Taiwan 2013 (Part 2)

We left Hualien and headed for Taitung on July 8th. Tim's brother Joe drove, his first time ever in Taiwan, while we got to enjoy the view. I must say he did a pretty awesome job! We left the ocean side of Taiwan and headed further south to visit with some family friends.

The beauty of the countryside 

You can see Mom in the front left wiping her eyes from tears as the guys were making everyone laugh, and Joe driving like a pro.

We took a break from the drive at a quaint little lake area that had places to eat, little shops, and huge fish.

Caleb had just woken up from his nap and got some snuggle time with Grandma.

We ate lunch at this famous dumpling restaurant on the lake. It sure was delish!

There was even a park there! Caleb was happy to get out of the car and play with Grandpa and Uncle Joe.

Since we weren't on a time constraint and could take our time traveling and stopping to take breaks, we got to visit a scenic area on the Tropic of Cancer. There was a pretty cool structure there that we got to climb on, and there was grass for Caleb to run around on. It was a good place to rest.

Look at that big boy walking up the hill with Grandpa

Family photo!

The view from there was spectacular. I can't even describe how gorgeous it was!

Big fluffy clouds make me happy!

Uncle Michael and Caleb hanging out

More beauty

Caleb was all smiles with Grandma!

Grandma even got kisses too! ^__^

Grandpa knows how to make Caleb laugh

I love my honey! Don't we look so happy ^___^

Next, we headed toward the 2013 International Taiwan Balloon Festival in Luye Gaotai, Taitung! It our first time at a balloon festival. They were so huge. It was quite impressive and beautiful in a way when they flew through the air.

My first kiss in a hot air balloon ;)

Dancing with Uncle Michael to the music

Watching the  balloons filling up...

and starting to go up.

We left the Balloon Festival and finished the rest of our drive to Taitung. Tim's family has some very dear friends that live there. They use to also live in America and met each other then, but have both moved back to different areas of Taiwan and have stayed in close contact. I have met them before a couple of times, and it was really nice to see them again. They treated us to a very nice vegetarian restaurant that night, and then the next morning took us to see the first school opened by Christian missionaries in that area which gave everyone the opportunity to earn an education.

The restaurant

The good food.

The great company :)

The Christian school

One of the men who work with the school gave us a tour. Tim was my translator. This is where the early missionaries lived while they served here.

This was the bathroom the missionaries used.

We also got to see the chapel on campus. It has no electricity and is only lit by through the skylights and the stain glass windows which were made by a famous artist in Taiwan. The way the buildings are made throughout the campus makes them much cooler. Someone was very smart when they designed it!

Here is a close-up of one of the stain glass windows. This is my favorite because it represents Christ's resurrection! HALLELUJAH! 

It was time for us to leave Taitung and continue on our trip. We still had one more place to stop before we headed back to Taipei. Our last stop was a recreational farm called Donghe Farm. It is a 600-acre retreat located in the Huadong Mountain Range that lies between Hualien and Taitung, where guests can hike, bird-watch, and camp in an area of unique natural beauty. We did a lot while at Donghe Farm. Another blog post is needed before this one gets TOO long, so until next time have a wonderful week and enjoy the Lord! :)

Next: Our time at Donghe Recreational Farm and Back to Taipei