Dad comes for a visit

Dad came to visit for a week and he got here just in time for Easter and then I carted him around the state, first to Yuma (for some great BBQ) and then over to Willcox for meetings. I kept telling him to rest for NASCAR weekend and I’m not sure if he believed me but I think I sent him home tired but happy.

We went to Yuma for their monthly meeting and got back in time to meet Aunt Marjorie and Uncle Jake to go to a Dbacks game. They have really good season tickets and so I knew the view would be great. Dad had never been to a major league baseball game so it was fun to share it with him.

On Friday I left work early and we headed out to PIR for the Busch Race. I had mentioned in February to a board member how much I loved NASCAR so he ended up giving me tickets for the SRP booth over turn 1. I had already bought my weekend race tickets so I sold my Friday tickets to John and Tracy. We got there early so we could shop. I explained to my dad that you do all the shopping on the Busch race day rather than waiting till the Nextel NASCAR race because things sell out and the crowd is much deeper. We walked around and I bought a couple Kasey Kahne (2nd Fave) items and a lot of Tony Stewart items (he’s my favorite!!). I checked out Dale Jr.’s stuff but had most of it so I bought a t-shirt to give as a present. Dad bought a shirt and hat from Jeff Gordon (tried to stop him but didn’t really work). We also picked up our radio and a few other things. Dad didn’t really have a favorite driver so I told him about most of them. He hung out at the snack bar while I hiked back to the truck to put our stuff away. I had parked about 2 miles out (the furthest you can park) so we could get out easily.

We headed into the race and we had a great view of the track and free food and drinks all night in addition to the gift bag that SRP gave all their people. They were great seats but I think I like being in the stands with all the people because you can scream and yell and cheer. Most of the people in the box were there to socialize and not really watch the race.

Kevin Harvick won and I told Dad all about him. I was happy for him. He burned rubber clear down by us! Many of the accidents also happened by us so it added to the excitement for Dad. We were tired when we climbed in the truck to go home.

On our way home...

April 9, 2006

Dana’s plane was leaving for England at 6 am. Our guide told her that she would need to have her wake up call at 2 am and bags outside the door at 2:30. At 1 am, the phone rang (this is just a couple hours after going to bed), it happened to be our guide. Dana was supposed to leave at 2 am- not wake up at that time! So she threw her stuff together and got ready and left. Which was probably good for me so I wouldn’t cry at her leaving for England again. You never know how much you miss a friend till they are gone.

With Dana gone, I slept until 7:30 then got ready and headed down to breakfast with Ang. We then walked down to a little store to get a few snacks for our long flight home. We headed via taxi with a cute driver, to the airport around 10:30 and was on our flight by 2. It was pretty uneventful except that I spilled a whole glass of water on Ang and I during the flight. When we hit Chicago, I checked my messages and there were work calls and a call from my friend Melissa M.

She had called to tell me that her and Andy D. had gotten engaged while I was gone. Mel is one of my closest friends and I kind of tricked her into telling me the ring size and what she wanted so Andy could get the ring and propose while I was gone. So it is true… all major things (so far only the good ones) happen to my friends while I’m out of state or country!!

Our final night in Athens

We arrived back at the hotel in Athens and found our rooms. We were taken to the Acropolis on the back side and dropped off. We took a stroll down by Mars Hill and the market place. We never saw that side before and were a little disappointed we never had the chance to shop there. The marketplace was so close. We continued down to the restaurant and had dinner with Pam, Kay, Rudy, Rod and Kathy. The food was decent- the fish was really good. I wasn’t really impressed with it over all.

We left the restaurant and saw the opposite side of the Parthenon and the marketplace. It was so pretty at night. Our driver met us and drove us back to the hotel the scenic way and we saw the Presidential Palace, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and of course the Temple of Zeus!

At the hotel, we met Pam for a drink before heading off to our rooms. Dana and I shared a room so I could take a few things back for her to the states.

Ancient Corinth

The first picture is the place they believe could be Paul's first church in Corinth. The second is the Bema that Paul was brought to to be judged by the Jews.

