Driving to Yuli - Sometimes the Long Way Around is Just the Long Way

Though another day at the beach sounded so lovely, we were too fried to make a go of it, so Tuesday morning we headed out, setting out sights on Yuli, 4.5 hours to the north. Though this was (and will be, I think) our longest travel stretch, I had 4 possible stops in mind to break things up. (And of course, there were a host of other stops to make for things like going the bathroom, eating, continuously checking OTHER ATM's for money).

Yes, Q still had not been able to withdraw cash. At some tiny town along the way, someone told us it was because the towns this far south were too tiny. Others suggested the 7-11's had issues. Try as we might, no ATM's were cooperating, and once again we were down to just enough for the cost of the room in Yuli plus about $3, which wouldn't even buy all 7 of us one meal.

But with faith that we would figure it out, north along the east coast we went! And it was LOVELY!

Veeve, whose is surely about to slip and be swallowed by the SEA!!!!!!

The first of our planned stops (4 options to chose from, 2 exercised options) was Xiao Ye Liu. It promised cool tide pools for exploring and fascinating rock formations. This park WAS pretty cool, but the tide pool area, with slippery, jagged rock and crashing waves was a bit too stressful to this mother of 4 children who all only half listen to instructions. Still, it was a lovely walk down to the water and the views along the board walk were stunning.

The sisters sharing a perch on one of the formations

Q and Stew enjoying a stroll, but "NO STRIDING!" 

Isn't that approach to the blue water PRETTY!?!

By the time we were ready to leave exploring this park (combined with all the other stops we'd made to pee, get directions, and hunt for money, it was already 4pm.  I was nervous about taking a winding mountain road away from the coast to hit our Yuli destination, so I began to rush us. Still, we thought we would splurge some time at Platform of the Three Immortals. Thankfully for us, the arched bridge you see below was closed. This was beneficial because it not only shortened our time AND the energy we spent at this stop, but also make the stop itself at this national landmark FREE. (Otherwise, there would have been a parking fee, dwindling our funds from $3 to $1.50.)

Not soft sand, but the smooth pebbles of this pebble beach worried me A LOT LESS.

So of course, everyone had to get their feet in. Or in Stew's case, his whole lower body.

Here's a shot of faces, instead of just their butts!

We pulled them from the water's edge too fast for all our likings, but daylight was already fading. Thankfully, on the way out, the monument's gift shop sold paomien (ramen noodles) AND took VISA! Dinner was SERVED!

We had just enough light to get through, and even enjoy the mountain ride. We found the Yuli train station guided by our GPS, and then made our way to the hostel, "Wisdom Garden," following directions from our Lonely Planet guide. The last stretch and arrival was in the pitch blackness of tiny-town Taiwan, and in the rain, but we ARRIVED!

In the end, I don't know if either stop felt "worth it." Certainly we would have needed a place to use bathrooms, and both these stops HAD bathrooms. But I don't know if stopping so often made the drive more bearable, OR if it just made it more long. We could have done it ALMOST straight through. When we awoke to the beauty of Yuli the next morning, I almost wish we had. But once again, that is for another post! And once again, the cliff hanger is, "How will the Caspersons survive after they pay their last cash for their room for the night!?"