Road Trip, Part2

After riding on the gondola on Mt. Taebaek and snacking on ddeokbokki, we returned to the condo and parted ways.  Aunt Eunyoung, Komobu, and cousin Jeongeun had to return to Seoul that day and the rest of us charged on to Sokcho along the Eastern coast of Korea.  Along the way, we just had to stop at the 38th parallel rest stop, which provided us with plenty of herbal tea, food-poison potential snacks (returned a couple that tasted funny), and our first view of the ocean. We were tempted to just stay there and play, but pushed on another 30 minutes to our destination.  Glad we did as the beaches in Sokcho are way better.

We've visited Sokcho as a family a total of three times now--once when I was away in Japan during the winter break Jack and his mom and the kids with their cousin Jae spend a day or two there (didn't get the photos, however). I really like Sokcho because it has many different beaches, temples, mountains, raw fish eateries--the works. We stopped off at Nakseon beach around 3 pm so that we could play and play and play until sunset. This is the first time I've visited Nakseon Beach and I liked it. The weasther wasn't perfect, but hot and the cool waters of the East Sea (Sea of Japan, if you are Japanese) felt so refreshing. Aunt Eunsil rented a tube for us to play with and, after purchasing a couple of towels (woops, forgot to bring beach towels) and eating some sugary snacks, we were set for some water play.

One must always mark one's territory upon beach arrival by writing one's name in the sand.  Ronan beat everyone else to it.  Cousin Jenny decided to just do it simple and left a few hand prints before diving into the water. The sun came out a bit, which made the day seem perfect for beach play.

Lots and lots of seaweed.  The boys had a blast collecting it and Aunt Eunsil kept yelling "Ew, just throw it back boys!" I think they enjoyed grossing her out.

One of Jack's experiments of the day included seeing if one's body could really be washed to shore upon drowning.  The other one was whether or not the tube could go over the shark barrier.  Yeah, ok.

Oliver and Ronan preferred to just splash around in the water and jump waves.  Attempts to get them into the water resulted in some kicking, screaming "put me back!," and serious clinging.  Below, Ronan gets his puppy on as he digs, and digs, and digs as fast as he can before a wave comes up.  Oliver joined him in puppydom a little later.  They looked so cute digging up sand.

What's more fun than splashing your sister with cool, salty water as she attempts to depart the beach on a tube with her cousin.  It got a little ugly and resulted in me shoving the girls' float further in to end the squabbling (mosty from Dahin's side). That did not last long, however.

Ronan jumps a wave as Dahin and Jenny crash to shore.  The waves were pretty good--not too big, but not too small.  Not much of an undertow, so it was a very pleasant afternoon playing in ocean waters.

Showered up and ready to head to the market for some hoe (raw fish), the boys and Jack watch tv as they wait for the girls.  When we got to the market, we discovered they were closed for a one week period, right during the time we were in Sokcho.  We decided to head off to another market place by the ocean, but it was so crowded (cars were in line for at least 1/4 a mile outside the market place) and getting late that we opted for a restaurant by the ocean. Word to the wise:  don't ever do this.  Raw fish that we choose ourselves in the market will only cost you about 50,000 won (fifty bucks) max, most of the time way less than that.  It's a really hectic, informal atmosphere, but cool.  This restaurant totally ripped us off.  But, with Oliver attempted to fall asleep and dinner time really heading to bedtime, we just decided on the easier option.  Next time, we'll hit the markets way earlier to avoid the crowds.

One thing that is absolutely necessary when visiting Sokcho:  fireworks!  We bought a few sparklers and some roman candles.  It gets rather smoky on the beach, but the kids love it. The end of a great day!

The next morning we woke up and headed to a hot springs for nice long baths in natural spring water at a well-known hot springs resort.  After our baths, we ate a healthy breakfast of soon dubu--soft tofu--and plenty of healthy side dishes.

