Back from Hong Kong

We just got back from Hong Kong on business.

Hong Kong is one of those places that could be interesting to see, but then when you get there you realize it is just another big city, that is crowded, humid and noisy. Of course, there are many things to do, but it is not a cheap place by any means.

Actually, I have been there about 9 times....or is it 10. I am not sure. I had to make many trips to HK for visa purposes due to Taiwan's archaic rules at that time (well, they still have many archaic rules....). However, it was Jo's first time, so we did a little bit of sightseeing.

Yet, we went there on our kid's money management program business, so we did not have much time to plod about (especially since it was rainy the whole time).

Anyway, here are some pics of the seminar that we attended and the speech I gave about our programs.

Hope things will turn out well! We are having fun at least!

Jeff & Jo

Happy Birthday Jo!

Let's wish Jo a Happy Birthday!

She tells me she is 28 years old and I am inclined to believe her (especially since I am about 28 myself!)

Anyway, we had a GREAT birthday weekend. Great because it was relaxing, void of too many people and out in the fresh outdoors. Yes, that is VERY hard to find these days, especially on weekends.

At first, we were gearing up for a mountain hike that would take about 12 hours to complete over 2 days, but at the last minute we could not register in time to get on the mountain (they only take a certain number of people per day). To say I was relieved would be an understatement. I believe in other posts I have mentioned Jo's love of hiking and my love of.....well, relaxing outdoors - which - it turns out - are two completely different things. So, I was very relieved, but tried to put on a sads face when Jo told me the 'bad' news. Ah well, we will have to kill ourselves.....I mean go hiking another time.

So, we looked around on websites and studied a good old fashioned map of Taiwan and decided to head out to Big Snow Mountain - which is a perfect locale since it is getting mighty hot in Taiwan right about now. I slyly confirmed how many hours we would be hiking and it turns out that we would just be 'strolling' along paths, so that was good.

We were ready and packed, kissed Mocha and left a lot of food (which he ate before we closed the door) and headed out. We planned about a 2 1/2 hour ride and took enough snacks and drinks for a much longer journey (since we wanted to make sure we had enough things for the birthday celebration on Sunday).

As we drove, we came to an intersection and realized that not 1 hour into our journey we had found where we wanted to go (Jo's map reading skills need some work....). But we were pleasantly surprised since it was so close and continued into the park to look for our hostel.

The hostel it turned out was a small 6 bedroom place run by an older gentleman whom instantly connected with Jo and they talked a lot. He told us where to go for some good climbs or just walking and we sauntered off for a pleasant 2 days.

Here are some pics.

At a height of 2275 meters, the mountain was a blissfully cool 18.8 C out. In the city, it is 30 C average.....

We loved these 'weeds' and they seemed to grow everywhere here.

Even on trees....

Happy Birthday, Jo!

Love all your adoring fans...

ps. If you wish Jo Happy Birthday next year, she will be 28 as well....