The Bear (un)Necessities

Unlike the typical academic calendar in the United States which offers a short (2-week) winter vacation and a long (3 month) summer vacation, Korea offers approximate 2 months in both the winter and summer (although, this summer will only be a week or two over one month). Regardless of these differences, the truth is, for westerners who are used to hitting summer livin' late in May or early in June having to work through July and conduct camps into August makes for a less than anticipated summer vacation. Therefore, each educator easily embraces any and every holiday, even those that fall on a Wednesday.

 So it was, with joy in their hearts and a mid-week chance to sleep in, that the Harrington's found themselves getting together with good friends Hyunhee and Hakcheol for a short road trip toward Jochiwon where they would explore Bear Tree Park.

Pensions, Beaches and Green Tea: Happy Birthday Buddha

In order to perfectly round out the month of May, the Harrington's were thrilled to come face to face with a three-day weekend. Monday, May 28th of 2012 happened to coincide with the lunar date dictating Buddha's birthday (or arrival on earth) and allowed many residents of South Korea to enjoy an extra day of sleeping in and/or exploring the peninsula. The Harrington's made the most out of the weekend by celebrating, barbecuing, camping and exploring.

Saturday got off to a slow start with Melissa putting the finishing touches on a cover letter and resume for a dream job and Mike gathering the necessary items for a successful weekend which included tents, sleeping bags, home-made root-beer and home-brewed cider and beers.

With their tasks accomplished and fully yearning for a get-away, the couple loaded up the car and headed just south of town to Jang-tae san a recreational forest boasting a Sky Tower and Tree-top Tower walkway. However, the forest wasn't the sole purpose of the Harrington's outing, rather the couple was heading off to a Pension where they would spend the evening and the following morning celebrating Ryan's (one of Mike's soccer buddies) birthday. The afternoon and evening were filled with barbecued duck, pork, beef, a few veggies, more than a few pitchers of beer and bottles of makgoli, birthday cake, food offerings to and from Korean families at the same pension, a roaring campfire and numerous drinking games.

Morning came all too soon for some of those celebrating, including the Harrington's who struggled to sleep on the hard, heated floors of the pension. Regardless, the crew cleaned up their site, grabbed some orange juice, soaked up some morning sun along the river and went their separate ways with most returning to Daejeon while M'n'M made their way into the recreational forest and further South to the coastal city of Yulpo. 

As mentioned earlier, Jangtae-san boasts a Sky Tower and Tree-top walkway which provided the Harrington's a pleasant start to the day but were nothing entirely impressive or worth ranting about.

Five Years Ago: Of Road-trips and Proposals

The week following Melissa's graduation from the University of Wyoming, Mike and Melissa loaded up the Dodge Neon and hit the road for Southern Utah. Always up for beautiful scenery, fresh air, dreamy hikes and adventures the couple was eager to celebrate the upcoming summer vacation and Melissa's life as a college graduate (Mike was on a 5 year plan, engineering will do that to you).

The road trip began with Mike and Melissa passing through the snowy border of Wyoming and Colorado and eventually arriving in Southern Utah where they would spend a week exploring Arches National Park, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and the surrounding towns and outlying areas.

A couple days into their trip, on May 9th, 2007, Mike got a bit persistent that the couple take on Angel Falls. A trail in Zion National Park that promised a gorgeous view of the area and had a small reputation of killing hikers who missed their footing during the last stretch to the main outcropping.  In an oddly whiny and pitiful mood, Melissa agreed but huffed and puffed her way up the trail nervous she would soon be a statistic in Zion National Park's brochures.

Fortunately, the couple made it to a large outcropping and rather than chance their way to the very top opted to stop for a bit of a photo shoot showcasing dives off the cliff piggy-back rides, the Lewis and Clark pose and a few others.

PSA's and Pictures of Lady: First Edition

Lady is indeed the most precious and adorable 3.5 legged dog living in Daejeon, South Korea, probably the world. She has recently received a haircut and been enjoying morning or afternoon runs with the Mrs. depending on the day.

In other news:

Here is the latest information regarding Cherry Blossoms and when you can expect to see them around South Korea.

If you don't make a habit of checking out Korea's Official Tourism website, you ought too, especially this page of special offers and discounts. If you have friends coming to visit, check out that Transportation deal which could potentially get you 50,000 Won free money. Or, if you're interested in a non-verbal performance, check out the discount on Bi-Bap.

It's Daejeon: Haleh's Korea Experience - Part 1

After arriving on Christmas Eve, enjoying Christmas morning and Christmas Day with the Harrington's and friends, it was time for Melissa's college friend Haleh, to get out and see all that Daejeon, South Korea has to offer in the bleak of winter. So it was, on December 26th, following a small brunch of eggnog, Boston creme pie and a simple egg scramble with the Wagoner's that Melissa Harrington and Haleh made their way into Dunsan-dong to explore a few shops, stationary stores and of course a cafe. The cafe provided Haleh a uniquely Korean experience of a super sweet and creamy Sweet Potato Latte while Melissa opted for a Chai Tea Latte.

Following cafe warmth and catching-up the ladies met up with Mike just to have their dreams of dining on Samgyupsal dashed by uncooperative hours of operation. Fortunately, Korea provides delicious food in many varities and the trio only had to walk about 2 minutes before finding themselves seated with Kimbap, Bokembap and Mandoo Soup for a delicious way to end the first half-day 'on the town'.

Update: After the first puplication of this story as the editor lay in bed she remembered the whole story of Haleh's first day on the town had not be shared. Without further ado, here is the rest of the story.

Following dinner the girls made a quick decision to go to a Korean salon named Leechard Pro Hair, a salon first discovered by Melissa when reading this blog article which she quickly followed up with her first visit. Having loved the experience so much she worked 'hard' to convince Haleh it was a necessary and amazing Korea experience. The salon experience did not disappoint as both ladies sat down under the care of a sweet, talented, English-speaking hairdresser named Anna, sipped on iced cafe mochas, stared in silver angel-winged mirrors and received a superb shampoo, cut and style for 12,000W (US$10).

Lookin' good with their new do's the girls met up with Mike Harrington and made their way toward Government Complex Daejeon where a short walk lead them to a giant blow-up Bowling Pin, promising an exciting and slightly entertaining evening of bowling with the Callaway's.  Haleh pulled through in both of they ladies games proving herself to be the championship bowler. Kolt of the Callaway's showed Mike up in a couple of the men games. With these Korea experiences under Haleh's belt, the Harrington's felt safe in returning home so that all could rest and prepare for the next days activities.