The 2011 Adventure begins...

Athens, Greece November 14, 2011

Our day started early in Northern California on Saturday, November 12. We were at the airport by 8:30 am, thanks to Clint.  He took us before he went to work so we didn't have to leave the truck for them to pick up later. Dominick was as antsy as a cat on a hot tin roof with his excitment over this trip. I have to admit that I know exactly how he feels.  Even though this is our third year to do a similar journey I was anxious to get going all of the past week. This is the first big trip we have taken since last year.  Dominick posted to his Facebook from San Francisco and will post again from Athens and hopefully many of our other ports. Some of his friends from school still don't believe he's going on this trip and I guess we can't blame them.   For an 11 year old this is pretty unusual. Excuse me I have been corrected...he is 11 3/4. We lost a day somewhere at over 60,000 feet between Chicago and London. So we literally slipped from the 12th to the 14th with little conscience thought, except that we were TIRED!

We  actually got a good nights sleep after a very long and bumpy flight from the states to London. Our plane was a little late and we had just enough time to make our connection to Athens.  London has "improved" Heathow since the last time we flew thru there in 2009. They have completed Terminal 5 but you have to go by air train to the other section of Terminal 5, go back thru security and then over to your gate. So once again you can't get there from here. I haven't figured out why these airports make more congestion and work for security by making you go out and come back in just to change from one concourse to another when they could have secure transport between. We had to do the same in San Francisco because one  the International Terminal only holds certain airlines and the rest are in the next concourse which is not connected. If they were smart they would have consulted me before doing this and I could have saved them millions of dollars because in each of just these two airports they are now adding on ways to accomplish this. Oh well, it is like I have said before they should always consult a woman for the most efficient way to set these things up.

We have just finished breakfast and the guys have gone to the roof to see if they can get a view of the Acropolis thru the clouds and mist with a little breeze blowing. We are waiting until 9 am to leave the hotel and find the HOHO bus as that is how we have decided to spend our day. We will visit the Parthenon and as many other sites as we have time for today. The Acropolis Museum is not open today but the archaelogical museum opens at 1:30 pm and we will try to go there as I think Dominick will enjoy the weapons display they have. It is very enlightening as to the materials and different ways  people used in ancient times to kill each other.  Like most 11 year old boys our grandson is infatuated with weapons, blood, guts and all things warmongerish. (Is that even a word?)


Dominick is in the room doing homework assignments he brought with him. He did some on the plane and we are encouraging him to do some each day in hopes he will not have to spend all his days at sea getting everything ready to turn in as soon as we get back home. He has lots of Math and he has been assigned the task of reporting on this trip. We bought him a notebook to use as a journal and are encouraging him to draw sketches and write down everything that he considers important. Tony has gone back to check on him and read for a bit before we get out and about.

We have also brought along a "Flat Meghan" for our great niece so she can share in our adventure. She had actually made one herself but it didn't arrive in  time so I had to improvise with a picture of her that I printed from her mother's Facebook page.  So it will work and I will save hers for our next trip and do it over again if she wants me to.

This has been a very long, wet, blustery cold day so I will give your history lesson tomorrow when my brain is functioning better. Good night for now.