Daibutsu - "Giant Buddah"

I had the privilege of accompanying a few 5th grade classes on the final field trip of the year to Chiba on the Amazing 5th Grade Race. It had to be carefully timed in order to leave and get back before school dismissed. First, we hopped on buses to Kinugasa. Then, literally ran onto a ferry to take us across Tokyo Bay on a 40 minute ride to Chiba. I was super excited to be out on the water, but the kiddos just wanted to buy snacks at the food stands onboard. After we exited the ferry, we had to walk to the ropeway, which took us high into the mountains. We climbed about a million stairs, just to get to the beginning of the hike. It was a foggy, rainy day, so the pictures are sometimes hazy. Enjoy!

As we were cruising across to Chiba, we got to see the George Washington in action. It was cool so see how huge it was. It actually beat us back to base that day! Now if only I can get on a cruise aboard the GW...I'm dying to see the aircraft take off and land.

Here's the view as we pulled up to port. It looked like a sleepy little fishing village. As I looked down into the water, it was full of huge jellyfish.

Another view of Chiba.

Here's the ropeway car that we used to get to Mount Nokogiri. I have to say, after being in these many times here, this one frightened me a bit. It went so fast. And of course, as the kids screamed, it made my heart skip a beat!

Here's the view to the top.

I was the chaperone for this lovely group of ladies. We were super hikers and had a fabulous time!

The sign for the statues below.

We walked down many sets of stairs to get to the valley where Nihon-ji Daibutsu was located. It was originally carved in the 1780's and 90's, and restored in 1969. It is the largest pre-modern and largest stone Buddah in Japan. I have to say that it was beautiful.

A close up view.

A view from afar.

After a brief picnic lunch, we ascended stairs for literally 40 minutes non-stop. As I saw my life flash before my eyes, I stopped to contemplate life at the bottom of this valley. It was physically challenging for everyone on the trip. I had to scoop up students as I passed them, urging them to stand up tall and continue. Finally, once we reached the top, we rested for a couple minutes at a lookout. Due to the weather, we didn't see much, but it was beautifully eery nonetheless. Then, back down some more stairs to this Hyakushaku Kannon.

This is known as the Goddess of Mercy. Many Buddhists believe that when a loved one departs this world, the Kannon (Goddess of Mercy) places them in the heart of a lotus where they are sent to the pure world.

She was pretty spectacular! After a short rest here, we were back to hiking. Up to the ropeway, walk to the ferry, cruise to the buses, bus ride back to school. It was a long and exhausting day, but it was well worth it!

Seoul Sister!

A cool statue outside of Dragon Hill Lodge

My cousin, Jerrett got married in Seoul, Korea on May 16th. Since some of my family was set to visit, I couldn't justify passing up the opportunity to hop a flight over. Plus, I never pass up a chance to experience true culture and since his wife, Hyesun is Korean, I knew I'd get a great experience! So, I took the chance and spent a long weekend enjoying myself in Korea. I really had a fabulous time and LOVE Korea! The best part was spending time with my family...we had lots of laughs...many at my expense. I look forward to many inside jokes at family functions in the future.

I arrived in Korea really early in the morning, which gave me a chance to really explore Yongsan Base. Now that I'm immersed in the military community, it was really weird to see so many army soldiers wandering around. I am so used to all the "blue bird" camouflage, and now I was seeing desert colors. It was also a shock to see how Americanized Korea has become. The cars are all American sized and they drive on the right side of the road. There are Papa John's Pizza, Starbucks, and Pizza Hut's all over town. The people are louder and more unorganized than those in Japan. To be honest, it was a shock! Once my cousins, Brenna and Genesia showed up, I was thrilled to have company. I took a ton of photos, but cannot upload them all on the blog. I got some complaints about the format of the photos from Thailand, so I will just upload a few of my favorites this time.

This was Dorasan Station. It is a train station right on the cusp of North Korea. Once it is allowed to open, it will connect South Korea across Asian and on to Europe. It has been built, but not in operation for several years.

Bren, Nes, and I posing for our Senior Portraits at the Demilitarized Zone. That is the zone that separates North and South Korea. There are many tunnels that the North dug in an attempt to gain access to Seoul. This area was more of a museum with a movie explaining the history of the area, as well as monuments to signify unification of the countries.

Here's my hard hat...we were all required to wear one while hiking through the tunnels. They were lower, mainly because the Asian people are traditionally shorter than westerners. Needless to say, my family and I didn't really need the hard hats...we breezed right through the tunnels. The Marines following us, were not so lucky...they were head checked multiple times and spent the majority of the hike hunched over. We were in tunnel # 3 which was discovered in 1978. It's 1600 meters long (one way in) and 150 meters deep. The worst part was the way back up...I really thought that I might pass out from the incline of the mile hike out.

This is the closest view of North Korea that I could manage. You can't take pictures past the huge yellow line for fear of being yelled at...or worse, shot at by the other side. So, I stayed safe and just used my mega zoom. It looked pretty gloomy...they say there aren't any trees because the residents have to use them for fuel...

Here are Jerrett and Hyesun at the first part of the ceremony. It's the more Americanized version, even though it was still really different. It seemed like it was all just a photo opportunity. The photographers were right up in their faces and stopped to pose them often. I was taken aback by the fog machine and streamers that shot out like I was at the World Series. But, it was very beautiful and I especially enjoyed seeing all her relatives dressed traditionally.

Once the American-like ceremony was over, we went upstairs for this one. There were many symbolic foods and drinks for the ceremony. This is the traditional Korean attire for weddings. I really loved Hyesun's family...they have a great sense of humor and were more than happy to explain traditions to me.

This is a picture with us sitting in the throne of King Sejong. There was a whole museum dedicated to him underneath a grassy knoll in the middle of the city. It was really neat!

Here I am above the museum taking a picture with the King himself...not Elvis, but Sejong.

Here is that grassy knoll. You can see the city in the background...it was beautiful and seemed endless! Many people came to hang out here during the day and night. Probably because this is the largest piece of grass in the city.

Our taxi driver stopped at this look-out on the way to Seoul Tower. The city was sprawling!

Me and Seoul Tower!

Me and the Seoul Tower mascot!

We barely made it to see the changing of the guards at the main Palace in Seoul. It happens every hour, but for some reason we always missed it until this last day. Some of them were wearing paste on facial hair...it was a bit much for me!

Here I am in front of the Palace with the mountains as a backdrop. I LOVE this picture!

As with things in Japan...things in Korea are a bit odd too. I saw this statue in a pottery shop while shopping for my mother. What exactly are they doing? And on a Shrine? And facing each other? With a dog? There's not much else I can say about that!

And when I saw this, I just had to take a picture. Because that's how I've been feeling lately. I had a blast in Korea and it just made me realize how awesome my family is and how it's great to spend time together. Now, we just need to plan a trip for the cousins to get away...