Korean Baseball Game: Suwon KT Wiz

When we first got to Korea, I kept hearing about the Korean baseball games.  Everyone was saying it was one of their favorite things to do.  I was told that going to a baseball game here is a full out-of-this-world experience.  I have tried three separate times to make it to a game, but something always came up.  Tonight, with the help of the Budenbenders and the Livaudais, I was finally able to make it to the Suwon Stadium to watch the KT Wiz team play a game.  

It took a while to find the ticket office to buy our tickets.  We pretty much had to walk around the entire stadium.  Once we got to the ticket office, it took just as long to figure out where we wanted to sit.  We finally got some great seats and made our way down.  We ended up getting seat directly behind where the pitcher of the KT Wiz team warms up.

It made it so much more fun to be at the game with great friends.  All the kids shared food and candy and kept each other occupied.

The was definitely an experience!  The entire crowd stands up and dances and sings and chants while their team is up to bat.  The food there was off the hook.  They had everything from chicken to pizza to kimchi.  Almost everyone in the crowd was wearing a KT Wiz team baseball uniform and carrying a glove.  Every time the ball would be hit in the foal zone and fly over our heads, the kids would all excitedly jump up in hopes that they would catch the foal ball.  Towards the middle of the game, we all found ourselves standing up and singing and chanting made-up words along with the entire crowd (except they were saying real words in Korean).  There was a huge platform with a dancer and cheerleaders leading the entire crowd in the dances and chants.  It was so fun!  Monster didn't enjoy the length of the game, I was pulling out candy and my phone with a movie, in an attempt to keep him confined to our seats.  We all had littles, so we ended up leaving at the top of the ninth inning.  But we all agreed that we need to come back to the game on a big group date minus kids.  

Yeouido Hangang Park

M&M had an orthodontist appointment in Seoul today, so we decided to make a family day out of it.  After M&M's appointment we headed over to the Yeouido Hanging Park.  When we first got there we found some pretty crazy and unique play equipment.  One was a gigantic metal structure with huge white balloons/balls attached all around the structure.  The balloons/balls would all of a sudden move without warning.  It was funny watching them fall; we never could figure out how they moved.  

Another structure was a huge wood semi circle thing.  It almost looked like the bottom of a boat.  M&M and Big Sis tried to run up the side to catch the edge.  They made it, but Little A needed help getting to the edge.  It's funny how something so simple can keep our attention and provide so much entertainment.

We walked a little more and to my utter joy we came across the I SEOUL U letters.  I have been trying to find this structure in Seoul since we moved here.  I was so happy to find the letters!  This was definitely one of my highlights of the day; pathetic, I know, but it's finding joy in the little things, right?

Another joyful surprise was the bike rental kiosk right after the I SEOUL U letters.  We were super excited about the bikes, because they had a few bikes with child carriers.  I rented a bike with a carrier and had Little Monster in the back.  Big Sis and M&M found bikes that were perfect for them.  Kevin kept singing the song from the Wicked Witch in Wizard of Oz.  He said since my bike had a basket, it looked just like the bike from the Wizard of Oz.

Kevin rented a tandem bike and had Little A ride with him.  It was cool, because the seats were adjustable, so it worked perfect for Kevin and Little A.

We rented our bikes for an hour, so we spent our time exploring the park and loving all the super random Korea that the park had to offer.  Our first Korea randomness were the soccer net and PVC pipe "seats" all around the park.  We took time to sit back and relax and soak in some vitamin D.  Monster had fun crawling in, around, on and through them, so they were multifunctional.

The park also had large structures and statues littering the area.  The kids loved the weird monster. Apparently it was used in a movie, then left its mark in the park.

We passed a park at the beginning of our bike ride, and the kids all begged to play at the park.  We road around until we had 10 minutes left on our rental and let the kids play for 10 minutes.  They loved all the different play equipment.  There was a pendulum swing, teeter totters and a huge play structure.  There was something for all kids, big and small.

