Taipei with Loey, aka Tessa

The three of us have traveled together since Tess was a little tike: Arkansas to see the cousins, roughing it on Buffalo River, Mexico’s beaches, Disney World, Swimming with manatees in Crystal River, PCB beaches and go-karts, Washington DC, Safaris in Africa, skiing at Lake Tahoe, and so much more, but this trip, oh, this trip was one of the very best. 

Tess is an adult now, and like the reckoning sensation generated when a parent finally gets to spend unrushed time with a child who has become an adult, having that kind of experience with an adult grand is even better!  My, did we ever have fun! 

Tessa likes the name Loey.  It is the name she was known by during her 2-year time in Seoul, South Korea.  If that’s her preference, Loey, it will be. 

Stan and I had a prepared list of things we might do together; she had her own.  We chose the best and did everything.  That kid wore us out! 

We made sure to check off the top sites in Taipei, like the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Plaza and the top of Taipei 101.  We visited the Taipei Zoo to see the Giant Pandas.  One of the most fun activities was an escorted night market tour. We had a blast with our guide, drinking beer, cracking jokes, and sampling all sorts of Taiwanese foods cooked right there on the street on red-hot grills.  Hoping to get a peek at more than just Taipei, we took an all-day trip to nearby towns to set off skyward, a big paper lantern carrying our written wishes, and to see some beaches, old colonial communities, and a geopark full of strange rock formations, tidal pools, and fossils! Then, so that Loey could experience a bullet train, we booked a trip south to Taichung City, 107 miles away, in only one hour.  That thing is sleek and fast!  We need a bullet train (or several of them) in the USA. 

Best of all was shopping and eating.  The night markets here are a goldmine of good food.  It’s cheap, delicious (except for stinky tofu and dried seafood), and safe to eat!  Shopping?  Tessa (oops, Loey) came with a list: Daiso for cheap dollar-store stuff, Don Don Donki, a three-floor store for almost anything under the sun, Pop Mart for authentic Labubu blind box purchases, night markets for food and t-shirt shopping, and plenty of Boba tea.  We did it all!  And did we ever eat!  Two years in Seoul left its mark on Loey.  From growing up as a child who only ate a limited selection of foods, she knows what’s good now, especially in the realm of Asian foods, and she introduced us to the best.  Wait until you see the photos. 

The week flew by, and it was heart-wrenching to see it end and say goodbye.  We all teared up and became snorkey!

We plan to do this all again, many times in the future.   Look for Loey on tap with us in about 6 months.

My God, Stan and I are lucky.