We arrived in Corinth! Paul and Andrew introduced the Greeks to Christianity. Corinth is one of the churches Apostle Paul sent letters to (I and II Corinthians in the Bible are the letters). Corinth, in Paul’s time, was about 150,000 people in population. Paul first traveled to Philippi and then left to preach in Theasolocia, Athens, and Corinth and then on to Ephesus. We visited all but Philippi and Ephesus on our tour. During one visit to Corinth, Paul was visited by Timothy and Silas. The first time Paul stayed in Corinth he stayed for 18 months. It was very peaceful there and I kept thinking that I may be stepping and walking where Paul walked centuries ago.

The site is divided into three levels. The temple of Apollo is the first thing you see when you enter. It is on the highest level. It dates back to the beginning of the 6th Century, making it the oldest temple. Hera’s temple in Olympia is the second oldest temple in Greece. The actual area of ancient Corinth is so small- you can see it’s entirety from anyplace in the area. A lot of the ancient town was built over by the current town. When you visit you look up from the edge of the ruins and there is a house that people live in right there. I think it would be cool to have that be your view out your bedroom or kitchen window.

The second level is the Agora- the Roman market place. We walked past the temple and Agora to the middle of the marketplace where a large marble slab that originally had a statute of Athena and an alter was located At one end of the marble floor was a location referred to as Bema. It was a tall balcony that officials would appear to give speeches or announcements. This is the place where it is believed that Paul was taken to be judged when he was accused by the Jews. Three months after that incident, he sailed for Ephesus. Across the marketplace has a store that was rebuilt from the stones. It is believed that this is the location of Paul’s first church.

After walking on that level you take marble steps down to the third level. At the point that you begin to descend the steps, there is a spring the ancient city used for water. It still has water (you can hear it). The spring is in a stone circular building with pillars and windows. An early Christian church is located behind the spring. The third level is the Lehighton road that leads to the port. This would lead from the port in Lechaion up to the main part of town and then up the stairs to the Agora area. The road is still remaining in the small section that is persevered. It is quite amazing to see it. There are ceramic shops located along it and this is where they believe Paul had his shop.

We didn’t get to spend much time in the ruins- there wasn’t even free time to walk around so I hope to go back and visit it again someday. We left the ancient city of Corinth and traveled to the Canal of Corinth.

The Canal of Corinth began construction in the 6th Century but stopped until 1881. Before the canal, boats were unloaded and using logs, they were drug across the peninsula (approx. 3 miles) and then reloaded and off they would go. The canal can only be used by small and medium boats.
We first saw the Aegean Sea side of the canal and then we walked over (dodging cars) to see the Gulf of Corinth that leads to the Ionic Sea. I had my picture taken on both sides. We then board the bus for our final trip back to Athens. Once inside Athens and on our way back to the hotel, the temple of Zeus was pointed out again!

Sanctuary of Aesculapius and the Ruins of Mycenae

The entrance to the tomb of Atreaus.

The Sanctuary of Easculapius

April 8, 2006

We left Napulia for Athens. Today we are going to be visiting Corinth!! I’ve been waiting the entire trip to come here. Before going to Corinth we had a few other places to see. We first visited the Sanctuary of Aesculapius amphitheatre. This place was very cool and amazing and I even cried. Dana and Ang had been talking about this place the entire trip. Aesculapius is considered by the Greeks to be the god of medicine. He was the son of Apollo and a mortal woman. The amphitheatre was built in the 4th century B.C. It has been known for its acoustics and performers don’t even need microphones for people at the top to hear them as if they were sitting right next to them.

Nina, our guide, started the demonstration of the acoustics by dropping coins and crumpling paper and tearing the paper in the middle of the theatre. I sat higher and it was amazing the clarity that you could hear everything with. Nina allowed people to try the acoustics by performing. Dana sang “You Raised Me Up” and it was so beautiful and I cried because the last time she sang that song was at Terri’s funeral. I taped her and Ang singing and it was hard to tape it while crying!!

After leaving the amphitheatre, we drove to a pottery place and watch a guy make a pot and another paint a large pot. We also shopped for some items while we were there. We then took a short drive to the tomb of Atreaus and the location of the ruins of Mycenae.
The tomb is where the king of Agamemmon was buried. It dates back to 13th Century B.C. There are other tombs that exist in Greece, but this was the biggest and most preserved. Dana and I posed as lions in front of the entrance. It kind of smelled bad inside but it is a tomb and what do you expect- it’s not going to smell like roses!!

