finishing up july

when the bean booked their plane ticket to singapore, they’d overlooked a very important calendar entry: jin from BTS’ los angeles stop on his post-military world tour.  oops.  

but i promised to take lots of videos and pictures and ended up bringing along the bean’s bestie’s little sister.  i know that sounds random, but she’s a huge fan and a super sweet kid and it was fun to spend an evening with her as she fangirled over jin.

the hub and i took advantage of our kid-free time and headed out for a road trip.  he’d been invited by his dad to join him and his brother and a friend to do a little fishing, and while i’m definitely not into the fishing part i do love a good road trip.  once he’d convinced me that i wouldn’t be horning in on a boys’ trip (which i kinda figured anyway because i know his dad pretty well), i was all in.  we packed up the truck, dropped the dogs off at their favorite doggy hotel and hit the road.

we blew right past vegas:

and settled in for a few miles before making our next turn.

because i’m 12:

we spent the first night of our road trip in park city.  

the next morning, we got up and crossed another state line:

and drove through a scary rainstorm.

we arrived at the house and met up with FIL, brother wan and FIL’s friend.  the house was pretty nice, and when i went out into the back yard i spotted some wildlife across the river.

while the guys went out and fished, i enjoyed lots of solo time at the house - i’d packed lots of supplies to try out a bunch of fun new crochet patterns and cranked out a few pieces:

and OMG - while surfing the channels on roku tv, i discovered a channel that plays episodes of general hospital 24/7.  it was a few years behind, but it was really fun to revisit old storylines and see characters who’d disappeared from the canvas.

i did join the guys for one of their evening fishing sessions, although i stayed in the truck to avoid getting eaten by mosquitoes.  it was fun to get out of the house for a little while though, and see views like this:

oh, also!  did you know that there’s such a thing as a portable espresso machine?  i’d ordered it just before the trip and packed it along with the supplies i needed, and surprised the hub with a cup of his favorite morning beverage on our first morning.  he was pretty excited not to have to settle for a k-cup or drive ten minutes to get to the nearest coffee shop.

and before we knew it, it was time to pack it up and start making our way back home.  we hugged everyone goodbye and hit the road.

we stopped for lunch once we crossed into utah and even managed to find one of those dirty soda shops open for me to try.

i cranked out one more plushie (plus a couple of cute accessories), and then we crossed into nevada.

this time, we did stop in vegas and checked into the crockford at resorts world, which is the most luxurious of the three hotels there.  the hub was able to score a comped room based on his previous visits, and it was really nice.  

we headed to the bar just a few feet away from our room to do some pregaming before making our way to the sphere.  i’d managed to sweet talk him into taking me to see the backstreet boys during their limited time summer residency, and i was so excited:

the show was just as awesome as i’d been reading online, although the hub wasn’t as enthused.  the huge monitors that surrounded us with projections coordinated with the concert made him a little queasy, although he’d been forewarned by the plethora of folks who reported motion sickness issues via social media over the last couple of months.  instead, he’d duck out and grab  more drinks and snacks, or pick up a sweatshirt at the merch table, or chat up the event staffers who were more than happy to share stories with him.

bagelmania is always a required stop for breakfast before starting the 3-hour drive home.

and back home, i tackled one more little crochet project.  this pattern comes in two sizes, so i decided to try out the mini version first.  look how cute:

and i was only home for a day or two before i headed out to glendale for my annual solo trip to the general hospital fan club weekend.

more on that coming up!  most of you won’t care, but that’s okay.

getting in the soop

our second (and last) full day in korea got off to another early start for the next BTS-themed tour.  

today’s adventure started at a nearby hotel to meet up with our tour group, hop on another bus and settle in for a leisurely 3-hour drive to pyeongchang, where the guys lived while filming their show “in the soop.” i knew the bean was really excited for this one, and i have to admit that it was pretty fun to ride on the bus filled with other army members while watching BTS music videos and live performances the whole way there.

our tour guide anna was really friendly and energetic.  she gave us all the details about what to expect and handed out fun gifts and snacks to everyone.  unlike our tour guide the day before, she was a true army member who knew as much about BTS as the bean did, and she would sing and dance along to the videos as she made her way up and down the aisle.

luckily, there wasn’t much traffic so while it was a long drive, it went pretty quickly.  and then we pulled off of the freeway and drove into the countryside…and pretty soon, we were there. “soop” means forest in korean, and the show revolved around the guys being able to take a break from their extremely busy life in the city.

