Robots, Mountains, Beaches, Goesong trip

We took two days to visit Everland Park in Yongin, and drive all the way to the East Sea of Korea (Sokcho). We spent an unforgettable night in a public bathhouse/sauna (Jim-Jil-Bang) and drove north on the asian highway #7 to Goesong, and to the meeting place just south of Geumgangsan Mountain in North Korea. The further northeast that we continued to drive, the cleaner the air quality became. Having polarized sunglasses on the overcast day was an eye-opener! The smog (brown tint as seen through these glasses) was noticeable inland, then disappeared on the northeastern coast. We saw a water spout cascading off the tip of a mountain, a tank from the Korean war era, and funky Robots made from recycled engine parts, in front of a roadside cafe built inside train cars. Driving there was equally exciting, since most of us don't own a car in Korea, it was nice to be able to move around small towns, and up the coast without buying a ticket or waiting in lines. We missed Min Jae, but the trip was definitely worth it. I'm home from our journey, of course I had to see a doctor to determine I still have a bad case of bronchitis! Well, the yellow dust is 'almost' gone, but I still have loads of it trapped deep inside my lungs. It's a dangerous mixture of fine dust and hundreds of heavy metals and pollutants which originated in China. Now they are inside my lungs, hopefully, I survive with only minimal side-effects, though the "Hwangsa" (Yellow Dust) is known to cause scarring to lung tissues and other potentially hazardous long-term side effects. It's best to wear a mask while cycling outdoors during the spring season in Korea, otherwise, you end up like me visiting the local doctor's office a third time in two months! Not good, but you know it could be worse!!! ^^++ We're having a great summer so far...it's almost CANADA DAY, JULY 1ST ~SO I WILL SEND OUT THE LOVE! Blessings friends & family from the far east. Be safe & Keep in touch!

Robots, Mountains, Beaches, Goesong trip

We took two days to visit Everland Park in Yongin, and drive all the way to the East Sea of Korea (Sokcho). We spent an unforgettable night in a public bathhouse/sauna (Jim-Jil-Bang) and drove north on the asian highway #7 to Goesong, and to the meeting place just south of Geumgangsan Mountain in North Korea. The further northeast that we continued to drive, the cleaner the air quality became. Having polarized sunglasses on the overcast day was an eye-opener! The smog (brown tint as seen through these glasses) was noticeable inland, then disappeared on the northeastern coast. We saw a water spout cascading off the tip of a mountain, a tank from the Korean war era, and funky Robots made from recycled engine parts, in front of a roadside cafe built inside train cars. Driving there was equally exciting, since most of us don't own a car in Korea, it was nice to be able to move around small towns, and up the coast without buying a ticket or waiting in lines. We missed Min Jae, but the trip was definitely worth it. I'm home from our journey, of course I had to see a doctor to determine I still have a bad case of bronchitis! Well, the yellow dust is 'almost' gone, but I still have loads of it trapped deep inside my lungs. It's a dangerous mixture of fine dust and hundreds of heavy metals and pollutants which originated in China. Now they are inside my lungs, hopefully, I survive with only minimal side-effects, though the "Hwangsa" (Yellow Dust) is known to cause scarring to lung tissues and other potentially hazardous long-term side effects. It's best to wear a mask while cycling outdoors during the spring season in Korea, otherwise, you end up like me visiting the local doctor's office a third time in two months! Not good, but you know it could be worse!!! ^^++ We're having a great summer so far...it's almost CANADA DAY, JULY 1ST ~SO I WILL SEND OUT THE LOVE! Blessings friends & family from the far east. Be safe & Keep in touch!

