Seoraksan National Park in Korea

After a restful night in the hotel "sleeping" on floor mats, we had a full day planned in Seoraksan National Park! There were a few clouds leftover from the rain the day before, but it was still very mild weather. I like this picture below. It shows how well-dressed most of the Korean hikers are, which makes an interesting contrast with the more casual Americans. :) The locals take their hiking seriously and dress the part!

Let's go hiking! We decided to take a 2 mile trail to a waterfall. It was considered "easy",

so that would make it perfect for a young family, right?

Stopping to look over the bridge. Notice how Andrew and Grandpa are nearly dressed alike?

Daddy heads out down the trail with his little girls.

Family group on a little bridge. The trail is still pretty easy.

Oh! Are we tired? Need a break? How about some refreshments? It's amusing to see this "rest area" along the trail in the mountains. Another half mile further and there was another stop

 almost like this one.

Now we start getting into a rockier path way.

Sophie and Elanor head across the bridge. That's not a wall in front of them,

but a set of steps to continue on.

Koreans are not a very tall people, but they sure build tall steps!

It's a good place to sit and wait for the parents to catch up.

Here's the way to go along the cliff sides. There were lots and lots of these, and lots and lots of steps!

Finally, we reach the falls and stop to break out the snacks and rest a while.

Of course we need a few photos, too.

Hike's over...how about checking out the little tractor?

After the hike we bought lunch in one of the park eateries. I don't remember what we ate. Something Korean. The girls ate rice. :) Then we got in line to take the tram up to the top of the nearby mountain. See the little cars on cables in the photo below? About 50 people fit in each car and they run every 5 minutes. Everyone is moved on and off FAST! Very efficient.

Just one of the views from the top. This shows you how close we are to the ocean. Our hotel is nestled down there in the area to the right that heads to the beach.

One more trail leads up even higher. The family was content to wait in the main viewing area, so we walked quickly up the trail to see what we could see. Near the tippy top, we were trying to do a "score" photo when someone took pity on us and offered to shoot the picture. Much nicer!

Another look from the top area. In the photos below you will notice that we are far from alone.

We came down off the tram and walked around a little longer; paid our respects to the Buddha statue, and then went back to our hotel. The girls wanted to go back to the beach,

so after a quick change of clothing we were off again.

No clouds in sight this time!

Grandpa found an empty chair to sit in and watch the young'uns play.

But wait, he seems to be watching something else?

Charlotte was content to throw sand in the water.

Uh oh! Sophie went down! No worries, she is laughing. Sophie likes the surf!

Looks like Daddy is enjoying the surf, too!

The beach we were playing on was clear of other people. Next to the parking area was a restroom, and when the girls were finished playing in the water they went to get changed. Michelle helped Charlotte and Elanor, and Andrew took Sophie into the men's room to help her get cleaned off and dressed. Removing sand and wet swim suits is not an easy thing, and it takes a few minutes. Almost as soon as they got started, a loud thumping sound started which got closer and closer. Michelle looked up, saw the reason, and shouted "PARTY BUS!!!" to Andrew.

A large bus, pounding with a music beat, had just pulled into the lot and parked next to the rest room. We shouted, "Party Bus, Andrew, hurry up!!" as he struggled to get Sophie presentable before all the men stumbled out of the bus and headed to use the toilet facilities. Well, it was close, but they managed to get finished in the nick of time. We laughed and laughed....what are the odds? The Party Bus! Ha ha!

We went back to the hotel and tried to figure out something to eat. Ken and I went out to walk along the little markets nearby and find something to bring back. It took a little bit of clumsy communicating, but we came home with a basket of  "Chicken Tenders", yep.....chicken nuggets. Everyone was thrilled, and even WE ate them gratefully. :) After a great day, it was time to "sleep" away the night on our floor mats again. Uh huh.