Getting Back in the Groove...

What does one do in the first week after returning from a big trip? 

• One tries hard to get back into their home time zone. This is not always easy. There was a 7-hour difference between Kentucky time and Greece time. 
• In may case, I spend the first few days labeling and sorting pictures and getting my Blog done about the trip while things are fresh on my mind. Then I post a lot of the pictures to Facebook. I have friends who travel and we enjoy seeing each others adventures. I have friends who don't travel but love going along on a picture journey of our adventures. Then there are others who really don't care and they can keep scrolling on Facebook.
• Laundry must be done. I leave the house clean so there is not house cleaning to do. But there is LOTS of laundry.
• I an the secretary for Relief Society, so I must get things back on track with my responsibilities there. 

Yep, there are lots to keep on busy after a trip. What one really wants to do is rest and catch up from the trip!! That is funny. We need a vacation from our vacation!!

Monday, September 22nd, We started our first day home with a biscuit run to Bojangles. Now, we know we were really home. I got all that laundry done. I worked on pictures and Blogging and made it through the travel to Greece and climbing the Acropolis. Claude had wanted a good old American burger toward the end of our cruise. We decided a visit to 5 Guys for dinner was a great idea. 

Tuesday, September 23rd, I sat at my laptop and worked on my Blog all day. I made it through Istanbul. I tried to get back to Kentucky time with my sleep but I awoke very early.

Wednesday, September 24th, was another day of Blogging. I made it through Rhodes, our last shore excursion of the trip. My laptop decided it was time to be wonky. It was a struggle getting through the last hour of Blogging. Still woke up at an very early hour. I slept well when sleeping but not long enough. 

Thursday, September 25th, I was up very early and went straight to my laptop. I managed to finish the Blogging. Then I prepared the birthday cards or the October birthdays of Relief Society sisters. I also got a hotel booked for Friday in Indiana. 

Friday, September 26th, I had the morning to do things. I got the draft of the Relief Society newsletter as complete as could be until after the Relief Society lesson on Sunday. I watched one more episode of Northern Disclosure. And, I scanned all the paper we brought back from our trip that will go in the PowerPoint of our trip. The PowerPoint is our scrapbook of our travels. 

Then we were off to New Albany, Indiana. Claude had the annual training for the Communications Counsel on Saturday starting at 8:30am. We didn't want to have to drive from Georgetown real early. We had a nice room at the Holiday Inn Express by I-64. I found a back way to the next exit down on I-64 and we were able to have dinner at Chipotle's. We almost were in a wreck as we used a parking lot at the Kroger to turn around in. A lady in a big truck was doing a pull-through from the next lane over and sped out from between the two vehicles and almost into my side of the car. Claude and she gathered it up and a crash was avoided. Ugh!! 

Saturday, September 27th, We attended the Communications Council training. B. Todd Bright had a good agenda and the day went smoothly. 

When the meeting was over, I went to the Jeep. Claude attended a different breakout session at the end and our agreement was we would meet at the Jeep. I have a Jeep disability. Every time I open the door to the Jeep on my own, the alarm is set off. We had a fun interchange with our Stake President Rex Holt and I shared how I couldn't open the Jeep door with setting off the alarm. Well, I got to the Jeep and decided that this time I would use the key in the key hole to open the passenger side door. I heard the click that let me know that door was unlocked. Then I pressed the button and opened the door. Yep, that alarm went off big time. I put the key fob in my hand and tried to press that alert button. The alarm was only going off more rapidly. Ugh!! About that time, Pres. Holt came out of the building and was grinning at me. He knew what had happened. He tried to help. Every time we pressed the alert button, it was like restarting that alarm. Pres. Holt suggested I start the Jeep and see if that would stop the alarm. We tried that, it did not work. Pres. Holt went inside to find Claude. Another nice lady came by and she also tried the key fob only to keep restarting the alarm. I knew that eventually, if we just let it alone, it the alarm would stop. I was resigned to stay there while everyone walked by wondering. A nice man was going to get in the car beside me and asked if he could help. I assured him any help would be appreciated. He took the fob and explained I should press the alert button like this...then he pressed the button and the alarm stopped!!! Oh My Goodness. He asked if I minded if he showed me how by pressing the button again. I assured him that was fine. He pressed that alert button and the alarm started. Then he pressed the alert button and the alarm stopped. All was quiet and I was very happy. Pres. Holt came back out and said he talked with Claude. He asked how the alarm stopped. I shared how the man had helped. Pres. Holt said, "But you pressed that alert button, I saw you! Yes, I did. But, I must have an alert button disability when it comes to Claude's Jeep. Whew!

