Friday, October 10, 2008

1st vacation to Colorado in over a year....

Alright....it's time to come home, after a year and about a month. Wow...it's been awhile. Very excited!! Short holiday, then back to SK for another year of teaching....



Waiting in Incheon airport South Korea....




Here's a well known fact for you about Japan. Hanging out in Narita, Tokyo Airport waiting for my flight to the U.S.of.A.....



Ahhh.....how can not have an Asahi while in Japan....and some wasabi peas to burn the nose and clear the sinuses. :)



Sunrise...Sunset.....not really sure....Maybe this was taken while flying over the International Time zone.....?



1st Culture shock.....flying into LAX....California, wow is LA one big sprawl!!!



10 hours across the Pacific and the thought of where Land meets Sea.....The U.S.of.A.......



Final leg to Colorado.....Now there's a crack in the earth...cool view!



Lake Powell, UTah.......looks beautiful from above....2nd Shock...."the vastness of the U.S."



First signs of Colorado's beauty.....the yellows and golds of the Aspen trees....



Touch Down at DIA.....Denver Colorado.....YAHOO!!!!!



I like my new Nikon D80....So you may see some random pictures....



About 3 lbs. of coffee....in the U.S. about $7 per bag....in S.Korea $15 per bag...I think I'll be taking some back with me....



Hmmmm.....



ahhh....the big snake has my leg....someone help me!



I'll save you.......



then an army of skeleton's get in the way with their axes, swords, and canons.....



now.....one skeleton against many pirates....OK....i think i am very jet lagged....or just having fun with my niece and nephew and my D80.....



That's a big GOLD FISH.....sushi anyone.....



my nephew Mark showing of his trampoline skills....



Kieran has some moves of here own....lots of fun, they tired me out coming from sea level to 7ooo' elevation. Being away a year, I could really feel the difference in altitude...



The kiddos have soccer games on Saturdays....Mark and Mark (Dad and son) above relaxing...



Working on some ball handling skills



I brought Kieran a fan from South Korea...



Heather recently went to Western State and brought the kiddos some shirts, reminded me of my college days at Western.



The tunnel....



Mark's team....



He can really boot the ball....



Stormy Colorado afternoon....



So adorable....



Mark's "game face"



Kieran and Kevin....






A few wood carvings....



half time energy.....



Mark on the move...



moments after scoring a goal....



yes....



Rain coming over the mountains....



Mark diving through the end of the tunnel....



My brother-in-law's new toy....great day for going to Pueblo reservoir.



Getting the "Hostile" ready....



Random shot...



Ahhh....Colorado.....



The launch....



Check out this Redneck truck.....nice Chevy!






the marina and pikes peak in the distance...



mom enjoying some early morning sun..



Kieran and bam-ma's Nintendo DS......



What a beautiful day.......happy to be on the water....



crocs



the captain.....



getting the raft ready.....1st up mother and son...



are you ready.....?



so much fun.....



yahoo....



mark and uncle karl.....yahoo!



good times with my nephew....



happiness...



uncle karl got to see how fast the boat can really go! I think the captain is enjoying this....



flying....at one point the raft was hydroplaning....



i wiped out twice....the water was a bit chilly...around 60, but the adrenalin made up for it....



little mark looking back....






birds nests on the cliff wall...



another perfect colorado day.....



a few sailboats....






the dam....



getting ready to load up...






old mustang...



That's a gas guzzler.....



the name says it all.....



First view of the Flatirons in over a year....heading into Boulder....



Boulder University and the mountains....



My good friend "Chad Coffman"



Chad fired up the grill with some tasty steaks.....and....a year of good stories....



I met up with another good friend "Rachel Northrup" for an early morning coffee...very nice to catch up....



One of my favorite cafe's.....AMANTE.....






Beans....



Close up view of the Flatiron's.....beautiful place...amazing your perception after a year of being away....



beautiful blue sky.....WOW!



Funny sign....









B&W of Pikes Peak 14,000 + feet....Colorado Springs, Colorado






Having fun at the playground...






getting ready to jump....



snagged his shirt on the take off...









Ahhh....my Suzuki....



Sunset....







Monarch Butterfly....



Having fun in the backyard with my D80....



