Late Spring in Seoul

As most of you know I am in Seoul, enjoying the culture and beautiful weather of late Spring, meanwhile, I'm missing my first late Spring/ early Summer at our newly bought lake house!  In an attempt to ease the pain of not being at the lake, I've been taking in the flowers around Korea.  They really are amazing!

After a while...I'M BACK!!

   As some of you may, or may not, have noticed, I've been away from the blog for a few months.  YIKES!  Long story, made short: I went to Texas after our Seattle visitors left Seoul, stayed in Texas quite a bit longer than originally planned due to buying a house and then visited more family in Indiana before coming back to Seoul and hosting Tom and Ginnie Nessler (T.G.'s parents) for a whirl-wind 10 day tour of South Korea.  Phew!  As T.G. and I have told each other several times today, "You did it!". 

   All of these travels were wonderful adventures that fueled my soul for more time in South Korea.  I learned so much about friendship, buying houses, caring for family, loving on nieces and nephews, missing my wonderful husband and knowing that wherever he is, is where I should be.  Oh yea!  We made it to our one year anniversary!  Whoo hoo! 

Can anyone else believe this on only one year ago?!?!  We've come so far since this wonderful day!

   It would take you quite some time to read about the learning I did during the past few months, but suffice to say, I've learned a lot and have come out the other side better for it!  I'll just hit the highlights!

     So, I made it to Texas around the 23rd of February.  My first priority was seeing my family and friends and adjusting to the time difference.  All of those things took quite some time.  My Mom, Sister, dear friend, Carol Voss and I went to see Wicked in Austin the first week I was home, as planned.  Everyone loved the show and enjoyed the special girly night together! 

    Of course, you know I had to also see my pet family.  As you can see, Chedder is doing very well at Ellen's house.  He is loving life and his new friends.  Maddie and Cooper are happily homed with my dear friends, Janice and Louis, who have decided that Coop is just too sweet to give up when we return.  (Who can argue with that?!?!)  My Maddie-girl is doing well, still won't walk on her bum leg, but is happy as a clam and I even got to have her stay with my at my parents for a while.  Chance has found a lot of love at the Linklater house.  In fact, he is so happy and loved that his picture has made it to the dressers of a few of their children! (We have also come to the conclusion, that after all this time away, we likely will not get Chancers back when we return to the States.)  Miss Lily (A.K.A. "Dad's Little Baby") is also living the good-life up in McKinney with my sister and family.  She is so healthy and happy and has even put on about 10 pounds!  Good for her!  T.G. debates as to whether Isabella, our niece, will let him have his dog back...stay tuned!  Just wait until Carmichael and Colby meet all of their siblings!

    Who in their right mind would have thought that we would buy a house during this well-planned out trip home?!?!  It fell right into our laps and all the pieces just fell into place with very little effort.  Our dear friends, Dr. Bill Bass and his wife, Rebecca McKamy happened to be selling a house they owned out on Belton lake.  One that T.G. and I were aware they owned, but were surprised to learn that it was up for sale.  Needless to say, I jumped on the opportunity to see the house and instantly fell in love with the beautiful lake view, built in garden and awesome Texas feel of the house and property.  Sweet T.G. trusted me throughout the process of inspections, lawyers and endless reviewing of photos over the phone.  We ended up making the tough decision to for-go my time in Chicago with him, so that he could take his boards and come to see the house and eventually, sign our lives away on this amazing house that we hope to call home for a very long time to come!

Proof that is was fate to buy this house: 5667 is our new house number!  (This was our flight number the day after the closing!)

   The closing for our house was on April 7th, we flew to Indiana to visit T.G.'s eldest sister, Sarah (Jason, J.J. and Theo) on the 8th and had an awesome time!!  We even got to attend 'Science Night' and J.J. and Theo's school!

J.J. pushing Theo in his car and T.G. trying to get J.J. to take a picture in the bucket truck with him...he wasn't having any of it!  

   After all the fun with friends and family in the States, it was time to return to life in South Korea.  Which also meant hosting T.G.'s Mom and Dad (Ginnie and Tom)!

  Our 10 days were filled with tours around Seoul, a trip to the DMZ, a three day trip to Busan, the annual Lotus Lantern Festival and a lot of fun time eating a lot of yummy food!

T.G., Ginnie and Tom at the
Busan Museum

T.G. and me outside the
Busan Museum

Lunch at 678 Chicken in Myeong-dong!  YUMMY!