We crossed the road to the Mycenae Acropolis. The king was the only one to permanently live behind the walls. When there was danger those living outside the walls in town would enter inside the walls for protection. The walls were about six feet wide. We entered the acropolis through the Lion’s Gate. The acropolis was destroyed by fire and an earthquake (by this time, it seems like a theme). Inside the gate was a grainery because in excavation, they found jugs with carbonized grain inside (how cool is that!).

It was a neat area to visit. The poems of Homer describe many of the ruins we visited along our journey through Greece or ruins that were nearby. There was a monument to the prophet Elijah nearby. I walked to the top of the ruins. It was so peaceful up there and the scenery reminded me of Oregon.

We left the area and stopped in town for a bite to eat. The owner of the restaurant, a little old man, broke plates for us! We encouraged him to break a few more by yelling “Opah!!!” and he did a couple more and then stopped. We had been wanting someone to break plates, the entire time we were there but everyone- except him said no.

Nauplia and Megalopis

We headed to the town of Nauplia. Along the way we stopped at Megalopis were we had a little ice cream served by an older gentleman who didn’t speak any English but the very beautiful grandson (or maybe son) did. He told us how much we owed after getting our ice cream from the grandfather. We just used gestures and pointing to get some great ice cream.

We made our evening stop in Nauplia. Nauplia was a seashore town that was very quite and it reminded me of some beach towns in the states. Nina, our guide let us off in town for a short walking tour and then gave us about an hour to shop on our own. There were many cute shops and I even bought another purse. (I know a big shocker!) Dana and I had some extra time so we went into a cute little place and had a drink while we waited for the bus. We went to the hotel and had dinner and then spent the rest of the evening at the hotel piano bar with the rest of our tour group and even Nina, our guide, joined us.

Posing as three Greek gods outside the temple ruins of Zeus.

Hera's Temple and the stones in front are the location where the Olympic torch is lighted every four years in a ceremony.

The gymnasium at Anient Olympia.

April 7, 2006

We left the hotel this morning and visited Ancient Olympia where the Olympics began. We arrived at the archeological site of the original Olympic games. In 1895 excavations began in the area. It was completely buried again by fire and earthquakes and this time they threw in a flood from the river Alphis for good measure!!

There are temples to Zeus and Hera that people was able to come and worship them. The athletes would arrive one month early to have time to adjust. They would also take an oath to not cheat. The first building we arrived at was the gymnasium. The second building was the wrestling room where wrestling and boxing took place. Before the day was over there was actual wrestling that took place there!

This area was inhabited by people in the 2nd millennium B.C. but later the area became a sacred place and no one lived in the area except for the priests. We also visited the temple of Zeus and several pillars were scattered around the base of the temple and across from the temple was an early Christian basilica that was built on top of the workshop that built the huge ivory and gold statute of Zeus that stood 35 feet tall!! It was one of the seven wonders of ancient Greece.

We entered the ancient stadium and there was a pedestal at one side of the field where the statute of the goddess of agriculture was worshiped on the first day of the games. Her name was Demetra. I brought back a miniature statute of her for Jim, Kevin and I. We aren’t going to be worshiping her any time soon but it was cool to see how important agriculture was to them back then.

Hera’s temple was built in the 6th Century B.C. and for one whole century both Hera and Zeus were worshipped there until the temple of Zeus was constructed. The alter in front of Hera’s temple is where the Olympic torch is lighted every four years. After lighting the torch, it is carried into the stadium nearby where the first runner takes the flame to travel the world.

We had half an hour of free time so we toured the gymnasium area were the wrestling occurred. Ang and I “wrestled” in the gymnasium for Dana’s camera. It was quite funny and I began to laugh and lost my balance and fell and Ang promptly kicked me while I was down and cheer for her victory. We had quite a few laughs over that!!! At each temple area in Greece, we would do some pose and take a picture as the “gods.” I’m sure some people thought we were disrespectful but it added to the humor of the tour.