Robots, Mountains, Beaches, Goesong trip

We took two days to visit Everland Park in Yongin, and drive all the way to the East Sea of Korea (Sokcho). We spent an unforgettable night in a public bathhouse/sauna (Jim-Jil-Bang) and drove north on the asian highway #7 to Goesong, and to the meeting place just south of Geumgangsan Mountain in North Korea. The further northeast that we continued to drive, the cleaner the air quality became. Having polarized sunglasses on the overcast day was an eye-opener! The smog (brown tint as seen through these glasses) was noticeable inland, then disappeared on the northeastern coast. We saw a water spout cascading off the tip of a mountain, a tank from the Korean war era, and funky Robots made from recycled engine parts, in front of a roadside cafe built inside train cars. Driving there was equally exciting, since most of us don't own a car in Korea, it was nice to be able to move around small towns, and up the coast without buying a ticket or waiting in lines. We missed Min Jae, but the trip was definitely worth it. I'm home from our journey, of course I had to see a doctor to determine I still have a bad case of bronchitis! Well, the yellow dust is 'almost' gone, but I still have loads of it trapped deep inside my lungs. It's a dangerous mixture of fine dust and hundreds of heavy metals and pollutants which originated in China. Now they are inside my lungs, hopefully, I survive with only minimal side-effects, though the "Hwangsa" (Yellow Dust) is known to cause scarring to lung tissues and other potentially hazardous long-term side effects. It's best to wear a mask while cycling outdoors during the spring season in Korea, otherwise, you end up like me visiting the local doctor's office a third time in two months! Not good, but you know it could be worse!!! ^^++ We're having a great summer so far...it's almost CANADA DAY, JULY 1ST ~SO I WILL SEND OUT THE LOVE! Blessings friends & family from the far east. Be safe & Keep in touch!

Robots, Mountains, Beaches, Goesong trip

We took two days to visit Everland Park in Yongin, and drive all the way to the East Sea of Korea (Sokcho). We spent an unforgettable night in a public bathhouse/sauna (Jim-Jil-Bang) and drove north on the asian highway #7 to Goesong, and to the meeting place just south of Geumgangsan Mountain in North Korea. The further northeast that we continued to drive, the cleaner the air quality became. Having polarized sunglasses on the overcast day was an eye-opener! The smog (brown tint as seen through these glasses) was noticeable inland, then disappeared on the northeastern coast. We saw a water spout cascading off the tip of a mountain, a tank from the Korean war era, and funky Robots made from recycled engine parts, in front of a roadside cafe built inside train cars. Driving there was equally exciting, since most of us don't own a car in Korea, it was nice to be able to move around small towns, and up the coast without buying a ticket or waiting in lines. We missed Min Jae, but the trip was definitely worth it. I'm home from our journey, of course I had to see a doctor to determine I still have a bad case of bronchitis! Well, the yellow dust is 'almost' gone, but I still have loads of it trapped deep inside my lungs. It's a dangerous mixture of fine dust and hundreds of heavy metals and pollutants which originated in China. Now they are inside my lungs, hopefully, I survive with only minimal side-effects, though the "Hwangsa" (Yellow Dust) is known to cause scarring to lung tissues and other potentially hazardous long-term side effects. It's best to wear a mask while cycling outdoors during the spring season in Korea, otherwise, you end up like me visiting the local doctor's office a third time in two months! Not good, but you know it could be worse!!! ^^++ We're having a great summer so far...it's almost CANADA DAY, JULY 1ST ~SO I WILL SEND OUT THE LOVE! Blessings friends & family from the far east. Be safe & Keep in touch!

It's June 15th, 2008 - MIN JAE IS 100 DAYS!!!

Celebrations & photos have been going for about 4 days now. Min Jae is 100 days old, which is a really important milestone in Korean culture. We've taken a bunch of photos of him wearing his $1000 gold rings and bracelet, their really soft and read on the back 9999 which is the equivalent to 24K. Unbelievable, I couldn't imagine receiving this back home, especially at such as young age. So, I've met Mi Sung's grandmother and grandfather on both her mother's and father's side of the family. I've also met her father's sister (Como=father's sister/aunt) and mother's sister (EMO=mother's sister/aunt). It's interesting how long it takes to break into Korean family culture. It took me 7 years to meet a few members of her extended family, while, Mi Sung met my entire family at a wedding in Pennsylvania and the rest of my relatives still in Windsor. Hard to imagine, but this is it. Life's been interesting with this new addition to our family. Matthew James (officially) but to everyone in Korea he is Min Jae. The summer is here! Summer vacation begins in two weeks!!! Blessings & Peace & Love go out to all our friends (Windsor, Toronto, Thunder Bay, Korea, USA, UAE, Hungary, UK, etc..& Have a Safe & Happy Summer 2008!!!

