Frankie goes camping.....

What a great weekend to go camping! My brother Sam and his wife invited us along, and while Rebecca and I lodged overnight in a nearby motel, Frankie and grandma slept in the trailer.

But what caught our eyes was the camper his friend Glen has: it is a motorbus converted into a mobile home, nearly 500 sq ft of living space on board, with all the amenities of home.

The next day, we visited the world renowned Cathedral Grove national park, which houses the old growth forest with some of the oldest trees on the island.

We returned home the next day and Frankie went to work at picking blackberries from grandma's yard. Harvest comes early on the westcoast as fruits are ripening by late July and early August.

Frankie's cousin Jessica and her husband Matt taught Frankie how to make blackberry jam, and we brought home a jar of this wonderful homemade concoction.

A Canadian wedding

A beautiful Canadian summer day for a wedding!

The groom, Eric is a pro golfer, born in US to Taiwanese parents. The bride, Melissa is a daughter of our good friends Jennifer and Whyte, here in Victoria.

A classic!

When I moved to Taiwan in 2009, I left my beloved vehicle to my brother Barry. I bought it in 1990 and had it for 20 years. Thru years of neglect, it needed a lot of TLC.......

Well, one year later, Barry had brought this 1984 Porsche 928 back to showroom condition! It is simply gorgeous. No details have been overlooked. It drives just like when it was a baby, and looks brand spanking new. Porsche stopped production on the 928 many years ago, and a nice set of wheels like this is definitely a collector's item.

I'm glad it stayed in the family and what a job Barry did!

Beautiful Victoria, city of gardens.

That is correct. Victoria is called "city of gardens" for our world famous Buchart Garden, and the distinctive floral landscape lining every street in this English influenced town named after Queen Victoria. I don't know why my grandpa picked this city as a permanent residence, but he sure made an excellent choice.

Victoria is at the southern tip of Vancouver Island, named after George Vancouver who was supposed to be the discoverer of this Pacific island, about the size of Taiwan. Climate is moderate with single digits in the winter and reaching the teens in the summer. Its generally cool, breezy, and misty. Best months are July, August and September with day time temperature in the 20s. Victoria had the largest Chinatown in Canada at one time due to the arrivals of laborers from China in the 1800s, all of them landing here first before being sent to various parts of BC to fulfill their obligations. My grandpa was one of them who came here in 1910 at the age of 18.

O Canada!

This is my first update since coming home to Canada.
We just celebrated our national birthday, but the weather has been dismal so far. I miss the heat of Taiwan. Its between 10 and 18C here most days and that is worse than winter in Hualien! Its great to see mom, relatives and friends. Its also great to play music with our band again.

So far I am maintaining my weight loss, although I have gained 2 to 3 lbs since coming home, which is expected. I sweat much less here, eat more, and sleep more.

Homeward bound

Like Forrest Gump would say: I'm going home to see mama....
I'm leaving on a jet plane, midnite tonite. This message and video is for my mama....

The most rewarding part of a workout is the food after, and here in Hualien, we have some most excellent vegetarian food, which is ideal after exercise.

Leaving Hualien soon...

We are going back to Canada to spend summer, so we have a few days left here and friends are saying goodbye.
We invited two of Frankie's school mates to lunch.....

Then I took Frankie and two other friends to Ocean Park for some R&R....

With the weather so nice here, it is a real pleasure to go downtown on the weekends to rub shoulders with the locals. For such a small town, Hualien really comes alive in the evening as the balmy climate is very inducive to outdoor crowds.....

Frankie was craving for a steak tonite, so I took her to Hualien's best, and also most expensive. Food is very good, and the steaks are North American style, charbroiled to perfection. There is a choice of USDA and Australian beef. I like USDA better, the Aussie steaks are quite gamey and slightly chewy. This is my first steak since my weight loss program. It was nice, but I really do not miss it. In fact, my 10 oz steak dinner with two jumbo Canadian oysters sat in my stomach for two days. How do I know that? I purposely weighed myself before and after dinner, and my weight increased by 3 pounds. That happens too after a vegetarian buffett, but the glaring difference is: by bedtime, those 3 pounds from a vegetarian meal is gone; but with the steak dinner, those 3 pounds stayed with me until three days later....isn't that amazing? Think what the meats will do sitting in our stomach for a few days....yes, toxic waste is right!

Our friends treated us to Brunch today, a farewell gathering so to speak. We have formed a very cordial relationship with our new found friends, and we will miss them for over two months.....They took us to a vegetarian buffet and it was awesome. The variety, texture and taste is beyond what most folks think is possible without meats.