A Photo Safari Halloween Solo Trip for Oct'13: Trip Report Started!

[SAT887]

Those stairs to the beach.... Ugh! The worst! We love to hike, and we joke, we can climb a 5-6K mountain but give us a set up like that and we are done for! They never seem set up right either, always too far apart or close together for a good stride.... The signs though - hehehe the bar of chocolate one made me laugh!

Renting swim suits? Ewww..... That's great you were able to find suits that fit at the E Mart.

I have to say, not taking the munchkins with you probably allowed you to see so much more. It seems like you did a lot of physical activity and you're right in those little legs!! Although for next time you know to get them on the stair stepper and treadmill for training before hand! So many gorgeous things for you to shoot there, the natural beauty is stunning!! I particularly like your cave shots. Again such beautiful work!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I have to say, not taking the munchkins with you probably allowed you to see so much more. It seems like you did a lot of physical activity and you're right in those little legs!! Although for next time you know to get them on the stair stepper and treadmill for training before hand! So many gorgeous things for you to shoot there, the natural beauty is stunning!! I particularly like your cave shots. Again such beautiful work!

Thanks! I really liked how the cave pictures turned out too. Just those pics made it worthwhile lugging my tripod across the Pacific. It probably was a funny sight though if someone was watching me taking these pictures. I had to create a human umbrella over the camera/tripod with my hands and body to shield them from the water dripping above while waiting for the 30 second shutter to finish!

No kidding about the training the kids for the next trip. Perhaps P90X?

 

[SAT887]

Thanks! I really liked how the cave pictures turned out too. Just those pics made it worthwhile lugging my tripod across the Pacific. It probably was a funny sight though if someone was watching me taking these pictures. I had to create a human umbrella over the camera/tripod with my hands and body to shield them from the water dripping above while waiting for the 30 second shutter to finish!

No kidding about the training the kids for the next trip. Perhaps P90X?

I love P90X... Hmmm maybe I should start testing my kids with it... My 4 year old could probably follow the direction.... Although she tries to help me work out by doing things like sitting on my back while doing push ups.....

The human umbrella! Love it and know many versions of it all too well!! Have you ever tried one of those small gorilla pods? I was debating picking one up for WDW and fireworks and such.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I love P90X... Hmmm maybe I should start testing my kids with it... My 4 year old could probably follow the direction.... Although she tries to help me work out by doing things like sitting on my back while doing push ups.....

The human umbrella! Love it and know many versions of it all too well!! Have you ever tried one of those small gorilla pods? I was debating picking one up for WDW and fireworks and such.

I have a gorilla pod that I bought last year for my T2i but my new 7D is too heavy for it and I have to buy another one that can handle its weight which I'm debating. I liked having one especially when taking pictures at locations with very little flat surfaces for the tripod. Worked very well for nature photography. It also came in handy at Disneyland a couple of times when I could just place it on top of a trash can or wrap it around poles. I don't think it replaces a tripod though because you will need some elevated structure to anchor it too.

 

[SAT887]

I have a gorilla pod that I bought last year for my T2i but my new 7D is too heavy for it and I have to buy another one that can handle its weight which I'm debating. I liked having one especially when taking pictures at locations with very little flat surfaces for the tripod. Worked very well for nature photography. It also came in handy at Disneyland a couple of times when I could just place it on top of a trash can or wrap it around poles. I don't think it replaces a tripod though because you will need some elevated structure to anchor it too.

I liked the portability of it. I couldn't see bringing a tripod with me to WDW. I do agree it couldn't replace a standard tripod - especially when in a situation like those caves. I guess I have about 40+ days to decide...

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I liked the portability of it. I couldn't see bringing a tripod with me to WDW. I do agree it couldn't replace a standard tripod - especially when in a situation like those caves. I guess I have about 40+ days to decide...

I loved its portability. And I'm with you that I usually don't even consider bringing in a tripod to WDW. Just too much especially with young children. This solo trip will be the first time I'll bring my tripod.

