Pinch Me, I'm Dreaming

Last night my co-guide, Chris, and I went to dinner at Lion's Taverna, situated right on the beach a short walk away from our hotel.  The waiter Peter greeted us warmly (Chris is a regular face around here), then invited us back into the kitchen to view the day's offerings.  He pulled open tray after steaming tray of moussaka, chicken stuffed with spinach and feta, steamed local greens, mushrooms with seafood, swordfish steaks, and other goodies.  We pointed to our preferences, then returned to our table to listen to the surf, watch the numerous cats patrolling the board walk, and enjoy a real Greek salad (a slab of fresh feta atop cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, onions, and olives).  The rest of our food followed in the usual leisurely manner and we ate serenaded by a gentleman playing what we guessed was traditional Greek music on what we guessed was a lute.  The meal culminated with a small plate of fruit, most likely from the owner's farm, and the requisite shots of raki, the local liquor.  It's made with the grape skins left over from making wine, and each taverna makes their own.  Apparently they all taste a little bit different; perhaps by the end of this trip my palate will have developed enough to tell.

This is my life right now and it's pretty incredible.  The journey to Greece started Wednesday at Dulles Airport in Washington D.C. when Carl dropped me off at the curb, and culminated 28 hours later in a rental car with Chris driving across the island of Crete from Heraklion to Matala.  It was dark when we arrived so the next morning I awoke to the full effect of the small resort town, with its short stretch of shops, tavernas, cafes and restaurants, the crescent beach and crystal clear water, and the iconic rock formations that frame the bay, great layers of rock angling into the ocean with a whole network of caves carved into them.  This town has been a hippie hang out since the sixties and that vibe is still going strong.  A lot of places have live music, and its usually Bob Marley covers.

Amazingly enough I am here to work.  It's been good to have a few days to get my bearings, work on my tan, and learn the words for "thank you" and "good day" before being responsible for other people.  This will be Chris' 11th time doing this trip so he's got everything very much under control (which is reassuring for me), especially since we only have 5 people on this time around.  It's the perfect way to get my feet wet and see what this is really all about.  Today is the first day of the trip - Chris is in Heraklion now picking up folks from the airport, then we'll spend the afternoon outfitting people with paddling gear and perhaps even get on the water.  This evening I get to do my first massages since leaving Oregon.  Hopefully massage, like paddling, comes back as quickly as falling off a bicycle.

Operation: Feathered Friends

One of the hard things about leaving Oregon was getting rid of our chickens.  Sure, I knew they were in a good place at the neighbor's, and I really shouldn't have been that attached to them (they're only chickens, after all), but we did raise them from cheeping little chicks and the backyard looked empty without them.  So when Nancy brought up the Maryland Poultry Swap happening this weekend, Carl decided that his parents needed chickens, too.  It turns out there was a small fenced area that would be perfect, and an old dog house/sheep shelter that was easily converted into a chicken coop.  They left yesterday morning for a week in Maine, leaving Carl and me unsupervised in our poultry pursuits.

The poultry swap was an informal but surprisingly large affair of tents and tables set up in a field, and there were plenty of other dusty pickups with dog carriers in the back when we arrived.  In addition to chickens, there were ducks, peacocks, pigs, guinea hens, doves, goats, and English Pointer puppies.  We almost ended up with one of each, but I managed to keep Carl focused.  But even among chickens there were a ton of choices: little pluckish bantams, ridiculously feathered Silkies, roosters the size of a dog, Easter Eggers with feathered faces, prim Plymouth Barred Rocks, brassy Rhode Island Reds, and chirping chicks.  In the end we decided on a mix of three Auburn Javas, two Rhode Island Reds, a gray Easter Egger, and a Buff Orpington/Easter Egger mix.  The last two will lay blue or green eggs and we can't wait!

The ladies checking out the buffet

The Palais Poulet - the open roof allows access to the nest boxes, and the green door slides shut

Interior view

Houdini the Easter Egger.  She's already tried to fly over the  fence.

Auburn Java

Carl coaxing the ladies towards their new digs

Our first egg!

 The ladies are busy settling in to their new homes - one of them has already laid us an egg.  Knutty Acres just got a little bit nuttier.

Wild and Wonderful

West Virginia is a pretty fun corner of the world.  Today we saw a whole group of Civil War reenactors, looking appropriately sweaty and tired in their wool uniforms, first breaking camp at an old church and then again further along the road towards the river.  The day after we arrived we got to watch a clutch of turtles hatch.  Ed found the turtle nest about three months ago while removing a tree stump and had saved the eggs, dirt and all, in a small aquarium.  It was very nice of them to wait for our arrival to dig their way out; after a couple hours there were four tiny turtles toodling around.

Baby turtles! The shell is about the same size as a quarter

After a couple days of down time we got to pack up our bags again.  Carl's college friend Brendan and his fiancee Alyson drove down from Boston to spend a day at Knutty Acres, swimming in the river and enjoying the company of 6 dogs.  From there we joined them on the drive to Morgantown and West Virginia University, and then on to Columbus, OH for a wedding.

Grill full of delicious bounty

Carl and Brendan were both eager to show us ladies all of their old college haunts.  Our first stop was Coopers Rock, which is a beautiful wooded area threaded through with hiking and biking trails.  I even found a new friend.

The Giant at Coopers Rock

The views extended all the way over to Morgantown and were pretty amazing.

Coopers Rock

Our second day in Morgantown we slept in, strolled around town to find some Mountaineers gear, and then headed to the Forks of Cheat Winery for some lunch.  Cheese, meat, crackers, and wine makes a balanced meal, right?

Enjoying some cheese, meats, and wine at the Forks of Cheat Winery

 It was pretty funny walking around campus.  We amused ourselves by trying to identify the freshmen, wandering glassy-eyed among the brick buildings, and watching the antics of frats and sororities recruiting new members.  Needless to say, we all felt really old, so we drowned our sorrows with amazing burritos from Black Bear and beer at Morgantown Brewing Company.

Morgantown and WVU as seen from the president's house

 The best part of the drive to Columbus was the massive thunderstorms with torrential rains and arcs of lightning.  We got to stay on the 12th floor of the Hyatt Convention Center, at the same time the cat convention was going on.  While we didn't see any cats, there were a lot of weird people wandering the halls.  The wedding itself was in an old Catholic church in the historic Germantown area. We all did our best to behave.

Behaving in church

 Scott and Katie make a beautiful couple, made even better with bubbles.

The happy couple post ceremony

 The ceremony was over in time for us to catch the second half of the West Virginia football game, to Carl and Brendan's great joy.  Soon enough it was time to get dressed back up for the reception, dinner, and dancing. We clean up pretty good.

All dressed up

 Carl made lots of new friends with his vest.  With all the time and effort I put into making that thing, I should hope so.  Thanks, Grandma, for the sewing machine that's smarter than I am!

Full effect of Carl's fashion statement

The fantastic four, foot loose and fancy free

Good times were had by all.  The next day Brendan and Aly dropped us in Lewisburg, PA on their way back to Boston and we bid our dance partners adieu.  Ed and Nancy met us there to hang out with their old friends, check out the house where Carl grew up, and enjoy delicious sandwiches and homemade wine from Oips.  Now we're back on the funny farm, relaxing and preparing to go to Greece.  The fun just never stops!