By 8:00 this morning, we were out of the door. Helped by the early rise of the girls, the car got packed for today's excursion and we pulled out of our neighborhood. Moments later we returned as the baby carriers had been left in the house. The destination was Yingge, located about 2 hours north of us and supposedly Taiwan's ceramics capitol. Yingge's draw is its "Old Street" which features lots of pottery and ceramics. Being a Monday, the area appeared somewhat dead though the pedestrian only streets opened up to scooters and trucks.
Sage thought the whole area was a bore and promptly went to sleep. She would only periodically wake long enough to spit a disgusting mixture of goats' milk and drool all over me. One of her talents lies in her ability to always miss the expertly positioned burp cloth.
A hallway kiln was the one item that I found interesting. For a place that claims to have an old tradition of pottery, the plaque on the wall indicating the ancient kiln dated to the 1960s was a bit disappointing. I guess my mental picture of the town included quaint shops with skilled artisans practicing secrets of their trade passed through generations. Instead, the area felt like a tourist trap. Regardless, I enjoyed walking through the kiln and imagining the ovens being turned on.
A park, located near our car, featured great playground equipment so once the girls tired of walking along cobblestone streets, we retired to the park for some teeter-totter and Xian's first swing ride.
Then, we were homeward bound. The little bit of excitement came about halfway on our journey when Xian could not be consoled no matter what Krista tried. (Un)fortunately Krista is quite congested and could not smell the fumes from Xian who got quite hysterical. I eventually pulled over to the side of the freeway, almost lost a door to a crazy trucker and began a NASCAR-style pit stop. Cars whipped by, the noise inside our vehicle was through the roof (Xian went over the edge) and I felt under pressure as the emergency response tow truck began reversing towards us. How did this guy know we needed help and how did he appear so fast? The new diaper was fastened and a change of clothes applied just as the truck reached us. I jumped back into the driver's seat and took off before beginning a series of charades to explain that there was in fact no car trouble but one messy diaper.
Sage thought the whole area was a bore and promptly went to sleep. She would only periodically wake long enough to spit a disgusting mixture of goats' milk and drool all over me. One of her talents lies in her ability to always miss the expertly positioned burp cloth.
A hallway kiln was the one item that I found interesting. For a place that claims to have an old tradition of pottery, the plaque on the wall indicating the ancient kiln dated to the 1960s was a bit disappointing. I guess my mental picture of the town included quaint shops with skilled artisans practicing secrets of their trade passed through generations. Instead, the area felt like a tourist trap. Regardless, I enjoyed walking through the kiln and imagining the ovens being turned on.
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| inside the kiln |
A park, located near our car, featured great playground equipment so once the girls tired of walking along cobblestone streets, we retired to the park for some teeter-totter and Xian's first swing ride.
Then, we were homeward bound. The little bit of excitement came about halfway on our journey when Xian could not be consoled no matter what Krista tried. (Un)fortunately Krista is quite congested and could not smell the fumes from Xian who got quite hysterical. I eventually pulled over to the side of the freeway, almost lost a door to a crazy trucker and began a NASCAR-style pit stop. Cars whipped by, the noise inside our vehicle was through the roof (Xian went over the edge) and I felt under pressure as the emergency response tow truck began reversing towards us. How did this guy know we needed help and how did he appear so fast? The new diaper was fastened and a change of clothes applied just as the truck reached us. I jumped back into the driver's seat and took off before beginning a series of charades to explain that there was in fact no car trouble but one messy diaper.
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