The gorilla pod will work for most things. For the fireworks, if you can find a spot with railings or posts or an elevated ledge, it'll work. Just make sure you buy one that can handle the weight of your camera and lens. If I'm not misaken, there are varying weight capacities between models and should be printed on the outside packaging.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Just realized I'm just 6 days away from the 180 day mark for our family's January trip! I'll need to make sure to set reminders so I can be on top of making our ADRs. I know that this is more suitable for starting another PTR but I just don't think I have the discipline to run two simultaneous PTRs!

Got one last set of updates coming up tonight to finish out my Korea TR.

Sunday is DD's 7th birthday! We have a whole day of fun planned for her at Baltimore Inner Harbor and DW's sister's family will be with us for the weekend. Hope to share some pictures of the Inner Harbor area with you!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

** Before I get to July 3rd, need to post some pictures from July 2nd that I forgot to include on the previous updates **

Tuesday July 2nd
We once again ate dinner at the buffet restaurant. As DW and my mom put it, not as exciting as the first time but still good food. It was a much needed meal for those of us who were out on the excursion all day without a real lunch. A little amusing story about the restaurant. Since we had a large group of 7 people, there were not many options as where we could sit in the restaurant. And we always ended up in the exact same table for all 5 times we ate there during our visit. We joked that we should put a card with our name on it. The other funny thing was each time we arrived at the restaurant, we had the exact same host take us to our table who easily recognized us after the first visit. It probably wasn’t that hard to remember us since we were the only interracial family that included a redhead (DW) . By the 5th time, we didn’t even have to say anything. He saw us, smiled, and led us to OUR table.

After dinner, we once again walked around the grounds of the resort as the sun slowly set.


IMG_4208 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4211 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

One of the observation points at the resort and the view from it

IMG_4216 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4217 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4241 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Lobby of the resort

IMG_4249 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4251 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Then we went back to our room and tucked our kids in for bed. I headed out again after the kids and DW fell asleep to take in the nighttime scenery of the resort which included a tango dance performance by the pool. The resort hired three dancing couples from Argentina and they put on a good show.


IMG_4252 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4259 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4264 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Wednesday July 3rd
Well, this day was lounging at the resort day. Was suppose to be relaxing and no excitement. And my legs were in no shape to go on any more excursions. Of course, my eyes were wide open at 5:30am. I got bored at one point and took a picture of this Coke can and Coke Zero bottle because as I was staring at them it dawned on me that the serving sizes for these containers were about half of their counterparts in the U.S. and yet they were twice as expensive. Yes, I was starting to miss some of the food and drinks back home.


IMG_4269 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

After breakfast (yes, at the buffet place again), DW and DFIL wanted to relax and take a morning nap. I clearly wore them out the previous day. DD and DS really wanted to go back down to the beach. SIGH. The thought of another trip up and down their stairs just had me cringing but I took them down with my mom’s help. The weather for this day was forecasted as afternoon showers and storms as the edge of a major system was skirting by the island. When we got down to the beach you could tell that the storm was nearby because the waves were a lot bigger.


IMG_4293 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4415 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

The resort's beach house half of which was undergoing renovations


IMG_4314 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4315 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4316 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

The kids immediately set camp with the sand toys and with the help of their grandmother started going back and forth between their sand fort and the shore for water. After a few trips, they decided to ditch the fort building activity and began dipping their feet at the edge of the shore where the waves were barely making their way in. They would run away from the wave laughing and then come back in. I stood about 50 feet behind them taking pictures of them. My mom did a pretty good job of keeping them back I should also mention that this part of the beach where the resort had set up their beach house did not allow swimming because there was a sudden drop off if you wandered in about another 50 feet from the shoreline.

See? Says no swimming.

IMG_4343 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Hmmm, you’re wondering where I’m going with this story.

