Wherever we are, Rudy has to sit so that there are vacant seats on either side of him for them. Why do they never get along with their own siblings that well?

We went to "Lion's Head Mountain" which is about 1.5 hrs. drive from Taichung. We did a spectacular hike where every few meters or so along the trail there was a new wee beastie to behold or, in Josh's case, pounce on and avoid being bitten by. A snake, lizards (imagine Josh intoning, "See that? That's it's venom gland - that's where the poison comes out." as the lizard writhes and squirms in his little hand trying to get the contents of said poison gland into one of Josh's fingers.), beetles galore, caterpillars, dragonflies, and river shrimp that Jason was threatening to eat raw. Do I wonder where the children get it from? Not really.

On the way back, we stopped in Toufen at a beautiful tea house on the side of the mountain. We lucked into our own private "tea room" which featured wood floors, a low wooden table, and cushions to sit on. The menu featured everything imaginable that could be deep-fried. We got french fries, onion rings, cheese sticks, and chicken strips in two flavors - two large plates of each! After my deprivation diet of the last month (down 3kg+ so far) it was truly heavenly to sit back, enjoy the natural beauty, and suck down handfuls of greasy morsels.

When we got back to Taichung, we parted ways with the Chen family at our favorite bakery on the corner. I had to pick up bread for the sandwiches for Monday's lunches. Back to reality but a little more relaxed and a bit more refreshed.

** What Jayden actually said in Chinese is shen jin bing. Shenjin means "nerves" or "nervous system" while bing means "sickness" or "illness". It is a phrase often heard for example if your friend spends way too much money on a pair of shoes, you would say, "Ni shenjin bing! Why did you spend so much money on those shoes?" Another useful phrase my children banter about when they're not calling each other jiekepigu.