Notes-After Hurricane Sandy's Wrath

Note – (Home Safe & Mother Nature’s Unpredictability), Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Folks and all FLLD classmates:

I am in the office today finally after two day staying at home when millions of people were without power.  The worst is flooded houses that they all have to deal with.  I am the lucky one that was spared by Sandy’s wrath.  Indeed, this DC-Reunion trip was meant to be a memorable one of our life time.  Imagine if I plan it one week late, then, it will be a different story.  All the places that we visited in DC, Maryland, New Jersey and New York were a complete disaster now.  The flagship where we stayed in Atlantic City was ok apparently, but Atlantic City was hit the hardest when Sandy made the landfall on Saturday 2:00 pm.  It was a mandatory evacuation order on Saturday 4:00 pm by New Jersey’s governor.  The casinos were boarded up and the boardwalks were torn apart and Atlantic City is a flooded sand-city now.   We are just so lucky!  Thank you all folks for giving us the opportunity to be with you.  Ben wants me to pass his appreciation as well.  I will plan my retirement accordingly when I am ready mentally.  Your advices really help!  I kept thinking how vulnerable we are to face Mother Nature’s cruelty and unpredictability.  How we tend to take everything for granted is just unbelievable.  Let’s cherish what we have so far.

Talk to you soon!

Janice Chang

From: 陳 禮君 [mailto:ljchen4655@hotmail.com]
Sent: Monday, October 29, 2012 1:30 AM
To: 陳嘉和; 張心儀; 呂春妹; Chang, Janice; judy380404@yahoo.com.tw
Subject: Show our deep gratitude

Ben and Janice ,
                          I am glad we are finally home sound and safe after being out there for almost a whole month
 
but still I feel I miss very much all the things and people I had came across over there! It is a kind of mixed feeling.
 
I want to say "thank you" again and again to both of you for your great hospitality and enthusiasm. We all know for sure
 
it must have taken you a lot of time thinking to get everything going so beautifully for this trip. Without you couple,
 
we wouldn't have been so comfortable spending two weeks over there enjoying all the things we had had.
 
Hope you couple keep doing well on your job, and let's see each other again soon and we will treat you as well as you did us!                        
 
                                                                                                                                                      Amy  

________________________________________________________________________

-----Original Message-----
 From: Jia Her American Trip [mailto:our.trip.usa@gmail.com]
 Sent: Sun 10/28/2012 3:33 PM
 To: Chang, Janice
 Cc: shinyeel2351@yahoo.com
 Subject: JH is home

Ben/Janice,

 Just a quick note that I'm home now, in one piece.  Ha Ha.

 It's indeed a long way home, but with memory of our reunion high-lights
 plus some movies and some sleep, it was over.
 I touched 'base' at 00:15 AM 29th HK time.  (My flight arrived in HK 23:05
 28th.)

 Thanks again for your hospitality especially what Ben had done for all of
 us.

 A MOST UNFORGETABLE 2 WEEK GATHERING IN OUR LIFE STAGE!

 Looking forward to our next reunion.

 Take care and best wishes to your family.

 Jia Her

2012/10/29 Chang, Janice Janice.Chang@montgomerycountymd.gov

Jia Her:

 Great!  Hope you will have nice rest this week.  It sure was long trip
 home.  I am glad you had good memory from this DC Reunion!  East Coast
 region is bracing the "life threatening" hurricane Sandy after you folks
 left town on Saturday.  All the places we visited last week were either
 boarded up or under federal mandatory evacuation plan.  We are just lucky
 to have such a wonderful trip together.  Please visit my DC Reunion blog
 when you have time.  I will gradually update it when I can.  It's rather
 time consuming though.  Tomorrow probably is the best for me to do so due
 to Government shut down.  I will pray for not losing power again.  The
 utility company, PEPCO, has been the target of citizen's criticism for the
 past years.  Losing power for 36 hours was not fun at all during February
 2010 blizzard storm.

Janice Chang

________________________________________________________________________________

-----Original Message-----
From: ?? ? [mailto:fenglu2@yahoo.com.tw]
Sent: Mon 10/29/2012 11:03 PM
To: Chang, Janice
Subject: RE: ?? ??? – Home Safe

Dear Janice: I am fine and resume normal life. It seems I have had a wonderful dream and I hate to wake up.  It is very kind of you to support us to make our dream come true.  We all appreciate it very much.  Thank you again especially Ben he worked so much for us.
Take care   Love   Kathy

From:   Chang, Janice  Sent:   Tue 10/30/2012 12:12 AM  To:   ?? ?
Cc:     Subject:   RE: ?? ??? – Home Safe – Response

Shyhwui:

Just enjoy it.  It's our pleasure to spend the wonderful time with you folks.  Please view my partial updated blog.  www.ncku71flld-DCReunion.blogspot.com.  Can you believe that all Atlantic City boardwalks are all flooded?  The casinos are all boarded up or served as shelters due to hurricane Sandy's ravages?

