Another great summer at Lake Lotsastockdale.

Already looking forward to Summer of 2014.   It can’t come soon enough.

The Stockdales have celebrated two recent birthdays.

In Korea, the big candles are for 10 years and the little candles are for 1 year.

When you add the birthday Mrs. Stockdale celebrated to the birthday of the middle little Stockdale, you get 50.

Mrs. Stockdale isn’t that old.   At least not yet.

Happy First Communion to the middle little Stockdale.

Read this.

At a certain point, hopefully not now, it may be time to put an end to this situation.  However, this is what we need to be doing long term so that the problem eventually fixes itself.

Read this.

In the grand scheme of things, this is how this will all play out.   The problem is what happens if it doesn’t.

The long cold winters of Seoul (in conjunction with the recent antics of our whacky neighbor) often require drastic measures to relieve the tedium of the dreariness.  For some folks it could lead to extreme grumpiness or sitting in front of one of those fancy light bulbs.   For others, it involves heading to the Philippines with a gaggle of other families who long for the warm sunshine and cool island breezes just as much as you.

When one travels with five+ other families, it is best to be flexible, casual, and expect chaos.  If you anticipate the worst, whatever happens will be an improvement.  However, if you luck out like we did, the combination of the right group of adults (and beer) and kids that are mostly not insane, can provide the BEST Stockdale vacation in the history of Stockdaledom!

When coordinating this many people, personalities, and opinions it can often be difficult to decide which activities should to pursue.   You can either endlessly debate what path each day will take or you can just decide to do pretty much everything anyone mentions.

For example,  you could simply start with enjoying the view from your room.

Or, playing with the towel elephant.

And then move to digging a hole on the beach.

And letting the middle little Stockdale hold a starfish.

And then QUICKLY move on to having a beverage.

Then some time playing in the pool.

Then some quality time watching these guys.

Then you could take in a show at dinner.

Wake up and play some miniature golf.

And then QUICKLY move to relaxing.

Then more beach time.

Followed by learning how to fall off a stand-up paddleboard.

And snorkeling with some fish.

Then a competitive game of big chess.

More quality beach time.

Then QUICKLY returning to enjoying a beverage.

Who wouldn’t want to follow that up with jet skis!

The next logical choice is having a pig roast on the beach with fireworks.

Then wake up and take a two-hour ferry packed with chickens and happy Filipinos on a day trip to a different island.  ( Please note the lack of Mrs. Stockdale in any of these pictures. )

Where you can eat on a floating restaurant shaped like a turtle.

And see exploited children who should be in school, not asking tourists to have their pictures taken with them while dressed as ‘natives’ and holding lizards.

And allowing your little Stockdales and their friends to zip-line three hundred feet over a river in a country that may or may not have these kinds of things inspected.

Then visit the chocolate hills ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_Hills ) and properly deposit your firearms.

Then arrange for the little Stockdales and their friends take scuba lessons.

Then just enjoy some quality entertainment that basically sums up the entire trip.

Regardless of what CNN tells you, this is a much more level headed (and accurate) portrayal of what is really going on.   At Costco today, people were buying electric mixers and golf balls.

Just in case you were considering Spring Break in Pyongyang, the State Department is advising you to find another destination.   Perhaps Cebu, in the Philippines.

Click on above link to enbiggen for easier reading.

From: US Embassy – Seoul
Sent: ‎March‎ ‎15‎, ‎2013 ‎12‎:‎39‎ ‎PM
To: Captain Obvious
Subject: Travel Warning

The Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens about travel to North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or DPRK).  Travel by U.S. citizens to North Korea is not routine, and U.S. citizens crossing into North Korea, even accidentally, have been subject to arbitrary arrest and long-term detention.  Since January 2009, four U.S. citizens have been arrested for entering North Korea illegally, and two U.S. citizens who entered on valid DPRK visas were arrested inside North Korea on other charges.  This replaces the Travel Warning issued for North Korea on September 11, 2012, and it reminds U.S. citizens about the serious risks involved in traveling to the DPRK.

