The Big Visit

So if you did not know, Marcia and Jim (ethan's mom and dad) made the big trip over the great pacific to come and see us. With no snags they had a smooth flight and bus ride to Gwangju. Without a blink of an eye they jumped right into the routine and were on the go. So thinking we would just chill for the first day, because they would need to sleep and rest from jetlag, they were the ones who woke us up in the mornings. To say the least we did not sleep-in much but it was good because we had lots to fill in the short time they were here. The first thing we showed them, and don't worry I will not tell you all that we did because that would take a few hours of your day and mine. So we showed them around our neighborhood and a local traditional market. Anything from sting ray to traditonal dresses but my parents loved seeing all of the things for sale. I think JR liked it a little too much, it seemed like everyday he said, "Lets go to Yangdong Market." JR and Marsh found some nice flower planters for a garden, so now we have tomato's, peppers, lettuce, and cilantro growing on our roof. They brought it to its knees, as we like to say around the Simcox house hold.

The first weekend, we went to the green tea plantation and then decided to go to the sea and check out one of the islands off the southwest coast of Korea. It was an adventure to say the least, from the guys feeding us soju and squid on the boat, to the sideways rain when we got off the boat, it was an experience. We stayed at a lovely woman's upstairs rental room that was clean and right in the center of town. It was really neat getting a different perspective of life in Korea. Primarily a fishing and tourist town there was not too much to do, so we went on a walk to see some of the island. It was lovely.

We went on a boat tour in the morning and all night the wind was so loud, so you could just imagine what that wind was doing to the surf. But being there for only one day we had to make the most of it so we went. It was an experience. Robert would not have taken his boat out, to say the least. I would say the waves were between 10-20 feet and the boat was about 50 feet long, so we got tossed around a little bit but the 3 hour tour would keep on keepin on. Marsh kissed the ground when we hit land and all of her prayers were answered.

Marcia and Jim went to the bamboo forest, hiked the mountain, went to the folk museum, and went to the Yangdong market while we were at work. One morning JR and I went to play golf at the par 3 golf course. We played two balls and I'm not going to brag or nothing but I took him. Its better to be lucky than good I guess. We did hit up one of the thousands of driving ranges in Gwangju and hit some golf balls. I think I hit 5 good balls out of 120. It was one that the balls come up from the ground, pretty sweet.

Seoul was the last weekend which was nice, did some shopping, hiking, and went to a palace. Saw new sites and experienced new things. We were there for Buda's birthday so they had loads of lanterns and activities.

My parent were kind enough to take our winter clothes back with them so they left with a lot more than they came with.

It was really nice having them here and showing them where we live, it felt very normal in a way. I was not expecting it to feel weird after they left but it felt weird being in Korea again, like it wasn't normal. It's hard to explain it but it was a wonderful time and I wish that all of you could come and have the same experience.