Gyeongju, you were good to us.

Never mind the fact that my three day vacation has taken me about five days to get re-organized from, it was definitely worth it!

We woke up and left early Monday morning anxious to get on with Spring break. After about two hours of driving, a rest was in order. Thanks to the Koreans for making lovely playgrounds at most of their rest stops, the girls always have a fun time. But we were unaware of the fact that it was Korean field trip season. We found that we were celebrities everywhere we went.

Here I am rescuing Ruby from a large and loud group of admirers. She seems un-phased.

After another hour or so, we found ourselves at the lovely Pension 600, in a very spacious (although barely furnished) hotel room. The kids loved the upstairs loft and patio. And the Mini Golf right out the front door was also a highlight of the trip.

The hotel offered a few group classes, so on our first afternoon there, all the kids got to enjoy a pottery class. Apparently our ware will be mailed to us. We're not really holding our breath as to its safe arrival, but it was a nice way to spend the afternoon.

After fully exploring the hotel and it's surroundings it was time to venture over to Bowmun Resort. It's a man made lake completely surrounded by blooming cherry blossoms. You can rent bikes and all sorts of other equipment. For our first night in town we chose bikes to explore the lake with.


The bike riding was more fun for some of us,

and less fun for others. In his defense, the crowds were pretty tricky to navigate on bike legs that have been indoors for a long winter.




After breaking at this massive water wheel for a while

Everyone was feeling much happier about the excursion.

The evening ended at Anapji Pond which was beautifully lit at night. The kids enjoyed the intrigue of it's story. It was constructed by King Munmu in 674 to commemorate the unification of the Korean peninsula under Shilla. The buildings burned in 935 and many relics ended up in the pond and rediscovered only when the pond was drained for repair in 1975. So I guess really the intrigue was that I personally didn't know much about why it all burned down in 935. So much of our evening at the pond was spent speculating upon all the various reasons and ways it may have burned. George was besides himself with conspiracy theories. It really was lots of fun (and slightly cold after a day spent in shorts and t-shirts).

So, Day 1 in Gyeongju ended as we drove through downtown spotting a much needed Dominos pizza (To my brother Steve, please recall our family vacation in France one summer when our family was traveling with four little kids probably 10 and under, exactly the same age as my four kids. Recall that all the children (then and now) desperately wanted to eat American food. I hope you will understand), right next store to a fruit stand. Our meals will always be balanced, even on vacation in Korea, so help me.

I can hardly wait for the thrilling recap of Day 2 in Geyongju. Seeing how this one has taken five days to come forth, I'm not making any promises about the next installment.