Vacation Stage Three: make time for my love

He arrived early in the morning,

exhausted but all smiles.

We have shared so many wild adventures,

but this one is the brightest of them all.

After experiencing a disproportionate

amount of violence and tragedy. 

We have spent the better part of two decades

chasing a dream of living without fear.

We have found it in

"The land of the morning calm." 

Forget vacation, let the living begin.

An average morning in the Rivers-Woods household.

Kayaking in Namhae

Vacation Stage Two: a little me time.

Let's get this party started.

After a few months of "togetherness"

it was time for a little silence.

I need a room of my own.

This year my adventures were different.

With busted up leg and ankle,

things had to be simpler and less grandiose. 

So I went with what I knew, 

and headed off to Namhae

for a little rest and rehab in the sea.

The traitorous leg.  Only useful for propping up a tired arm. 

As always, my first meal was street food. 

My favorite pension is humble, but filled with charm and delight.

First things first, sleep.

Second, write.

Third, get my butt to the beach.

How an Alaskan packs for a sumer day.

One of the things I love about it here, is everyone is in the water.

And that "everyone" included me.

The perfect energy food.

I could watch this all day, ALL DAY!!!

Nights are spent studying and people watching.

Small town life.

Serendipity Do Da Day... Hurray for Namhae!!!

 As is so often the case for me,

especially on holiday,

I woke up with no idea what I should do.

After asking some nuns,

who said I should just stay where I was,

I remembered that I wasn't far from the German Village I'd always wanted to visit.

So I got out google and plotted a course.

From start to finish.
The trip from 증도  to 남해군 (Namhae)  was filled with little bits of magic.

It turned out to be harder then the average trip but luckily 

I've taken the time to learn enough Korean 

to make this kind of things possible in a pinch.

Folks didn't seem to know how to get across the southern part of the country,
so I made it up as I went.

Thankfully, everything worked out great.

The best part being, I made new friends along the way 

who informed me it was OKTOBERFEST!!!

However, the first stop was a stunning little beach town on the very southern part of Namhae.

It's nice to know that quiet places like this exist so near the mainland.

This makes running away during typhoon season so much easier.

There is so much to do here. 

I'll have to come back when I'm not so fixated on beers and brats.

You know... right after I take my last sea swim of the year.

It just felt like adventure from the moment I woke up.

The minbak/pension was a easy going delight.

Textures take my breath away.

Breakfast of champions.

Instead of beach front mega hotels, they have a garlic farm.

Like many beaches in Korea, they leave a smart tree line to help with storms. 

The beach gave us nothing to complain about.

How can it be October and still perfect for a swim?

The smallest and cutest of my new friends.

Oktoberfest + Great new friends = Certain Fun

With any luck.The guest stars in this weeks drama,will become series regulars as this season continues on.