Summer 2017 - Hawaii to Korea Trip

July 3, 2017 I woke up this morning with a sore throat and achy body. Not a good day to get sick. I'm already dreading the long flight home this afternoon.   Since we already did the major packing last night, we all rested in the hotel room and watched "The Last Airbender" on tv.  At noon we checked out of the hotel and walked across the street to catch the airport bus. It cost 15,000/adult and 11,000/child. It was a comfortable hour ride to the airport. We had plenty of time to get our boarding passes, go through security, get lunch, and go to gift shops to spend the rest of our wons.  As we reflect on our 1 month vacation from Hawaii to Korea we are fortunate to be able to spend it with our families. Two weeks in paradise with the Nguyen family and two weeks in Korea with the Pon family. These opportunities are rare and precious. Thank you Mom Pon and Dad Pon for gifting us with this amazing Korea trip. Thank you to Mom Pon, Carol, Ben, ...

July 2, 2017 Three more people left for the airport this morning, Carol, Emilie, and Nicole. Our group of 16 is down to 8.  Russell and I are starting to feel a little homesick. For lunch today we found a Pho restaurant. It didn't taste anything like Pho but it tasted good.  Russell went back to the hotel to visit with his parents  while Matty and I went to the theater to watch Wonder Woman.  What an amazing movie!  Matty is in love with Wonder Woman, she got some nice...moves. We didn't do much today but chilled in our room and packed.  Dinner was at the Korean BBQ place next to the hotel. Mom wanted use up all her Korean money so we splurged on the more expensive beef and ordered 6 portions of 50,000 beef. It was melt in your mouth beef and it was so delicious! After dinner I said my goodbyes to Mom, Dad, Ben, Karen, and Ed. They are taking the 6am bus to the airport tomorrow morning.  When I pack...

July 1, 2017 We said goodbye to Steven, Carter, and Audrey this afternoon.  They checked out of the hotel at 12pm and we had our last meal together at the breakfast place.  Somehow everyone wasn't satisfied with their meal today, maybe because we are getting tired of eating there all the time.  Last group picture and hugs were given before they made their way to the bus stop. Ben wanted to try street food today.  We started from Myeongdong and made our way to Namdaemun.  Russell finally tried the egg cornbread and said that it was ok.  Grilled escargot was a little chewy.  Watermelon juice was good.  Pomegranate juice was ok.  Strawberry Mochi was good.  The bulgogi meatballs was horrible, it was uncooked inside.  Ben told the vendor and it was replaced with a different one that was also uncooked.  By the time we made to Namdaemun, we were full but Ben insisted we try Jap Chae inside a fried dough.  Ben and Ed stoo...

June 30, 2017 Our private tour bus picked us up at the hotel at 7:30am for a full day excursion to Nami Island.  Located about 63 km from Seoul, Namiseom (Nami) Island was formed as a result of the construction of the Cheongpyeong Dam.  It's a half moon-shaped isle about 550,000 square yards and known for it's beautiful tree lined roads. Before heading to the Nami Island, we made a stop at Gangchon Rail Park.  We hopped onto 2 and 4 seat bikes and pedaled along the old train tracks while soaking up the scenery of the Bukhangang River.  Carter and Matty took the lead in a 2 seater, followed by Emilie, Nicole, Audrey, and Steven in a 4 seater.  Next in line was Ed, Carol, Ben, and Karen.  Russell and I took the rear carrying Mom and Dad.  The strong peddlers sat in the back.  We traveled the historical route the Mugunghwa train used to take for more than 60 years by starting off at Gimyujeong Station and embarked 6 km to the next station.  ...