The Product of Love

Roses are red. Violets are blue. On Valentine's Day, we're celebrating with our crew!

Seven years ago Abe and I decided it was silly to go to an overly busy restaurant with overly pricey meals just because it was Valentine's Day. It was then that we started our DanFam5 tradition of making a fancy meal for the kids. They are the product of our love, so why not include them in our celebration? We pretended it was a fancy restaurant; I gave them a menu and they ate on fancy plates with fancy wine glasses while dining by candlelight. They thought it was the best thing ever.

Fast forward 7 years and we're still doing that tradition. However, last year I knew the restaurant theme had run its course. Preteens and teens no longer want to play restaurant. I still let them choose what meal they wanted and they drank from fancy wine glasses. But no pretend restaurant. Bitter sweet.

Daisy helped me decorate the napkins and set the table.

I always get the kids a little treat of some kind. Daisy took it upon herself to buy us each gifts this year. She asked the boys if they wanted to go in on them and they agreed.

She also made these super cute cards for each of us.

The icing on the cake was when the boys gave Daisy a gift, too. One afternoon when they were walking Chuey they walked to the GS25 and bought her something.

Daisy was touched by this sweet gesture from her brothers as much as I was.

We played a family game after dinner and gifts. It's an app, so even though we all had a phone, we were actually talking with each other and laughing.

We have an inside joke while playing this game about a particular body part. The game asks a question about one of us, 'You Butthole' on this particular question, and we all put in an answer and try to guess which one the actual person wrote. Immediate belly laughter when we saw each others' answer on this one.

As always, happy heavenly birthday, Steve.

[February 14]

Just A-Swingin - Seolri Skywalk

 Another beautiful day off for Seollal was not wasted on us! We and the Ts decided to check out the new swing in Namhae. 

We were not the only ones who did not want to waste the beautiful afternoon indoors. We had a little time to waste before it was our turn.

The main attraction is the skywalk.

The middle of the bridge consists of glass so you can see all the way down to the ground below. The glass made many people nervous to walk on, my Biggy BooBoo being one of them.

The view from the skywalk is gorgeous and the glass bottom is intriguing.

But the swing is the thrilling part!

The guy pushed Zekers really high. You can see how he is jumping to get a good push. When he does that the bystanders all gasp.

Before you start they strap you in with a harness, sort of like when you zip line. I would have been scared without it and terrified to let my kids go without it. But with it I was not frightened for me nor my kids.

The Daiser is a little conservative when it comes thrills, but she will not be left behind. I am always amazed how she faces her fears head-on.

Truth be told, I was a little disappointed because she didn't totally freak out. It makes me and Zeke laugh and laugh when she's totally scared, but she wasn't scared at all once it started.

She even let go for a picture.

As I was soaring out over the water it made me wish I could fly.

Shortly after we got home I got a call from contact tracing. Their records showed that Abe, Daisy and I had attended a wedding 13 days prior, which we had. Many places like restaurants, hair dressers and wedding halls (I know these places in particular because those are the ones I have been to) have you sign in for instances such as this. Someone had just tested positive for the Rona, and to error on the side of caution they went back to her activity two weeks ago, which included Jeon Hun's wedding. The Ts had attended the same wedding with us. We were pretty sure that since none of the six of us had any symptoms from a possible exposure 13 days prior that we had not contracted the virus. Regardless, the testing center was closed by the time they called on Friday. We scheduled a test first thing Saturday morning but we had to self-isolate the rest of Friday as well as 24 hours after the test until our results arrived. If you have positive results, you go to a government facility to quarantine for a minimum of two weeks, I think. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. It's a big deal. So while I was pretty confident that none of us had it, I was just a little nervous about it. I was also glad we had ventured out on Thursday and Friday since we just became home-bound.

The tests were performed in a little portable building outside City Hall. Right after we arrived at the testing site Abe's two Korean bosses showed up, too. The wedding was one of Abe's co-workers and the bosses had attended, as well. Turned out handy having them there to help translate. That's Abe inside getting his test.

Abe had had a test before his procedure a few weeks before, and the Ts had had two tests after returning from the US over Christmas, but it was me and Daisy's first time. We had heard stories of it being a bit painful, so we were a little nervous. Just like the swing, Daisy took it like a champ.

Twenty-four hours later, as soon as they opened, we got texts saying we were negative. Now Daisy and I know what a Covid test feels like. (It is not pleasant, but bearable.) We also know the relief when it says negative. Like soaring on the wings of eagles.

[February 12]

The Suspense Is Killing Me - Chaegyesan Pedestrian Suspension Bridge, Sunchang

 If you have wondered, "What does the longest suspension bridge in South Korea look like?", and I'm sure you have, you need to wonder no more. Over Seollal, the Asian New Year, we took a day trip to Sunchang to see it for ourselves. 

I am trying to slowly trick the kids to get back to hiking again. I told them we were going to see the longest suspension bridge and walk across it. The night before Linda mentioned that we would see them in the morning to go hiking. Daisy was like, "HIKING?!" I innocently told them I wasn't sure how close the parking lot was and how much hiking we would have to do to get to the bridge, which was totally true. I just left out the part that I assumed we would have to hike up to the bridge.

As it turned out, there wasn't any hiking involved to reach the bridge, just a lot of stairs.

No worries, though. There were a little rest stops on the way up.

We were not satisfied with just climbing the stairs to the longest suspension bridge in Korea. First we continued the stairs right on up to the view from the top.

If you look closely you can see little rock climbers and a bicyclist on that big rock.

I love the rock stacks you always see on the mountains. I added my 'good luck' rock to this pile.

The pictures of the piles are never as aesthetic as the actual piles.

This was our first view of the bridge as we breezed on by to the way up.

We made it up there! The bridge looked small from up here.

From up high we could view Chaegyesan Mountain and the Seomjingang River.

That little building would eventually be our last stop.

From here we went up a little further.

This was the view facing the opposite direction.

That is Francesca down there.

Here we did a little off roading to get to the very tip peak.

I think someone put a stick under that big rock, and then someone else, and someone else...

Here is the view from the peak. Pictures don't capture the 'purple mountains majesty.' They just keep going on and on.

I like how there are three peaks that line up with each other at the top. In the middle you can see the little pagoda where would be making our way to.

Chuey was a little freaked out on the bridge.

The Chaegyesan Suspension Bridge is only about a year old. At 270m long and 90m above the ground, it is the longest suspension bridge in South Korea. The floor is made of mesh steel so you can see the small stream and the busy road beneath you. It seemed to freak some people out a bit too.

The bridge actually swayed a bit. Kinda felt like you were stumbling drunk. Not that I would know anything about that.

Yep. He's still my favorite.

My big boy is coming across the bridge.

And that was a tour of the longest hanging bridge in South Korea.

[February 11]