Janice Chang

___________________________________________________________________________

From: Shinyee Lee [mailto:shinyeel2351@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 31, 2012 10:20 AM
To: Chang, Janice
Cc: 陳 禮君; 陳嘉和; 呂春妹; judy380404@yahoo.com.tw; Jia Her American Trip
Subject: Re: Show our deep gratitude - Memorable trip after Hurricane Sandy

I am so glad everything is OK with you and your family. Thanks for the wonderful vacation we had and we appreciate you and Ben's hospitality very much. 

I have been suffering for something like an ivy/oak poisoning since Friday on 10/26/2012.

It is getting worse by the day and now I can hardly see my eyes, nose and lips because my face is so swollen like a baked bun. It also spread to my neck area and I can't turn my head to either side.

I am going to see a doctor later today and wish you all are doing well.

Shinyee

From:	Chang, Janice	Sent:	Wed 10/31/2012 10:36 AM
To:	Shinyee Lee
Cc:	? ??; ???; ???; judy380404@yahoo.com.tw; Jia Her American Trip
Subject:	RE: Show our deep gratitude - Memorable trip after Hurricane Sandy

Shinyee:  Now we all have been clicked- (clique) together like honey bun for the past week, your problem hit especially hard for us.  Hope you will take good care and let us know exactly the cause that triggered the miserable situation.  Pray for you!  Janice Chang

Day 7 (National Shenandoah Park & Luray Caverns)

Day 7 (National Shenandoah Park & Luray Cavern) Wednesday, October 10, 2012

With my sincere invitation, my neighbor, Susan, Peter’s (NCKU ’70 Mechanical Engineering Dept) better half decided to join with us for today’s outing.  Ben, my husband, drove us to this world-known “fairyland in Stone” in Luray, Virginia, 100 miles away from Maryland.  Since its discovery in 1878 by a tinsmith and a local photographer, we became one of the hundreds of thousands of yearly visitors to Luray Caverns.  The inspiring chambers are magnificently sculpted with countless stalactites and stalagmites.  This mystery cave runs wild with the sight of waterfalls, underground city, Titanic shipwreck, and sheet of curtains before your eyes.   Depending on your imagination, this interesting stalagmite behind us is a look-alike seashell in the spring, an ice cream in the summer, a pine cone in the fall and a Christmas tree in the winter.

.  The most unusual experience was to hear rocks sing in this wonderland as the mallets strike stalactites.  The Great Stalacpipe Organ, behind Shinyee, plays music of almost symphonic quality from ancient stone formations.

Off we went to The National Shenandoah Park via the Skyline Drive for its beautifully colored fall foliage.  As we drove on a winding road on top of the Appalachian Mountains, the breathtaking view of colorful fall leaves, crimson, red, orange and yellow from different plant species, displayed its panorama view before us.  There were plenty of overlooks where we pulled off and/or parked to appreciate the views.  We happened to meet Mr. Clifford Fisher, a nonagenarian from N. Carolina, who had visited the park the 15^th time to celebrate his 94^th birthday.

On the way coming down from the mountain, we looked out at the most spectacular sun rays that we had ever seen from the mountain. The rays, which streamed through gaps in clouds, created such a blessed sign in front of us.  Ben stopped the car and we all jumped out.  It was cold and windy.  I whispered to myself that “God wants us all to be together” and “Life is too short not to enjoy every single day.”   

Day 6 (George Washington–Mount Vernon Estate, Museum & Gardens)

Day 6 (George Washington–Mount Vernon Estate, Museum & Gardens) October 9, 2012

It’s History class today – We made to the historic home of George Washington and his family.  The estate is situated along the shores of the Potomac River and is one of the most scenic attractions in the Washington, DC area. I drove along the Potomac River via George Washington Memorial Parkway.  This scenic road connects Washington DC attractions and historic sites stretching from Great Falls Park to George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate.  LiChun’s “Wow! Fantastic! No words to express!” uttered at different times, when DC’s skyline view was into the sight.  She was completely in awe when the sun rays penetrating the leaves and the depths of woods. It presents a captivating view that fills the heart with bliss.  We vowed to make the trip together again someday in our life.

