4th of July

Yongsan had a wonderful Independence Day celebration on post. There were tons of bands playing, vendors set up everywhere, bouncy houses, a softball tournament, and lots more.  The MWR was having a scavenger hunt for people to get involved and really check out all the vendors that were there. We participated in the hunt and had a great time. The vendors all had free things to hand out which was a great bonus. We watched a 20 minute fireworks show that was by far the best I have ever seen. We had an amazing time yesterday and look forward to more MWR sponsored events on post.

Seoul Children's Grand Park

Seoul Children's Grand Park is a great place to take your children. The place is filled with tons of things to see and do. The park consists of a Park, Zoo, Amusement Park, Botanical Garden and a Children's Museum.The Park, Zoo, and Botanical Gardens are free. It will cost you to ride the rides at the Amusement park and the Children's Museum was 4000 won for adults and kids. Children under three get in free.

We went to visit the park on a Friday, mid-morning. The traffic was pretty intense on the way there. The traffic in the middle of the afternoon, when we left, was great and we got back to post in half the time it took us to get to the park.  I checked out a few different websites for directions and there are several different ways to get into the park. We just put in Seoul Children's Grand Park in our GPS and it led us right to it. (Other than a few missed turns because we are still getting use to the road system here.)

We pulled into the parking lot right in front of the museum. We discovered later that when going out the gate you have to pay for your parking then, not before. I guess it is based on the time you spend in the park. We were there for several hours and our parking fee was 4300 won.  We went straight for the zoo which opens at 10 o'clock,five hours after the park opens.The zoo has several buildings with different animals. We were really surprised at all the exhibits they had considering it was free. The park has a Peter Pan animal show that has several showings but we decided to skip that since we were really just interested in the zoo itself.  None of us would have understood a word anyone said anyways.

The park had different places to eat and picnic tables to bring your own lunch. Souvenir shops were at the zoo and around the park for you to buy an overpriced small stuffed animal. We knew that we were just spending money on gas to get there so we made sure to pack water and snacks. The kids were so glad to go somewhere new that they didn't even care about the souvenirs. We had a wonderful day in the park and found a great spot in Seoul for the kids.

Seoul Tower

After a long day of driving to Osan Air Force base we came home to rest. We didn't intend to do anything else but lay around for the rest of the evening. James tried to watch a movie but he just wasn't getting into it,I was pinning away on Pinterest,and the kids were screaming and fighting. I decided we needed to get out of the house.

There is a sign right by our house saying there is a park just up the hill. We searched for the park but couldn't find where the children's section was. So since we were at the foot of the mountain where Seoul Tower is located we decided to take our tower trip a day early. We chose to ride the cable car rather than walk the stairs up. The price for riding the car was 6000 won for Adults and 3500 won for kids.

After stepping out of the cable car you have several different places to eat to get a cold drink and anything on a stick. You had a choice between walking up steps or a ramp. We didn't want to seem like lazy Americans so we took the steps up to a beautiful open spot to look out over the city. This scenic spot was also very colorful. People can buy locks to put on the rails. Usually a couple will write a heartfelt message with their initials on the lock,attach it to the railing and give the key over to their sweetheart for safe keeping. They did have locks for sale but I am sure you can bring your own lock too.

We walked up more steps to a great big pavilion where couples of all ages were resting. To the left of the pavilion is a great big open space with lots of greenery. Seoul Tower is located here. Before you walk to the tower there is a place to the right where you can purchase tickets to go up to the deck to have a better look inside the tower. We had a perfect view from the lower decks and enjoyed looking at the view and all the colorful locks everywhere. On the way down we took the step path that had a couple nice views as well. We really enjoyed our time together today exploring Seoul Tower and we will make sure to bring a lock next time.

Exploring Dreams

No,I'm not talking about that crazy dream in high school where you sat naked in class and everyone was staring at you. I am talking about real-life. Dreams that you keep putting off because life just gets in the way. I am here to tell you that this life you are living isn't going to stop for your dreams. You have to put your dreams into reality if you ever want them to come true. 

James and I have always talked about the possibility of moving to another country. Luckily,with the job he has we can move and explore different places all over the world. While living in Alaska, James and I discovered that we could move to South Korea. That was something interesting to think about but we thought given our luck it could never happen. At the start we were negative about the experience.  We thought that could never happen so why push the issue. 

Alaska living came and went and here we were living in the South not knowing if we would move again. I was just ready to get out of there. Anywhere would be nice for me. As long as we could go. I was just itching to pack a few boxes and travel. South Korea had been in our conversations here and there but we never imagined it would be a choice for us. There's that negative thinking again.

About a year and half before we got the okay to move I started thinking positively. I told myself we would get to Korea one way or another. Whether it be in two years or ten we would be living there one day. I kept this positive outlook until I got the call from James. He sounded so excited when he called me and asked "Do you remember when you said you would go anywhere with me?". 

At that very moment I could feel the happiness shining through me. If happiness were rays of light I would have looked brighter than the sun that day.  I whispered to myself "I knew it would happen." Positive thinking can produce positive things. I believe that if we were to have thought negatively about our dreams they would still just be that,dreams,and not reality.

So I beg you to think positive. Write your bucket list out,put it on your fridge and start crossing dreams off.  Start making your dreams a reality. Whether it be dusting off school books, living a healthier lifestyle, or taking out your suitcase and traveling. Do something you've been dreaming of. Not for me,but for you. Do it for you. Explore your dreams.

The War Museum

Today we had the chance to go to the War Museum with James' unit. James took lots of pictures and we had a good time on the tour. We will be making a second trip to walk the museum by ourselves so we can take our time and really soak in all of the history of the Korean War.

Families evacuating the city of Seoul.