On our way home, we stopped at Chili's for some dinner. It was nice to sit in the restaurant and eat and chat.  

Sunday, September 28th, I again woke early. I looked at my cellphone and had and eMail. When I checked it, it was from the Communications people in Salt Lake direction and the Communications people down the line about handling the passing of President Russell M. Nelson, our Prophet and the President of the Church. Pres. Nelson had recently turned 101 years old. This last week, we had received word that his eyesight was failing him. 

I posted this on Facebook: 

    "Our beloved Prophet Russell M Nelson passed away yesterday.

    "When my father had open heart surgery many years ago, his surgeon learned quickly we were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He shared that the doctor who trained him was Russell M. Nelson. He shared that, not only was he an exceptional surgeon, he was also one of the best persons he ever knew.
     "General Conference is Oct 4th & 5th. We will miss Pres. Nelson. But as Uncle Bob used to say, "He has graduated to the next step."
    "I am grateful for his unfailing kindness and strong testimony of our Savior. He was an exemplary leader. "

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/.../president...

We attended church and I enjoyed a great lesson in Relief Society. Our Relief Society president, Jenessa Dymock, taught it. She used the April General Conference talk by Sis. Tamara Runia about repentance. 

We had Panera Salads for lunch. Claude took a nap and I curled up in my recliner to clear some DVR's things. 

Then the news came about a tragedy in Michigan. The chapel at the Grand Blanc, Michigan ward had a truck rammed into it. He then set fire to the building and started shooting people. One report says there were five victims, one of which was the shooter and eight wounded, seven are stable and one is critical. The congregations meetings would have started at 10am with sacrament meeting being first. The shooter rammed into the front door of the church at 10:25am. The chapel would have been full of people. At this point, no one knows why he did this. Such violence in any situation be it a church, a school a shopping mall, an outdoor event, whatever, makes no sense. Prayers for each of these families. They will heal and they will mend. My heart goes out to them. 

In the evening, we got a call from our Katelyn. She lives in Muskegon, Michigan and this gave her extra feelings about this tragedy. She wanted to have a prayer over the phone with Claude and me. We talked through what had happened and let her share all the feelings she was having. Then Claude said a beautiful prayer. Katelyn was more calm when we finished. So grateful she felt good about reaching out to us. Grateful for this tender moment in our lives.

So, Sunday was a day of great emotions. 

While we were gone, our family kept on living their lives. 

Hayden was moved into his new apartment for his final year at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois.

Bailey's parents, Andie and Michael, went to her first football game. Bailey is attending Campbellsville University and is in the marching band. This was something she really wanted from her college experience. Andie shared all these pictures.

And, Nelson Thompson, one of great grandmonsters, had his birthday on September 21st. I posted this on Facebook when in the Athens airport. "While we wait for our delayed flight in Athens, it is important to remember today's Happy Birthday wishes for Nelson! Aubrey Bre Thompson posted a cute picture of Nelson with his friend. I cropped it so it just shows our boy with that great grin. I noted he has lost his 2 front teeth. Happy Birthday, Nelson! We Love Ya Bunches!!"

Life just keeps on turning. We are getting back into the groove of life after our trip. Let's see what this week brings!!

2025_0920-0921 Norwegian Cruise Line Viva to Athens, Then Home...

There is an idiom: "All good things must come to an end." It is said when you accept that even enjoyable experiences cannot last forever. Don't get me wrong, there are things that are eternal. I believe in them. However, when it comes to a vacation, the phrase applies. We arose Saturday, September 20th, to begin that long journey back to our little spot on this planet. 