We returned our bike rentals and started walking back to the car.  This is where we encountered the last Korean park randomness.  Running along the far side of the park was a small canal/ ditch/ water run-off.  Kids were playing and running and splashing in the water.  There were stepping stones and stairs all throughout the canal.  My favorite was seeing the little Korean kids playing in the water, some had swimwear, some had normal clothes, but quite a few had bare naked bottoms and only a shirt on.  We let the kids take their shoes off and walk back to the car through the canal.  It was probably nasty and germ and bacteria infested, but they loved it.  Here's hoping they don't get a nail fungal infection.

Sokcho Yeonggeumjeong Pavillion, Lighthouse & Beach

We spent the day today in Sokcho with the Liddells. The forecast for the entire day called for rain, so we tried to find some indoor activities, the Sokcho Lighthouse fit the bill.  When we arrived at the parking lot of the lighthouse, we noticed that we were only a few blocks from the Yeonggeumjeong.  Yeonggeumjeong was on my list of things I wanted to see because it has an amazing view of the ocean.  There are two pavilions here, the sunrise pavilion and the Observatory pavilion.  Since it wasn't raining yet, we decided to go to the two pavilions and explore around them for a while.  

The Sunrise pavilion is out a few hundred yards over the ocean.  It was foggy this morning due to the impending rain, but it was still a beautiful site.  The kids all enjoyed the view from the pavilion.

As we started walking up the stairs to the Observatory Pavilion, it started raining enough that we got our umbrellas out.  We walked up to the pavilion and looked around for only a few minutes.  The view was much better at the other pavilion, and it was beginning to rain more.  

As we were coming down the stairs from the pavilion, we noticed a fish market around the corner.  Addrean really wanted to get some lobster, so we ventured over to the fish market.  The kids had fun seeing the different fish.  Since the market was near the water, boats were coming and going and loads of fish were constantly being brought into glass containers.  It was fun watching them as they sorted the different fish.

The prices at the fish markets were not as good as we would have expected, so we decided to make our way back to the Sokcho Lighthouse.  

On our walk back to the Lighthouse, we noticed a trail that lead down to the rocks and the crashing waves.  A few of the kids really wanted to walk around on the rocks, so we took a detour.  The sky was holding it's rain presently, so we were able to enjoy the rocky shore without getting wet.  Monster and Little A were so distracted by the waves that would come up onto the rocks, that it took us forever to get a picture on the rocks.

We made it to the Lighthouse Observatory next. Before we got to the main entrance, we were able to see all the neat structures outside.  There were some really neat statues and structures. 

My favorite structure was the Health Gate.  At first I didn't understand why Kevin was sticking out his stomach.  He told me to step back and look at the spacing of the poles.  Sure enough, each pole progressively gets further apart, and above the space it tells the distance and whether or not you are healthy.  We had a fun time finding where we were in the Health Gate.  

We finally went inside the lighthouse and went to the top platform.  The kids enjoyed the view of Sokcho from the lighthouse.  We could see far across the ocean and the entire city.  

We were all hungry so we decided to eat our snacks with the best view.  There weren't any other people around, I'm not sure if it was the rain or school, but there weren't many Koreans in site.

We left the lighthouse in search of the Love Tree.  I read a blog that talked about this metal love tree that looked out over the ocean.  The tree took part in an internationally famous Korean movie, "Autumn in my Heart". After doing some research online, we drove right up to the beach where the tree is, and found a parking spot super close.

After getting my fill of love, we decided to spend the rest of our time at the Sokcho Haesuyokjang Beach, where the tree is located. 

It was lunch time, so we grabbed all our lunch stuff and had a picnic at the beach.  The kids all ran off to the water to run in the waves.  We enjoyed eating with the Liddells and watching the kids as they tried to jump over the waves and bury their feet in the sand.  We weren't expecting to spend time at the beach, so the kids were all in regular clothes.  By the time we were ready to go, all the kids were drenched from head to toe, but they sure had a fun time.  We used the side of the car, open doors and towels and made a make-shift changing room.  All the kids changed into dry clothes, we used baby powder to get the sand off, then headed home.  It was so fun spending the day in Sokcho with our friends, the Liddells!