After walking through the ruins, we visited the museum that goes with the site, inside were all the statutes that lined the pediment (top) of Zeus’ temple. One side had Zeus (without his head- PB!) and the other side was of Apollo. These statutes were bigger than us so the size of the temple was amazing.

The bridge that took 115 years to build

The Charilos Trikoupis Bridge.


Holding the Olympic Torch



We left Delphi and headed back through the olive groves where some of the trees are 2000 years old. Our guide told us that olives that are to be eaten are hand picked and those to be used for oil are machine picked. Interesting agriculture facts!!! We continued on towards the water to a town called Itea where we sat by the sea and tried to drink some ouzo and still couldn’t acquire a taste for it. Itea was the port location of the old town of Delphi. We skipped the lunch and took the time to walk down the street to the shops and ran into a gentleman who has a daughter who lives in Portland, Oregon so we chatted a bit and the girls laughed that I could go anywhere in the world and meet someone who could be traced to me like in six degrees of separation. It got better because I mentioned that I now live in Arizona and he spends the winters in Yuma so that really sent us over the edge in laughter!

We continued on to Corinth and Olympia but stopped to view the new bridge that connects continental Greece to the peninsula. It had been a vision of the Prime Minister since 1889 and was completed in time for the 2004 Olympic games. Up until that time, to cross over you had to use a ferry and it took about 45 minutes, now it takes a toll and about 5 minutes. I think the Greeks were procrastinating on the project for it to take that long but we got to see a video about it and inside the visitor’s center are the two torches that crossed the bridge. We all had our photo taken with it! It is a beautiful bridge and the Greeks have every right to be very proud of it. The bridge is called Charilos Trikoupis.

Delphi and Apollo's Temple

The treasury, Apollo's Temple and the view of the temple from the theatre on our way to the arena.

April 6, 2006

We left our hotel and headed to the ancient town of Delphi where Apollo’s temple and oracle were located. This is the site where the Greeks would come to get prophecies. It was first built in 7 century B.C. It was divided into four sections or levels. The first level was the Roman marketplace (Agora) with the small shops. Just below the temple, was the Athenian store where they displayed the loot from the wars of the Persians. We then traveled the sacred road of Delphi to the second level where Apollo’s actual temple was located. It was built in 4th Century B.C. when Apollo came to Delphi and killed a python to become the ruler of Delphi.

The temple had been destroyed three previous times by fire and earthquakes (you think they would reconsider their locations!) So what we actually saw was the remains of the 4th temple of Apollo. The sacred road originally was flanked by statutes on each side. A few still remain today but they are housed in the museum. They were of gods, kings and emperors. The navel stone is located near the treasury where it is said two eagles met that Zeus sent out to find the center of the universe. This is the location that Apollo was to place the oracle. The oracle is where the prophetess would be to read your future. Our guide told us about her and she would sit and chew on bay leaves and give very vague readings- I think she was high on something!! Sometimes she would just sit and scream at people and then send them off to have it interpreted by the temple priests. She sounds kind of like the fortune tellers of today only without the screaming or hallucinations. She would give vague readings because she didn’t want the gods to be wrong.

On the highest level were the cities’ treasureries where the people would leave their gifts for the gods at their town’s treasury. The fourth level had a stadium for games similar to the Olympics that were dedicated to the various gods. They trick you when you visit by saying the fourth level is just a little farther up the hill when it actually is quite a ways but I was determined to go up there even if it took my all day to climb the hill. I made it and took a picture then turned around and came back down just in time to go over to the museum with the group! I am not sure how the athletes climbed those hills and then competed right away, even the most physically fit people where out of breath and gasping for air when they made it up.
We left the temple area and walked a short distance to the Archeological Museum of Delphi. Inside we saw the statute of the sphinx as well as the charioteer. The charioteer is a bronze statute dedicated to Apollo representing a racer after his championship win in the Python games in 478 B.C. His eyes ere intact and if you stared at him intently it seemed as though he would open his mouth to speak at any moment.

The rest of the story...

The Bay of Corinth from my hotel room.

