2017 Year in Review

The early months of 2017 were spent with family.  First, Matthias' parents came to Crete for a couple of weeks over the new year.  Then, in January, we went back to Florida, took care of some mundane stuff (doctor/dentist appts) and then left for a Caribbean cruise with mom, (aunt) Laurene, and (cousins) Josh and Elisha and Andrew and Lindsay.  We boarded cruise ship in Tampa,just over an hour's drive from my mom's house, but it was made into two hours because Matthias realized he forgot his suit (that he bought specifically for the cruise) when we were halfway there.  The cruise line was nothing special - we were all a bit disappointed with the facilities/food - but of course we all had a blast!  Here's a summary: First night:  Sailing under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge at sunset was cool, especially since we drive over the bridge so much (every TPA airport trip).  We then had a belated birthday celebration (for me!) at the specialty restaurant.  I think I had a foo

Last sunset from our apartment terrace in Pitsidia, Crete Last time making our favorite hike - wildflowers in bloom! WELL, I have to laugh when I read the end of my last post. The plan as it stands now is to catch the ferry to the mainland, ride back across the Peloponnese and take the ferry to Venice, where we'll begin our ride toward the Alps and Germany. We plan to take our time so as not to hit the Alps too early. And a lot depends on how Matthias' bike holds up. It's making funny (but different) noises again - and that's without the trailer attached. The only part of that plan that held true involved the ferries.  We left our apartment in Pitsidia bright and early on April 8th - catching a beautiful sunrise - and started to ride the 70 km (~45 miles) to Heraklion. This involved riding over a 600 meter high mountain pass.  Matthias' bike got noisier and noisier as we rode toward the mountain (about 25 km) and then as we were about 6 km (~3.5