Doug

I went to Seoul for Chinese New Year (Seollal in Korea). It was fine, despite the problems (I forgot my ATM PIN and had to call my bank, I did something to my knee in my sleep and couldn’t go skiing, and I lost my camera on the last day including numerous photos from Korea and even a lot from before that I hadn’t downloaded yet). The best part was getting to see snow for the first time in two years, which was the main reason I went. I saw some of the palaces, the markets, the COEX mall, the Olympic Park. They also had some special activities and shows for the holiday that were fun.

I also met a lot of Taiwanese people there on vacation. It was fun to talk Chinese with them and made me feel more at home. The best part, though, was when I was in Starbucks and I saw a Korean girl with a Chinese text book, so I started talking to her in Chinese. She told me what places I should go to, and showed me a big bookstore nearby.

Now I’m trying to decide if I want to move there next year, or stay in Taiwan. I really love Taiwan, but I would love to have four seasons. Vacationing in a place and living there are so different that I don’t think my trip helped me think about this at all.

My dad and I stopped briefly to visit Annapolis on the way back from a trip to DC and Virginia.

I’ve been to Virginia a couple times with my dad. We went to Arlington National Cemetery, Mt. Vernon, Colonial Williamsburg, Busch Gardens, and King’s Dominion.

My dad and I went to visit my dad’s surrogate mother (in the older sense of the word, not the newer, medical sense). We also visited the Arch and went to a science museum.

I’ve been on several trips to differnt parts of NY. I’ve been to Niagra Falls, Albany for the NCAA Hockey regionals, and NYC. In NYC I’ve been to the major attractions: Central Park, Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building.

On a seperate trip to the city I went for New Year’s Eve. It wasn’t very good. It was really cold, and they close off the area block by block to prevent overcrowding, so we weren’t right in Times Square where there was more entertainment. After touring the city a bit and eating dinner, all we did was stand around for a few hours ‘til midnight. At least we could see the ball from where we were. We heard that Times Square itself was closed off around 2pm, so if anyone plans on going, get there early.

On a family trip we stayed in New Jersey to visit New York City, and we also went to Six Flags in NJ.

On a family trip I went to Hershey Park, saw the Amish, and toured some caves.

I’ve also been to Allentown, for a marching band festival.

My dad and I went to King’s Island on the way home from Missouri. We went on The Beast, the world’s longest wooden roller coaster in both ride time and track length, and at the time it was also the fastest. I wasn’t very impressed, though. I prefer steel coasters.

We also went to the National Museum of the US Air Force.

I live in Maine, so it’s not that far and I’ve been many times. Among other things, I’ve ridden up Mt. Washington, been shopping in Portsmouth, been to North Conway, and been to Canobie Lake Park.

I went to Missoula on a pep band trip for the women’s basketball NCAA tournament. The mountains there were amazing. A few of us went skiing. It had been a while since I went skiing, and the slopes were steeper than the ones I’d been on in Maine, so I had some difficulty, but it was worth it. While it was about 15C in the city, the base of the slopes was about 5C, and at the top it was about -11C, snowing, and very windy, but the view from the top was great.

There was a nice mountain right behind the University of Montana that we climed part way up to a cement “M” on the mountainside. There was a great view of the university and the city. If I went to school there, I’d be up there all the time.

Our flight home was aboard a very nice plane with big seats, lots of leg room, and movies.

Unfortunately, UMaine lost.