Jeju Island (제주도)

Lana and I took advantage of the long Labor Day weekend and flew to Jeju Island (제주도) with two other couples from the squadron, a large volcanic island (now dormant) just off the south coast of Korea for three days. Jeju is the "Hawaii" of Korea with the largest mountain in South Korea (Mt. Hallasan), nice beaches and many waterfalls. During our trip we stayed in the Korean Airlines Hotel (KAL) on the south coast of the island with a great view of the ocean. It was a breath of fresh air, even though we were still officially in Korea. One of the great things about this trip was flying from the Kunsan Airport, which shares the same runway we fly from with our F-16s. When ready to leave for the airport, we walked 15 min to the terminal ready for the 35 minute flight (really, 35 push it up mins) to Jeju.

By mid-morning the day after we arrived, we were on the beach enjoying a relaxing time. The water off the west coast from Kunsan is not very clean (hence, the name Yellow Sea) so it was a nice change. Later that day we hiked to a couple different waterfalls before enjoying a nice evening meal.

The second day was a hiking day. Our first stop was at a national park, in which is located some of of the largest lava tubes/caves in the world. It was impressive to make our way down under ground and then hike for a little over .5 miles through a lava tube who's ceiling at times reached probably 20-25 feet tall. After the lava tube, we made our way to a mountain crater called Seongsan Ilchulbong on the east coast of the island. The crater was left after the top of the small volcanic mountain was blown off in an irruption. We hiked the short and steep trail to the top of the crater and then our way down to a volcanic rock beach for awhile. After the day's events we were pretty hungry, so we treated ourselves to a really nice buffet dinner at the nearby Lotte Hotel.

The final day we slept in and stopped by the nicest beach we had seen on our way back to the airport. If we get the chance to see Jeju again, it'll be the main location we hang out at. The sand and water color reminded Lana and I a little big of our trip to the Philippines, and made it difficult to leave. But, it was a long weekend well spent away from the base with Lana and some of our close friends here.

The next thing on the horizon with work is Red Flag Alaska in Sep-Oct...5 weeks of flying around the Alaskan mountains! I'll fill everyone in when I return if not before then!

More Pictures:
Jeju Island

Shabu Shabu

Lana and I expanded our Korean food repertoire last weekend by eating some Shabu Shabu. It involved a pot of boiling chicken broth, lots of vegetables, thinly sliced beef and rice...overall the meal wasn't too bad. Of course, before the main portion we had plenty of kimchi to go around...still not used to kimchi after 7 months here!

As in many Asian restaurants, we all sat on the floor, which for many of us bigger guys isn't the easiest thing to do. Every now and then another person around our table would complain about a butt cheek or leg falling asleep...thank goodness for chairs! So far, my favorite Korean dish is still chicken or beef bolgogi with shabu shabu now being second. We finished the evening with a cappuccino at a nice coffe shop in town.

Before our going out for dinner with friends, we did a little exploring around the local countryside. Just north of the base is a large pier which extends out into the Yellow Sea. There's a portion with a small park and another where the Koreans have a dry dock for ship building. We did some snooping around the dry dock for awhile before we were kindly asked leave in Hangul (the Korean language) by one of the security guards...it's nice not being able to read the signs sometimes!

Well, this coming weekend is Labor Day so Lana and I are looking forward to 4 days off on Jeju Island...off the south coast of Korea. We'll update everyone and post pictures when we return.

Byeonsan (변산 ) National Park

After a few flights with Lufthansa in Germany, Lana is back in Korea again! Since the summer is now half over (and we haven't done much hiking), we decided to take advantage of the nice weather and drive to a nearby Korean national park, Byeonsan. We both woke up early (Lana because her body was still on Munich time, and myself because I'd been getting up early all week) and left the base by 0600. We also wanted to finish our hike before mid day since it's very hot and humid here in the summer. The park is only about 45 minutes away, south of the base along the west coast on a mountainous peninsula...the mountains are similar in size to the Appalachian Mountains.

After parking the car, we picked up some water and started the short hike to one of the main attractions in the park, the Jiksopokpo Falls. We stopped along the way to take some pictures of a Buddhist temple and soon arrived at the falls, 2.0km into the park. At the temple, Lana had to "kung fu" fight off some invisible ninjas...they came out of nowhere (see picture below =)! We made our way to the top of the falls, where Lana proceeded to so swimming...the mountain spring water was too cold for me. The view from the top of the falls was nice, and one of the most picturesque places we've seen over the past 7 months.

Arriving back in Kunsan, we had sushi for lunch. It was a nice day together and an enjoyable time seeing a nice part of the Korean countryside. Lana will be here until the middle of September, so maybe we'll get a chance to visit another national park nearby before she leaves. We hope this post finds all of you doing well!

More Pictures:
Byeonsan National Park

Flight Lead Of The Quarter / Year

This past quarter, April - June, I was selected as the 35th Fighter Squadron Flight Lead of the Quarter and 8th Operations Group Flight Lead of the Quarter. It's a privilege, and God continues to bless me in work. I personally don't feel like I'm any better than the guys I fly with, but just being prepared and ready to fly each time I "strap on the jet" pays off. I'll continue to do so now as an instructor. A few weeks after I arrived at Kunsan, my previous squadron commander from Aviano emailed me with congratulations on being selected as the 510th Fighter Squadron's Flight Lead of the Year...again, an honor.

I'm enjoying the role of an instructor and seeing the "lights" come on in a new pilot's mind as we talk about certain subjects. As God continues to lead, I hope to attend the USAF's Fighter Weapons School located at Nellis AFB, Nevada. It's a very selective and competitive flying course to get into, but I have 4 more chances to apply over the next 2 years. Only about 15-20 F-16 pilots a year attend this course from across the Air Force. Down the road, I hope this would allow me the chance at flying the new F-35.

As of 1 week ago, my squadron found out we're going to Red Flag Alaska again Sep-Oct time frame. This is perfect timing since I was unable to go along this past April when the squadron went last. However, it's poor timing since we have friends we were planning to meet in New Zealand during that time. Hopefully I'll be in Alaska for the entire month, but we'll see how it works out. I would prefer being in Alaska for a month and enjoy flying around Mt. Denali over being here at Kunsan...I'll keep everyone updated.

Lana's Upgrade...

Lana arrived today with some really interesting news...she's become a pilot! I couldn't believe it myself, but if you look at the pictures below they say it all. She says the upgrade was really stressful and difficult, but in the end it was a good decision for her career with Lufthansa. She was specifically selected because she's one of the better looking flight attendants, and Lufthansa needs to keep a good image around the world. We just finished telling each other stories from our days in pilot training...what a great time!

Here she is after her first flight as co-pilot landing back in Munich. She did well and the captain approved of her performance and landing...she's off to a good start!

If you're reading this and still think it's for real, lets get one thing straight...I'm the only pilot in this house! But, Lana and I had a good time typing this entry!