Thanksgiving weekend. . . .belated updated

This is a few weeks late--our little family has had fun times with illness, injury, and responsibilities up the wazoo. We are finally taking some time out to relax, put up the Christmas tree, and look forward to the holidays.

For all of my complaining before, I'd like to say that we had a fantastic Thanksgiving trip. No cooking or cleaning, just a really fun time at an Ocean Park down the coast. We took the train, which was enjoyable for Shaun--no driving, and in 3 hours time we arrived in Hualien. The hotel was in a beautiful spot on a cliff overlooking the ocean, and even though all the naked cupids were a bit hokey, the room was really nice. We spent a full day at the park watching sea lion, dolphin, and mermaid shows, taking a tram ride up the cliff through the park, and enjoying the amusement rides. Sophie in particular loved the seashell ride, a fast-spinning throw-your-guts-up type of ride which I couldn't stand. She rode each ride several times and was exhausted by the days end.

I am finding out that there are several nice things about Taiwan. The best has to be the lack of crowds that we fought through in China. It has been so relaxing to go to scenic spots or tourist destinations and not have to shoulder our way through throngs of people all trying to take pictures of the kids. Of course, the weather has been fantastic this fall (typhoons aside) after braving the horribly hot summer. Today, Dec. 12, it's sunny and 80 degrees. And you know what, even though we live on a crowded street, we get to walk everywhere to run our errands which beats driving (there's no parking) and is convenient because most places are right down the street. So, all in all life is turning out good here in Taiwan.