Acropolis of Lindos

 From our guide book:  "Spectacularly perched atop a 116m-high rock is the Acropolis.  It's a strenuous 10 minute climb to the well-signposted entrance gate." (And let me add here, the climb continues well after the entrance!)  "The 4th-century Temple to Athena is the site's most important ancient ruin.  Athena was worshipped on Lindos as early as the 10th century BC, and this temple has replaced earlier ones on the site."  In addition to the temple, there were Hellenistic ruins and ruins of a Byzantine church.  A whole lot of history placed in one spot.  Mostly our kids remember that it was really hot.  You can see our red faces and some glistening foreheads.  We might have picked the hottest day we were there to visit the Acropolis.  It was really fantastic, and the views were absolutely breathtaking.  I am going to let the pictures speak for themselves.

Hello Rhodes, Greece!

 Greece was our last big trip before returning to the States and I had been looking forward to it for months.  First of all, it had been really cold, windy and dark for so long that we all needed a good dose of sunshine.  Secondly, we had rented our own little villa that I was really excited about.  The top pic is taken from the outdoor dining area of our villa.  The beach in the foreground is about a half mile away.  Dave was the only one willing to brave the walk since it was pretty rocky and awkward.  The umbrellas are next to our pool, which the kids wanted to go in 15 times a day.  They had to settle for 1-2 times a day.  We were at the beach a ton too, so they got their fill of swimming.

 St. Paul's Bay is supposedly where St. Paul landed when he visited Greece.  It is small, but extremely picturesque. This was the first beach we explored and we quickly discovered that it was quite rocky, time to invest in some cheap water shoes.  In addition, there is a tiny chapel right next to the water and people flew from all over Europe to get married there.  I can't remember how many people we saw who had just gotten married, but it was a ton.

 In the city of Lindos, a pedestrian only city (well, unless you had a tiny motorbike), most of the restaurants had roof-top dining.  Fantastic views and it turns out that Greek food is pretty great.

 Goats run wild all over the island.  Dave and I started yelling GOAT! whenever we saw one.  The kids didn't think we were quite as funny as we actually were.

 Enoch was the first to test out the Greek beaches and water, he walked into St. Paul's Bay on our way back from eating lunch.

 Lindos is the city on top of the hill.  Beautiful.

 Our guide book recommended a trip to Epta Piges, a group of seven natural springs.  They called it an Oasis on the Island and it really was.  Going from England to Greece temperatures was a little shocking for all of us, but mostly the kids.  So they really enjoyed cooling off a little in the shade.

Point Defiance Zoo

Seattle in August turned out to be the perfect gateway to Virginia heat and humidity.  It was warmer than usual, in the low 80s most of the time, and absolutely gorgeous.  We were finally able to put our coats to the side for good.  It was a pretty liberating feeling.  I was very excited to get a chance to show my kids where I grew up and help them get to know my family a little better.  We went to the Point Defiance Zoo, which is the local zoo I went to as a kid.  They have added a fantastic kids play area and it was a perfect day.  We even got to see the baby cloud leopards which were pretty cool.

MagicLand

Almost as soon as we arrived in Seattle, we all crashed.  It turns out that an 8 hour time difference is pretty hard to adjust to.  By about 2 AM the next morning we were all awake in my parents basement.  We tried our best to keep the kids calm, but by 4:30 we were buckling them into the car to take them to breakfast.  Hilde: "Nothing is going to be open."  Dave: "Welcome to America Hilde.  What if I told you there was a place that was open and 4 different types of syrups?  Would you believe that such a place exists?"  None of the kids believed Dave.  15 minutes later we pulled into IHOP to screams of joy from the kids.  Enoch's absolute favorite thing to eat is pancakes and he asks for them just about every day (he gets them about once a week, if he is lucky).  The guy who sat us looked at us like we were either crazy, or abusing our children by getting them out so early.  Once we explained the time difference, he was much more cordial.  We ordered, and everyone DEVOURED their meal.  Do these look like happy people or what?  And yes, Hilde, America really is MagicLand.

Au Revoir England

 On July 29th, 2011 we left England, our home for the last 3+ years.  It was really hard for me to see that stage of our lives ending.  And we were really dreading the trip to Seattle, but in actuality, things went exceedingly smooth.  I guess all the travel we have done with the munchkins has trained them to be excellent travelers.  We got up way earlier than anyone should have to and went to Leeds airport.  We then flew to Amsterdam and caught a direct flight to Seattle.  10 hours.  3 kids.  Lots of bags.  And still, we survived. The kids were super excited to go and see Grandma Margo, Grandpa Ron, and all their aunts, uncles and cousins on the High side of the family.  I expected them to be pretty emotional, but the excitement diverted them.  We have had our moments over the last few weeks, especially with Enoch, but they were fairly minor.  These kids are sure going to miss their friends, their teachers, their school and many other things about England, but we have every confidence that they will be quick to settle in and make new friends on the other side.  We love you England, and hope to spend some time with you again in the future!

Our last weekend in England - Part 2

 I've said it before and I'll say it again - I LOVE YORK.  Here are the stops we made on our last trip into this great Medieval city:

1) The National Railway Museum - fantastic for kids, especially boys
2) York Minster - awe inspiring
3) Grounds of York Minster - perfect place to sit, rest, have a picnic, whatever
4) Fairfax House - we never actually made it inside, but since Dave is from Fairfax I always wanted a picture of this piece of York history
5) Clifford's Tower - tragic history here, fantastic view of York
6) York Castle Museum - I don't know why we never went there before, it was really great and had a superb kids section, just look at the pictures of the kids doing archery and skewering the ring!
7) Carousel