George Washington, Commander-in-Chief of American forces in the Revolutionary War and the first President of the United States, called Mount Vernon home.  As far as we know, the cutting of cherry tree myth was just a way to show Washington's honesty. There was no such fact recorded in the history book.

Day 5 (Venture out to Downtown DC by subway)

Day 5 (Venture out to Downtown DC by subway) Monday 10/8/2012

We chose Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History as our first visit site out of the warm subway.  Under the gray October sky of chilly temperature in DC, it proved to be a bit challenge for us to walk around the National Mall to see other museums.  Jia-Her was not feeling well due to slight jetlag issues, so the DC tour should be geared toward on the light weight sites – The museum was crowded as expected due to the cold temperature outside.    We made to the 2^nd floor – Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals – Of course, The Hope Diamond , weight: 45.52 carats, perhaps, is the most visited museum object in the world.  This price-less blue diamond originated from India and believed to be cursed for its owner. We are fortunate to view this major attraction at Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

Then, we lined up into the Johnson IMAX Theater for the experience of viewing 3D Flying Monsters.  These long wing flying reptiles were spectacular in appearance as they were amazing in flight – I finally googled their names as pterosaurs, otherwise; I have to count on my kids to tell me how they were called besides the dinosaurs I know.  It’s hard to imagine when they ruled the prehistoric skies before our time. 

.

Day 4 (Apple Picking & Potluck Party)

Day 4 (Apple Picking & Potluck Party) – Sunday, October 7, 2012

We grant Jia-Her’s wish for apple picking today.  The refreshing crisp, cool air in October did not dampen our spirits at all.  Look at how excited we were when we picked varieties of apples – Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Stayman, and Fuji, from the tree.  It reminds me of the time when I volunteered to chaperon my two kid’s field trips to an apple orchard.  It was fun to visit the farm market and drink the homemade hot apple cider during the cool weather.

Pot-Luck party with NCKU-DC alumni highlighted with delicious dishes from everyone’s masterpieces and reminiscing the good old days of ‘70s campus life.  Dr. Young’s physical therapy demo and group massage filled the sun-room with laughter.  The spontaneous laughing or loud painful noise from the tickle massage served as a good work-out to digest the food better.   Julian’s Tai-Chi instruction was indeed a serious business.

Day 3 (NCKU-DC Alumni Fall Hiking)

Day 3 (NCKU-DC Alumni Fall Hiking) – Saturday, October 6, 2012

With almost one year’s planning, NCKU-DC Alumni Association welcomes Shinyee, Shyhwui, LiChun and Jia-Her as the honorable alumni on Saturday, October 6, 2012 at Great Falls National Park situated on 800 acres along the banks of the Potomac River in northern Fairfax County. The fabulous panorama scenes boast the brilliant foliage colors, dramatic falls and breathtaking cliff faces.  It’s just incredible to spend the hiking trip with all our DC NCKU alumni.  The luncheon was at Hibachi sushi supreme buffet.

We girls strolled at Brookside Gardens of Montgomery County to burn off the heavy meal of “all-you-eat” lunch.

.

We made a raid at Peter (NCKU ‘70s alumnus, my neighbor) and Susans’ backyard garden.  See what we, four misbehaved NCKU '71s FLLD bad girls, helped ourselves to any loot we could find from their pear tree and the vegetable garden.  It would be enough for our dinner. LiChun missed the fun due to tiredness from the hiking trip.

Day 2 (Rest and Beat Jet-Lag - Part II)

Five pretty mermaids at Janice’s club - Rockville Swimming Center  

Shinyee, LiChun, Shyhwui, Jia-Her and Janice - Golden Girls

Day 2 (Rest and Beat Jet-Lag - Part I)

Day 2 (Rest and Beat Jet-Lag) – Friday, October 5, 2012

Skype, E-mail and phone-call connection just made us more excited about seeing us all in person.  After a good night’s chatting, sleep probably not, it looks a lot like slumber party after 41 years of college life together.  Jia-her appears a bit more tired than the rest of the girls, hanging around the airport too long yesterday?  Sorry!  The best way to get rid of jet-lag is rest and get familiar with the neighborhood first.  We decided to have a walk in the community, then, grocery shopping at COSTCO.  Hey, there is no better way to beat the jet-lag than jumping into a pool of refreshing blue water. 

 

Day 1 (Arrival)

Day 1 (Arrival) – Thursday, October 4, 2012

Amid all the anxiety and confusion surrounding the air flight schedules at IAD, - Jia-her 10:55 am, ShyHwui and LiChun 3:20 pm and Shinyee 3:51 pm.  Finally, we are all hugging and smiling together outside of IAD passenger pick-up area 5:30 pm.