Love it when a plan comes together - Jeju Island!

We had a plan, but a lot of things could have gone wrong. So we were totally happy that it came together the way we wanted it to.

The plan started with getting up this morning. At 5:30 in the morning!

It's always an adventure...

I'm telling you, I can't believe we managed to get on and off both the correct buses today. It's almost amazing.

You can't understand what's on most of the signs, and you can't ask anybody any questions. It's actually a very strange feeling. So when we went out to the bus stop and actually managed to get on the right bus...you feel like you hit the jackpot!

Riding the rails at 300 km/h (186 mph)!

Yesterday, I had been on the Korail website to check what time our train was going to leave. I had read that from Monday to Friday you can easily travel without a reservation. But it looked like it was really easy to book, and the website was all in English, so I went ahead and bought our tickets online.

I was given a reservation number, and the whole transaction proceeded seamlessly. We were booked on the 12:20pm train from Seoul's Yongsan Train station. Note...Seoul has two major train stations, so you need to make sure you know which one your train is leaving from!

Fun day exploring Seoul, but not without it's hiccups!

We left the apartment at about 10:30am. A little later than planned, but still lots of time to see the things we wanted to see. But wow...this is such a huge city and we keep on coming across new things that make us realize that you could spend a month here and not see everything you want to.

This was our first day out exploring in Korea on our own! We went down to the subway and had no problem transferring and getting off at the correct stop near the Seoul Tower. Although, we did stop and pull out the subway map to have a look. Only took seconds and a local Korean was there to ask if we needed help. They're really good that way. If you look like a lost tourist, somebody will ask if you need help!

Views of Seoul from our Han River cycling tour!

This is a fun and inexpensive activity for anybody wanting to tour Seoul a little bit differently. And, you can get some exercise at the same time!

Koreans love cycling. So much that they have transformed much of the shoreline of the Han River that runs through the middle of the city into park space and wide, well marked bicycle paths. On a beautiful day, it's a great way to see the city. And it really gives you an idea of what a big city this is!

Dancers, acrobats, and tightropes

What a fun day we had!

We got an email this morning from our friend June, saying that she and her boyfriend Park would like to take us to the Korean Folk Village in Yongin, about a half hour south of Seoul.

"Sure", we said..."let's go"!

A Korean Wedding

But because this was an international event, it was not a traditional wedding. The whole affair was done the way the bride and groom wanted it done and because she is Korean, and he is Canadian, they mixed things up a little bit! And good for them!

We were ready to go around 10:00am, and our friend June arrived to go with us.

Made it to Seoul, South Korea!

Wow. That was a long day.

But everything went without a hitch. The plane was only a few minutes late leaving, and it was a smooth eleven hour flight.

The time zone thing is different though!

Made it to Seattle!

Our flight from Calgary was an hour and a half late leaving because of a light bulb that wouldn't light! Some kind of a safety thing, so it's all good...but at least they didn't board us first. So we had an extra bit of time sitting around Calgary airport.

But some people had tight connections in Seattle and they weren't happy!

Made it to Calgary!

Liz came and picked us up right at 9:45am this morning in Cabri. She was heading into Swift Current anyhow and so we hitched a ride. We had a 45 minute drive to the Greyhound bus terminal, and then we waited for our 11:35am departure for Calgary.

The bus arrived and then the delays started.

What do we pack for a two month trip?

What a busy day we had yesterday getting ready to leave the park. I spent most of the morning helping the guy who comes in to blow out the waterlines. He has a huge diesel powered compressor that we hook up to the various lines and have to go around opening all of the valves until all of the water is out of them. Inevitably I'm still expecting there will be some freezing damage to repair in the spring, but you can only do the best you can do. Then in the afternoon I changed the oil in all of the vehicles and equipment so that it would be all fresh and ready to go next spring.

Meanwhile Ruth was cleaning up the house trailer, and sorting and storing things in there. Once we got everything done, it was time to pack!

September Expenses

A bit of an expensive month!

But, that's partly because we paid for a lot of our November airfare this month, which means that pretty much all of our winter travel is bought and paid for which means that all you'll see for the coming months is our living expenses. Really curious to see how that works out in South Korea!

One more sleep and we're outta here!

We're down to our final day at the park.

We'll sleep here tonight, and then tomorrow morning will be spent winterizing and tidying up the house trailer that we've been living in for the last five months. Oh, and packing! Then, because we won't have any running water after the trailer is winterized, we'll spend Tuesday night at a motel in the nearby town of Cabri.

And then Wednesday morning...we're off!

How to rust proof your car.

Yes, this blog is supposed to be about travel, but we like to mix things up a little and pass on helpful hints from our day to day life as well. Like how to clean your stove and this post about how to inexpensively and effectively rustproof your car.

For those who don't know, I spent 20 years working in the auto body and paint industry. I was a professional painter, and a licensed collision repair technician. There's a reason the little blue car doesn't have any rust on it. I do my own rustproofing.

The little blue car hits a milestone

We bought the little blue car just over eight years ago. It's the only car we've ever owned that we bought brand new. At the time, I was doing some contract work with GMAC (General Motors Acceptance Corporation) and they offered us a deal at $500 over dealer invoicing and 0% financing over four years. I think it came to around $13,000 plus tax.

Couldn't turn it down!