Korea--Day 12 (Wednesday, July 4)

This is the first time I've ever been out of the country on its birthday.  I felt a little nostalgic and proud to be an American. Everyone on our bus sang the national anthem, and I actually shed a few tears.  How many times have I cried on this trip? I've lost track.

First stop today was Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak (aka Sun Rising Peak).  It's a big volcanic rock that we climbed for the view from the top.  The weather was clear (but so hot and humid).  This is the first day since we've arrived in Korea that we woke up to blue skies and sunshine.  It was definitely a challenging climb but worth it.

 The pictures don't even come close to doing it justice. 

Resting on the way up the rock.  Sarah and I rested a lot, just like my dad and I used to rest a lot when climbing mountains in Colorado.

 Noah was the first of our group to make it to the peak.  I was near the last.  Just like when we went to the Grand Canyon.  Noah was the first one up out of the canyon, and I was almost last.

 That's my triumphant "I can't believe I made it" pose. I've never sweated so much in my life.

The view from the top looking down. There were lots more stairs than this, but can't get them all in the picture.

 I finally mastered the Korean art of "making a tiny heart" with my fingers.  Apparently it's a thing in Korea.  They're always doing it for pictures.

There's the great beast, post-climb. 

Next stop was the beach. It was absolutely perfect day for it: hot and sunny.  The water felt great.  Cool, but not nearly as cold as it was in Busan. It was the only sunny day we had in Korea.

Everything was great until we started getting stung by jellyfish. The lifeguards swooped in and caught a huge one, but it broke apart as they pulled it out of the water, and the stinging tentacles were dispersed through the water.  The lifeguards evacuated us, but too late for many of us.  I got stung three times on each leg; Sarah got stung on her leg and finger; Mike got one on his back; and Noah had several stings on his legs.  Mrs. Oom's son-in-law had some antivenom spray, and the kids both got treated by the beach nurse.  We didn't go back in the water after that.

When we got back to the hotel, we had less than an hour to get ready for the theater performance and farewell dinner.  We were told (at the last minute) to wear our best attire, after previously having been told we would only need shorts and tshirts on this leg of the trip.  My only good attire had been at the bottom of the dirty clothes bag for several days. I hauled it out and hung it in the bathroom while I took a hot shower, hoping to steam out the wrinkles.  Then I rubbed it with bar soap and hoped for the best. 

 Nanta show. Lots of high energy drumming and flying food.

 Farewell dinner at the hotel

 This super long table was full of all kinds of delicious food.  I didn't get a picture when it was full, because I was too excited about all that food. It was quite a feast!