The weather really took a turn and dropped to the gorgeous 60s and low 70s! The torrential rain Friday evening had me second guessing our plans for visiting the park but the next morning was unbelievably beautiful. As if the weather was not blessing enough, we found out there was a Korean Festival happening on the same day we chose to visit the park. No admission fee but if we wanted to dine on the food, we had to exchange money for raffle tickets. We enjoyed galbi skewers, bulgogi skewers, roasted veggies, and tteokbokki! The performances were fantastic (especially the taekwondo) and the MC for the festival was a great choice. I even got to see the mayor read out a proclamation that Oct. 19 would be labeled Korean Festival Day. I wonder if there is a day for Filipino and Vietnamese people.



The grass was a little wet from the rain last night, but we were able to walk around without getting too much mud on our shoes. The area was packed with people which was a nice difference from the last festival we went to. And it's not just being surrounded by a majority of Asian people either! There was a good amount of ground to cover so we ended up adding a couple more quarters to the parking meter so we could have a lazy stroll around the area. The next time we come here, we should plan a picnic! It would also be awesome to do something with the girls in this area as well. Something to keep in mind!

There were a lot of booths setup selling things from posters of Korean stars to Korean brand makeup. I was very tempted to purchase a bb cream right then and there but kept myself from that impulse buy. I know I could order the one I actually want online and probably for cheaper. It was tempting though! I must say that exchanging money for tickets was a clever way of lowering our guard about the prices for these skewers, but I guess it's to be expected that festival food prices are going to be pricey. I don't regret the bulgogi skewers and tteokbokki! There was also a booth hosted by Fiesta; they were giving out prizes if you could throw three balls into a bucket. To Ben's chagrin, I was 3 for 3 while he was 1 for 3. I was just lucky that time I guess haha. We got a drawstring backpack and extra large Fiesta t-shirt for our troubles. I happily gave both of them to Ben.



We sat down by the lake to enjoy the breeze when a couple's dog (a jack russell terrier long hair breed—I asked) trotted over and placed his head on my knee. I fell in love and gushed to his owners how beautiful he was. Chance encounters with friendly dogs always instigate talks about what kind of pet we would like to own in the future. There's a couple of things to consider but it seems inevitable that we will have our own furry friend one day.

Anyway, since we ate as soon as we got to the festival, the next two hours of walking around worked up a real appetite so I took Ben down to a well-known pizza joint in the historic district. We usually order a medium pizza to share but I insisted on their pizza by the slice option. We both got a supreme and scarfed it down with a view of the street before us. Side note for the future, it would probably be better to pay for the city hopper pass so we wouldn't have to keep putting money into these parking meters! It was only a $1/hr near the park but the street across Frank's Pizza was $2/hr! Oh well, we've learned our lesson!



These photos may be one of the last ones I take with my long hair, which very much needs a proper trim! Or they may not be because having longer hair might help keep my neck warm... we shall see. In any case, this was a wonderful weekend that will not soon be forgotten. I'm going to hold on a little tighter to these happy memories, especially when my worries really begin to eat at me. Waiting doesn't get any easier but having people to lean on makes it a little more bearable. Here's to more happy times like this one in the future!