Alki Beach with the Friedrick Clan

One of my favorite things about finding a job in South East Asia is the opportunity to experience a new culture.  Another thing I enjoy is the food.  It also means I'll be making my way westward.  And when I head west there's always one place I have to stop - Seattle.  There are a lot of great things about Seattle but the best part, at least for me, is Joel and Momo.  Great people and great friends!  There was a period of time where I had spent more Thanksgivings with Joel and his family than with my own.  Rebecca and I were fortunate enough to spend 3 weeks in Seattle and I'm glad she got a chance to meet my second family.  No gyoza challenges this time although there was talk of a spice challenge (it never happened).  

Anyway, the one day we went to Alki beach.  We went for a nice walk along the water, saw a different view of the city, played in the sand a bit, and took some photos...

 (Rebecca and I with the city in the background)

(Oh hey, look!!!)

(Holding up the Space Needle)

 

(Another view of the city)

(A sweet house we passed on our walk)

 (A view of the beach)

(3 wild and crazy dudes hanging out on the beach)

(Momo taking some photos)

 (Everybody hanging out by the water)

 (I think this photo was staged, but I am not 100 percent sure)

 (The Friedricks living the dream)

(Another artsy photo, probably taken by Ms. Rebecca)

Random Hawaii Photos

A few final shots from Hawaii.  These are all the photos that didn't fit anywhere else...

(We ended up on Makena beach, quite possibly my favorite, with some hummus, triscuits, and a few drinks)

(Here I am stuffing my face with something)

(A panoramic view of Makena Beach)

(Rebecca made pineapple pancakes the one morning and we ended up putting coconut syrup on top... Delicious!)

(Another panoramic shot of one of the beaches)

(Although I may have just had my 30th birthday, I am still a big kid at heart!  Rebecca was kind enough to make it appear as though I was being eaten by a fish...)

(Rebecca had a special message for me after I got uncovered - 'I <3 cheese="" p="" you="">

(Rebecca took this amazing shot of the inside of a flower)

(This flower is called a 'Bird of Paradise')

(As we were driving along one day we saw a rainbow)

(Rebecca was doing a magic trick... Actually, I can't quite remember what she was doing...)

(We stopped at a restaurant in the airport and had a few cocktails as we recapped our trip!  Another amazing adventure!)

Gangwondo

I achieved my goal for the month - I am now able to solve a Rubik's cube. We had a lot of time on the bus since it was a holiday weekend. We played a game of Scrabble, Monopoly, and Spenser was able to teach me the final few steps in the Rubik's cube. This was the first one I solved, by accident, I admit, but I now can do it on my own. Don't get me wrong, it's no 5 seconds like the world record, but I can do it.

As for the trip, we arrived in Gangwondo in the afternoon, went to the beach for a little, saw mirror lake, ate some homemade tofu, saw the houses of the woman on the 50,000 won bill as well as her son's, who is on the 5,000 won bill, met Ellen's family (including Honey), went and got coffee with them, ate a delicious meal, ate a second delicious meal, came back and played some Wii and relaxed. On Sunday, we ate breakfast, went to another water side temple, and got to hang out on the beach for a bit. We had to come back for work on Monday while most other people had it off for Independence Day. All in all it was a fantastic weekend!

(First one, by accident, but still the first one)


(Sculpture at the beach)


(Myself, Katrina, Amy, and Spenser)


(Katrina at mirror lake)


(Katrina eating tofu)


(Jump shot for the trip)


(Black bamboo, my first time seeing it)


(More temple shots)


(A nice artsy shot by Katrina)


(Possible kim-chi pots, I'm not sure)


(Guy on the Korean 5 dollar bill - 5,000 won)


(Woman on the Korean 50 dollar bill - 50,000 won)


(Spenser hanging with honey and Katrina)


(Honey and Katrina)


(Me being a kid and trying ti fill up a broken squirt gun I found on the beach so I could squirt someone with it.)


(Fireworks on the beach at night)


(Myself, Katrina, and Honey)


(Touching the Fat Buddha at the waterside temple)


(Giant statues)


(Amy, Ellen, and myself)


(Sweet dragon motif on the side of the building)


(Hanging on the rocks)


(Katrina refreshing herself)


(If you look in the bottom right, you can barely see Katrina. Hopefully, that gives you an idea of just how large the statues are.)


(Katrina again)


(Sweet gold statue with 108 gold hands)


(Found some more of the Buddha action figures at this temple)


(A sweet cave like structure)


(Inside the main sanctuary of the cave)


(A wall shot)


(A ceiling shot in the cave)


(Last day, hanging on the beach, Ellen with her life jacket on)


(A shot of Spenser and I)