Working Vacation

Wait, where am I?  What day is it?  It's been quite a month, and my brain is struggling to catch up.  Six weeks ago I packed my bags and left Ennis, first to run the Bozeman Marathon...

26.2 miles, done!

...then to spend some family time in central Oregon...

At the headwaters of the Deschutes River

...and finally on to the Greek island of Crete to lead sea-kayaking trips and do some massage.  Is it any wonder my sense of time is a little warped?

There were so many incredible shades of blue

Crete was amazing in so many ways.  I learned several Greek phrases ("kali mera" = good morning, "eferisto" = thank you), but most of my vocabulary had to do with food.  Moussaka, kleftiko, souvlaki, dolmadakias, raki, dakos, and choriatiki each found their way onto my tongue and into my belly.  I easily ate my weight in olive oil and feta, not to mention goats-milk yogurt and honey.  And since each place uses a slightly different recipe, you really have to try one of everything.

There were several moments where I had to pinch myself to make sure it was actually happening: sitting in the harbor town of Hora Sfakia watching a brilliantly-colored kingfisher hop from rock to rock; watching the sun set over the Libyan Sea from a ruined Turkish fort; paddling through endless azure waves past arid rocky coastline; looking over the whitewashed buildings of Loutro from a rooftop while giving a massage; and navigating through sea caves narrow enough to touch with both hands before entering a chamber lit through the water from below.  For many people this is a trip of  lifetime, and I was lucky enough to be along for the ride.

Now that I'm back home, it's fall.  The bears are ravaging apple trees for last-minute calories, frost lays heavy on the garden in the mornings, and the sun sits a little lower in the sky every day.  It's the season of soup and squash, anticipating snow and celebrating the sun, preparing for winter and saying goodbye to summer.  The birds, and part-time residents, are all flying south to warmer climes leaving the rest of us to nestle in and get ready for what comes next.

Home sweet home!