Seoraksan National Park: Sinheungsa Temple & Biseondae Hiking Course

We had about an hour before our ticketed time for the cable cars to the top of Mt. Seorak, so we spent the time seeing the Sinheungsa Temple and the large Buddha statue by the temple.  We came on this vacation with some amazing friends, the Liddell's.  I am so glad we got to experience Seoraksan with them.  They are some great peeps.

The first thing you see when you walk towards the temple is the gigantic and beautiful Buddha statue.  This is one of the tallest sitting buddhas that I have seen. The detail was so amazing and seriously beautiful.

The kids all had an especially great time with the stairs in front of the statue.  The stairs had little ramp every 10 feet or so, and all the kids took it as an invitation to slide down the ramps. We were getting some nasty looks, especially since there was a sign that indicated not to slide down the ramp. 

We continued past the statue and over a beautiful bridge with an amazing view of the most beautiful mountains. The mountains were so beautiful it almost didn't look real.

The temple colors matched the nature around it so peacefully.  It almost looked like it belonged in nature right up against the mountains and trees.  

It was so breathtaking to see such majestic mountains completely surrounding us. 

It was about time for us to report for our cable ride up the mountain, so we left for the cable car station.  (Our time on Mt. Seorak and the cable cars can be found in my previous post.)  When we got back down the mountain, the kids were beginning to wilt.  We found lunch and some ice cream.  Nothing boosts moral better then an ice cream bar or a Korean ice cream milkshake in a pouch.

After eating lunch and filling the kids with sugar, we decided to conquer the Biseondae Rock Hike.  To get to the Biseondae Rock, you have to go back by the sitting Buddha statue and follow the bridge to the left.

The beginning of the hike was on a super wide asphalt road.  The kids pretty much divided into two groups- the older kids and the younger kids.  The older kids went ahead, while the parents had the littles to encourage and bribe with candy to keep going.  Luckily the trail wasn't steep, and was more like a leisure walk.

The hike had some beautiful spots to stop and rest.  We followed a river the majority of the hike.  

We made it to the Biseondae Rock.  There were these huge rocks that had old Japanese and Korean writing on them.  From my understanding, the writings on the rocks date back to when the Japanese had invaded South Korea.

There was a platform where we all decided to sit and take a break.  It was the perfect place because we could hear the waterfall and the bubbling river.  There was a guardrail, so we didn't have to worry about the kids falling into the water or falling off a cliff.

Since we were all taking a break, Kevin let the Monster out of the carrier.  He loved being out of the carrier and had an even better time keeping up with all the little girls.  The only horrible part about letting him out, was putting him back in.  We had to bribe him with candy and then both Kevin and I had to help to get him strapped in the backpack.  The only way he would get back in is if I carried him, instead of Kevin.  So, I carried the monster in the backpack, it's a good thing I love the hiking backpack that we have and that it is so comfortable.  I didn't have a problem with the additional weight.

After the kids filled up on candies and granola bars, we headed back down the way we came.  I took one last look at the huge boulders.

We made our way back down the hiking trail to the sitting Buddha statue.  It was great to breath fresh air and take in all the greenery, the deep valleys and tall mountains.

We found a spot on the river, and stopped and got some family pictures.  We just couldn't get enough of the scenery.

We made it back with two kids crying and a few more complaining.  The hike ended up taking a little longer then we had expected, but all in all the kids did fantastic.  We let the monster out once again as we sat on the steps of the Buddha statue.  As we were sitting there, the Liddell's told us about a tradition they have of taking a jumping photo when they visit places.  We all decided Buddha was a great place to get a picture, so we had a blast getting some action pictures together.  I am so glad we took this trip with the Liddell's.  All the kids loved having friends with them.  I know that my kids would not have completed the hike to the Biseindae Rock if it hadn't been for friends to talk to and distract them from the hike.  Vacations with great friends makes for a great vacation!