Sutherland Visit

It's hard to believe that we are already three weeks into Summer vacation. In those three weeks we have had my parents come and go, visited Jeju (while they were here!), and we are now wrapping up our time in Thailand.

Our time with my parents was fantastic! We spent a lot of time trekking across the city to see some of our various favorite spots and eat at our favorite restaurants and also spent a lot of time just sitting, talking, and playing games together. We couldn't have asked for a better week with them. I think a highlight for all of us was our quick trip to Jeju. Just a 40 minute flight away is the island known here as "the Hawaii of Korea." While I'm not sure it can really compare to Hawaii that closely (we'll let you know for sure after Christmas!!), it was definitely beautiful. We really only had one full day there and we spent it driving along the coast, stopping to see a few waterfalls, a traditional folk village, and our favorite - Sunrise Peak.

Sunrise Peak is a crater that was formed from a volcanic eruption and is now a hot-spot tourist attraction on the island. What we didn't know was that we would have to climb nearly 550 steps to reach the top on a cloudless, hot day. Sweating bullets, we finally made it to the top and found those steps more than worth the venture up. It was stunning.

The crater is in the background

view from the top of Sunrise Peak

One of our first glimpses of Sunrise Peak.

Why do times like these always have to pass by so quickly?  I guess in a way I'm thankful for that, because it means that we had such a great week together. Our goodbye was again hard and sad, but we'll see them in just 2 1/2 months.  I can't help but be grateful for the incredible parents Justin and I are both blessed with and their commitments to us as well as all of the many sacrifices they have made for us. It means the world to us that they are all willing and able to take the time and money to visit us in Korea. We LOVE sharing our lives here with them!