Yilan: A Day Trip to Luodong

January 20, 2013 — Luodong Sports Park, Meihua Lake, and Little Bear Book House

The weather had been strange that winter. It kept raining, and even on dry days the sun refused to appear ~.~'". We had gone months without seeing sunshine on a weekend.

Then, at last, a bright and sunny weekend arrived. At 20°C, it was perfect weather for being outdoors. Time for another trip to Yilan ^.^

Luodong Sports Park

Our first stop was Luodong Sports Park. With an old steam locomotive and railway cars from the timber-transport days still standing among the trees, I wondered why the place was called a sports park instead of a forest park.

A steam locomotive displayed in the park — The old timber-hauling steam train

Whoa—the train is coming! Run! @.@'"

The steam train and old railway setting — The train is coming—run!

An old railway car converted into park seating — An old railway car preserved in the park

Just kidding. That railway car had already been turned into park seating ^.^

Sunlight filtering through trees in Luodong Sports Park — Warm winter sunshine among the trees

A tree-lined area in Luodong Sports Park — A quiet corner for a woodland stroll

The winter sunshine felt wonderfully warm among the trees. We bought bowls of Luodong Forestry Culture Park pork thick soup and brought them into the park for a picnic. Watching the kids run and play outdoors, I thought: this must be what ordinary happiness feels like ^.^

A family spending time outdoors in the park — An easygoing picnic in the park

Children outdoors in the park on a sunny winter day — At last, sunshine for the kids to run around in

Meihua Lake

After lunch, we headed to nearby Meihua Lake. As soon as we parked, we rushed to the shore to buy tickets for a boat ride. When we visited in 2013, adult tickets were NT$50 and concession tickets NT$25.

Scenery across Meihua Lake during the boat ride — Lake and mountain views from the boat

There was plenty to watch around the water: turtles had climbed onto a trunk to sunbathe XD, and that really was a bird standing nearby, probably waiting to catch a fish ~.~'"

Turtles sunning themselves on a trunk by the water — Turtles climbing onto a trunk to sunbathe

A bird standing beside the water at Meihua Lake — A bird waiting for a chance to catch a fish

After the boat ride, the kids demanded bicycles for a lap around the lake ~.~'". Think about it: uphill, downhill, and if they ran out of energy halfway around, who would have to struggle all the way back in tears? Why would I pay money to torture myself?!

That is why tandem bikes and ordinary bicycles have never been options when I take the kids out. A Cinderella pumpkin carriage, on the other hand—now that was a good idea. It was electric too ^.^

An electric pumpkin-shaped carriage beside Meihua Lake — A Cinderella carriage with no pedaling required

We passed a stall selling grilled chicken rolls with seaweed, pepper, lemon, mustard, curry, cumin, and all sorts of other seasonings. We bought a few, and they were pretty good.

Cumin was showing up at lots of roadside barbecue stalls around that time. But honestly, no matter how many times I smelled it, it reminded me of someone who had skipped a few showers. How did that become popular?! (Ha~~run away~~~)

We saw plenty of other pumpkin carriages along the road. See? Lots of people are as clever as I am ^.^

A pumpkin-shaped carriage traveling beside Meihua Lake — Another pumpkin carriage along the lakeside route

Fenghuang Island sits in the middle of Meihua Lake. We parked and crossed the suspension bridge for a look. The island was small, but the scenery was lovely ^.^

The suspension bridge leading to Fenghuang Island — Crossing the suspension bridge to Fenghuang Island

Meihua Lake viewed from Fenghuang Island — A lakeside view from Fenghuang Island

Meihua Lake and distant hills near Fenghuang Island — Looking back across Meihua Lake

The shore, hills, and winter sky at Meihua Lake — Shore and hillside in the winter light

Across the lake, Sanching Temple stood on the mountainside.

Sanching Temple viewed across Meihua Lake — Sanching Temple on the opposite hillside

Little Bear Book House

After our circuit of the lake, we stopped at Little Bear Book House for coffee and a rest. Its front-row position beside the lake came with a wonderful view.

The view of Meihua Lake from Little Bear Book House — A front-row seat beside the lake

Lakeside seating and scenery at Little Bear Book House — Coffee, lake views, and time to rest

To recap the day: we left at 11 a.m., reached Luodong Sports Park around noon, ate pork thick soup in the park, spent the afternoon at Meihua Lake, and returned to Taipei in the evening.

A wonderfully relaxed way to spend a day off ^.^

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