We continued on to Delphi after stopping at the gas station next to the John Deere dealership. Prior to getting to the hotel, we stopped in the town of Arahova were we were able to do a little bit of shopping. This region or area has a large amount of olive trees. We will be driving through them tomorrow but this large grove is owned by private individuals, corporations and the government. They all own various trees that are intermixed so they just harvest all of them and then split out the proceeds based on the number of trees you own. It was quite impressive. It reminded me of the Rim Country area leaving Payson for Snowflake where all you see are trees.

We arrived at the hotel and I can see the Bay of Corinth from my room. Before dinner, Dana, Ang and Pam came down and we sat out on the deck and drank a bottle of wine and just took in the beauty of the scenery. After Apollo’s temple tomorrow we will be traveling on to Olympia.

John Deere in Europe!

John Deere in Greece! Who would have imagined. Since I saw one in England, I think I'm going to try and find a dealership in every European country I visit in the future!

Monastery here we come!

Dana, Angela and I in Kalambaka outside one of the monasteries.



April 5, 2006

We woke this morning and left the hotel for our visit to the famous monasteries in the area. They are built on top of rocks that are inaccessible to normal people at least a hundred years ago). They use to pull people up in nets or bring up supplies in nets. Now there are staircases that are carved into the rock to allow access. It is quite amazing. We drove by several of them before we stopped to visit one. There use to be about 26 of them until many were damaged by bombs during WWII. In order to visit them, women had to wear skirts and a shirt that covered their shoulders. If you did not have a skirt they would provide the women with wraps to wear over their pants. One of the monasteries was even used in a James Bond movie.

The first monastery was inhabited in the 14th century. The actual monastery we visited was built in 1542 by two brothers. It is dedicated to all saints and is completely covered inside with pictures of saints, just as all monasteries and Greek churches are. The paintings in this church dated back to the 16th century. Both brothers are buried at the church, which is quite small. We didn't see any monks while we were visiting the monastery.

During our visit to the church, Nina, our guide yelled at another group and guide to be quiet. We thought it was quite entertaining- especially when she yelled at the French. It usually occurred at least once a day so we started guessing at which stop she would yell at a group.

We left this monastery and proceeded down to another monastery that actually was inhabited by nuns instead of monks. The nun's monastery was referred to as St. Steven and 30 nuns reside there. It was built in 1780 but was destroyed by a fire and was recently rebuilt. We saw on the inside of the church the painting being done to fill the inside of the church. I thought it was quite interesting. Since women can not perform certain church duties so monks from the All Saints church come over to assist them. The view from St. Steven's was amazing for the valley below.

We left the nuns and drove back into town for lunch before heading off to Delphi for the night.

After an hour or so on the bus, those of us in the back decided to see if we could spot the John Deere dealership again so I could get a picture of it. We all kept our eyes open for it and I actually thought maybe we had already passed it or would turn off the road before we reach it. But to my amazement, it appeared up ahead on the road. I spotted the building first before the sign- who can not spot John Deere yellow and green? So we all were poised with our cameras when the bus began to slow and pull off. We were told we were stopping in an hour and a half(when we left lunch) and our driver chose to stop at the gas station right in front of the dealership!! I was so excited that I ran off the bus and over to snap a picture. Then Dana came over after visiting the station to take a photo of me in front of it. They had quite a few large tractors and cotton pickers in front. I couldn't figure out how to reach it so see if they sold toys and books inside like the American stores do. But I did feel a little at home- even if it was in Greek!

We continued on to Delphi where we stopped in town for a quite tour and shopping before heading to the hotel. Delphi has a large olive grove nearby that is owned by both private individuals as well as the government.

At the hotel, my room overlooked the Bay of Corinth and so we sat on the deck and watched the sun go down over a bottle of vine. Tomorrow we will be visiting Apollo's temple before heading to Olympia.

Monastary here we come!

North to Kalambaka

April 4, 2006

Happy Birthday Dad!!! I called him in Post all the way from Greece. It was 5pm for me and 7am for him.

We woke this morning and packed our bags to leave Athens for Kalambaka. It is about a five hour drive north of Athens. There is so much agriculture to be seen outside of Athens. They grow so many crops that remind me of Arizona and Yuma County in particular. They grow cotton, wheat, lettuce, tomatoes, artichokes, and olives other than livestock. The olive industry is their number one agricultural industry in Greece.