Well, once again I noticed the three of them had wandered in a little too far from what I could tell. I started calling out to them asking them to move back out when DS decided to let go of my mom’s hand and wander in deeper on his own. That’s when a really big wave came crashing on to the shore. DD as part of her game successfully ran away from it. DS wasn’t as successful. The force of the wave hit his legs and knocked him down on his knees. My mom tried to reach him but a second later another wave came crashing in and this time as the wave receded I saw DS getting pulled back along with the tide a couple of feet while still on his hands and knees. That second I knew he was about to get in some serious trouble and I immediately dropped my bag and camera on the ground and started running towards him from about 50 feet away. I could hear another family who was watching from nearby call out in panic towards the beach house. The rest is a blur but I managed to get down and grab DS by his arms and raise him above my waist as another wave crashed down on my head. I also managed to grab my mom’s arms and guide her out while carrying DS. By the time I was able to get them out of the water, a couple of more people arrived to help me including one of the attendants from the beach house who brought some towels.

I’m not going to lie. That was a very scary moment. As I tried to dry off, I was pretty jarred by what just happened and more by the thoughts of what could have happened. If you read my TR from January, you may recall an incident where DS decided to wander in too deep at the AoA Nemo Pool. Well this one dwarfed that.

It took another few minutes for me and my mom to regain our bearings as I tried to dry off in vain. In vain because I was completely soaked head to toe in my regular clothes. Once the shock of what could have happened started to wear off and the feeling of relief began to settle in, that’s when I slowly became aware of the other things. Like how I didn’t have time to take my shoes off when I ran in and they were completely soaked. Like how my rental iphone was in my pocket and when I took it out it was toast. Like how my passport was in my pocket and that was also drenched. Like how I dropped all my camera gear on the beach as I ran in, which as best as I could tell was undamaged. Oh, and I had that climb up the stairs to look forward to carrying an extra 5lbs or so in water weight from my drenched clothes and shoes. Darn stairs!!

**Continued in next post**

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Continued from Previous Post

When we got back to our room (and updated DW as to what just happened), I showered and changed. While DW took the kids outside, I dried all of the paper money that was in my pocket and my passport. Once I was more appropriate for another outing I left the room because for our planned activity over lunch.

It was called “Glamping” by the resort. I’m guessing it was a mashup of two words: glamorous camping. They had about 8 large luxury tents set up loaded with comfort amenities and climate control.


IMG_4431 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Each session was for 5 hours which included lunch prepared by the resort chefs on a grill right outside our tent.


IMG_4430 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

The rest of the gang was already getting comfortable inside the tent. They had music playing. The air conditioners were cranked up.

This was a heater unit with a fake fireplace. You can be assured we kept it off!

IMG_4421 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

The tent even came with its own Galaxy Tab. Afterall, the resort is owned by Samsung

IMG_4422 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4423 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4468 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Not before long, one of the attendants brought in our first entrée. It was make our own pizza and the kids had a blast with it. After they put the toppings and cheese on the pizza, it went onto the grill. Right around the same time, some lobsters made it onto the grill as well. The chef gave us on option of adding some seasoning and cheese on top of the lobster which we went with.

Before

IMG_4448 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

After

IMG_4450 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

From that point on it was non-stop servings of various items including steak, shrimp, and shellfish. It was so much food that we ate continuously for about 2 hours and we pretty much waddled back to our rooms.

The aftermath mess we left behind on the table

IMG_4471 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

Late in the afternoon, I took the kids to the swimming pool for a couple of hours until sunset. I walked around a little bit afterwards to take some pictures of the sky.


IMG_4480 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4495 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4498 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4508 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

That last night, DW, DFIL, and myself went to the resort’s “Wine Party.” Our stay package included two free admissions for each room. My parents got a chance to go with DFIL (since he got two tickets for his room) on our first night at the resort and were raving about it. It was set up at one of the look out points of the resort with 15 different bottles of wines to choose from for tasting. They also had a keyboard/saxophone performing to set the mood as well. I’m not much of a wine drinker so I ended up tasting just a couple and called it quits.

