Tag Archives: Sacheon Beach

On The Beach

Over the weekend we attended our dear friends wedding on the east coast of Korea. The couple opted to have the wedding at the dive shop that we’ve all come to know as our home away from home on the weekends.

Friday evening we got off to a bumpy start with a flat tire along the way in the middle of nowhere…still two hours out from our destination…Lol… Thanks USAA…ehh…or not (lesson learned). So just how many did it take to change a tire? Thankfully with help from some friends that coordinated with the local police station, an ambulance, police car, a fire truck, and a local garage all came to our rescue. Unfortunately we were missing an important piece of the puzzle, the lug nut wrench. Who would have thought? Lol… Poor Mr. B he took it out of the queen Volvo and put it in my car because he noticed that I didn’t have one. He was going to pick one up to replace his, but forgot. Hence our Dilemma. Eek. Eventually we got on the road after some grumbles, f-bombs, and Korean photo ops.. Yes, after the tire was fixed they wanted a photo with Mr. B shaking the local policeman’s hand and bowing to one another. Again, we’re going to be featured on some side of the road signage on the importance of being prepared. We were again back on the road, thankfully so because we were transporting the booze, THEE dress, and dinner reception decor. Basically the party don’t start till we roll in. We can laugh about it now. We rolled in and rolled right on into bed.

We cannot take credit for the cake, it’s the one item we didn’t transport. The poor thing just didn’t make it all the way in and out of Seoul and to the East Coast. The top slid off the cake and the fondant shaped sea creatures drooped and reshaped themselves. The lovely Ms. Louise and I did our best and tried to shift some of the fondant. At the end of the day it all worked out.

The evening ceremony took place down on the sandy beach just steps away from the ocean tide rolling in. It made for a very relaxing and beautiful backdrop as the two said their vows to one another.

The wedding and dinner reception was small but in the best way possible, sweet, and intimate. It was the perfect recipe for a relaxed and very memorable day. There were lanterns that provided romantic candlelight on the dining tables and twinkle lights strung from the ceiling of the tent above. Swoon! It was awesome getting to see all the various little details the bride and I discussed actually come to life.

The guest toasted with fabulous reds and whites the entire night, and dined on Greek salads, savory potato curry tarts, fresh grilled corn on the cob, grilled burgers, bratwurst, and vegetarian kabob. Many heartfelt thanks to Roy, Jeff, Mark, and Mr. B for being grill sergeants and keeping our bellies at bay throughout the evening.

The entertainment was absolutely perfect with live musical performances during the ceremony and throughout the dinner reception from Ms. Laura Kenny, or Kenny as she’s known to the group. Wow can this gal sing! Download her song on iTunes here! (Shameless plug)

The newlyweds brought together such a diverse group of friends. Everyone just clicked so well and really enjoyed the good company. It was wonderful getting to meet in person all the faces and names we had heard so much about. By the end of the evening we were all good pals sharing laughs as if we had known one another for longer than 12 hours.

Cheers to our dear friends! We wish them so much love, happiness, and health for the rest of their blissful years together.

Backpackbees

The Sand, Sea, and Cool Ocean Breeze

I’m starting to realize now why people take photos of landscapes, sunrises, sunsets, etc. They take that photo because they are worried they may never see or get to experience another moment like the one they are in. They capture it to preserve it, and hopefully they are able to capture a smidge of the beauty the real moment possesses.

There is a point to all of this random rambling, I promise.

As I sat on the beach, feet dug deep into the sand I realized, i’m enchanted by the beach.

The sand, sea, and cool ocean breeze….

We are so blessed to have the opportunity to enjoy it so freely, as we do on most of our weekends.

Last, but certainly not least…I had to share our very rustic dining accommodations for this weekend. I know, I know, you are jealous. All joking aside, Allen’ chicken kabobs with pineapple and veggies are heavenly!

Grab the map coordinates here

Labor Day Weekend

We survived the typhoon. I apologize for not updating and posting that in a more timely manner. Most of the storm took it’s toll on the southern portion of the peninsula. Thankfully it wasn’t nearly as bad as they had predicted it to be. Unfortunately there were some casualties, our hearts and prayers go out to their families.

I can’t believe I’m saying this already, Friday was the “unofficial” last day of the summer. Labor Day marks we Americans last chance to extend everything we love about the summer months, i.e. wearing white pants, throwing Backyard BBQ’s, doing yard work, watching fireworks, getting in the last beach trips of the season, and the best for last, just our patriotic excuse to get together with family and friends.

Labor Day is quite different in Korea… For starters it’s a US holiday and is not recognized in the Korean culture. The typical patriotic feel from past years being at home isn’t quite there as well.

That’s okay! We took full advantage of the downtime and extended weekend. We quickly realized that it’s you who creates the mood and feel for each holiday or celebration. Near, far, wherever you are. Hope you were able to make the most of it too!

We drove to the East Coast. It seriously looked like Seattle, don’t you agree?

