Traveling to Busan (부산)

Sana had a few days off after her English class ended. To take advantage of that, we planned a trip down to Busan for a couple of nights so that we could take Elizabeth to the beach and see fishies at the largest aquarium in Korea.

Even for a short trip, there is no such thing as packing light. Our luggage consisted of beach towels, beach toys, swimsuits, cooler full of snacks, fruit and drinks, clothes for Elizabeth, clothes for Mom, and clothes for Dad.

According to the Navi, the drive should take under 5 hrs to go 359km. However, it's almost 90% highway driving at around 100km/hr, so we were hoping it would only take 3 1/2 hrs to get there.

Elizabeth slept about 3/4 of the drive down. It was nice since we didn't have to entertain her. When she did wake up, she was occupied by a DVD playing on a portable player strapped to the back of the front seat.

The drive took about 4 1/2 hrs, which is like going from LA to Vegas. That just shows that Korea is not that big.

We got a room at one of the nicer hotels by Haeundae beach. Haeundae is a popular destination during the vacation season in Korea. We went after that so we got a pretty good deal on the room.

STRETCH...Elizabeth likes pushing buttons and always pushes the "Close" button in the elevator at home, but this one was a little too high for her.

After checking in and relaxing after the drive, we went exploring. We walked the beach, but Elizabeth fell asleep so she didn't get to see the water. No biggie though, this is just the first of our three day trip. -T

Out to lunch

One of the great things about restaurants in Korea are that many of them have a sit on the floor section, regardless of the type of food. It makes it much easier and safer for Elizabeth to roam around while waiting for the food to arrive. She dislikes being in a high chair, so previous times when we ate out, one of us would have to hold her. But now, she can do as she pleases. Sit. Walk. Run circles around us. It's much easier for us, unfortunately, we can't say the same about the other customers sitting around us. -S

EVERLAND

Everland is the largest theme park in Korea, with a zoo, water park, and amusement park. Even though it rained half the day and it was a weekday, there were still plenty of people there. It took about an hour from our home to get there and we spent over six hours exploring the park, including time out for Elizabeth to take a nap. Korea has great baby facilities by the way, all free of charge. Elizabeth's favorite part of the park was the zoo and safari ride.

Welcome to Everland, here's my ticket to get in.

Ready for the fun to begin...

Come Daddy, I want to show you the monkeys.

It's way too hot out. I am SWEATING!

Ice cream break. Yes, it's Dippin' Dots and it was only 2,500 won ($2.00ish).

Waiting in the long line for the Safari Ride.

Here we go...

Bears do what? "Growls with claw hands."

Off To Church

We started going to a local church called Songtan Central Baptist Church. We visited other churches in the area, but found that this was the best fit for us. The Korean side of the church is fairly large and has 3 different services. There is only one English service and it pretty much consists of people from base. During worship time, there is a play area that little kids can go to. We try to have Elizabeth go and play while we're in service, but she doesn't want to be there without one of us. She has no problems going to her pre-school and waving "Bye Bye", but she can't go to the church nursery. It most likely has to do with Elizabeth not recognizing anyone at church yet. It'll take time.

The church recently built a patio in front of the EM building, so we took some pictures after service was over. Elizabeth looks so grown up...for a 17 month old. -T

Playing Jenga to pass the time

Elizabeth is having a blast playing good 'ol Jenga...or at least her version of it. She seems to be going through her "playing with blocks" phase. -T

Slowly getting used to the ocean

For a long time now, Elizabeth has loved taking baths. Whenever the bath water turns on, she runs to the bathtub ready to jump in. She can even say "bath time" or her own version of it. So, we thought that she would enjoy playing in the water in other areas as well. Pool? No. Splashing at the water park freaked her out (check out previous Asan Spavis 6/1 post). Ocean? Maybe. Last time we were in Anmyeon-do, she would not go into the ocean water and wore herself out so much, that she fell asleep in the process.

This past week, we went to Anmyeon-do again to pick clams and Elizabeth actually went into the water. Slowly at first, but then she just sat down and started splashing and having fun. That was a good sight to see.



Sana takes a break from digging clams to play with Elizabeth for a little bit. -T

The baby (or toddler) and her chair

We bought this nice Winnie the Pooh chair for Elizabeth before we came out to Korea. We figured she needed something to sit in that was more her size. When we first got it, she really liked it. So much in fact that she went to sit in it whenever she could. Luckily, we still had the plastic cover over it. However, now she uses it more as a step to get onto the couch. Also, she really can't seem to sit on it properly. She always seems to roll around on it or lay down on it. I guess it's just another one of her "I've got too much energy to actually sit in this". -T

Seeing KCC friends at Incheon Airport

We spent all day Saturday at Incheon International Airport, catching up with some friends from Denver. They were on their way home from a mission trip in Thailand and had a long layover in Korea. Thanks for coming out to spend the day with us, it was so good to see you. -S

The baby and her clams

For some odd reason, Elizabeth seems to have developed a taste for clams. These aren't the big clams that you normally think of, but the small ones you get in some pasta dishes. We dug up a bunch in Anmyeon-do (which was pretty fun) and gave some to the kiddo, cooked in a soup. She DEVOURED them. She especially likes them still stuck to the shell. She would grab the shell and scrape off the clam with her bottom teeth. At least clams are really nutritious and high in iron, which is great for brain development.

Elizabeth helps pick up the little clams.

Just sitting on the beach admiring the haul of clams. She was probably thinking "This is for you and the rest is mine".


After getting back, Elizabeth couldn't help but play with the clams. She kept on sticking her hands in the bucket and swishing them around making them all dizzy. She probably liked the feeling of them. -T

Fourth of July at Osan Air Base

It was raining, so we thought they might cancel the firework show...but the show must go on! This was Elizabeth's first time watching the fourth of July fireworks. Last year, we watched it from the balcony of our condo while she slept in her bassinet. -S