We had to be out of our room by 8am. You see, there are a LOT of staterooms and each must be cleaned and readied for those next set of cruise guests who will arrived at noon or shortly thereafter. We were dressed and out of our room by 7:45am. Breakfast was eaten in Surfside Cafe one last time. Then we made our way to the Belvedere Lounge to await our announcement to disembark. Each group is assigned a color. Our color was gray. These were all the guests needed coach transportation back to the Grand Hyatt. The Belvedere Lounge is where we waited that very crowded morning we needed a tender to get to Santorini. It is right outside of the Commodore Cafe. Fortunately, it was not nearly as busy today as it was before. 

Gray was called and we walked down two flights of stairs to the 4th deck when you disembark from the ship. One last time to use the sail card. Out to the large room on the port where our luggage was to be waiting for us. We found one suitcase but could not find the other. The luggage was placed in lines by your group color. Claude started searching the other colors to see if it was misplaced. I found someone to tell them we could not find one of our suitcases. I believe I told this sweet lady about 5 times it was a twin to the suitcase we found. The only difference was that a zipper on a front pocket came off on this trip. Claude finally located our second suitcase and we were off.

The coach filled with guests going to the Grand Hyatt. Some were going to wait there for transportation to the airport later in the day. Other, like Claude and I, were going to spend the night as our flight didn't leave until Sunday. We were told to go in and wait until 1pm as no rooms would be ready till then. This meant a 3-hour wait. Okay, we can do this. We found a nice comfy sofa in the bar area and set up camp.

During this time, I had to be sure we had transportation Sunday morning to the airport. Remember, I had secured us someone who said they would pick us up at 9am on Sunday morning. He also said he would send me a text to confirm. I never received a text. I called before we left the on Thursday, September 11th, and asked them again to send me a text to confirm. They agreed to do that. I never received a text. However, before we left the Hyatt that Thursday, it was clear the taxi strike was over. I felt sure we could get something for a ride to the airport when we returned. I would spend some of this time making sure we had Sunday transportation to the airport.

I went to the Grand Hyatt's transportation desk. I asked him if he could help me be sure I had some type of transportation to the airport on Sunday. He assured me he could find a car for a nice price. He also said I had the option of taking a taxi. It did not need to be prearranged. There was usually one or two waiting in front of the Hyatt for a fare. It was only 55 Euros. I was okay with transportation. I went back to our sofa and called the transportation company and told them NOT to come pick us up on Sunday. He was not happy. I assured him I was not confident in him coming and he never sent a confirmation eMail. He started to give me a list of what he had done, etc. I simply told him all that was nice but unimportant. Our agreement was I would get an text to confirm so I knew they would come. He said he tried to call but my phone didn't respond. I assured him I told them we were leaving on a cruise and would not be using our phones all that time. Bottom line, he canceled the ride. Ugh! 

About 1pm, I went over to see if they had a room ready. This is where patience comes it. It seems we should have gone directly to the desk and put our names in another queue to get the first available room. Since we did not do that, the earliest possible room was now not going to be available until 3pm. Great! Back to our comfy sofa I went to share this good bit of news with my honey. The Hyatt had no facility to tell us when the room would be ready. We simply had to wait and go ask again. I did give the young many our security deposit okay so he knew we were sincere. And, he knew the room was paid for through Norwegian Cruise Lines as I paid them months ago when setting up the cruise. Patience and wait.

I finally went to the counter at 2:30pm and was able to secure a room. Yeah!! We went up to the room. Claude found a great history channel for us to watch. We both got a good shower. And we waited until time for dinner. 

At the Grand Hyatt, dinner in the dining room is at 7pm. However, we knew from previous experience we could opt for something to eat in the bar at an earlier hour. We decided the bar was it for tonight. 7pm was too late to eat. We had not had anything to eat since our breakfast on the Viva. To the bar about 5pm we went. Sandi at a really good club sandwich without the egg. Claude ate chicken tacos and fries.

Back to our room we went to watch a little more of the history channel and then try to get some sleep for the long day on Sunday.

Sunday, September 21st, our alarm was set for 7:30am. We were wake before that. After, checking my cellphone, I found a message from Delta that our flight was delayed till 2pm. Goodness. They booked us on different connecting flight in Atlanta that would leave after 9pm. This was when we should have been arriving in Cincinnati. Ugh! We decided to not leave the hotel at 10am.