On our way to Kalambaka, we passed the town of Thebes. Thebes is where the Greek mythological story of Edapuse occurs. He was born there to the king but his father learned from the Oracle at Apollo's temple that his son would grow up to kill him and marry his mother. The father couldn't allow that to happen so they left the child out on the mountainside to die. Edapuse was found by a sheep herder and taken to the barren king and queen of Corinth. The secret was kept till Edapuse was an adult and in an alcohol induced state, someone let it slip. Well Edapuse went to visit the temple of Apollo to determine his future and along the way he came across another king who refused to yield right of way to him so he killed him. Come to find out it was his real father but he didn't know that until he had made his way back to Thebes and married his mother!!! Talk about a soap opera.

We also stopped near there to view the battle sight of battle of Thermopyles. The King of Spartan is depicted in the monument. Unfortunately, the Greeks (lead by the spartans) were totally out numbered and lost but they gave a great fight. Our guide, Nina (not the guide from the islands) told us all about the battle and their fight and then I asked if they won, expecting a "yes" and then Nina said "no" so we got a chuckle out it.

After a quick lunch we continued on and passed a John Deere dealership along the way. It came up so quickly that I didn't have time to get my camera so I was a little disappointed but at least the Greeks are buying John Deere! We also stopped before reaching the hotel to watch artists make icon paintings on wood. There was a Greek priest there to bless any pictures you purchased. I chose to pass because it really isn't my style.

We finally made it to the hotel and had dinner followed by drinks at the bar with Rudy and Kay and several others from our group.

A three hour tour of Greek Islands

This is Dana and I on the island of Hydra.


April 3, 2006

We woke up early to be downstairs to go on a day cruise to three islands near Athens. Part of the boat ride we tried to ride up top in the beginning but it was too cold that early but the rest of the day it was nice and we worked on our tans and loved the fresh air. We spent the first part of the boat ride getting to know some of our traveling companions better- mainly Pam from Oregon. She was a hoot!! We also sat and chatted with Kathy and Rod.

Our island tour was to Poros, Hydra and Aegina islands. Aegina was the largest and it was the closest to Athens but we passed it first and actually saved it to the last for touring. Our first island was Poros. It was really small and it reminded me of the movie "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants."

We boarded the boat again for a short ride onto Hydra. The tour of Hydra was short and we sat by the sea and had drinks until it was time to board the boat for Aegina. The cool thing about the island is there are no motor vehicles and the sole mode of transportation is by donkey. They move people and supplies over the entire island with donkeys!

Our third and final island was Aegina. We had lunch on our way to Aegina so we didn't realize it had become a little chilly outside and that a storm was moving in. We attended the first tour of a Greek Orthodox church with our group and then buggered out to do a little sightseeing on our own. The guide we had didn't really leave a lot of free time on the islands and we knew we wanted to see some other things. We grabbed a carriage and took a short ride around the island before decided the best thing to do was shop!

We boarded the boat for Athens and decided to sit on the middle deck because it was enclosed and there was a band. Our new friends, Rudy and Kay joined us for some great conversation as well as dancing. Back in Athens we headed to the hotel, passing the Temple of Zeus as our tour guide pointed it out!

After a quick nap, we headed out for dinner. Pam, our new friend, joined Dana, Ang and I for dinner and we talked the two newbies into returning to the God's restaurant for dinner. Why pass up a great restaurant! Since it was sprinkling, we sat inside and they gave us the best table that looked out their only window to the Acropolis! The food was again delightful and we had great conversation.

After dinner, we decided to go back a different way that would allow us to walk by the Acropolis and Parthenon one last time before leaving Athens in the morning. It was a great walk and we even had an escort- a stray dog that stayed with us till some rowdy teenagers came by. Then he traded us in!

