Toroko By Plane

Do you remember our video from last year on our trip home from Toroko? This year, in an effort to never repeat such horror, we looked for alternate routes to Hualien. Guess what? There is a 25 min flight to Toroko. We may never travel there any other way! It was such a thing of beauty! (minus the extreme stress before the flight when it was discovered enroute to the airport that our family friend Paige, did not  have her passport with her. It took two taxis and a scooter borrowed from a friend for Nathan to make that turn around time, CRAZY!).

 Our neighbors the Stathams were traveling with us, with their 5 children and a babysitter, Cecily, who you may remember from when we went to Thailand. We were quite a spectacle.

 Upon arriving in Hualien a mere 1/2 hr after leaving Taipei (!!!!) we were able to rent a minivan for each family and we were off! Oh wait, where's Ander?

 ....Cuz that's pretty much always the question these days. Fear not, I actually brought the leash this time; remember we were headed to Toroko Gorge, by definition we'd be hanging out on the edge of sheer cliff drop offs that go on for miles. The leash was definitely warranted.

 Cool building in Hualien

 Paige getting her first taste of baozi . To be fair, I didn't think they were very good, as far as taste goes, (that's me saying they were disgusting). But Paige was super adventurous when it comes to food- get it girl!

 Kohen's been here too long to appreciate and respect the fine piece of culture that has been laid before him for lunch. And also, these were a bit big to capture by using your chopsticks properly.

We kind of took over the little shop, and spilled out into the outdoor seating. I guess there were 16 of us.

 Scarlett, will you share your snack with me? Mamas hungry, lunch was a bust.

 Cool shot of how they steam the baozi.

 Then we all went around the corner and tried these different fruit juice things. They really were just fruit puree'd and they were quite good.

We headed up to Silks Place and the children all swam themselves into exhaustion. Both the babes like the same blanket and they like to tease and pull blankets away from each other but they will, on occasion, share the same one. It's about the sweetest thing ever. The above picture was a highlight of the weekend for me. My two babies snuggled up with me, sharing a blanket, fast asleep. This kind of thing just doesn't happen in real life!