We checked out of the Grand Hyatt at 9:45. A taxi pulled in fairly quickly and he said he could take us to the Athens airport. Claude opened the taxi door and I got in. After we were both in the car, he said to us, "I haven't seen a husband open a door for his wife in a very long time." Wow. He was a maniac driver. I asked about the kids learning to drive in Athens. He said the learn away from the city. Then they have to learn to be aggressive when they start driving in the city. He said their are traffic laws but the police don't really give tickets for offenses so everyone drives as they please. Yike!! He said the problem was all the little bikes and scooters that weave in between cars and change lanes suddenly. It is not as bad as Cairo, but it is getting there for crazy driving. I also told him he had a smooth ride in the car and asked what kind of car it was. It was a Mercedes. He purchased it himself. Then he had to buy a license to be a taxi driver. There is a process. 

The Delta counter checked us in thru Atlanta to Cincinnati. I had tried to do this with my Delta app. I had me checked in for previous flight schedule, could never get Claude checked in for that. Then, with the delay, the Delta app was not letting us do anything. It was very nice to have a friendly helpful Delta agent get it all set up. Our luggage was check in to Cincinnati, We would need to retrieve it in Atlanta to get thru customs. Then recheck it there.

Now for the very long walk to the gate. It was grueling. We found our way to the security check for the C gates. You used your boarding pass to get through it. Then on to passport check lines which again wound through many rows of stanchions in one room that fed to another room with many more rows of stanchions. We got through that and picked up our bags. When the checked our bags in scanner, mine was pulled aside. She was searching for a knife. I opened the pocket on the back, not knife. I opened the pocket on the back, no knife. I unzipped the top zipper and pulled out my purse, no knife in the backpack. Then she focused on my purse. I realized I had a nail file in one of the zipper pocket on my purse. I unzipped that pocket and pulled out the short nail file. I asked if that was what they thought was a knife. She said it was and I couldn't carry it. I assured her it was now hers. I really didn't need it that bad. In all our travels all over the world, I have never been questioned about that little nail file. Geez! 

We had one other passport check and then we got to our gate. Whew. We had to wait an hour for the plane to arrive. Delta gave out bottles of water and snacks to all of us waiting for the delayed Atlanta flight. Yeah! We did not get breakfast and a snack and water sounded great. Reminded me of waiting for a flight on Delta in the Denver Airport. They brought out a wheel and you could spin it to see what snack prize you won. 

The flight left on time and would be about 12-hours from Athens to Atlanta. The first half went fine. By the second half, I was getting antsy. Claude managed to watch four movies. I played on my Kindle and listened to some music. The plane arrived in Atlanta little early. 

We left the plane and found our way to Global Entry. You simply stand in front of a kiosk that takes your picture. If it matches what they have on file for you, you clear customs. As we left the area, an customs agent was checking our picture again with what the kiosk sent her. She would say our names and then we acknowledged it was us and we went on our way to find our luggage. 

We found both bags. They were very slow coming down the turn style. But we had them both and we were grateful. A man at the door was waiting to take the bags and forward them to the Cincinnati flight. 

Now, to find the gate. Atlanta is a pretty big airport. Claude had looked at the airport map on our monitors while we were flying. We knew that the International Flights had their own terminal at the farthest end of the airport. There is a LONG central walkway from one end of the airport to the other with knew that the rows of gates branched off from that in alphabetic order. Our gate was the next to last one on the opposite end of the airport. Follow the signs, follow the signs. Then, a split in the signs with the same directions on both sides of the split. One part went down a escalator. The other part went to the side of that and was broad and flat. What to do. No time to waste. Claude opted for the flat, straight path. About that time someone that appeared to be in some kind of a uniform walked past me. I asked her if she worked in the airport. She said she did. I asked her how to get to our gate. She said to use the elevator and take the 'train'!! I called out loudly for Claude to come back. We went down a very steep escalator to the train and rode in to the far end where our gate was located. 

