Shopping outside Osan AFB in Korea

Today we took a bus to the Osan AFB shopping area. It's well known for cheap shopping. We got some good stuff. I am not a purse person at all, I just don't carry one. I left this shopping area with two coach purses and a coach change holder that's how good a deal we got.

Though to get to these purses we had to go through secret compartments. One store the guy moved a part of the wall aside and we had to crawl through a space that was probably 4 foot high by 2 feet wide. Purse shopping was quite the experience there in Korea.






This restaurant was super cute. The whole place had couches to sit on and had an awesome vibe. I could see hanging out there at night and having a drink or two. We ate some yummy beef bulgogi.







When we got back into downtown Seoul we ate at the Flying Pan which was so good. I had the banana french toast and Leann had this awesome sandwich.

DMZ, JSA and the Seoul Tower

I know I have written about my friend Leann before, but if you are new here, Joe and I went to high school with her and her husband Ramon. We are now living on a tropical island together and it's been an awesome experience. Leann and I decided to go off to Korea and do some sight seeing and shopping. So we left the hubbies with the kids and off we went.

Our first full day in Korea was super busy. We left the hotel before 8 am and didn't get back until after 8pm.

We signed up for the JSA and DMZ tour. That was a full day event and then afterwards we headed to the Seoul Tower. We were very tired.

First up JSA. JSA stands for Joint Security Area. If you Click on the JSA you can read what wikipedia has to say about it.

The worlds most dangerous golf course.

The white building is North Korea.

North Korean Solider

Keeping watch

Next up the DMZ! DMZ stands for Demilitarized Zone, you can click on the DMZ to read what wikipedia has to say about it.

We weren't allowed to take a lot of photos at the DMZ. We went into a tunnel that the North Koreans had dug and that was awesome, but we weren't allowed to take our cameras down.

This is a picture of the monument they have placed where there once was a tree. It's where the Axe Murders took place. If you click on Axe Murders you can read about it.

This is the Bridge of No Return, click on Bridge and you can read about it. Angelina Jolie actually walks across the bridge in the movie "Salt". Ironically I had watched this movie the night before we left to Korea. In the movie the bridge looks a lot bigger than it really is.

Afterwards we went to a completely finished train station that sits empty until North and South can come to an agreement to travel back and forth. It was built in hopes they could come to an agreement.

After all that we decided to knock out one more thing on our to do list and visit the Seoul Tower.

Korea From the Sky

One year ago today I was boarding a plane back to the states. My father was going into surgery and I wasn't sure he would be alive when I landed.

The boys and I got on the plane alone and worried. Joe wasn't able to come with us. He was told it wasn't his father. So, I had to fly over 24 hours with three boys and the stress of my dad.

I kept telling myself that when we landed if nobody was there to pick us up it was a good sign. A sign that dad was alive still, but if there was family then most likely he passed.

Over 24 hours came and we landed in El Paso for the hour drive to Las Cruces where my dad was hospitalized. My sister and brother were there and I felt devastated......but they had smiles on their faces. Relief came over me and we collected our bags and headed off to the hospital.

After picking up some drive through McDonald's because airplane food can be less than appetizing we made it to the hospital. We were able to spend some time with him and I finally made it back to the hotel at 10pm, put the boys to bed and then we were called back into the hospital at 3am. Chase and I had slept for maybe 2-3 hours. He had a hard time with the jet lag. The boys and I were exhausted mentally and physically.

Dad was dying. He held on for a few more hours and then it was time. I am so thankful that he held on for me to get there, that I was able to see him one last time.

Tomorrow is one year of no phone calls, no jokes, no crazy singing. The boys really miss his crazy songs.

We miss you Papa.

Shuri Castle ~ Okinawa, Japan ~ Happy New Year

Happy New Year from Okinawa!! It's our second new year here and I am hoping for a better year. We were tested over and over last year and it would be nice to be able to have a more relaxing year this year.

We decided to bring in the new year with a trip to Shuri Castle. You can read a history about it by clicking on Shuri Castle.