San Francisco Part I

On the move in San Francisco

On June 10 we headed to San Francisco for about two weeks of fun with family and friends. Laura and I arrived in SF a day before her friends and my dad arrived from Seattle. I met my dad at the airport and we headed up to Yosemite for a photography workshop while Laura waited for her friends to arrive.

Must be my lucky day!

The next three nights were very different for both of us. Laura spent her days shopping, drinking coffee and walking the streets of SF while my dad and I hiked around 8000 foot mountains taking hundreds (693 to be exact) of photos around Yosemite.

Dad enjoying the best in fine dining at Sam Wo's

On the fourth day, all 6 of us met in Ghirardelli Square for some ice cream, more photos and an early Father’s Day dinner.

The whole gang in our room

Laura and I saw everyone off to the airport and then had 8 more days to relax, shop and get our fill of Mexican food, the one food group we miss most since moving overseas.

Hi Mom – Happy Mother’s Day!

Lookin' good

Another trip to the Hoosier state

After 27 hours of travel, including connections in Osaka and Detroit, we made it to my sister’s for Christmas.  There’s something so easy about visiting my sister’s house.  Laura and I always have a relaxing time hanging out, shopping, eating well and seeing family.

Laura behind the wheel

Even with all the snow and bad weather there were few delays

Living in the tropics for the last 5 years has changed the way we look at weather.  Summers are hot and humid and winters here in Taipei are mild to say the least.  Right now it’s hovering around 60 degrees (F) and that’s considered cool.

Merry Christmas

I’m not sure what to call the weather in Indy during this visit.  When we arrived it was 11 degrees (-11C) the next day it was 1 degree (-17C) outside and by the end of the week it was 68 degrees (20C).  We couldn’t have packed for a temperature range like that.  As if 1 degree (-17C) isn’t cold enough, winds were blowing at a steady 25mph, giving a wind-chill factor of MINUS 25 degrees (-31C)!

This is way too cold for anyone.

The trip was filled with the usual dinners out at Sakura’s, Steak-n-Shake, and our new favorite burger place, Five Guys.  And of course we were patriotic Americans and did our best to stimulate the economy.

An Unexpected Trip Home

It’s finally check-out time

After a surprise visit home a couple months ago I assumed that I wouldn’t be making a trip back until next Christmas, but there were other things in the works that would bring me back home a lot sooner. Unfortunately my dad was suddenly admitted to the hospital for double bypass open-heart surgery. Fortunately, he made it through the surgery and is making a very quick recovery.

Sister, sister and brother

We bought the tickets while we were on our HK weekend trip and I headed out the day after we got back to Taipei. It was a relief to see my dad awake and recovering from such a big operation. This trip home turned out to be one of the most relaxing trips in a long time. Of course the hospital visits were frequent, but it was sad to see my dad in pain and tethered to instruments with tubes everywhere.

Hanging out with dad

The trip was also a little different, because it was more focused on staying home and taking care of my dad. There weren’t the daily trips to U-village and miscellaneous errands to pick up things we are missing in Taipei. That said, we capped off the visit with a trip up to Osteria da Primo.  If you want Italian you must go see these guys.  (btw – thanks for the ride to the airport)

When Laura and I decided to take teaching positions in Taipei one of the biggest factors was that we were nearly half way closer to home compared to when we lived in Singapore. With two quick trips home in three months I guess it’s been a good choice.

Seattle Surprise Visit

Nothing better than being a total geek on the couch

Someone was very surprised

After returning late one night from Phuket I jumped on a plane early the next morning to surprise my dad with a quick birthday visit. I would have flown around the world two times just to see the look on his face when he walked in the door and saw me sitting there in his chair. It was priceless. It was a short visit, but we managed to get a lot done including two trips to the Apple store in U-village, two trips to Fry’s electronics, a trip to Best Buy and a trip to Circuit City. I guess you can imagine what was on my shopping list.

Hanging out with my little sister making monkey bread

Enjoying the freshly baked monkey bread…..delicious!

I hadn’t been home for a year and half and it felt good to be back in the cool, damp Seattle air. It’s nice to see familiar places and be surrounded by English speakers and English writing. I like the challenge of learning Mandarin, but not being able to read a single label at the grocery store or being able to carry a conversation with someone can be difficult.

My shopping list included runs to every computer and gadget store, Laura’s was taken care of at Barnes and Noble

It’s always nice to see good friends

Making connections in Tokyo is easy

A little inflight nutrition to keep me going

Sunrise as I reach the west coast of the United States