Greece--Day 1

Waiting for the 12 am departure

Our youngest daughter began a tradition that as a family we would travel together every four years. The youngest daughter termed our escape, Operation Get Away (OGA). We traveled to New Orleans, next to Australia and last to Hawaii. Then COVID disrupted every aspect of our lives.

Leaving Portland at 5 am

This year, we decided to start getting back on track. For a destination, people threw out places where they wanted to go. Everyone had a say. Then polls were held until the destination with the most votes won. The nine and eleven year old granddaughters did some research and let us know why certain destinations might be better suited than others. Pool/beach availability rated high as did animal sightings. Countries that produce and cook with dairy like it is salt--which was a comment from the nine year old--rate low. It was a fun selection process. 

Greek mythology continues as an avid interest to the nine and eleven years old granddaughters. This is likely because their mama, our oldest daughter, has an interest. Their votes cemented Greece as our destination. 

We chose to go in June after school was out so that our oldest daughter would be on vacation along with her daughters. As our trip drew closer, our youngest daughter changed jobs so she didn't have to take time off from work either.  

We all purchased our airline tickets months in advance. Using the VRBO app, Nicole located our accommodations. Amanda worked out daily agendas and purchased tickets to venues as needed. Of course, a month before we left, the airlines changed our daughter's  flights. They now had a 12 hour layover in Toronto. They tried to find a better connection. . .not possible.

In flight

Then, two weeks later, the airlines changed our flight. Our updated flight plan was to fly to Denver, then to Newark and then to Greece. We too tried to find a better connection. . .not possible.

We each were to arrive in Athens within an hour of each other. 

The day before our departure, Bob took our dog, Bailey to the spa. She wasn't having much to do with us as when the suitcases come out, she knows she is headed to the kennel which we call the spa. She is treated well there with walks twice daily and organized playtime. She would rather spend time with us.

Playing cribbage

The day of our departure, our friend, Rod, arrived at our home at 2am to take us to the airport. At our airport in Portland, local departing take a photo of their feet on the carpeting. Our Portland to Denver connection was on time. 

While people boarded at Newark, we played cribbage. As usual, Bob waxed me. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed because of weather conditions. (Lightening storms)

We sat on the tarmac for about an hour and a half. We played cribbage while people boarded. Then I watched a movie while we waited. . .

Archelogical dig of a former cemetery

This part of the trip was awful. While we waited the cabin temperature increased. The cabin was so hot, I thought that I would pass out. For future traveling, I will bring a container to hold water. The crew were as uncomfortable as we were.

When we landed, we had to wait for a gate to become available because we missed the one that was scheduled for us. It took us 23 hours to arrive in Athens. We each slept a bit but, not nearly enough.

Bob's bag came fairly early. Mine was at the end. He was teasing me that I'd be wearing the same clothes for days. . .But, my bag did arrive. Whew!!! Little did we know, but, our daughter's flight was delayed a bit too.  We collected our luggage and determined where we would wait for them, when they walked through to baggage

Menu board

claim. Their bag arrived faster than ours did!  

We found our way to our transportation. (It was set up through the VRBO rental.) When there are six people, one taxi isn't roomy enough for passengers and luggage. It was about an hour drive from the airport to the VRBO. We received the okay to drop our bags before the 2pm check in which was nice.

We drank some water. Then headed out for an exploratory walk. Right next to our building was the remains for an ancient cemetery. We discovered a coffee shop, an ice cream/sweet shop and scoped out dinner possibilities. It was hot (approaching 90 degrees) and humid (50%). We were glad for the air-conditioning in our rental!!!!

We had fish for dinner at Skoumbri. I ordered sea bream. We all ordered different dishes and we shared. It was like a big mezze. All the food was great. 

This post was written with Miss A's assistance.