We did find our gate and had only a few minutes to wait before boarding began. The flight to Cincinnati was only an hour. We had an exit row seat which gave us lots of room. We both tried to take a quick nap. Airplane sleep is not great sleep but a little can go a long way.

Our luggage was in Cincinnati, the shuttle bus was waiting for us and got us right to the Jeep. Again, another maniac driver. Claude drove to the exit and paid a life's ransom to get out of the parking lot and we were off to our home. We got home and were in bed by 12:30am. Whew!!

I am grateful we got to take this trip. We didn't fall. We did all the things we signed up to do except for the Agora in Athens. We saw and learned a lot. We enjoyed time on the Viva the way we like to cruise, very low key. Greece is an interesting place to visit. It is beautiful and the people and culture are interesting. It was great to have a bit of Turkey thrown in the mix. I was so happy to see things I had read and learned about. Before the trip, I read a book on the history of Greece, a book about Greek mythology, Homers books the Iliad and the Odyssey. I tried to learn some Greek using Duolingo. I was as prepared as I could be to enjoy this country. And, I did enjoy the trip. However, at the end of this trip, I told Claude I loved the trip but this was the first country I felt like I didn't care if I returned. Wouldn't trade the experience we had for anything, but it is a one-and-done for me. 

2025_0919 Rhodes, Greece...

Friday, September 19th, I was up at 6:45am. This allowed me seeing my first sunrise of the cruise.

I think it was the motion of the ship as the wind was still causing it to rock pretty big time. I hurled. Not good when you are headed out for your last shore excursion. I settled down and we ate breakfast at Surfside Cafe. Then to the Viva Theater for our 8:45 time to head out for our shore excursion. 

Today we would take the "Traditions of Rhodes and Home Visit" tour. This was the easiest of all our shore excursions. Our guide was Nectaria and the coach driver was Kostas. Rhodes is the name of the Island and also the name of the city. The Viva would dock in the city of Rhodes (underlined in blue at the tip of the island). Our first stop would be Koskinou (underlined in blue) just south of the city of Rhodes. Then further south to Bonis Ceramics (underlined in blue) and back up to Kastri Beach (blue underline but no city name). 

First, the village of Koskinou to see a Rhodian House. I took a picture of a cemetery as we drove to Koskinou. 

As we drove, Nectaria shared lots of insights about traditions and life in Rhodes. For instance, Greeks are very superstitious. 

1. They believe in the 'evil eye'. Someone can send bad energy your way by giving you the 'evil eye'. The evil eye is black. We saw several of these in souvenier places and they all had a blue eye around the black center. The gods had blue eyes. This means that blue wards off the evil eyes effect. 
2. If you say something bad about someone, you are to bite tongue and spit three times.

A tradition example would be houses. These are passed to the girls in the south of Greece. If you further north in Greece, the boys would inherit the house. Families take care of families. As the parents age, they are taken care of by the daughters. If a couple decides to immigrate to another country, they leave their children to be cared for by the grandmother until they have a home and and jobs. Then they come back and get their children. 

These pictures are walking from the coach to the Rhodian House.

The Rhodian House was an great experience. Nectaria grew up in one of these homes and could share first-hand experiences of living in one. This particular home was owned by a woman who, on her passing, gave the home to her daughter. The daughter used it as a summer home. Eventually she rented it to the government and set it up as a museum for them. 

As you enter, the walk in the tiny front courtyard has a floor made of little rocks that are placed and set in a pattern. 

The home itself consists of two rooms. One is the main room which served as a living room and the bedroom for everyone. There were chairs all around the edges of the room for us to sit on. 

There was a bed in the room which typically would not have taken up that corner of the room. The table in the middle of this room would have really been in that corner leaving as much space in the middle as possible for all the people to be in. Nectaria lived in a house just like this with her parents and brother and five cousins. Their parents were in the process of immigrating. On the back wall in this picture is a huge hutch fixture with storage. In that storage would have been the hand made items that would make up the dowry of the daughter. It also contained their clothing. One top of this hutch and placed in the center was a huge vase. A vase like this was given to the daughter when she married. She would display it in her home just as this one is displayed. These were very precious items to them. The right wall of this room had the beds. 

