Seoul Grand Park

On Helen's Birthday we went to the zoo in Seoul. I had heard that the terrain was hilly in the zoo, but when I saw hikers like those below I was filled with a little more trepidation. I will have you know that nearly everyone we saw was in hiking gear, from the tips of their gortex boots to the top of their ventilated hats. Before coming to Korea I read in all the travel books that Koreans love to hike and love hiking gear. I didn't really believe it until we went to the zoo. These three people were what everyone looked like in the zoo, except for the kids on a field-trip who all wore matching hats. 

 Helen is trying on a shell for size and Jane is working on breaking out of her shell.

My kids panicked when Ryan put his arm in the crocodiles mouth even though we told them it wasn't real. Now when they see the picture they just yell "No, Daddy, no!" to the computer screen.

This was one of my favorite parts of the zoo. I have never seen so many cranes in my life and their nests were amazing. 

After the zoo we headed over to the rose garden. I have to admit that I have been to many "rose gardens" but they never seem to be in season, and usually look like no one has taken care of them in years. These gardens were amazing.

Helen learned about thorns while we were in the park. Luckily her wound has healed. We are at the stage in life that discussions of "owies" take up a big portion of our dinner time conversations and heartfelt prayers. I wonder if we will out grow this, or if we will just have more scraped knees to compare as our kids get older.