We started the weekend with a Saturday trip to the gardens next to the National Palace Museum. These gardens are arranged in the classical Chinese style. Fiona was excited to see the large goldfish, plus the swans and ducks :-) 
Then on Sunday we went over to Vivian's parents' house for a meal and some good times.
Fiona loves playing with the fridge magnets
Getting ready to blow out the candles and cut the cake
We said goodbye to our friends the Thalmans, who are returning back to America after many years serving in Taiwan. We will miss you! 
Some pics from last year... at our retreat in the MRT training center in Beitou
Kirt sent us this pic after they arrived back in Ohio :-)
Over Chinese New Year Gareth was able to take a road trip out of Taipei. Also in the travel party were Web and David, both from HOP. From Taipei we drove east to Ilan, then down the dramatic east coast to spend the night near Hualien. On the second day we visited Taiwan's famous Taroko gorge for a little hiking, then drove up the winding road to get to Taiwan's high central mountain area. That night we stayed at Wuling Farm, near Snow Mountain. On the last day we checked out the farm a bit, then enjoyed another afternoon hike. We stopped at the Ilan night market for dinner before heading back to Taipei that evening. What a journey! Thanks David for driving, and Web for taking these cool pictures :-) 
Driving the Suao-Hualien highway. Quiet blue ocean views, empty beaches, dramatic cliffs
Web, David and Gareth embark on their first hike, the aboriginal Saka trail inside Taroko National Park
Beautiful clear blue water, nestled in a cradle of pure marble 
Marble lions keep guard over the bridge 
A famous Taroko site, the Eternal Spring Shrine
From Taroko we piled in the car and drove up, up, up to the high mountain range in the center of Taiwan. This area is over 3000 m above sea level. After driving through clouds for the last hour, we broke through the top and were able to see this view, the "sea of clouds" 
Looking south toward Hehuanshan and Chilaishan, which even had a fair bit of snow on top! The sun was rapidly setting, and Web was starting to feel the effects of altitude sickness 
Looking back on the road we'd come up on. The tiny mountain town below was lighting up. From here we drove north to Wuling Farm
Scenes from Wuling Farm. Inadvertently we picked a good time to come, because most of the tree blossoms were out
Everything was very colorful and nature-y. The farm contains peach, pear and apple trees
Apart from the nice blossoms, there are many other things worth seeing at the Wuling Farm. It happens to be home to the Formosan Landlocked Salmon, a rare species of salmon that doesn't (can't) journey to the ocean and back. Also Wuling Farm is the favored launchpoint for a hike to Snow Mountain, Taiwan's second-highest peak. We hoped to do a day-trip hike to the east peak of Snow Mountain, as I'd done in 2006, but untfortunately we didn't have our mountain passes in order.
Instead we hiked part of another trail across the valley, which afforded a nice view of the Snow Mountain summit
Web, David and Gareth back at the trailhead
