Back in Taiwan: visiting Fulong Beach

This Saturday there was a HOP outing to Fulong Beach, one of the best attractions on the northeast coast of Taiwan. It was a hot and sunny 33C that day, but the water was cool and refreshing.

Long-lost pals reunited... in Calgary of all places老朋友依然如故

Gareth wasn't the only one visiting friends in Calgary -- Vivian had a chance to visit with two of her roomates from college in Texas. I'm sure none of them expected to be meeting again in Canada.
這次回加拿大，不是只有Gareth有朋友可以拜訪，我也有！
Heidy是我在美國德州唸書時的室友。今年二月Heidy寫email給我，說她要移民到加拿大，問我該去哪一個城市？開什麼玩笑，當然是卡加立(Gareth的城市)。她和先生小孩四月份就真的搬過去了。

Vivian and Heidi. Heidi is Chinese, but was born and raised in Panama
Heidy是華裔巴拿馬人，講西班牙語，不會中文，所以我們只能用英語溝通。

Good times with Heidi's two boys, Dylan and Phillipe
她的兩個兒子很可愛，正在學英語。

Dylan and Phillipe really enjoyed playing with Fiona
他們倆超愛Fiona的，Fiona也很愛跟他們玩，還會嘰哩咕嚕的跟他們說話。

With Heidi's husband, Felipe, also from Panama. They immigrated to Canada in April, seeking better opportunities for the kids. A brave move, since they knew no one in the whole country. Vivian suggested they move to Calgary :-)
Heidy的先生Felipe，也是十一年沒見了。十多年前還是Heidy的男朋友，在另一個小城市唸書，週末都跑來找Heidy，跟我們混。現在仍然維持著氣死我們的好身材。

Cowboys and a cowgirl at a Calgary Stampede pancake breakfast
Fiona跟著兩個小牛仔，趁牛仔節的免費早餐去趕集

The other long-lost roomate, Amy, came up from Washington, DC with her family. They had an enjoyable holiday exploring the Rocky Mountains
趁著我暑假回去，把另一個以前的室友Amy，從美國叫來一起團聚。她帶著先生和一兒一女從華盛頓DC飛來。他們喜歡這裡的大山

Back in Calgary, lining up for another free pancake breakfast

Together again. Former students, college friends...
十一年後，室友們再次共進晚餐

...now with children...
但是多了孩子‧‧‧

...and husbands too!
當然還有先生們！

The Calgary Stampede: 10 days of cowboy culture卡加立牛仔節

Ah, the Calgary Stampede. Every year in July the city turns cowboy for "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth." We pulled our cowboy hats out of storage and enjoyed some of the main attractions.
每年七月初，在卡加立有一個十天的牛仔節活動。
整城加上上萬從外地來的觀光客都像瘋了似的全部成了牛仔郎、牛仔妹。
我們也不例外地把收在儲藏室的牛仔帽拿出來應景。

但我的婆婆堅持她的優雅，拒戴牛仔帽。
還好，一年只有十天！

The Calgary Stampede parade. RCMP (mounties) stutting their stuff
開始的前一天由盛大的遊行暖場
好帥的騎警，有女生喔！

19 marching bands in the parade this year -- this one came all the way from Minnesota, USA
今年有十對樂儀隊的表演。這是遠從美國明尼蘇達州來的。

Flamenco dancers on horseback
騎馬的佛朗明哥舞者！

First nations chiefs dressed in full traditional outfits
原住名酋長們穿戴傳統服飾上陣

Most ethnic communities had a presence in the parade, and the Chinese were no exception
卡加利的華人隊伍

A little stagecoach pulled by miniature ponies -- how cute!
迷你小馬拉的馬車

Down at the Stampede grounds, savoring the heart of the Midway: rides, games, food, entertainment and more
這是牛仔節活動的主要現場。有動物秀、遊樂設施、食物‧‧‧

Vivian tries her luck at the Whac-A-Mole game. She whac-ed a lot of moles, but came in second
帶著Fiona什麼也玩不了，只好打地鼠洩憤！

So forget the moles -- let's try the water pistol game
不夠，再射射水槍

Later that evening we saw the chuckwagon races and the grandstand show
晚上有馬車比賽和由一群九到十八歲左右的年輕人表演的節目
雖然年輕，卻具職業水準

The most popular traveler: Fiona, of course孟田在加拿大

Fiona seemed to enjoy her first visit to Canada... and everyone enjoyed seeing her!
孟田在加拿大一個月，除了前三天調整時差很黏我外，其餘的時間都非常的合作
在飛機上也很乖，沒有大哭大鬧。讓其他乘客(包括爸爸媽媽)都鬆了一口氣

A family heirloom -- Gareth sat on this same chair when he was a baby
這是Gareth小時候的迷你辦公椅，奶奶竟然保存的這麼好
現在只有孟田的屁股坐的下，看她得意的樣子

Fiona loves the paddle pool at Riley Park
在公園的淺水游泳池裡玩的不亦樂乎，完全不在乎水很冷(連我的腳都覺得冰)

Cowgirl in training: Fiona takes her first horse ride at a Calgary Stampede breakfast
在全城都瘋狂成為牛仔的同時，孟田立志成為牛仔妹，當然要先會騎馬

Back on the ancient baby chair
穿著內衣當然也能辦公，我的工作就是每天擺姿勢讓媽媽爸爸奶奶照相

More paddle pool adventures -- this time in the pool outside Eau Claire Market
這個公園的水也不錯，沒那麼冷，
但是媽媽忘了幫我帶游泳尿布，結果幫寶適快爆炸了！

Enjoying the Calgary Stampede parade
坐在路邊看遊行

Daddy, where are we? What's going on? Are these the Rocky Mountains you were telling me about?
爹地？天這麼藍，這是有背景的攝影棚嗎？我們又要演戲了嗎？

Fiona loved playing on the picnic blanket in the back yard. Grass, glorious grass!
孟田喜歡在後院草坪的毯子上玩耍，不會流汗，只不過滾一滾就會碰到刺刺的草坪

Posing in front of Bow Falls, just below the Banff Springs Hotel, Banff National Park
看我連出來玩都要擺姿勢，生活不容易。
後面是弓河瀑布，就在班夫國家公園旅館的後面

Any requests? Fiona plays a tune on her new piano, as Grandma looks on
要點歌嗎？
這是孟田去年耶誕節奶奶給她的禮物，她等不及要公演了。

That's what friends are for

Got to see quite a few friends on this trip. We didn't get pictures of every single one of you, but some of you we did.
The happy couple: Jason and Julie
Jason took me on a great mountain bike down through the gully near his house, then along the Bow River and back
En route from Vancouver to Saskatoon, Mike and Jody dropped by to say hi
Dustin hung out with us one afternoon at Riley Park
Long lost pal Dave! Seven years since we saw each other last. Dave's fiancée Christine in the background. It was fun to catch up after all this time
Dave is still driving a tow truck... and picking up interesting vehicles along the way. He came to meet us in his vintage '80s limo
Carol and Courtney and Chris Boland came by the house to see Fiona
Chris and Courtney Boland and Justin
Having lunch with an interesting new friend, Mr. Lu. I won't tell you too much about him here, but let me just say that I am an admirer of Mr. Lu, since he is something of a living anecdote in the pages of recent Chinese history. Here are some more links if you want to know who he is, what he did, and how he ended up in Calgary. Let's not take our freedoms and rights for granted, let's not forget how far China still has to go. Also please pray that Mr. Lu's wife and child can eventually join him in Canada.