Lots of plates and hand crochets lace decorations. 

This view is from the hutch looking to the front door. Gives you and idea of the size of this one room. The left side of this picture is where the beds were built into the wall. To the right was the door to the tiny kitchen. 

 The floor was made with a pattern of stones. It looked like carpeting! 

On one wall were the beds. Behind that white curtain was a mattress bed. The curtain was the only privacy. Under the lamp in the second picture is a second set of beds. Nectaria said that as children, when it was bedtime, you climbed up into these beds, grabbed a pillow picked your spot for the night with all the other children. 

The other room is the kitchen. There was a small stove but no running water. 

After the kitchen, we were back in the tiny courtyard with the rock floor. 

This is the door to the tiny courtyard. 

This home had no electricity and no running water. You went outside and down a bit to where the toilet for the area was located. Baths were done Wednesday and Saturday. A very simply way of life. My mother grew up in a home that was much larger but also had no electricity or running water. I could relate to living that way.  

We walked back to the coach, passing a rock picture of the Collosus of Rhodes, a pepper plant growing in a pot on someone's front step, and grape vines. 

The coach took us further south along the coastline.

We would be treated to a demonstration of pottery making. This area has a tradition of pottery making. Bonis Ceramics is a family owned business. Dimitris Bonis inherited it from his father. He has two sons. One will pursue a different career. The other is a trained architect and uses his skills to work in the ceramic business. He will inherit this business from his father. 

We watched as the potter made a vase. The son told us all the steps he was taking and about their pottery business as the vase was being made. 

We turned our attention to another table and the father, Dimitris, talked to us about what happens to that vase after the potter creates it. The son showed us how he carefully and free-hand, draws and intricate pattern all over the vase. 

Then the vase is fired in the kiln and, when removed, it will be the terra cotta color.

A young lady was sitting at the table with paints and, by hand, was painting in all the colors in all the detail the son and drawn. 

The vase, or plate, or whatever they are making, will go back to the kiln after it is painted. Dimitris showed us two examples of how the color changes after it is baked in the kiln with the paint on it. 

There was a display on the wall of the patterns they like to use. Each has special meaning. 

Then Dimitris showed us a two cups. They are made with a stub coming up the middle of the cup. There is a line in the cup and you are to fill it no further that below that line. The purpose was to keep guest from being greedy with the wine and getting drunk. Archimedes invented a syphon which is a part of these cups. The bottom picture shows what happens if you over fill the cup. It will drain completely. 

Claude and I would purchase a small plate with a place to put a ribbon to hang on our wall of pictures from our travels. We also purchase one of the cups. It will pair nicely with our pee pee bear from China!

We had a few minutes to enjoy the views from Bonis Ceramics. 

Our coach then drove north to Kastri Beach. We enjoyed fresh squeezed lemonade and a slice of cake while enjoyed a beautiful Rhodes beach view. So very nice.

As we rode back to the Viva, I was able to get a few more pictures out the coach window.

The story is that the Colossus of Rhodes stood at the entry to the harbor with a foot planted where each of the two bronze deer are today. There has been much research and it is believed the Colossus was up on the hill where the Grand Palace is today and not standing astraddle the harbor. 

The old city walls are incorporated as part of the city. 

We were back to ship by 12:30pm. We went directly to our stateroom and dropped things all our stuff. Lunch was at Surfside Cafe. This time, I went to the dessert station to pick out our dessert. Claude loved their pound cakes in different flavors, so I got him banana pound cake. There were two other desserts that looked great to me. I picked up one of each for us to share. They were Italian cream cake and an apricot/apple/walnut torte. They were both delicious. That is one of the wonderful things about cruising, trying anything that looks good to you. 

I wanted good pictures of the old city of Rhodes from the 8th deck of the Viva on Ocean Boulevard. 

Dinner was at the Hudson. Sandi ate potato soup, Idaho potato pot pie, and coconut mango cake. Claude ate tomato salad, Alaskan pollock, and coconut mango cake. 

We enjoyed the view from the stern of the ship to see that beautiful wake one last time. 

We had the pack and label our suitcases and put outside by door by 9pm. Disembarking was being a reality.