Another road trip fundamental: hodu gwaja (literally means walnut snack)--walnut shaped bread filled with little pieces of walnut, pine nuts, and red bean paste.  Many other people feel the same way about this road trip favorite; had to wait in line for over 20 minutes to get a box of the warm snacks. Perfect with coffee!  Above, Aunt Eunsil and Oliver bond over some tasty hodu gwaja.

Public Service Announcement

Dahin demonstrates how to properly command your dog in both Korean and English with her 'puppy' Podu the Pug.  Transcript:
"Hello, this is my pug, Podu.   I'm going to show you how to train your dog.  Okay. 
Shake.
Mal [speak]. (Ronan: "Meong!")
Jaba [catch/fetch].
Oh, good boy!  Meogeo[eat]."

Intermission

While you wait for the next installment of 'Road Trip,' the boys will entertain you with a little song and dance.

Road Trip, Part1

Jack's oldest sister and our niece is in town from Australia for the summer and we decided we should take a big family road trip at least once during her stay. On Friday I had to attend some event in the country with fellow faculty until after lunchtime, but Jack drove there with the boys around 3 pm to pick me up and take us on to meet the other family members in Taebaek, a town on the Taebaek mountain range.  Dahin had taken a train that morning with her cousins and aunts, so they had already played in the condo's swimming pool for hours before we arrived in time for a great beef barbecue dinner.

I just had to eat the raw beef delicacy--only trust it if it is served in the countryside because you know it is fresh.  Would never, ever do this in Seoul. Yum!

I think Jack and his sister Eunsil look just alike.  His sister is the oldest of the five kids, and she's about 12 years older than Jack.

After dinner, we headed to watch a water show in the local lake.  The castel facade built around the park was all lit up and looked very beautiful, despite the obvious tacky factor.  The light show was actually pretty freaky, with plenty of accompying death metal and strange new age music. Jack's sister Eunyeong said it would have been better with some classic music.  I couldn't agree more.  Ronan, in particular, was freaked out.  He started crying in the middle of the show and Dahin had to comfort him.  Poor guy.

The condo where we stayed was very, very nice.  It was perhaps the cleanest, most modern condo I've ever stayed at in Korea.  Would have loved to have just spent a few days there playing in the water park and hiking.  But, alas, when with Jack, one must move from point to point pretty rapidly.  Maybe next time we'll just stay put and relax for a day or two.

After a good night's sleep, the kids woke up early and we had a wonderful breakfast of kimchi jigae and side dishes that Aunt Eunyoung prepared.  Condo's are great because you can just cook your meals there and not have to spend too much on food while vacationing.

After breakfast, most of us rode the Gondola to the top of the mountain (ski lifts are for winter).  Jack and Eunsil wimped out and said the Gondola would be too 'scary.'  Oh my God.  I thought I was a scaredy cat.  Seriously people; it moved so slow and was about as dangerous as taking a walk on a sidewalk in Seoul (mildly dangerous, but chances are you will not die or come close to having an accident). So, Aunt Eunyoung, Komobu, the kids and I headed to the top without the wining weanies : - ) and had some fun doing it.

Ronan takes the opportunity to snuggle with his favorite cousin Jeongeun (apparently he's her favorite, too).

We had a good time riding up to the top and snapping pictures. Then, we stopped at the little snack shack 'starry starry high' (for real) and had fun excluding the wimps who refused to ride to the top over two great bowls of ddeokbokki and some pajeon (pancake with veggies)--yum! They were definitely jealous when we reported on our snack later.

On the way back, Oliver and Ronan were putting their camera faces on.  It might be years before I can take a 'normal' picture.

We could see the condo where we stayed from the gondola.  In winter this place must be hopping with skiers.  Although we weren't there during the winter skiiing season, the kids could not resist snapping some photos with the winter placards and mascotts.  Wish we could have stayed longer so that the kids could have gone tubing and done some other fun activities in that spot.  But, as mentioned above, the caravan must keep moving.