The path to the wine party site was lit

IMG_4536 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr


IMG_4530 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

After spending about an hour, we walked back to our room. On our way, I was starting to get hungry (at 9pm!) so decided to stop by the poolside eatery and ordered a burger. It had been two weeks since I had a burger and I couldn’t wait any longer.

The view from our table


IMG_4539 by DaveinFallsChurch, on Flickr

On Thursday July 4th, not much happened other than packing and the kids and I spending more time down at the pool after we finished packing. Then we checked out and flew back to Seoul. And Friday July 5th was our last full day in Korea. We all went out to another shopping district. My dad and I came back home with the kids a couple of hours later while DW, DFIL, and my mom shopped some more.

On Saturday, July 6th we flew back home to DC after saying our goodbyes to my parents who had been absolutely wonderful hosts. A little side note that we arrived back in DC just 4 hours before the Asiana flight crash landed in San Francisco. A good number of friends and families quickly got anxious once news broke from SF because they didn’t know how which flight we were coming home on. I think we got a wave of text messages, emails, and Facebook posts all in a hour window asking if we were okay. We were just thankful that we arrived home safely. DFIL flew back to Ohio on Sunday and we all tried to go back to our summer routines on Monday which were day camps for the kids and work for DW and myself. Note to self: next time we do another trans-Pacific trip I need to make sure to build in at least three days of buffer before jumping in back to work because those first few days were brutal. The second night both kids woke up at 2am and stayed up playing and running around the house until 5am. Needless to say, both DW and I were sleep deprived.

In any case, we absolutely had a magnificent time and other than that small drama on the beach with DS everything else went perfectly. DW and DFIL had a perfect first visit. DD and DS began asking if we could go back again just a week later. All that planning my mom and I worked on really paid off. So there you have it! Hope you enjoyed the interlude TR. Now I need to get back to working on adding more things to the photo safari list!

 

[SAT887]

Just realized I'm just 6 days away from the 180 day mark for our family's January trip! I'll need to make sure to set reminders so I can be on top of making our ADRs. I know that this is more suitable for starting another PTR but I just don't think I have the discipline to run two simultaneous PTRs!

Got one last set of updates coming up tonight to finish out my Korea TR.

Sunday is DD's 7th birthday! We have a whole day of fun planned for her at Baltimore Inner Harbor and DW's sister's family will be with us for the weekend. Hope to share some pictures of the Inner Harbor area with you!

I'm going to read your update later - however yay for 180 days! Happy birthday to DD I went to the inner harbor eons ago and loved it

 

[SAT887]

What a gorgeous resort! How funny you had your own table. I have to say, what a scary moment on the beach. I can't swim well, and I was very worried when we went to our trip to NC. The waters were still very turbulent from the Tropical Storm that had just passed through. I am so glad everything turned out ok and the worst was damaged iPhone and 5 lbs of extra water logged clothing. It's those moments that make you squeeze your loved ones tighter!! I peeked at your pictures last night and told DH that he could take me "glamping" anytime!! While I love the outdoors, I'm very fond of modern amenities! It looked perfect to me!! You even crossed my mind when I read about that flight, so many people must have been worried! This has been such a great "mini" TR. I really enjoyed reading, learning and seeing the beautiful sights, thank you so much for sharing!!

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

I peeked at your pictures last night and told DH that he could take me "glamping" anytime!! While I love the outdoors, I'm very fond of modern amenities! It looked perfect to me!! You even crossed my mind when I read about that flight, so many people must have been worried! This has been such a great "mini" TR. I really enjoyed reading, learning and seeing the beautiful sights, thank you so much for sharing!!

Hi Sarah! I'm not a big camping person at all so I really appreciated the amenities at the glamping site Happy that you enjoyed the TR!

 

[Luvchefmic]

Dear God Dave I can't even imagine how you & your DM felt when DS had that "adventure" at the beach So glad everything was okay

Happy Birthday to your DD tomorrow !

