{July 2-8th}
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| Texts from home |
Pics from home:
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| Mykonos |
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| Fourth of July from the middle of the Mediterranean |
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| They had this framed on the boat. Josh's favorite movie. |
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| {This sign in Santorini made us giggle} |
Moving... onto the cruise ship portion of our trip. It was exciting to be on the cruise ship, and I am happy to report I didn't get sea sick at all except one night where we had really rough seas. I was also happy to find that I never felt claustrophobic on the ship. The view (that water!) was amazing, but the accommodations were a little lackluster. My bedding was moldy, our flooring was missing baseboard and our bathroom was really yucky and old. Plus the toilet kept randomly shooting water out of the wall, and when I called the front desk to have someone come clean it, a guy came in with a towel. No cleaner or bleach or anything. Eww.
Rooming... with Jack, who was originally matched with some of the other boys on our trip, since I had an extra bed and my room was a little bigger. It was really fun to room with each other, although I went to bed without him every night as he was out partying with the other kids. I am so grateful Jack found balance between hanging with his mama and hanging with his Europe besties.
Visiting... Mykonos for a night tour and wow, was I underdressed! The people watching there was unmatched. The heels and outfits and make up on the women I saw was jaw dropping. So gorgeous.
Reading... The Song of Achilles and listening on audio to Remarkably Bright Creatures, which surprised the heck out of me (one of the narrators is an octopus?!). It reminded me a little of A Man Called Ove and Britt-Marie Was Here. Just really heartwarming and so good.
Getting... a manicure on the ship and loving my Santorini blue finger polish until that night when I scared the bejeezus out of myself realizing they were glow-in-the-dark. Hahaha!
Visiting... Santorini for the day and being shocked at the amount of people on the island. It was like a sweaty, hot mosh pit with great views. Hah! The best part was when we decided to go to a nice sit down restaurant for lunch. We got to relax, have some cold water, and enjoy a little shoulder room. Bonus, the food was amazing. After a little souviner shopping (hello new beach towels, bracelets and a bell for Grandma!) we got gelato from the absolute cutest shop (be sure to read the sign I shared a picture of above) and it was both delicious and very cool, which was welcome as it was HOT!
Descending... from Santorini (which we had been bused to the top of) on the stairs which traditionally travelers have used donkeys to traverse. We didn't want to hike up just to wait in line in the hot sun for the tram. So we decided to hike the stairs. The group split into smaller groups, and I ended up with Jack, Sylvie, Katelynn and Makayla who were all amazing and so encouraging, especially Makayla. There were over 588 slippery, donkey poop covered stairs that were being navigated by donkeys, horses and humans. It was intense. It was hot. And it was steep!!!
Grateful... for updates from home. Josh is just the best dad and husband. He is handling life back home without me like a pro. No worried texts or questions. Just dealing with it all. I am so thankful for him. I was so happy to get pictures of the kids at home and at the land riding. And I was really impressed he made plans for the fourth of July to go see a firework show in nearby Soap Lake. I really loved the texts that Carly sent me about them from Wyatt's phone. Her amazing vocabulary always blows me away.
Stopping... in Delphi and learning even more about Greek gods and goddesses. There were also stray cats everywhere in Delphi, and as I was trying to call one to me, a group of American motorcyclists teased saying I was calling the cat in the wrong language. haha!
Using... headphones called "Whispers" to listen to our tour guides. It was really nice because in crowded places we didn't have to be up close to them to hear the information they were sharing.
Seeing... the Rhodes castle (I made a post about it previously).
Spending... the afternoon at the beach in Rhodes and enjoying every minute of it. The warm sun, the sandy beach, the salty water... it was incredible. We rented beach chairs through a hotel and it was just so awesome. I floated so much more in the saltwater and could taste it on my lips. It was bizarre! We got lunch at the hotel and it was delicious! I got gyros that were delicious! At the end of the day nearly every single one of us was sun burned despite copious amounts of sunscreen applied.
Suffering... with no cell phone service while we were in Turkish waters and docked in Turkey. It's been said that Turkish cell towers take over regular cell service and you end up being charged $5/minute!!! So we all turned our phones off while there.
Loving... how the kids all tended to come hang out in Jack's and my room with us. Oh the laughs and talks we had in there. My favorite was when we were already talking about college when Everett walked in and said, "Yeah, imagine you got a useless degree like in psychology." Hahaha! My bachelor degree is in psychology. Oh we laughed so hard.
Before... I knew it, it was finally time to come home. We flew Rome to Montreal (I sat by Stephanie & Larry and watched movies) and then Montreal to Seattle (where I napped). Josh met us at the hotel (we rode the shuttle from the airport there) and I was so happy to see him and be back in America. He drove us home that night and we got home at 3:48am. He was truly my hero.
Spending... my first full day at home doing homework and hanging out with Carly alternatively. Oh it was so good to see my girl and hold her and hug her. Putting her to bed might have been the highlight of my week. Haha! I guess this shows where my heart and priorities lie. I had a great time on the trip (mostly) and I loved making all those memories with Jack, but I have confirmed that I do NOT have wanderlust. Home is where my heart is. And that's okay by me.
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