Here we are in Korea. The cast of characters you will be keeping up with now are: Susan: our wonderful daughter, EJ, our super son-in-law, who is a Judge in the Army and stationed in Korea and, of course, the greatest grandchildren in the world, Brendan (12), Bobby (10), Mikey (7) and Christy (2 going on 20). Oh and let’s not forget “Shady” the 14 year old dog and a hamster who was inherited from the school. Well, maybe I’ve overdone the introduction, but you get the picture, we were really excited to see all of them. It’s been a little over a year since we took them to Dulles International for their flight to Korea.
Our plane touched down at Osan Air Force Base at about 9AM (we lost/jump ahead a day) and EJ picked us up at the airport and brought us to Seoul where they live in government quarters and also where EJ’s main office is located. Since he is “the Circuit Judge” he ends up traveling a lot. After our excited greetings, Susan gave us a tour of their home. The quarters are two story and they have a four bedroom, 2 ½ bath configuration. The buildings each have about 8 quarters that range from two bedroom to four bedroom. There are three buildings in a U shape. There are lots of playgrounds for all the different ages. Remember that all these young soldiers have young families. The kids are in heaven because they have lots of playmates. It is always exciting, as you can imagine with four children and each of them with their three to four friends. Sometimes in the house, sometimes outside, never a dull moment and we are enjoying every second of it. Actually, Grandpa does pull an occasional escape upstairs. Usually not undetected by Christy who says, “Where’s Grandpa?” I have to mention that when we arrived, the kids had all been keeping up with Grandpa’s journal of his canoe trip. They had some of the pictures and some postcards that he had sent taped on the door. When we arrived Susan said she had explained to Christy that Grandpa and Grandma were coming. Christy said, “No, Grandma’s not coming, only Grandpa”. When I first walked in, she wasn’t sure I was supposed to be here, but we have since become good pals. She still doesn’t want Grandpa to get too far away.
The boys were in their last free week when we arrived. They started school the next week and they are all doing great. They’ve been in school now going on the third week. Soccer started this week, so now we see the schedule that Susan and EJ have with all the school activities and practices. Susan ends up with the sole job when EJ is gone. It’s been exciting to get back in tune with the things the kids like and do.
Things are pretty well controlled here and even though we are retired military, there are places we can’t go – like the commissary (think supermarket). I feel like I could help out more if I could go do some of the shopping, or drive here or there, but unfortunately we can’t. We can get into the Post Exchange (department store), but we aren’t supposed to buy. One of the reasons for this type thing is to cut down on black market of goods. Folks that are stationed here not only have their ID card, but they also have a ration card and many items are rationed. Anyway, it makes me appreciate how people felt several years ago when they visited us in Japan or Germany. Susan gets everything we need, but you feel a little dependent. We’ve been out on several shopping excursions – there are some great buys!! We also went to one of the Palaces. We haven’t done a lot of sightseeing because Chuck and I did a lot of sightseeing here while we were stationed in Japan. When Chuck came TDY (temporary duty) to Korea, I would often come also and enjoy the sights and shopping. Often there were tours lined up for the wives while the guys were in conferences. Also tours for both the military members and their spouses. So we’ve seen a lot of Korea and wanted to spend a lot of time with Susan, EJ and the kids.
It is now four days before our departure. We have had a wonderful time. We’ve had wonderful parties in the neighborhood. We’ve met lots of neighbors and the friends of our grandchildren and I wish we could just stay!!! But, alas, we must move on to the next phase. Susan, EJ, the four grandchildren, Chuck and I will be flying from Seoul, Korea to Beijing, China this coming Saturday, 20 September. We’ve all been busy getting our Visas for China and our arrangements made. We will have an independent tour – which means everything is lined up for us, but we make the decision as to what things we do. Susan has talked with lots of folks about what to see and do and where to stay, and it’s all confirmed. Then, on the 23rd, Susan, EJ and the grandkids will fly back to Seoul, however, Chuck and I will be staying another day in Beijing and then on the 24th we are scheduled to catch the Trans-Siberian Railway and travel from Beijing through Mongolia and into Russia to Moscow. We will arrive in Moscow on the 29th, spend two nights there, and then take a train from Moscow through Belarus and into Poland. We’ll spend one night on the train, and one night in Warsaw. We’ll take the train from Warsaw to Czechoslovakia and spend a day and night in Prague and then head for Germany. We’ll be visiting our niece, Tiphanie Miller, in Vilseck, Germany and will eventually try to catch a military hop out of Germany to the States. When we get back to Iowa we will have been around the world, me in less than 80 days and Chuck more than 80 days. If they don’t keep us in Russia or Belarus, it will have been a wonderful experience. Our passports are at the Russian embassy right now getting our Russian visas. We pick them up on Thursday and then head to the Belarusian Embassy to get a transit visa. Even though we won’t be off the train and we travel through Belarus in the middle of the night, we still need a transit visa. I wanted to work out a route around Belarus, by going through Latvia and Lithuania, however, our agent said she couldn’t work it out.
PS: This trip went beautifully and inspired another around the world trip with friends – you can find it at Orient Express.