Day in Korea

We had a long layover in Korea.  Extremely disappointed in Delta Airlines, who refused to check our luggage through (despite being the next available flight - and despite a friend on the same flight having no problem checking the luggage through), we had to lug all of our bags to our hotel - and then back for check-in. 

It was quite stressful - and ruined our view of Delta Airlines; customer service was completely unhelpful.  Once we got through our stressful time of getting our luggage back to the same place, we managed to get to the free day tour from the Incheon airport.  What an amazing service that was provided; we had the chance to take the hour ride into Seoul, where we enjoyed visiting a famous palace, getting to do a bit of shopping and have an absolutely delicious lunch in a Korean restaurant.  We also stopped at a Buddhist temple - three nice stops with the chance to see a bit of Seoul.

It was nice to have the chance to get some sleep, see a bit of Seoul, though now that it is done, not sure we will try it again.

Brunch

What better way to finish the summer than what was typical of so many of our days during the summer: more delicious food.  We ended up having an amazing brunch to enjoy some time together as a family.  It was a special time with, of course, some amazing food, multiple egg casseroles and lots of fruit, muffins, bacon and more.  YUM!

Birthdays for the Year!

We celebrated the birthdays for the year, all in one fell swoop.  And the girls got a really special gift - something special for their room!

Aunt Marcia's

How wonderful to get to make our annual trip to Aunt Marcia's condo - a place full of fun memories.  Once again we were treated to a delicious lunch; the weather was quite chilly.  The boys did some filming for the big final video project - including some detective scenes, while some were brave enough to try the pool.

It was a wonderful day getting to see Aunt Marcia, and always a special part of our summer.

Imagination Station

We made a final visit for the summer to the Imagination Station.  Kids were a bit hungry, but we had a good time enjoying a relatively quieter day and some of the excellent exhibits.  We caught the Science Show in the afternoon before heading home.  It was fun to be joined by the cousins for the trip.

Great Food!

As always, there is always an abundance of delicious food.  As we start into our final week of vacation, it was another wonderful day in Northwest Ohio, with another fabulous meal, hosted by the superhost, Carrie.

Fishing!

No surprise, with the well-fed fish from Grandpa Barrie's pond, that it is a bit more like "catching" than "fishing."  And sure enough, the Quockert kids ended up with some big ones - including a huge bass.  Congrats to the talented fisherpeople! All of the kids (and the adults) were plenty busy taking the hooks out of all the caught fish!

It was a nice afternoon after our morning nap that followed the red eye out of Portland.  Super duper thanks to amazing Grandpa Barrie for getting us bright and early on a Sunday morning from the airport. 

Remembering The Trip

A second travel keepsake to remember a great trip to Oregon.

Custom Luggage Tag

View the entire collection of cards.

The Departing Feast

For our final meal in Oregon, dad went all out and some of the best steak imaginable was prepared for the departing Woodwards.  Complete with frozen fruit salad, baked potatoes and green beans, it was quite a treat before our red eye back to Detroit.  Yum!

Silver Falls

We had a family hike to Silver Falls and did the loop from Winter Falls up to Lower North Falls.  Considering how stunningly beautiful Silver Falls is, one has to wonder why we don't get there as many days as possible.  As Doug's mom has commented frequently, if this was in some other part of the country, it would likely be a National Park.  Truly amazing. 

The girls had a fun time hiking together toward the end, and we found a nice place to eat lunch by the creek a ways above Lower North Falls.  Amazing how you can take walking behind a waterfall for granted after a few trips to Silver Falls.

Portland Timbers

We managed to get tickets to the only Portland Timber's home game for the month of July - which was perfect timing for our return from the coast and prior to our flight to the Midwest.  We watched an exciting 2-1 come from behind victory from the Timbers against the visiting Colorado Rapid.  Both goals came from our end, but next time, trying to get seats near the Timber's Army at the other end of the stadium would make for a more raucous environment - as that end of the stadium was standing and chanting the whole game.  Fun!

Mo's

A visit to the Oregon Coast is not the same without Mo's famous clam chowder and a stop at one of the most famous restaurants on the Oregon Coast.  We had stopped there on the way to the coast for lunch and had to insist on a stop there - even if it meant facing Portland traffic and avoiding the circuitous route of the Hebo road. 

And, of course, the iconic view of Haystack rock from our corner table with a perfect vantage point of the beach.

45 year anniversary!

What a treat to be with Doug's parents
to celebrate their 45th anniversary.  We found a very nice restaurant in Manzanita and enjoyed a treat of being able to spend time together on the big day. 

Congrats Mom and Dad!

Sand Castle

A visit to the Oregon Coast would not be complete with a nice day at the beach.  The wind was quite a bit less at first, though it definitely picked up as we began our massive building effort.

After some fun with kites and the largest signing of his name that Reeve has ever seen, we moved to the big build.  

We set out for the epic sand castle with several layers, and we were proud of our accomplishment.  What a castle to remember!

You can see the heroic cast of the big build, complete with pictures and personality. 

Oregon Coast Sunset

We caught a few moments just as the sun broke between two banks of clouds to try to get the best sunset picture - all inspired from yesterday evening's efforts (see yesterday's posts).  Grandma went off on a walk to get her own sunset pictures, so some only had 4 in the picture, and others had 5. 

Which sunset picture is the best of all of them?

S'Mores

That night we had s'mores by the beach.  It was a cool evening, but the wind wasn't quite as powerful as in the past.  The s'mores were a big hit, as well as some more fun times tossing the frisbee.

This was followed by some epic charades games, the highlight of which had to be the totem pole! Lots and lots of laughs and memories that certainly come up for many years to come!