We even made it to a baseball game: LG vs Kia!

A view of the Cheonggyecheon river in Seoul where the Lotus Lantern Festival took place.  It was really beautiful at night, once the lanterns were lit, but they did not photograph well for us.

Can you name who made which Lantern??

A. Ginnie

B. T.G.

C. Autumn

D. Tom

(match the name to the number in the picture and kudos to you!)

Millions of lanterns hung at the
Jogyesan Buddhist Temple as well.
Pictures do not do the view justice.
It was a work of art!

Lanterns in the river that lit
up at night...again very beautiful,
but did not photograph very well
for us.

Are you tired of reading yet??  

Check back again soon for our future adventures!

Hanoi and Ha long Bay, Vietnam...when can we go back?!?!

For our second adventure off the peninsula for the year, we went to Vietnam with five friends we have met in Korea and had a wonderful time!  For a country that, as Americans, we frequently associate it with war, I found it to be absolutely beautiful!  The people are friendly and kind, prices for food, souvenirs, and transportation were inexpensive, our hotel was very nice and comfortable and close to many historic places in Hanoi.  

We went as a tour group of six with one tour guide and one driver.  Our tour guide, Hao (pronounced 'Wa') met us at the airport and took care of us the entire time we were there.  Hao, incidentally only does tour guide trips on the side, as he is a PhD professor of tourism and economics at one of the local universities.  Having him as a tour guide gave us an accurate view of the area and a small insight in the economic status of these areas.  We all found his knowledge to add a background to our trip that made it feel even more worth-while.  (I've included several links, highlighted in green, to give more insight to the pictures below, hope they're hopeful.)

We spent a total of 3 nights and 4 days over the long MLK jr. weekend holiday. Our tour started in Hanoi, the next night was in Ha long Bay, followed by our last night in Hanoi.  While it may have been a whirl-wind trip, we used every single minute possible!  There are jokes, sayings and memories we will take with us for a long time from this trip!

Our first views of Hanoi

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ho_Chi_Minh

Changing of the Guard at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum 

Citizens decorating the city in preparation for the Lunar New Year

The Temple of Literature
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Literature,_Hanoi

Inside the Temple of Literature

Due to the upcoming Lunar New Year, patrons bring gifts to the Temple to celebrate.
See link below for more info on the Vietnamese Lunar New Year:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tết

T.G. and I are both the year of the Rooster in the Chinese Calendar
http://www.viethoroscope.com/vietnamese-zodiac-calendar/

The 'Hanoi Hilton' is the prison where many POWs were held during the Vietnam War, including Senator John McCain.  Being inside this prison, even though it is now a museum, was 
very eery and cold.  No amount of tourism can take away the amount of torture and pain that took place here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hỏa_Lò_Prison

This is the layout of the prison, when still functioning.  They have since moved the prison outside Hanoi.

Our first evening's entertainment included a traditional "Water Puppet Show"...while we understand this art form dates back thousands of years, we all found it a bit creepy...sorry ancient Vietnamese artists...

Checking out the gorgeous crops growing on our way from Hanoi to Ha long Bay

Thanks, Mark, for the silly shot!

Setting sail on the Bahaya...can we go back, please??

The view of the sunset out our cabin window....absolutely beautiful!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hạ_Long_Bay

This is what our boat looked like with it's sails up.  So COOL!

We had an excursion off the boat to tour the floating village in Ha long Bay.  It is a very different way of life, but absolutely breath-taking views!  Kids even get to go to school within the village!

Our tour guides around the floating village...talk about a work-out!  

Our boats entering the village

Our last morning, we and an excursion to tour caves in Ha Long Bay.  They were so pretty and had some of the most picturesque views!

We enjoyed relaxing our last morning on the boat.  Needless to say, T.G. had to pry me off!

Back in Hanoi and The Silk Path Hotel (also where we stayed our first night)...it was time to see the city!

The artwork we bought in Hanoi with the artist...can't wait to have it stretched back out and handing in our living room!

Yes, this is for real...women carry various things around the city in this way.  Be careful though, if they offer you to have your picture taken with them, they will expect to be paid!

T.G. got my picture at the Temple on Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoàn_Kiếm_Lake

These pictures hardly do this beautiful country justice.  If you ever have the opportunity to see Vietnam, DO IT!!!