Acropolis, Parthenon and Mars Hill

April 2, 2006


This morning we left the hotel to visit the Acropolis. Acropolis means high point of the city. Atop the Acropolis is the Parthenon, which is the Temple of Athena, goddess of virgins. The Acropolis has only one entrance because the walls were built to be inaccessible. It was rebuilt in the middle of the 5th Century B.C. after it was burned and destroyed. We walked up the Acropolis to the Parthenon. It was so incredible and it doesn't really have straight lines anywhere on it. Next to the temple was another smaller temple dedicated to Poseidon, the god of the sea. We walked around the back part of the Parthenon to view the Temple of Zeus (again, it was pointed out to us). It appears as though the temple of Zeus is in the middle of town.

Nina our tour guide gave us about 30 minutes to see the area on our own. We quickly left the Parthenon and walked down to visit Mars Hill. Mars Hill can be seen from the Acropolis and is above the ruins of the ancient marketplace. The marketplace and Acropolis is where Apostle Paul walked around and views all the statues to the various gods and then preached from Mars Hill about the "unknown god" in Romans. It was kind of cool to be up there. It was mostly marble so it was very slick but there were steps carved into the side of it from ancient times and we chose that set of stairs to climb the hill over the modern, nice safe stairs with handrails that had recently been set up.

We left the Acropolis and our guide took us to see the Olympic stadium that has been in use in Athens since the first modern Olympic games. It was small by current standards but this is the stadium the marathon runners enter when finishing their race. We had passed in on our way to the hotel the first day but it was nice to be able to actually walk up to it and see it. This stadium had been rebuilt in the 1800's and had been built on the same site as the original. After leaving the stadium we headed towards the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, at least this way Ang and Dana can see it again! Along the way we drove past the Presidential Palace and saw the guards (soldiers of honor) out front in official dress. Their uniform appears to be a jacket, skirt of sorts and tights with elaborate shoes.

At the Tomb, we were there in time to see the changing of the guards. After leaving the Tomb, we drove past the Athens Academy as well as the oldest Christian church. It was named for Paul's first convert- Saint Denis.

Several times on our tour today, our guide would point out the Temple of Zeus as we passed it. So we started referring to it as the line in European Vacation when they get stuck on the round-about in London and Chevy Chase keeps pointing out Big Ben and parliament to his kids. So we would say "look kids, Temple of Zeus, Acropolis" and laugh.

After the tours we shopped again and of course I had to buy some more stuff. We came back to the hotel and got ready for our dinner out of Greek cuisine and dancing. The food was alright, I did like the potatoes in Greece and the dancing was entertaining. After dinner we walked back to the bus and I walked with Kay as Dana walked with her husband Rudy. From the moment I saw them in orientation, I just knew Rudy was a farmer. I was disappointed though because they weren't but after several other conversations with him over the trip he may not be a farmer in reality but he has a heart for the same values and issues as my farmers in AZ do. Rudy reminds me of one of my members from Yuma county. By the end of the trip Rudy and Kay were some of my favorite people.

Athens and Temple of Poseidon

April 1- Dana came arrived at the hotel from London around 3 am and we all talked and caught up on our lives. Around 4:30 we decided to get some sleep and then awoke around 7:30. After showering and breakfast we headed out for some sightseeing and of course shopping since Ang and I had scoped out some stores the night before. For those who have never been to Europe, stores open around 9 am and then close somewhere around 1 or 2 pm and then re-open around 3 or 4pm and stay open till around 6 or so. So sometimes you have to window shop first and then go back to actually shop in the stores of interest.

We did fairly well on the shopping in the first couple of stores. I mainly stuck to purchasing jewelry but we spent some time in the Plaka district of Greece. After shopping we walked to the botanical gardens which were quite lovely and then on to visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It is similar to ours in D.C. except that you can walk right up to the Tomb and you can stand next to the guards and have your picture taken as long as you don't touch them. We missed the changing of the guards by 10 minutes or so but I did get my picture taken. Later back at the hotel, Dana and Ang were talking about not seeing the Tomb and what a bummer it was. I was confused so I informed them that we actually did visit the site. Dana went back to her camcorder and reviewed her DVD to confirm that we had actually been there!! We all got a good laugh from that.

After visiting the Tomb we headed back towards the Acropolis and had lunch and then headed back to the hotel. We dropped off our stuff and then headed the southern part of Greece to Sounio to visit the Temple of Poseidon. It was a nice drive (especially since we had a driver) and the weather was great. The temple was cool to see because it had been built in the 5th century B.C. The Aegean Sea was right there and there was a nice breeze.

