Buraksan Park

Johnnie is home!! He's been TDY for the past almost 6 weeks and finally returned on Friday evening. If you've been following our blog, you can see that I've kept busy while he was gone but I was still missing him every minute of every day :)

We took advantage of the beautiful weather on Saturday and headed out (with Dulce) to a nearby park that we've heard about to do some hiking, talking, and to simply enjoy each other's company. Buraksan Park is only 1 mile from our apartment and it's a hidden gem that I'm sure we'll return to many times. We climbed a small, unassuming trail to the ridge only to find a wide, well-worn path along the ridge top that was lined with a lot of random exercise equipment, benches, lookout towers, flowering trees, and tons of other people who came to enjoy the day there as well.

Pictures of various wildlife we're likely to see - it all looks harmless.

Working the legs...

Korean people love using the random exercise equipment!

I think the machine Johnnie is for working your abs

but I'm not sure about the table the red-hat-guy is on.

Ramps for doing sit-ups

Elliptical machines

This swinging leg machine may be more fun than an actual workout.

Pumping some iron :)

After hiking a distance, the trail came to an intersection with a bike path. There were some tent booths set up selling drinks and hiking poles, a bathroom building, and benches for resting. We drank some iced green tea while deciding on which path to take. The hiking trail continued along the ridge for another 2+ miles to an overlook, at which point we would have to return on the same path back to this intersection. The bike path went winding through the hills, ending close to where we started.

Some day we will hike to the overlook but today we decided to check out the bike path. The path is amazing and I am so excited to have something like this so close to home! The paved path undulates through the woods, twisting and turning past houses and farms. It's only a couple miles long but the hills will make it a great workout for biking or running.

This is going to be gorgeous when the vines covering it turn green!

We strolled back to our apartment down the sidewalk under the blooming cherry blossom trees that line the city streets. The beauty of spring is slowly pushing away signs of the harsh winter.

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"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm,

and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can

have if only we seek them with our eyes open."

~Jawaharial Nehru