Fishing with the Chens

A couple (the Chens)in our ward took us and some other members up to their family's mountain house (cabin) and we went fishing in a nearby fishing pond. It was one of the best times I've had in Taiwan so far. It was so peaceful and relaxing. Here are some highlites:

The girls had fun on some swings at the cabin-a common toy in America, but not in Taiwan.


Scott is going to kill me for putting up this picture, but such cheese! I couldn't help it...

What a good daddy! Scott in our friend's Chinese hat fishing with his boy (it was HOT and mid-day, so those big hats really are useful to shade you). The pond was kind of like a fishery because it was concrete. I was a little disappointed at first, but it does no good to have expectations when you are in a foreign country. Those expectations are almost always wrong. Sometimes the reality is worse, but sometimes it is better!

The girls were ready for a catch with their net.

The first catch of the day! Me! I was so pumped. Too bad it was tiny and I had to put it back. I have always wanted to go fishing, but this was really only my first time! (Other than holding the fishing pole once for my uncle when I was about 7 or 8 years-old).

Next, and a real catch, was Scott! We put it in a holding net in the pond that some kids had used right before us, so we assumed it was ok. But when we went to check on the fish a little while later, we moved it and the movement helped the fish swim through a tiny hole in the net and escape! Bummer! We kept catching small ones after that, probably because it was mid-day. Then, right as we were leaving, I got a whopper! It was so huge that I broke the line. It was pulling and pulling and Scott jumped down the concrete bank of the pond to catch the line and reel it in. And here it is...

A CHAIR! It was floating as I pulled it in, so it even fooled Scott who was helping this novice. A CHAIR! Darn polluters! The girls thought it was pretty funny, though. They told that story over and over for the rest of the night.

Next it was down to the real creek to look for crawdads. No luck, but it was fun and the girls LOVED playing in the water! The Taiwanese were a little tentative about letting their children get soaked, (they think they'll get sick), but once they saw how much fun the girls were having, they let their children join in!

And then what is an outdoor Taiwan party without Taiwanese BBQ and fireworks?