Breakin' In Busan & New Photos!
Greetings All,
When we disembarked from the airplane on our return flight to Beijing from Minnesota in early January, I exclaimed that we would not be flying the friendly skies again until necessary, which would be our return flight home in June. After spending 18+ hours in transit with four month old twins, I would have chosen the padded cell of a sanitarium over the cramped cabin with the impatient countenance of our fellow travelers.
Chillin' at the Hotel:
As time distanced itself from that flight and the hazy skies of Beijing kept repeating themselves daily, Marianella and I began toying with the idea of a short trip during spring break, both to escape the bleak landscape and to refresh our memories for the longer trip that awaits in June. Flights to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Seoul were considered, but in the end, we tabled them all. After putting the boys to sleep at the end of each day, the prospect of planning a vacation, no matter how brief, was too much for our frazzled minds to process.
More concerned with the shadows than the waves at Haeundae Beach:
Then one day, about three weeks prior to spring break's commencement, I was walking home from the bus stop, feeling the grit on my skin of a particularly polluted day that set my resolve-I walked in the door and said to Marianella, "Let's go to Busan for spring break". No arms had to be twisted-she may have even began preparations that day.
Gamcheon Cultural Village:
Garnering the attention of the ladies at Gamcheon (Ray is in the red pants):
What and where is Busan, you may ask? We didn't know ourselves until flipping through one of the free magazines at a coffee shop in Beijing. One of the world's largest seaports, it also happens to be South Korea's second largest city, located on the southeast tip of the country. We were seduced by the short flight (2.5 hours) and promise of fresh air with its position next to the Pacific Ocean.
Bryce & Daddy Trying Out a Korean BBQ:
Good fortune was smiling upon us throughout the trip, whether through the boys' disposition while flying or with the sunny skies that opened up for us during our four days in Busan (it was raining and chilly on the day we left). We discovered that vacations have radically changed for us, at least for the next few years; gone are the days of zipping through a busy itinerary followed by a quiet dinner and night out on the town, replaced by short strolls around the hotel planned around the eating, changing, and sleeping patterns of the boys. Our hotel was merely five minutes from Haeundae Beach, perhaps the most beautiful beach either Marianella or I have visited. According to one of my Korean students, in the summer this beach is so populated that instead of walking on the beach you just are carried along by the wave of people, but during our spring visit we had plenty of room to maneuver along the promenade for our twice a day excursions. It was a simple getaway which was exactly what we desired.
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On our getaway day from Busan, the boys turned 8 months! We've discovered that this is really a fun age to experience with them-just this past weekend Bryce began crawling across our wooden floors with Raymond following suit the next day. They greet each other in the morning with wide smiles and their incomprehensible (to our ears) language and for the most part, that continues throughout the day (when Bryce decides to crawl over Raymond rather than around him, it does strain the relationship a bit). So, here's a few photos of the boys at eight months-as you'll see, they've grown a bit since the last time I updated the blog.
What a way to start the day:
And Bryce aiming for laughs:
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