Scene of the crime

As a teenager, I didn't like hats.  The ubiquitous, branded ball cap was (still is!) everywhere and it just seemed like an affectation to me.  I mean, if you are going to be out in the sun all day, sure wear a hat - that made sense to me.  I pretty much only wore a hat on a boat in those days.

Then, the bald spot came in.  I remember clearly one summer day in my early 30's spending just a few hours out in direct sunlight and the getting my first sunburn on my bald spot.  Oh, the indignity of it.  Like a double whammy - "Not only do you have a bald spot, it's gonna burn and remind you of its existence for the next couple of days! Ha ha ha..."

Needless to say, hats became part of my outdoor routine after that.  I didn't have one that I loved until I got a goofy looking one in Corsica. 

This is not The Hat, but close enough

My kids knew this as Daddy's go-to hat when we were on summer vacations. Then, one day, I wore it cavalierly into the waves on the beach in North Carolina.  A large wave knocked me under and when I came to, no hat.  My kids were more upset than I was.  

Shortly after that, a student gifted me with this awesome hat:

Again, not The hat, but close enough

This NASA hat's been my go-to for many years now.  A few weeks ago, we were visiting the Eternal Spring Shrine in Taroko Gorge, Taiwan:

As I passed over the source of the 'eternal' spring, I found the sound and sight of the emergent waterfall so compelling that I took a little video:

Calling up to Seb, I asked him to take my picture so I could post it opposite the video as I am doing now.  In a fit of vanity, I removed my NASA hat and the draft from the waterfall snatched it right out of my hand and, in less than a second, it was whisked out of sight.  Here is the sans-hat picture that Seb took after he got over his shock of witnessing my loss:

Well, the obvious thing to do was to pick up a new favorite hat.

(actual hat)

Wonder what body of water will claim this guy?  Hopefully I get a couple of years use before then...

Flowers of Taiwan

Historically, I am not that into flowers.  I mean I've always liked flowers in a passive way.  While traveling in Taiwan this summer though, I was struck by the variety and beauty of the flowers we came across.  Here are a couple of random pics I took when I was so struck.

I was happy to grab the Michelin Man in the background in that last pic! (Turns out I never connected the tire-based Michelin man with the Michelin stars restaurants covet! (the backstory on that connection that I just researched is that if you want to sell more tires, you encourage people to drive by publishing guide books on interesting places to drive to!))