And of course there was a typhoon passing Taiwan just before we left so there was also the thought of the train tracks being undermined and another typhoon coming, etc. etc. But none of that happened.
Our friend Richard arrived, with son Ian, at 9:45 Wednesday the 24th to take us to the high speed rail station, so we packed up, stopped by Ren Ai Elementary School to pick up Johnny and were off. At the station Hsien-Ling in her stressed state led us all around the parking lot trying to get us to the first floor so we didn’t have to take the elevator. We only made it to the second and still had to use it, but now Richard had to get the parking ticket validated. Not to worry, more was to come.
We had lunch at Moss Burger and headed down to the train. Hsien-Ling found car number 2 and after finding our seats and getting our luggage stashed away found someone else sitting in our seats. OOOPS, wrong car, we were supposed to be in car five. Too late to go outside and find car five, we had to move along the aisles struggling with our luggage. But we made it. The ride was quite smooth, and fast. At one point the marquee indicated our speed was 298KPH. Hmmmm, faster than my airplane, and I could sleep here, too.
Out of the train in TaoYuan we had to catch a shuttle bus to the TaoYuan International Airport. At NT$30 each (less than one dollar US) it was pretty cheap.
At the airport there was much discussion about which terminal we needed, but finally got off the bus and we were at the right place. We got in the wrong line but not to worry, we were soon directed to the right place. Poor Hsien-Ling, too much stress. In the VIP room we were able to rest, take a shower, and eat. The humidity was very high so it was nice to clean up, cool down, and relax. Johnny hit the computer room and was in seventh heaven.
With our frequent flier miles we were able to upgrade to business class. Lots of leg room, and wine. I only watched three movies before succumbing to sleep, but after breakfast started watching another, “Taken”, which, of course, I didn’t get to finish. I hate when that happens. It was a beautifully smooth flight of about 11 1/2 hours and upon arriving we breezed through customs and immigration in record time. My brother, John, arrived in our van and took us to his son’s house in Hermosa Beach where we stayed the night. Cool almost to the point of cold (for us folks from hotter places) it was heavenly.
John's son Jim is a computer wizard, and he was going to give me an old iphone he had, but after trying to explain it to me decided it was beyond my capabilities. I had to take his word for it as I didn’t have a clue. Jim and Nikki have two kids, Makenna and Ryan, so Johnny had someone to play with. They also have two dogs, Wii and all the rest of whatever that stuff is so they were all busy. I checked my e-mail and read the news, the limit of my computer expertise. Oh, and I got a call on Skype from Nigel in Taiwan checking on my progress.
On Thursday we headed to Glendora, my old home town, to have lunch at the Village Eatery with long time friend, John McHann, and high school classmate Jerry Heinrich, and his wife Sherry. We spent a few hours reminiscing, much to the chagrin of Johnny who was bored to death. Our good friend, Kaia Rubel, passed away last Monday so the talk of her and Michael brought forth many stories.
Driving the rest of the way was uneventful; we only stopped at the two rest stops on I-40 to let Hsien-Ling drive while I slept a little. We arrived in the “cool”
of the evening, turned on the water and water heater and started to empty our suitcases. The mail would wait for tomorrow, I had to do something about the leak under the kitchen sink………………….
These quail were sleeping on our front door step the second morning we woke up. Luckily it wasn't the day before when I scared a cat out of the bushes.
