Celebrating my first three day weekend since returning to work! Somehow, Ronnie got a four day weekend out of this... Still trying to figure that out, but anyway.
We've been looking forward to this weekend for a while. Originally, we had planned to go to Busan for the weekend but scrapped those plans because we have "done that". Luckily, we didn't go because we got to enjoy some other fun. On Friday night, the girls had their first sleepover (see the other post).
The Air Force is a pretty small world. You never know who you might run back into, but this time it brought Ronnie and I a present from the Westside. Growing up, Ronnie went to church with Mike; here we are in South Korea and many moons later, and Mike has also enlisted in the Air Force and pulled orders here. We had him and his wonderful family over for dinner Saturday night. Funny thing is I know him from way back when, but he's also the cousin of a friend of mine from high school. You think the Air Force is a small world, you should see the 6-degrees of the Westside.
On Sunday, we headed to Seoul to Bubble World. I had heard about Fan Yang's bubble show when it was running in the states; his brother, Jang Yang, has been holding an open run show in Seoul for two years. Lucky for us we went, because the show is closing soon and the girls had SO MUCH FUN! Holly even got picked to go on stage... well, maybe picked isn't the right word. More like ran into the aisle and straight up to Jang Yang and he said, "okay, come on." She was in heaven and got a "snow storm" of bubbles and even got a big bottle of bubbles, autographed by Jang Yang.
After the show, we decided to bum around Seoul. But not before getting semi-stalked in the metro station. This weird guy was hanging around the turnstiles when we entered the station, then I noticed him waiting for us to throw away our trash before he headed down the stairs after us - yeah, he didn't have any trash to throw away. He jumped in the same train car as us and got off at the same station. But, he really made me nervous when I purposefully headed the wrong way for a few steps and then turned around to head up the right stairs, and he did the same thing. I gave him the stare of all stares, you know the "I know what you're doing and I'm taking all the bags from my husband so he can have his hands free because he has a knife and will cut your ass" look. Luckily, he didn't continue after us, but I was pretty shaken until we made it to our final destination and he was nowhere in sight.
That destination was Dongdaemun, a neighborhood we hadn't seen yet. And I know why my husband hasn't let me go there yet - Dongdaemun Shoe Market. Yes, you heard me right! Rack after rack, store after store, alley after alley of shoes, beautiful shoes! I think I peed my pants a little, angels were singing and the light was a little brighter in this otherwise dark alleyway. I think Ronnie said, Oh my God, I'm never gonna get my wife out of here. But I exercised restraint and only picked up a pair of super cute wedges for 12,000 Won, so Ronnie will let me go back. We all know what I really wanted to do though.....
Unfortunately for us, a lot of the bigger markets were closed. Some were closed because it was Sunday, others because they are only open during the infamous night market. We did get to explore the neighborhood, see the gate, and eat some good food. By the way, Dongdaemun means "Great East Gate." The sun was setting and it was time for us to head on home for the night.
Today, we decided to go with our American tendencies and seek out some water. One of the ladies in the squadron posted some directions to a campsite on the beach that we wanted to preflight for a future excursion. So, we packed a lunch, some beach toys and off to the Yellow Sea we went. It's a beautiful spot with no tourist traps, and not even any facilities. We could tell that the tide comes up pretty far at high tide, so no camping on the beach itself. You can pitch your tent in the pine tree forest, then walk out over the grassy sand dunes and right onto the beach. The camping spot we liked the best looks right out onto the water, but is still under the trees.
After exploring the camping area, we enjoyed our lunch on the beach, the girls went about playing in the sand while Ronnie and I relaxed and listened to, well, nothing but nature. It was really relaxing. Can't wait until we actually camp there.
When it was time to go, we wandered our way back to Songtan, exploring some interesting nooks that may become excursions as well.
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