Spring trips and fun!

Cherry blossoms on my way home

That's me winning our march madness group by chance. too bad we
didn't bet any money.

strange wedge potatoes at lunch... the orange
stuff is like cheese sauce?

Young Ah and I went out to dinner Saturday to belatedly
celebrate our birthdays~

On Saturday, Cesca and I started out early because we were going on another weekend trip. This one ended up being more successful. Our first stop was Jindo, to see the Miracle Sea Road or the Sea Parting Festival.  

Legend has it that a grandma was separated from her family because they moved to an island and she was left behind. She prayed and prayed for a road to open so she could be reunited with her family. A rainbow appeared and a path opened. They were reunited but the grandma also died (in true Korean story fashion) because it was her last wish to see her family. 

The scientific reason is because of extreme differences in the tides. Once in a great while, just a few days every year, the tides match up so well that this sea road appears. Cool stuff. 

SO here's the photo rundown of the day:

we bought these awesome boots for the
crossing

laughing cause people kept getting in our pics

we were pretty far out and the water really does
recede like all the way

starfish!

the path was still open when we left, but
we didn't want to get caught out there

lemonade from the America booth

No idea why these people were performing

car rollover seatbelt demo

they had global entertainment 

And korean wrestling 

They let foreigners try

This ahjumma would not stop chasing this poor
girl around to shower her with affection

people come and bring bags to gather seaweed and any food they
find on the walk. We saw lots of people digging for
clams and some lady even picked up an octopus

preparing for the crossing

enjoying our boots

we were amazed that the water really does go away! It really
made a path!

can't avoid the photo bombers

using their minds to part the sea

Katie and Cesca being explorers 

Finished the night with cotton candy 

Fun fact, Jindo is also the place where Admiral Yi Sun Shin defeated the much larger Japanese armada or navy or whatever in a great sea battle. Pretty cool stuff. 

the best part was meeting this
Jindo puppy. The dog breed is
also from this island and it's adorable

We got on the bus for another 2 hour ride (the ride to Jindo was 6 hours. Wheeeeee) and we arrived at our hotel in Boseong late at night. We rested up as best we could on floor mats, and then in the morning, headed out to the green tea fields. 

I've been here before, but the viewing time was quite short and it was a little rushed. This time, we had most of the day, so we got to leisurely stroll around the bamboo forest and tea fields, while trying all the green tea foods. 

we loved our hotel name~ Da Beach

we even had time to hike to the top of the fields.
it was a gorgeous day!

Green Tea naeng myeon.. Nothing special
but the theme was fun

we also got to participate in a tea
ceremony which had a lot of steps to
drinking tea 

Pandas, where u at?

getting good angles

abusing nature, clearly

the churros, ice cream and ddeokbokki were the best

We climbed all the way to the top!

After a 6 hour bus ride and another hour on the subway, I was finally home just after 11. Exhausted but internally energized by the great weekend. Neither place was too crowded (despite how crowded the Jindo pics seem, that was a decently roomy festival) and there wasn't anything to frustrating about this weekend, which made it feel amazing. I got to see some beautiful things and enjoy some great weather outside of Seoul, plus I spent a lot of time in good company. 

Hoping to fill my last few months in Korea with many more adventures :D