Mr.B enjoyed multiple days of scuba diving.

I tagged along too, read the entire book my best friend sent me in my birthday package. (Thanks again B)

Dug my toes into the sand.

Played with this cute little guy on the beach, well..until it bit me…Eek!

Watched the surfers in the waves, secretly wanting to join…maybe ill work the nerve up sometime in my life.

Ahhh… there is just something so relaxing about the beach!

Speaking of summer lasts… I enjoyed what I believe may be my last potbingsu…

on the beach…

in white short…

Just kidding, I had jean shorts on. Talk about almost enjoying the apoditimy of summer in one sitting. All that was missing was the hum of lawn mowers, the smells of freshly cut grass and burgers on the grill lofting in the air, and fireworks lighting up the sky. For the moment I was reminded of home.

We did grill out the first night at the beach. Our friend Alan is a master grill sergeant! He used a rustic Korean grill..I should have snapped pictures to share with you. When I say rustic I’m talking really, really, rustic. No complaints here, he grilled up really tasty chicken kabobs and we are still alive to tell the tale, HA-HA! I think you would have enjoyed it too, perhaps next time you can join us?

The second night we “grilled” I use the word in quotes because techincally  yes we did grill, however we did it at a Korean BBQ restaurant. Hey! It counts, right? We had a blast story telling and enjoying good food with our friends.

The weather was much cooler these past few days. There is a real sense of Fall in the air. The humidity is slowly moving out of the weather forecast too. You think the weather stopped these diehard divers? Nope. wet suits and smiles is all I witnessed getting on and off the dive boats each day.

Happy Labor Day!

Grab the map coordinates here .

Dive On Into Memorial Day

2012_05 Memorial Day Korea Scuba Dive

 

Memorial Day! The “unofficial” beginning to the summer months! This is the day the pool opens. Gone are the worries that wearing white pants are judged. This weekend kicks off friendly Pennsylvanian neighbor lawn wars too.

Memorial Day weekend has always been one of my favorite long weekends of the year to look forward to. Not only because it gives me time to reflect on our past and current heroes, but because I get to celebrate my very own hero, my husband!

Typically, in the past this weekend meant going to the beach, eating my weight in ice-cream and fresh fruit, sand in my shoes, fireworks, long bike rides, and the smell of bar-b-que in the air.

This weekend always represents the little taste of summer before it really actually begins.

Just because we’re in Korea doesn’t mean we let the Memorial Day weekend festivities go by without getting out and enjoying ourselves.

Saturday we packed up the car and were some of the only crazies on the road at 4AM, bound for the (East Coast) Sacheon beach.

Lots of diving, cooking out, toes in the sand, and laughs all around.

Did you know Monday is also a significant Korean holiday? Yes, it’s Buddha’s birthday.

Traffic…

Traffic…

Oh yeah, LOOK more traffic…

6 hours in the car…Need we say more? Ah well, totally worth it! Wonderful weekend with great friends!

How was your holiday weekend? How do you typically spend it?

November 12-13, 2011 East Coast Diving

Once again I was out on the East Coast at Sacheon Beach and Kyung Po to do some great diving with Aquatic Frontier. This time I was finishing up my wreck diver specialty. I was able to complete my first wreck penetration, although small it was an exciting dive. The trip was almost a bust thanks to me forgetting to tie down my GoPro camera I just got the week before but Allen from Aquatic Frontier was able to find it at 82 feet just about 24 hours after I lost it. Check out the video below.

Sacheon Beach, Gangneung Scuba Diving

Got to go diving again with the people from Aquatic Frontier. We went to the South Korean East Coast, Sacheon Beach in Gangneung to be exact. We got in beach, boat and wreck dives. Although the weather wasn’t the best visibility was good and everyone there had a blast! I am always looking forward to diving with everyone from here.

Diving at Sacheon Beach, Gangneung, Gangwon-do South Korea

For Columbus day I (Mr. B.) was able to get away from everyone and join some great friends for some diving on the East Coast of Korea. Sacheon Beach, Gangneung, Gangwon-do to be exact, see link for more information on the area: Sacheon Beach Information

Aquatic Frontier (aquaticfrontier.com) held a dive trip weekend that got together divers of all experiences, from new divers going for their Basic Open Water Certification, Advanced Open Water Students (which was me) and some other divers who just went along to get some dives in on a great weekend. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. During the day the air temperature was around 65-72 and the water temperature was 68 on the surface and a few meters down.

During the weekend we were able to do several dives; beach dives, boat dives, wreck dives and a deep dive. Our deep dive took us down to 82 feet with a bottom temperature of 58 degrees Fahrenheit. The wreck dives were at 74-79 feet with a temperature of about 61 degrees F at the bottom. The ocean on the East Coast on Monday was lake conditions, very calm and flat; excellent for the ride to and from on the boat.

I would like to thank everyone at Aquatic Frontier for an EXCELLENT weekend getaway, and I am eagerly looking forward to my wreck dive specialty dives coming up! Great job guys!