Ahhhh.....my Suzuki GSX-R 1000...so much fun to ride.....



Denver Colorado.....driving around taking some photo's.....



Outside Denver's Performing Art Center.....



Lunch with a friend "Vanessa Vari"



Looking inside....



Nice legs....









Interesting piece....












Kings of Leon is playing at the Fillmore....would be a good show....



Another good coffee shop.... "Peets Coffee"



Took a ride up Flagstaff to check out the view......



The Indian Peaks just outside of Boulder.....



Looking down at downtown Boulder.....


So much fun zipping up the canyons around Boulder......



Good friends...a night out in Boulder....LtoR Frank Pickell, Dave Brymer, Chad Coffman, Baird Morrish....Great to get together with the crew, good stories from all...(Roof top of the West End)



Scott Young met up with us on the roof, making the total crew back in action, moving to the next happening place....



Events in Boulder...



Chad Coffman



Frank Pickell



Dave Brymer



Scott Young



Baird Morrish



Tasty beverage....



Lazy Dog....checking out another roof top!



Chicken Wings or Beondaegi



That's a big squid....fresh, (well dried out) from South Korea...
Funny thing, when you are in Korea, you really don't notice the smell, but when I opened it at the first place, (rooftop WestEnd) I think everyone could smell it....so, it was later in the night and not many people on this roof, perfect opportunity to set it free!



Yeah Baird!!



Look closely and check out Dave's eye....



trying to pull off a piece....where are the scissors? Normal serving device in SK....



Aspens outside of Baird's front door in Nederland.....



Baird's little one "Bay"



Off the Peak to Peak Hwy. outside of Nederland, I decided to take the more scenic route to Boulder....I think I missed the peak of the colors, but this will do!! AWESOME Colorado!!



This makes for a great motorcycle ride in the mountains....



Met up with my friends Patrick and Tracey. Right after I left for South Korea, Patrick bought a BMW GS1200. IT was great to tour around the mountains near Boulder. 2 bikes and "too" much fun!



Patrick Wroblewski



I know....dorky picture....but....why not?!? A big "Hell Yeah" for being in COLORADO!!!



Stones and Stained Glass.....



The high country around Boulder....



Beautiful Aspen trees....



Historic Church at around 10,000'



B&W of Longs Peak, in RMNP (Rocky Mountain National Park) 14,000+ ft.



Mule Deer or Elk ?!?









Colorful Campers...



Sweet Orange Moto....in Nederland...i think it was our Waiter's.....



Wild Mountain BBQ & Brewery.....I highly recommend this place if you happen to be in Nederland, Colorado....



Patrick enjoying some ribs....damn tasty!



To finish our ride and before I head to Colorado Springs, Patrick recommended a special Mocha



My sister's front door view....Nice, eh?



My mom and I took Kieran to a diner....the Diner's appearance was better than the food, oh well! We had a good time!



I'll have one of those......!



Pikes Peak getting the first sun of the day.....



Another soccer game.....



Little Mark "dude" has a good foot!



Colorful soccer balls....



Kieran with her pre-game warm-up!!








The end of the game "Human Tunnel"



Check this out....while I was in Colorado Springs, the Air Force played the Navy in American Football and they had pre-game fly by with the "Stealth" I decided to use Sepia to give a special color effect....



Can you see the Stealth? middle of the picture, it is amazingly thin!!



My last full day in Colorado was Mark's 9th Birthday. He decided to have a Cream Horn Birthday cake.... :)



Final ride on the Suzuki.....giving my nephew a ride around the neighborhood!



Flying back to Korea.....We flew over some of Alaska...Was able to get a few good mountainous photo's. One day, I hope to take a ski trip with some friends to Alaska.....






Well....I had an amazing time in Colorado. There were many culture shocks after 1 year in South Korea....however, it really gave me an appreciation for Colorado and how the U.S.of.A really is an incredible place. I look forward to returning to the U.S.....when, I'm not sure....As for now...I will be in South Korea until Sept. 1, 2009.

To everyone that I saw....It was really great to see you, to those of you that I didn't see, I wish I could have but time was limited.

I am excited to experience another year in Korea.....so stay tuned.....

The Blog will continue......

See you soon!