Roadtrip: homestretch

I'm not really sure why I took this picture of a service station on a two-lane road, but here it is for your viewing pleasure. On the expressways here, the rest areas are large, well-kept affairs with convenience stores, restaurants, cafeterias, and stall-type food vendors with the full-service gas station located some distance away from the main area on your way out of the parking lot back toward the expressway. This is not a picture of that.

Sam had to return to work so he took the train from Busan back to Seoul. That left me to do the rest of the driving! The next day we set off for Donghae, on the east coast of South Korea. It rained the short time we were there. One of Mom's brothers lives there which is why we were there. I took this picture of Donghae from our hotel window. It had stopped drizzling for a short time but was still gray and overcast.

As we left Donghae, it really started to rain. Then, because we had to drive over mountains to get back to Seoul, we encountered thick fog. I knew there was a truck in front of me because I'd seen it pass me in a tunnel. However, as soon as we emerged from the tunnel, the truck completely disappeared into the fog! I was just a little stressed by this driving experience. Eventually the weather began to clear and we descended into lower elevations. By the time, we stopped at this rest area where the girls could play on a small playground, it was warm and sunny and you'd never guess what I'd just driven through!
Of course, no drive back into Seoul would be complete without a traffic jam. Sure enough, there had been an accident and we were at a complete stop on the highway as we came close to the city and were trying to get on the main expressway leading into the city. So close and yet so far!