The Government of North Korea has not only imposed heavy fines on, but has also detained, arrested, and imprisoned persons who violated DPRK laws, such as entering the country illegally.  Travelers to North Korea must enter the DPRK with a valid passport and valid DPRK visa.  Foreign visitors to North Korea may be arrested, detained, or expelled for activities that would not be considered criminal outside North Korea, including involvement in unsanctioned religious and/or political activities (whether those activities took place inside or outside North Korea), unauthorized travel, or unauthorized interaction with the local population.  North Korean security personnel may regard as espionage unauthorized or unescorted travel inside North Korea and unauthorized attempts to speak directly to North Korean citizens.  North Korean authorities may fine or arrest travelers for exchanging currency with an unauthorized vendor, for taking unauthorized photographs, or for shopping at sto
res not designated for foreigners.  It is a criminal act in North Korea to show disrespect to the country’s former leaders, Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung, or to the current leader, Kim Jong Un.

If North Korean authorities permit you to keep your cell phone upon entry to the country, please keep in mind that you have no right to privacy in North Korea and should assume your communications are monitored.  It is a criminal act to bring printed or electronic media criticizing the DPRK government into the country.  If you bring electronic media, including USB drives, CD-ROMs, DVDs, or laptops, into North Korea, you must assume that North Korean authorities will review the information on those devices.  Please be sure that the information contained on those devices does not violate North Korea’s laws or regulations.  North Korea’s penalties for knowingly or unknowingly violating North Korea’s laws are much harsher than U.S. penalties for similar offenses.  Sentences for crimes can include years of detention in hard labor camps or death.

Since the United States does not maintain diplomatic or consular relations with North Korea, the U.S. government has no means to provide normal consular services to U.S. citizens in North Korea.  The Embassy of Sweden, the U.S. Protecting Power in the DPRK capital of Pyongyang, provides limited consular services to U.S. citizens traveling in North Korea who are ill, injured, arrested, or who have died while there.  The U.S.-DPRK Interim Consular Agreement provides that North Korea will notify the Embassy of Sweden within four days of an arrest or detention of a U.S. citizen and will allow consular visits by the Swedish Embassy within two days after a request is made.  However, the DPRK government routinely delays or denies consular access.

U.S. citizens who plan to travel to North Korea are strongly encouraged to contact the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China, about their trip by enrolling in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) .  If you enroll in this program, the State Department can keep you up to date with important safety and security announcements.  Enrollment also makes it easier for friends and family to get in touch with you in an emergency via the U.S. Embassy

U.S. citizens residing in China can contact the U.S. Embassy in Beijing directly:

U. S. Embassy Beijing: The Embassy is located next to the Ladies’ Street (Nuren Jie) and Laitai Flower Market, opposite the Kempinski Hotel and Lufthansa shopping Center on Tianze Road near the Liangmaqiao subway stop.
U.S. Embassy Beijing

American Citizens Services Unit
No. 55 An Jia Lou Road
Chaoyang District
Beijing, China 100600
Telephone: (86-10) 8531-4000
Facsimile: (86-10) 8531-3300
Email: amcitbeijing@state.gov

Emergency after-hours telephone: (86-10) 8531-4000

U.S. citizens traveling to North Korea are also strongly encouraged to contact the Embassy of Sweden by telephone or email prior to travel.  Please provide the Embassy of Sweden with your name, date of birth, dates of your trip, and emergency contact information:
Swedish Embassy  (U.S. Protecting Power in North Korea)
Munsu-Dong District
Pyongyang, DPRK

For those curious about our whacky neighbor to the north, read this article.   One of Mrs. Stockdale’s co-workers mentioned some of this to her last week.   It’s all a pattern that has repeated itself before and will probably happen again.

While this issue is something we are ‘aware of’, life is Seoul is 99.99% normal.

Happy 7th birthday to the crazy little Stockdale.  As is Stockdale tradition, her ears are now pierced.