We went on a hike on Christmas afternoon...as usual, trails seem to disappear...

Other things tend to disappear in the leaves as well...Judah hid in the thick layer of leaves until Darrell came by...and then suddenly re-appeared before getting stepped on...

Some of us sure enjoyed it...

Some pictures of downtown Seoul...

The monument near the DMZ, dedicated to the United States for their service in the Korean War...

Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea

Dorason Train Station...the next stop to the north is Pyeongyang, North Korea...if you can get past the soldiers who guard the entrance 24/7. South Korea longs for the day when this station will be the entrance to a unified North Korea...

While at the DMZ, we also took a bus tour to the 3rd of 4 tunnels dug by the North Koreans in an attempt to invade South Korea. Unfortunately, pictures were strictly prohibited and there were video cameras throughout the tunnels (making it difficult to sneak your camera out). Walking inside the tunnels, however, was very interesting (and a little scary being almost 500 ft underground). They were all directed towards Seoul, and the 3rd tunnel came within only 52 km of the city before it was discovered. The tunnel was dug large enough to be capable of moving 10,000 North Korean troops per hour during an invasion. It was discovered following a tip from a North Korean defector.

Some Korean friends gave us tickets to South Korea's largest theme park, Everland. We enjoyed the time there, in spite of the extreme cold that we are not quite used to (and probably never will be). In Florida, we are used to crowding around the fans and misters in line to cool off. Here, we crowded around heaters to thaw out.

There were some very exciting (and somewhat painful) rides, unlike anything we've seen in the US.

Boni studies her trusty map of the theme park while waiting for the sea lion show...Timothy reads CS Lewis...

We took a three day road trip to Korea's second largest city, Busan. We also took a ferry to a small "tropical" island off of the east coast called Oedo.

Judah, Jared, and Gabe were entertained for a while when we discovered that two different colored light bulbs on the same pole result in two different colored shadows...one black and one yellow...we have not yet figured out how this is possible.

These are the ferries we took to Oedo Island...

Playing with some of the features on Judah's camera at a Korean restaurant...and, of course, the wonderful Coca-Cola...I don't think the Korean restaurant owners had ever had guests who drank Coke with their kimchi, rice, and beef soup.

The ferry ride to Oedo Island...

Some pictures from the island that was developed by a wealthy Korean couple for their personal enjoyment.