Amanda's Visit Day 1-2: Dakeng Height to Tan-Zih Sight

The view of Beitun from Dakeng Trail #9

March 29-30, 2017 Amanda is up early before me because of jet lag. I do things with her instead of going on the computer. Yesterday, we went out to have breakfast of soy milk and danbing. This morning we went hiking up trail #9 near Earthquake Park. I want to spend as much time together while she’s here.After the hike, we planned to bring Tanuki back to the vet to check up on his infection; his wound is healing well. Before I drove home, we stopped near the Beverly on Han-xi East Road to get an “I Bike” for Amanda so we could ride up the river and meet Leona at the eyeglass store in Tan-Zih. After figuring out the first time how to get a bike, Amanda chose one at random and followed our car the few blocks home. When we arrived, she told us the three-gears on the bike had a problem. She was willing to live with it but I suggested we go back and exchange bikes; bad move. When we brought it back and she chose another bike, the computer wouldn’t release the other bike. Coincidentally, a maintenance team arrived and told us we couldn’t exchange the bike after taking it five minutes without having to wait fifteen minutes to reset the computer. While we waited on a bench in the little park, they did maintenance. Unbeknownst to them, their action interfered with our getting a bike. We ended up frustrated walking back home with my bike to get the car to drive to Tan-Zih to meet Leona who had already left to meet us there on her scooter.

This little old man came pushing his wheelbarrow up a 30 degree
grade hill with a ten gallon container of water. He stopped to look at a plant, without watering it, screamed a few angry sentences in Taiwanese,then got behind his wheel barrow pushing.

I rested as Amanda continued to hike up the
 mountain to a look-out point.

Below the gazebo where I rested,
some area for Buddhist-minded hikers.

The servicing of the "I Bike" station just as Amanda was
 exchanging bikes disabled the system. The thoughtless young man told her the bike could be exchanged only within 5 minutes. After that, it took 15 minutes to reset the computer, unless some thoughtless service boy disengages the system before the fifteen minutes is up and disrupts the process. Then you can kiss the bike "goodbye." 

The dog in  the eyeglass store in Tan-Zih rested as
Amanda got fitted for a new pair. After the bike rental fiasco,
I drove up to Tan-Zih to meet Leona for lunch and get the glasses.

We made falafel balls together. I had all the ingredients but the balls disintegrated when I put them in hot oil. Amanda suggested we add a few eggs to hold theballs together and saved the day. We had falafels for lunch that day and again
for lunch when Michael and Jennifer came over Monday