Everland

Today was a national holiday declared by the Korean government.  Since Children's Day was yesterday, having a national holiday meant a four day weekend.  Mr. Nam had asked me how I was able to take such a long time off from work.  After we talked a bit, I learned that he only received one week of vacation each year so I was happy that a holiday had been declared so that his gift of time spent with our family would not deprive him of vacation later in the year.

When we awoke, it was a cool, rainy day.  Not the kind of day you dream about when you think about going to a theme park.  But we were not deterred and were even hopeful that a rainy day would mean a less crowded park.  It rained for much of the journey to Everland, but it mostly stopped shortly after we arrived.  There were some periods of light rain/mist, but overall it was a good day to be at the park.

We enjoyed a wide variety of rides and experiences - bumper cars, spinning cups, Amazon express raft ride, and a wonderful safari ride experience.  Ian wanted to ride the T-express roller coaster so Mr. Nam, Brian, Ian and I took the ride.  Mr. Nam arranged to have a video taken of Ian and I riding.  I'm not a big fan of roller coasters, but Ian really wanted to ride so I agreed to ride with him.  We rode the ride and I survived, but when we went to retrieve the SD card that held the recording of the ride, the tiny card fell out of the employee's hands and slipped through a crack in the platform.  After some discussion, the ride operator offered a refund of the SD card or another ride without much of a wait.  I was hoping that Brian would ride again with Ian, but he said once was enough for the day.   I had hoped to avoid riding twice, but told Ian I would do it for him.  So he chose to ride again and it was a good thing we did because we have a cool video of me hanging on for dear life.  Have a look below.

Me with Ben on a kiddie ride.  Note the enthusiasm!

Hoon, Mr, Nam and Alex

Cami keeping dry

Ian, Brian, Cami, Alex and Ben at Everland

Mr. Nam and Dana in the flower cup, kids hidden below petals and hoods.

On Safari Park ride - he shoots!  He scores!

Bear sitting while bus driver throws him treats

After we finished up with the Safari ride, we made a mad dash for the 3-D Pororo experience that Alex had been asking about since we arrived at the park.  Then we left the park, made a stop for noodles (what else?!?) at a tollway exit like an oasis on the Illinois Tollway, and headed for our special accommodations for the evening - a traditional Korean house or Hanok located in the heart of Seoul, just across from Gyeongbokgung palace. It was a special time to be able to spend a day with friends at such a wonderful place like Everland.  We will cherish the memories for years to come.