It's June 15th, 2008 - MIN JAE IS 100 DAYS!!!

Celebrations & photos have been going for about 4 days now. Min Jae is 100 days old, which is a really important milestone in Korean culture. We've taken a bunch of photos of him wearing his $1000 gold rings and bracelet, their really soft and read on the back 9999 which is the equivalent to 24K. Unbelievable, I couldn't imagine receiving this back home, especially at such as young age. So, I've met Mi Sung's grandmother and grandfather on both her mother's and father's side of the family. I've also met her father's sister (Como=father's sister/aunt) and mother's sister (EMO=mother's sister/aunt). It's interesting how long it takes to break into Korean family culture. It took me 7 years to meet a few members of her extended family, while, Mi Sung met my entire family at a wedding in Pennsylvania and the rest of my relatives still in Windsor. Hard to imagine, but this is it. Life's been interesting with this new addition to our family. Matthew James (officially) but to everyone in Korea he is Min Jae. The summer is here! Summer vacation begins in two weeks!!! Blessings & Peace & Love go out to all our friends (Windsor, Toronto, Thunder Bay, Korea, USA, UAE, Hungary, UK, etc..& Have a Safe & Happy Summer 2008!!!

It's June 15th, 2008 - MIN JAE IS 100 DAYS!!!

Celebrations & photos have been going for about 4 days now. Min Jae is 100 days old, which is a really important milestone in Korean culture. We've taken a bunch of photos of him wearing his $1000 gold rings and bracelet, their really soft and read on the back 9999 which is the equivalent to 24K. Unbelievable, I couldn't imagine receiving this back home, especially at such as young age. So, I've met Mi Sung's grandmother and grandfather on both her mother's and father's side of the family. I've also met her father's sister (Como=father's sister/aunt) and mother's sister (EMO=mother's sister/aunt). It's interesting how long it takes to break into Korean family culture. It took me 7 years to meet a few members of her extended family, while, Mi Sung met my entire family at a wedding in Pennsylvania and the rest of my relatives still in Windsor. Hard to imagine, but this is it. Life's been interesting with this new addition to our family. Matthew James (officially) but to everyone in Korea he is Min Jae. The summer is here! Summer vacation begins in two weeks!!! Blessings & Peace & Love go out to all our friends (Windsor, Toronto, Thunder Bay, Korea, USA, UAE, Hungary, UK, etc..& Have a Safe & Happy Summer 2008!!!

It's June 15th, 2008 - MIN JAE IS 100 DAYS!!!

Celebrations & photos have been going for about 4 days now. Min Jae is 100 days old, which is a really important milestone in Korean culture. We've taken a bunch of photos of him wearing his $1000 gold rings and bracelet, their really soft and read on the back 9999 which is the equivalent to 24K. Unbelievable, I couldn't imagine receiving this back home, especially at such as young age. So, I've met Mi Sung's grandmother and grandfather on both her mother's and father's side of the family. I've also met her father's sister (Como=father's sister/aunt) and mother's sister (EMO=mother's sister/aunt). It's interesting how long it takes to break into Korean family culture. It took me 7 years to meet a few members of her extended family, while, Mi Sung met my entire family at a wedding in Pennsylvania and the rest of my relatives still in Windsor. Hard to imagine, but this is it. Life's been interesting with this new addition to our family. Matthew James (officially) but to everyone in Korea he is Min Jae. The summer is here! Summer vacation begins in two weeks!!! Blessings & Peace & Love go out to all our friends (Windsor, Toronto, Thunder Bay, Korea, USA, UAE, Hungary, UK, etc..& Have a Safe & Happy Summer 2008!!!