we had a couple of hours to explore the grounds, take pictures, and write letters to the guys that would be placed in the mailbox outside and delivered to their management headquarters.  the bean and i decided to start on the far end and work our way towards the main house.

as with most asian households, they asked that you take your shoes off and use the slippers that were provided while walking through the living quarters.

the living spaces were bright and airy, and it looked like a lovely place to relax and recharge.

this was j-hope’s room.

next was v.  he’s my favorite (or “bias,” as the kids say).

i thought RM’s space was the nicest (and the biggest).

ah, jung kook.  he’s so pretty.

suga was the last member we’d seen live, last year at the forum.

the bean liked jin’s quarters.

they had chairs and benches set up to sit and enjoy the view.  it was really quiet and peaceful here, and the property was briefly available for rent but is now only accessible to organized tour groups such as the one we were with.

the trampoline has definitely seen better days.

for normal people who started in the main house first, they had some basic rules outlined at the entrance.

this obviously handcrafted paper airplane had been used as a prop during the show.

it was really nice in the main building.  full kitchen, living room where they filmed some memorable scenes from the show, a small loft area, a full gym.

you already know i’m a goober who loves a good photo recreation.

there was a fun photo booth set up in the gym.

they had a room set up to sit and watch episodes of “in the soop.”

and then we went up to look at the loft.

one more photo recreation!

outside, the pool was empty.  anna had mentioned that some of her previous tour guests had actually gone in and taken photos standing at the bottom, which she’d thought was just crazy.  challenge accepted, anna.

we’d saved the best for last - the bean’s all-time favorite band member.

once the bean was satisfied with the time spent in their beloved’s living quarters, we went back outside and down the steps to put the letter they’d written in the mailbox.

the guys played basketball at this very spot! ahhhhhh.

and suga spent some time recording music in the airstream. 

before we left, everyone gathered for a group photo. 

then it was back on the bus for a quick ride to a nearby rest stop, where anna had preordered some snacks for the group.  we got to choose between a “tornado potato” - a long, thin potato spiral slice on a stick that was deep-fried and sprinkled with a savory seasoning or sotteok sotteok, a skewer of grilled sausage and rice cakes and brushed with a sweet and spicy sauce.  we opted for one of each, of course.

when we got back on the bus, i noticed a sign had appeared at the front that hadn’t been visible before.  i definitely looked under the seat, heh.

we had one last stop before starting the long drive back to seoul.  the guys did a photo shoot at this beach for one of their album covers at an originally functional bus stop.  once army found out where it was located, it became such a busy tourist spot that buses ended up taking the stop off of their routes and renovated, turning it into an actual landmark.  in fact, while we were there we noticed construction going on that would widen the street to allow for the increased traffic flow.  crazy.

a selfie station is set up, although the spot is rarely empty and someone is always willing to take the picture for you anyway.

oh, i guess i lied - here’s one more photo recreation for the day.

there are seven purple benches overlooking the bus stop and the beach…one for each member of BTS.  as you can see, i didn’t get pictures of all of them because people were sitting on some of them and it would’ve been weird if i’d taken pictures of them, right?

they had these swings set up on the beach too, but we didn’t have time to stop and sit in any of them so i just settle for a picture OF one. the construction didn’t make for a pretty picture, but you get the gist.

most of us slept on the way back to the city.  it had been a long day, and i think the adrenaline and excitement had sucked all of the group’s energy.  and then i had one more surprise for the bean - i’d mapped out a restaurant that they’d sent me on instagram that served “salmon dipping noodles.”  it was a tiny spot, but we managed to snag a couple of seats at the counter.

we stopped at myeongdong street before heading back to the hotel, where we ended up buying a suitcase to cram all of the stuff we’d bought into.  there was no way we were going to fit it all in our carry-on bags, and since we’d brought two suitcases between us on this trip we still had allowances for two more.  muahahahahahahaha.

i was a little bummed that i’d never gotten the chance to stop for coffee here.  yup, that’s v on the door:

but we did stop at a convenience store to grab something to drink.  look at all of the flavored milk options:

oh! and back at our hotel, i was really amused at the text on this ad.

after all, who doesn’t need relaxation with their friend, away from their stuffy everyday life??