Oh Ya! Summer Time!

Despite super duper god damn busy working lately, despite running projects, writing reports, or endless meetings until extremely late in the nights, after seeing a bright sunshine, my heart feels refreshed and recharged without any reasons. And YES!! It is SUMMER TIME!

有在夏天來過美國的朋友就會知道，在美國夏天有所謂的「 Daylight Saving (日光節約時間) 」，這是從一次世界大戰當時的一位英國人 William Willet 規劃出來而且倡導的政策。所以在美國也就因為實施日光節約時間，所以在夏令時間太陽都可以到八九點才下山。還記得我剛來到美國的那年夏天，雖然沒什麼時差問題，可是對這麼晚下山的太陽還是有點不習慣。記得那個時候常常都會打球打到太陽下山才回家吃飯，每次吃飽飯都十點、十一點了，沒多久就要睡覺了。哈！這對當時生長在亞熱帶台灣、從沒出過遠門的我來說，還真是個難忘的記憶呢！不過阿，我倒是滿喜歡這樣能享受日照的好日子。就算五六點下了班，還有三四個小時天還是亮著的，這種感覺真好！

Concerts in the Parks

It just likes clock turning back to my childhood. The park nearby my family's place used to hold some outdoor traditional Taiwanese drama events a few days each summer. Under a still-bright-sunset, with feelings of delight and excitement, people around the neighborhood carried folded chairs and light food to the park. Children chased each other and followed by their barking puppies. Food vendors rolled their carts near the entrance. Those nearby could breath in many delicious aromas - grilled sausage, grilled squid, cotton candy, ice cream, and many of others. People dressed comfortably in T-shirts, shorts and cheap flip-flops. Their hair was still damp after a shower and they carried a light hand fan. I didn't really care what the performance was on the stage. Having family and friends around is the most important thing to me.

Last night, the Concerts in the Parks awakened my memory. After just one visit, I am sure you will love the music and the atmosphere there.

Mount in the Mist – Shenandoah National Park

一直想要再次拜訪這個 Shenandoah National Park (有人翻作仙納度國家公園，我會翻成仙納多瓦國家公園) ，上次一遊 (我有在我之前的 遊記 寫到) 只能匆匆一撇，這次雖然沒有太多的時間停留，卻主要是針對拜訪他而來的，讓我有緣多多認識這個位於山陵線上的美麗國家公園。

趁著美國國慶這個難得的 Long Weekend ，我們幾個紐約客就又約著一起拜訪這裡，成員還是老樣子 A 君、 H 君、 D 君，只是這次又多了 D 君遠從 Vancouver 來拜訪的爸媽，一行六個人浩浩蕩蕩地開著 Mini Van ，橫越了好幾個州到 Shenandoah 去。我們走的路線可能不是最好的，不過還算是滿快、滿省油的路線 (最近油價爆貴的) 。我們這次都以走高速公路為原則，從 Queens 出發，走 I-278 接 Williamsburg Bridge 到 Manhattan ，再從 Holland Tunnel 到 New Jersey ，走 US1/9 接 I-76 一路往西，最後在接 I-81 往西南過去，這樣就會到 Shenandoah 的 Skyline Drive North Entrance 。我們中途休息了兩次，加上加油、用餐的時間大約六個多小時，不到七個小時就到了，算是一路順暢。其實那裡距離 Philadelphia, PA 、 Washington DC 、和 Charlotte, NC 很近，在這幾個地方上班的大夥兒，有空真的可以去走一走。