In May we made our big journey to the US & went from eating sundubu jjigae in the Korean airport to eating in n out and making dumplings with grandma Giebink.
To be honest our journey with Korean Airlines was so nice I was almost sad when the 36-hour trip was over and I no longer had any K-pop safety videos or delicious airplane food to look forward to.
Gabi got me to discover parts of Del Mar and San Diego that I had never ventured into in my 26 years of visiting…
In addition, we ventured all over San Diego county to explore the different parks and peaks. We did the 5 peaks challenge – which consists of tagging the 5 peaks in Mission Trails regional park – in a single, very hot day. 33km and 1.35km elevation, we ran out of water twice and took an absolutely horrendous path down from the last peak to avoid going back up the 4th peak which added a significant amount of distance.
In addition, we got to spend lots of time with friends and family – including a train trip up to Santa Barbara to visit Jinny and Alex. Beach cruising cousin hangs and fish tank gazing. It was wonderful to be back with the whole family for the 4th ‘post covid’.
After 2 wonderful months in California, we then headed over to Maui – where we once again did lots of running and exploration, over all of Maui’s different biomes (from dry grasslands to lush forest to cane fields). We explored so many wonderful hikes and places and foods.
We also relaxed on the beach with Nike, hung out with family for birthdays and beach days, and rappelled in poli poli :O
Nate and Debbie came to visit! We got to explore lots of Maui with them including big adventures, fresh fish, family hangs, and a slog from poli poli to the crater.
From hana, waihee to haleakala maui was a dream.
And we got married! With some family participating over Zoom, in a Maui courthouse (with a surprisingly intimate ceremony) it was everything we didn’t know we wanted.
But we all know nike was the real star of the show…
