Taipei bike ride to Guandu

Last Saturday we took a pleasant family bike ride -- all three of us. Taipei has come a long way in developing many of the winding trails that run along its rivers. Now you can ride for many kilometers without crossing a road. This is remarkable considering how small and crowded this city is. Since the weather was balmy today, it was too good an opportunity to miss.

How did Fiona travel? In her new bike trailer!
Vivian hadn't been on a real ride for about two years
Ye olde boat docks
Bike's eye view
Bravely keeping up
Rolling underneath an expressway, looking north to the peaks on Yangmingshan
Stopping for a breather by the rice paddies. Quiet and peaceful here
At last, our destination: The park at Guandu. We laid out the picnic blanket and relaxed for a while
Fiona tries on Mummy's hat, eats a little grass
She enjoyed chewing the grass, but didn't dare to crawl on it! Good idea -- maybe we should lay down some sod in the no-go areas of our house.
Group photo

The afternoon sun began to wane. Time to head back. Not quite enough time to ride to Danshui, only another 25 minutes further down the trail. Ah well, maybe next time
Vivian sees what it feels like towing Fiona's trailer
Fishing boat moored on a little unnamed creek... the sun was dropping fast
A nice end to a perfect day

Fiona's changes

As Fiona gets older she is getting more active, showing off new skills and behaviors all the time.
Funny hair at mealtime
...and her hair is long enough to put into little tails!
Playtime with big sister Nya
Still curious when it comes to watching TV from her saucer
Just coming out of the bath; getting ready for bed
Little precious
Fiona has long eyelashes, like daddy
A Mid-Autumn festival Chinese tradition: turning a pomelo skin into a hat for the kiddies
...but the joke gets old after a while.
Daddy, take this thing off!

Now I can stand on my own, as long as I can hang on to something like this coffee table
It's definitely bedtime... Fiona is already dreaming
Sleeping Beauty

...and here's a collection of video clips of Fiona taken in September. As you can see, Fiona is "always on the run!"

If you'd like to see more, another earlier video of Fiona's summer adventures can be seen here

Hike up Kuanyin Mountain

Great fall weather we've been having -- high 20s, sunny, breezy afternoons. On Saturday we went to the flea market at the Taipei American School, then crossed the Danshui River to do the hike up Kuanyin Mountain


We took a steep trail with ropes. Vivian and Fiona climbed bravely. We even think Vivian had an easier time than she would have before Fiona came along. All that baby lifting has given Vivian strong arms :-)
There were five of us in the posse -- Gareth, Vivian and Fiona, plus the Kaiteri two
Looking towards Taipei across the river
Danshui town in the background

Fiona looking pretty

Our Fiona is becoming more of a little lady every day.
What do you think of my new bicycle helmet?
I like playing by the sofa
Standing next to my saucer. I can pull myself up to a standing position now. Any day now I'm going to start walking!
Out of the bathtub and into my strawberry towel
I'm getting sleepy... time for bed
Back in my saucer, watching the 183rd rerun of my Baby Einstein video
Back in the bathroom again... who's that other cute baby in the mirror?
Time to catch up on my reading...
...I've got something to smile about!
Ha haa... wedding banquets are fun! Do you like my white dress?
Mum and Dad took me to the Taipei Arena for some ice skating... I look forward to skating in Canada one day!

Double Ten holiday trip

On the road again! Back to the east coast, this time on two wheels. Gareth and Vivian and Fiona and several work friends arranged a fun overnight holiday to one of our favorite Taiwan destinationsRolling on the east coast nightway, enjoying the Pacific Ocean view, the cool breezes and the craggy terrain
One of the day's destinations: Long Dong (the Dragon Hole). Gareth looks north toward Bitoujiao (Nose Head Cape)
Easyriders from left: Liz and Phil, Gareth, Steve, Matt, James, Rachel, Angus (front). Daniel's not in the photograph because he's behind the camera. Thanks for these pics, Daniel :-)
More Long Dong scenes... we hoped to go cliff-jumping here, which I have done before, but the water was too choppy that day. Later on we got our water fix by swimming down at Fulong Beach
Funky geological features here on the east coast
Steve takes a breather on the rocks as the surf continues to pound
On the great wall (sort of): Angus and Gareth wave
After checking out the Gold Waterfall, it's time to saddle up and get on the road again
Looking back on the Bitoujiao lighthouse trail
Vivian and Fiona are here too! They drove along in the car to meet with us later. On the first evening we all stayed in a little B&B in Jinguashi (Gold Melon Stone) mining town
On the drive back home, we took the long route over Yangming Mountain. The sun casts wonderful sheets of twilight over the sleepy hilltops

...and here's a little video of our road trip adventures (part 1)

(part 2)