Tuesday, December 4, 2012

2011 Travel Log

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Look at that hug and try and tell me I'm not my Dad's favorite :)  When I brought up the idea of Bennett and I flying to Korea on our own, Justin would hear none of it.  He was definitely in for the ride!  It was so fun to introduce my parents to our new little guy.

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 I look so tired in this picture!  I should have gone to bed the evening we flew in, but couldn't bring myself to miss out on the action.  FOMO at its finest.  We headed out Sunday afternoon to this beautiful Buddhist temple and reacquainted ourselves with the art of squat pots (Allison can do it with her foot completely flat...much impressed).  But I am much better at it than I was when I was eight! 

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I glanced across the courtyard and thought, "Huh...what's the happy fuss about?"

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"Oh, hello there.  Hi guys, hi everyone."  Apparently Koreans go bananas for blond haired, blue eyed babies.  Which is ironic to me, since I go bananas for Korean babies.

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I loved driving around this country.  For one thing, car seats are optional.  At first I insisted on Bennett being strapped in anyway.  But, turns out, I really like snuggling with my baby as we drive.  Good thing it's not an option here, because I could get used to that.  I only saw a few other car seats; one of them was strapped in the back and the toddler was playing in the front seat, ha!  Another reason I loved driving was all these bright green rice patties tucked in small valleys. 

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That evening we headed over to the Temple of 1000 Buddhas.  Looking back now I realize every site we visited required a hike :)

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 I was thinking 1,000 figurines, not 1,000 life size Buddhas.  Not to mention the giant ones scattered about the valley as well.  I thought this would be a big touristy place, but we had the place to ourselves and it was so quiet and peaceful.

The next day was a hike, but it was just a hike for hiking's sake!

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We were a bit unprepared for the terrain and a bit demoralized by the cute, older, smaller Koreans scaling this thing like it was their Sunday afternoon walk.  It's always hard to tell the incline of a hill in pictures, but it was straight up that mountain--no switchbacks here.  Or trails, actually.  We climbed it mountain goat style with the help of a metal railing at the more steep parts.  But I think this hiking day ended up being Justin and my favorite day of the trip.



Mom took a tram up the mountain and was waiting at our halfway point with Bennett.  Again...the baby, attracting attention.

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At some point we came to this steep, floating staircase.  I don't typically get scared of heights, but I love this next picture someone caught:


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 I'm like, "Get me down, get me down, get me down."


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1 comment:

val said...

These photos were RAD!!! Wow. What a trip. So cool.