More of the Blasted Same

Yep, it's a week off here in Taiwan for the beloved Chinese New Year, and what has the weather brought? Rain. Rain. Oh, and more rain. Happens most every vacation. Which is why I have a bicycle trainer set up in the apartment. It's not the same as riding outside. And don't be fooled by the temperature here, either. It's cold. The dampness has a chill that goes right through. I've actually been wearing gloves and my heavy winter coat. And on the bed I've got a comforter and TWO blankets. I may have to break down next year and actually buy a heater. For this year, however, I'll just keep complaining!


Now here is what Russ has to contend with in the middle of Nebraska in the middle of the winter. Who's got the better weather???

Some Winter Break Photos

These are the three gals that I met while waiting for our flight from DIA to LBF. It was eventually cancelled, so the four of us spent the night in Denver hotel rooms and then shared the shuttle and subsequent morning flight to North Platte.


Flying this leg of the trip is actually my favorite, twin prop airplane and all. Every seat is both an aisle AND a window.


Now this is first class when you can put down the back of the seat in front of you and really get a stretch on.


Early morning frost on the trees. The first picture is a view across the street from our house and the second one is a view down the street. Really, it wasn't as cold as it looks!

Contrast

There have been some good storms already in Nebraska. Russ has, as he said, "gotten to know my dad's snow blower intimately." He was grousing pretty good about the cold, snow, and ice, but even he had to admit there was beauty in the ice. The top two pictures are ones he took on a morning that dawned crystal clear with a brilliant azure sky.




This is a photo I took a month or so ago. Nice contrast with the snow photos, right? Where would you rather be? In the cold of the midwest, or the warmth of Asia? Me, I'll take the snow. The cold. The ice storms. The changes of seasons. The wide open highways. The ultra-friendly neighbors who snowblow your sidewalks. (that seems to be Russ this year!) I'll get my wish soon...just three more days and I'm off to the cold clime for the Christmas holiday. Can't ask for much more than that.

Wind, Hills, and Walkers

Today was a solo Sunday, so I thought I'd head for the hills a bit. I rode up to Psycho Squirrel Bridge, back down to the National Palace Museum, then back up to Psycho Squirrel for a second time. The elevation gain to the bridge is about 850 feet. In about three miles. It's a decent climb and I breathe hard each time I climb it. The picture of the creek is past the National Palace Museum before the girl's school.
Once down to the National Palace, I headed over to the bike path (oops, atop Piglet Bridge I looked down and saw about 1,000 or so walkers enjoying walking day. Thanks for that, guys.) You have to look closely at the photo to see the snaking line of walkers.


Since the bike path was out of commission for bikers, I went out to WenLin Road with traffic, thought about heading up the hill to Peitou, changed my mind when the wind nearly blew me sideways, so back to Dexing, Chung Shan, Cheng Chung, Shidong (right at Takishamaya) u-turn and safely to the apartment. This was one of those days with high highs and low lows...highs from the climbs and descents, lows from the idjits and weather. Darn near kissed the ground when I reached the safety of my apartment.