Sky Lanterns in Pingxi

March 28, 2010 — Pingxi Sky Lanterns — Canon EOS 500D, 18–55mm F3.5–5.6

Ever since I bought a DSLR, weekends have become my wife's nightmare...

Whenever Friday night rolls around and she hears me muttering, “Hmm...where should we go tomorrow?...” she gets so frightened that she hides under the blankets and sobs...

She used to be something of a homebody, but I saddled her with grand declarations like, “Children need to spend more time outdoors for their healthy development...” That left her no choice but to transform back into a “sunshine girl”...

Change isn't easy, though. After several weekends of this treatment, she was about ready to lose her temper @.@'"

This week I thought we might finally stay home, sleep in, and catch up on some rest... Then my mother-in-law and brother-in-law invited us out. Ha...so my wife had no choice but to accept her fate ^.^

We didn't have a destination in mind and were just out for a drive. When we reached Shiding, we stopped at the rest area for Taiwanese sausage wrapped in sticky rice and let the kids get out to run and jump around~~

The family taking a short break at Shiding Rest Area — A quick stop at Shiding Rest Area

A child stretching her legs at Shiding Rest Area — Time to get out and run around~~

A family moment during the stop at Shiding Rest Area — An aimless afternoon begins with this stop

After we'd played for a while, my mother-in-law suddenly suggested, “Why don't we head over to Pingxi?...”

Lisa saw a group of people launching sky lanterns and immediately insisted on launching one too...

Everyone else's lantern was covered with wishes. Lisa couldn't write yet, so wouldn't it be a waste to buy one and simply send it into the sky?

Grandma spoils her, though. Not only did she buy Lisa a lantern, she even added a string of firecrackers ~.~'"

Lisa standing beside the sky lantern, ready to make her mark — Lisa couldn't write yet...

Lisa carefully writing on the sky lantern — But she certainly knew how to wield that brush...

Lisa adding her own writing to the sky lantern — The little calligrapher keeps working

The family helping Lisa finish writing on the sky lantern — The lantern slowly fills with wishes

Lisa showing the completed sky lantern — Ta-da...all finished...

P.S. The mark at the very bottom of the lantern is her signature...

A passerby looked at it and exclaimed, “Wow! This little girl is amazing...she even wrote USA!”

Come on~~ It says LISA... It's not a rocket. Why would she write USA? >.<'"

The group holding the sky lantern before launch — The lantern is ready...

The moment the group releases the sky lantern — Here it goes~~~

The sky lantern rising just after release — Whoosh~~~~

The glowing sky lantern climbing higher — Whoosh, whoosh~~ Up it goes~

The string of firecrackers beneath the sky lantern going off — Crackle, pop...the firecrackers are going off~~

The sky lantern drifting farther into the evening sky — Up into the sky...

The sky lantern for Grandpa disappearing into the distance — This one's a gift for Grandpa...Bye-bye~~

Before heading home, we passed the Jing'an Suspension Bridge. During renovation the previous year, the bridge had somehow snapped in two and fallen into the river in the middle of the night...scary~~