Trick Pony concert

Trick Pony paid us a visit here at Camp Red Cloud. They came and did about a two hour show for all the soldiers, DOD employees, and family members. But not only did they do a show, they also signed autographs and stayed for drinks. And they did it all for free!

The concert took place in the gym with a makeshift stage, dance floor, and bleachers. But what was lacking in ambiance, Trick Pony more than made up for with their enthusiasm and energy. Although the "crowd" was quite small, they played as though playing to a sold-out stadium. They sang and danced and traded hats with the audience all night.

Then, after performing their hearts out for us, they joined us at our post club, Mitchell's, to sign autographs and have a few drinks. They were warm and down to earth and just genuinely good people. And they weren't even trying to make money from us. The show, the pictures, the autographs...they were all provided to us at no charge and with the sincerest of "thanks for your service" from the band.

While, admittedly, I'm not much of a Trick Pony fan, I have tremendous respect for this band. They not only took time away from touring and making a gazillion dollars to pay their respects to the military, they put on one of the best shows I have ever seen.

Buddhist temple

There is a Buddhist
temple on Jeju-do that is one of the oldest intact temples in Asia. It also contains the largest statue of Buddha in the world.

The temple was pretty amazing. It is a practicing temple and not just a tourist attraction. There were monks praying or whatever it's called in Buddhism. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. The amount of artwork in every single detail of the temple and its grounds was awesome.

The fountain is said to contain magical water that will bless all those who drink it. Inside the temple, you are asked/offered to purchase rice that will be offered to Buddha. We would have liked to have taken more pictures inside, but after snapping this one of the statue, we were asked not to take any more as this is a religious place and not just some attraction. We respected the wishes of the monk...and were later glad that we did. Another visitor to the temple did NOT turn off his camera even though he was politely asked to do so three times until finally, out of desperation, the monk resorted to picking up a book and hitting the tourist until he finally stopped taking pictures!! So much for peace and love!

a little more Jeju-do

more Jeju-do

Jeju-do

A couple of months ago, J and I took a trip to the island of Jeju-do. Believe it or not, it's similar to Hawaii as they are both volcanic islands. It was beautiful.

We stayed at the Seogwipo KAL hotel in, of course, Seogwipo, Jeju-do. It was one of the most beautiful hotels we have ever seen. The grounds alone were gorgeous enough that we could have never left the hotel. It was truly a tropical island paradise.