The story of the Aegean Sea is that King Aegean had a son named Thesis who had left to slay a monster and promised his father he would return and when he returned he would change the sails on the ship from black to white if he was successful. Every day Aegean would go to the Temple to watch for the ship, his son returned but had forgot to change the sails so Aegean thought Thesis had been killed so he jumped to his death into the sea below. Thus the naming of the sea.

While visiting the temple, I was posing for a photo when Ang jumped in and we made funny faces at each other. Dana snapped the photo and from then on, every temple we visited we did a funny pose and called them our Greek god poses. We had great fun doing that all week.

After coming back from Sounio we met the rest of our tour group and had a glass of Ouzo. It is a liquor that is very strong and tastes like licorice. I didn't like it but that could be because I don't like licorice. We had dinner with our group and met a couple people. The three that sat at our table were from Phoenix, Oregon and didn't know each other (Kathy and Rod and Pam.) until the trip. They even lived just a few miles from each other. It was kind of cool to have people from Oregon on the trip even though Dana and Ang teased me because I could go anywhere in the world and met someone who knew where I was from or knew someone I know!

We finished dinner and wrote out a few postcards before heading up the street to a local bar we saw on our tours outside of the hotel. It was called "Jukebox" and we thought it looked like a biker bar, except it had scooters out front. We went in and ordered our drinks and then proceeded to check out the jukebox. The bartender informed us it didn't actually work!

After our drinks we headed back down to the hotel and off to bed. Tomorrow we are visiting the Acropolis and Parthenon.

My Big Fat Greek Vacation

A view of the Acropolis and Parthenon at night.

March 30-We left phoenix and our flight was delayed so we landed at Dulles at 5 pm and our connecting flight to Frankfurt was leaving at 5:17. Thankfully I was able to run the 14 gates and get into line behind the last person boarding the flight so we could make our connection.

Ang and I didn't have seats next to each other and wasn't able to trade. Our flight was delayed out of Dulles so we missed our connection in Frankfurt and had to take a later flight into Athens. Then our 1pm flight to Athens actually left at 2:30 so hopefully our flights back to the states are on time.

Thankfully when we landed there was a person from the tour agency waiting for us to take us to the hotel. Our hotel was just down from the acropolis and the Parthenon. We also passed the temple of Zeus along the way. Once we arrived at the hotel and checked in our guide called and met us to give us some ideas of things to see on our free day (we came a day early) that we wouldn't see with the tour group.

We got ready and went to dinner at a restaurant the guide suggested. We didn't' actually make that restaurant because we were stopped by another gentleman to eat at his restaurant and we couldn't resist. We sat out on the sidewalk and had an amazing view of the Parthenon all light up at night!! After dinner, Ang and I walked up to the pedestrian walkway that followed the acropolis and Parthenon. For those of you who don't know about the acropolis and Parthenon. The acropolis is a term used for the highest point in the city. In Greece there are several towns and cities that have acropolis, but the one in Athens is most know because the Parthenon is located on top of it. The Parthenon is the Temple of Athena, and also located here is the marketplace that the Apostle Paul walked through in Romans and talked about the statute to the "Unknown God."

Project CENTRL goes to Cottonwood

Thea, Lucia and I were at the Blazing M ranch for Project CENTRL. We spent the weekend in Cottonwood, Arizona for Project Centrl and it was a lot of fun.

We had workshops on volunteerism and learned about our trip in May to Mexico. We also had a mock zoning and planning meeting were we split the group and argued different sides of the issue. I had a lot of fun doing that and really learned a lot.

Friday evening we went to the Blazing M ranch which is very similar to the Rocking R ranch in Mesa. We had a great time walking around and trying out new things and then after the evening was over a group of us made our way to Jerome to check out the night life. I didn't see much of Jerome but I do want to go back.

Saturday after it was over, a few of us girls went to lunch in downtown Cottonwood in a really cute outdoor cafe. We then hit a few antique stores and then headed home. In all it was a great weekend.

Terri, Sharla and David. They were some of my most favorite members of the group from North Carolina. I was sad to see them go.