Desert

Well, the Stumbler has been on the road quite a bit this year. After Hawaii, I headed for the western desert in Nevada. I expected hot, dusty, but for most of my time here we had SNOW!!!! It was crazy, one night we had about 4 inches! Also incredible, the desert is SO dry, usually by noon the following day, the snow had melted and been sucked into the ground. There was no evidence that it had snowed at all, and the dirt was, well, "dirt dry". I wish I had some good snow photos, but I was not allowed to bring my camera to work, and I was dead tired every day due some unusual working hours. As I write this, I am still here, but will be leaving tomorrow. I plan to take a few more photos on the drive to Las Vegas, and will post them in a few days.

Desert 

More Desert 

Desert Essentials 

A note about those boots - I have had them since my Dad bought them for me in High School (I can't pin down the year, but say around 1977 or so). First thing to note is that I obviously don't hike much, because they haven't fallen apart. Second thing is that they still fit me! Even though The Stumbler has grown considerably in size since High School, apparently my feet have retained their 1978-size. Looks like a cleaning is overdue...

Hawaii in March

The only reason for so many photos from Hawaii this trip, is because I was playing with my new camera. Otherwise, it is the same boring, yet beautiful, place, as always. Actually, this trip was unusual, because they were having some record breaking rainfall. I was lucky that my trip happened during 1 week of no rain - it resumed raining the day I left the islands. Even now, a few weeks after my visit, I hear heavy rains continue to be a problem.

Off To Hawaii - Again 

Here is the house I stayed in this trip. It was a very nice place, except no internet access. The rental company owner wouldn't let me move to a new place, so I told them I would never use their company again.

Hawaii Home, View 1 

Hawaii Home, View 2 

Hawaii Home View 3 

A few interesting sights around the island.

Where's The Gold? 

Study It Closely - Very Funny 

Now THAT'S a Tree 

Waimea Canyon (See the Waterfall) 

Homemade Fajitas

Here is a step-by-step visual lesson for making fajitas. I enjoyed these two nights in Hawaii. Since I noticed the Korean pronunciation of some Spanish words isn't quite right (Quesadilla comes to mind), so let me attempt to spell FAJITA in Korean - 파희타, or perhaps 화희타 (the lack of the F-sound hinders me greatly here). Without further ado, the food:

Fajita - Step 1 

Fajita Step 2 

Fajita Step 3 

Fajita Step 4 

Fajita - Ready to Eat 

Home Again

Long overdue post - Momma Stumbler contacted me recently and asked if I was still sick in Korea! No, I actually returned from Korea, and spend a short week at home before heading back out to Hawaii. Here are some photos from our trip to the park, where we tried unsuccessfully to fly a kite.

Swinging YS#4  

YS#4 The Monkey 

Peek-A-Boo 

Also during my time home, I got some new toys. My laptop computer was on it's last leg, so I replaced it, along with my digital camera. Surprisingly, after a complete re-format, the old computer is now working great, so Mrs. Stumbler is now the proud owner of a slightly used laptop. Now she can use the computer without fighting the Stumbling Kids.

New Laptop (Excuse the Messy Desk) 

The new camera was recommended by HJ, and so far I am pleased. I am waiting for my next trip to Korea for a thorough training lesson (as an engineer, I cannot bring myself to read the instruction manual).

New Digital Camera 

Trip Over - OOPS

Well, everything was coming together for a great wrap up of my trip. I was scheduled to leave Tuesday (Valentine Day). Some of my friends chose to entertain me "one last time". On Friday night I met JI and SY for a delicious dinner of Galbi JJim (갈비찜), something similar to American pot-roast, but a little more spicy. Afterwards, we met CH and his wife HS, at the Makia Bar to hear the live Jazz band perform. They have added a vocalist, and everyone had a great time.

CH's Lovely Wife, HS, Modeling Hand-Made Hat 

Live Jazz Band with new Vocalist 

Saturday night, JI and his colleague DY took me to eat a new pork dish. I can't tell for sure what it was, it has been translated to me as both pork "buttocks" and "jowls". Those aren't even close on the pig. Anyway, it was great, as is often the case with new Korean food I try. After that, they took me to place featuring live rock bands. (In America I would call it a night club).

Rock Band with Woman Playing Peavey Bass 

Second Rock Band 

The events of Sunday afternoon will be a separate post in a few days. Let's pick up when SY, WB (my PD friend), and I stopped at the store for just one loaf of bread. SY wanted a receipt from the store, so she wouldn't have to pay the parking fee. While shopping, we encountered a large display of Valentine chocolates. I decided to buy some for my Stumbling Girls and Mrs. Stumbler. One of the boxes came with a free sample package of three miniature chocolate bars. We all three ate one. Just after I took my first bite, I saw some brownish-red gunk on the inside of the wrapper that didn't look like it belonged (this should have been a huge warning to me, but I just ignored it since the chocolate tasted okay).

We came home, and SY was going to cook a large meal for me. I told her I felt a little full, so she just made some soup and vegetables. I couldn't finish my soup, because by that time I was feeling a bit sick. She left after cleaning up, and my nightmare began. Without going into too much detail, I estimate I lost about 3 gallons (11 liters) fluid in 6 hours time, not including throwing up. I have been dehydrated for about 2 days, and slept almost full-time Monday and Tuesday. As a result, I had to change my return flight. Alas, the next available seat (as of today) was 21 Feb! Only today (Wednesday) have I been able to eat anything close to normal food, and I still feel quite weak. But, I can tell I'm on the upswing and getting better.

This story would have been MUCH better if could claim getting sick from raw octopus or bad kimchi, but a Hershey's bar? I'm pretty confident that it was the chocolate, because of the gunk on the wrapper, and also because SY got sick, too (but not nearly as bad as me). For some reason, WB had no problems. Well, I'd better go drink more water, and call the airline again to see if a sooner date is available.