Hardened by the Hills - Hiking with Sammi and Alan

Beautiful women in the wild.

On Sunday (Nov 8) after church, our friends, Sammi and Alan, came to take us hiking in our backyard national park, Yangminshan. After first having egg sandwiches here, the hikers set off. Stew and I were left behind. He had his foot stepped on in a bouncy house the day before and was still favoring it. I was hoping at some point that afternoon he'd actually take a nap with me, but he preferred to junk out on the TV, which he rarely does, so to keep the peace and minimize the disappointment of being left behind, I let him. He and I enjoyed the junk-out together. :)

Meanwhile, those who were whole headed back to the crazy-steep hike we'd only seen near the volcano with John Chang and his wife and son. That was the destination aimed for. Like all good goals, sometimes you realize you just aren't up for it, and Sammi and the girls turned back half-way up. They enjoyed a picnic back by the cars and relaxed and played for a bit. (Right: The mist-pollution combo you see in the air in the picture to the right made it no less HOT. Everyone took jackets, but even at this elevation, they were NOT needed.)

The girls missed the excruciating part, I'm told by the boys. It was the right choice, as the boys not only had one heck of a hike, but they had to feel their way back in the fading light after 5pm. I hear there were some slips and falls by all, but they all returned able to walk and home to dinner with me and Arthur just after 7pm.

We feasted on tillapia from Costco and spicy green beans, water lily, Korean-style potatoes that were a hit with Alan despite his official anti-potato stance, and Korean-style cucumbers that everyone loves. Then, we all enjoyed one another's company until after 9pm when Sammi, Alan, and Sophia headed home.

Though I missed the adventure, Q remarked how tough our family seemed. After all, we hike quite a steep hill to apartment complex about once a day, if not multiple times. He and I have visions of keeping it up back at home, utilizing the hills in Millville to keep us strong. After all, the adventures of life are so much more easy to enjoy when living life makes you ready to meet them!