 

[DDuck4Life]

WOW way to save the drama for the end. Very scary moment but glad everything end up being ok. It's those moments you hate as a parent. Hope DS wasn't too shaken up after that experience, but seems like he was ok to go back in the pool later so that's good.

That lobster looks amazing!

Thoroughly enjoyed reading along for this amazing trip. Man talk about hitting the ground running when you got home, jumping right back into the routine. It's rough getting back on track after a Disney trip I can only imagine for your trip.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Dear God Dave I can't even imagine how you & your DM felt when DS had that "adventure" at the beach So glad everything was okay

Happy Birthday to your DD tomorrow !

WOW way to save the drama for the end. Very scary moment but glad everything end up being ok. It's those moments you hate as a parent. Hope DS wasn't too shaken up after that experience, but seems like he was ok to go back in the pool later so that's good.

That lobster looks amazing!

Thoroughly enjoyed reading along for this amazing trip. Man talk about hitting the ground running when you got home, jumping right back into the routine. It's rough getting back on track after a Disney trip I can only imagine for your trip.

It was pretty harrowing but DS recovered pretty quickly. Although he did say he was "done with the beach" so we shall see how long this mishap stays in his memory.

We had a fun weekend celebrating DD's 7th birthday and hosting DW's sister's family. Hope to post some updates tonight!

 

[chattadisser]

Glad everything turned out well at the beach! Ocean currents can be really scary. Bummer about the extra weight going back up the stairs, I think after that scary incident there should ahve been some way to teleport you up them!

Thank you for taking us all along on your trip to Korea! Can't wait to keep reading and see all your beautiful pictures to come!

Christine

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Glad everything turned out well at the beach! Ocean currents can be really scary. Bummer about the extra weight going back up the stairs, I think after that scary incident there should ahve been some way to teleport you up them!

Thank you for taking us all along on your trip to Korea! Can't wait to keep reading and see all your beautiful pictures to come!

Christine

Hi Christine! Yes, I agree that they should have at least flew in a chopper and airlifted us out of there. Kidding aside, the resort did call my mom about 2 days after we checked out making sure we were all okay.

Happy that you enjoyed the TR! Next up on my photo tours is Baltimore from this past weekend and then Chicago in three weeks when I meet up with my friends from residency for our annual get together.

 

[afwdwfan]

WOW... That was a scary experience you had at the beach.

Was the Samsung owned resort very helpful when you told them about your fried iPhone?


The glamping thing just looks a little over the top. Fun, I'm sure, but wow.


I'm glad you had such a great trip. You really managed to pack a whole lot in there, and it seems like your whole family had a lot of fun. I'm sure it meant the world to your parents, and hopefully, you can get back out there with the kids again soon. I think it is fantastic, that even at such a young age, they enjoyed it and got to soak in some of their heritage and culture.

 

[DaveinFallsChurch]

Was the Samsung owned resort very helpful when you told them about your fried iPhone?

I'm sure they what they wanted to tell us was "Hey, if you bought our new cell phone that is water proof, this wouldn't have happened!"

My mom actually slid that comment in during the phone call from the resort that the cell phone was fried to fish out whether they would offer some compensation but nope!

I'm glad you had such a great trip. You really managed to pack a whole lot in there, and it seems like your whole family had a lot of fun. I'm sure it meant the world to your parents, and hopefully, you can get back out there with the kids again soon. I think it is fantastic, that even at such a young age, they enjoyed it and got to soak in some of their heritage and culture.

My parents had a very good time as well although I'm pretty sure they were exhausted by the time we left. My mom had to put in a lot of work with the planning part and my dad spent a lot of time shuttling us around!

 

[afwdwfan]

I'm sure they what they wanted to tell us was "Hey, if you bought our new cell phone that is water proof, this wouldn't have happened!"

My mom actually slid that comment in during the phone call from the resort that the cell phone was fried to fish out whether they would offer some compensation but nope!

Let me just say that iPhone's aren't the only ones that aren't waterproof.

I actually have a Samsung now. I wanted that new "rugged" version, but stupid AT&T has a monopoly on it.