Life has been a little silent on the internet side of our life as we have been patiently waiting..... and waiting...... hoping and waiting........
We had a great friend give us some buddy passes to have the chance to fly standby home for the summer. Since we are on a fixed budget it was an amazing option for us to have a visit back home. But as our friend said what we will not pay in dollars, we will pay in other ways. We wanted to beat the rush however, Zoe's passport was delayed which pushed us into the heavy tourist season.
Rewind to last Tuesday. We took our first attempt to fly out of Athens. Little did we know this was the closest we would get to the states. Jamie and the kids got the gate, but ended up taking the walk of shame back through baggage claim. Each day we would try to take the only flight back to the states along with tons of passengers, cargo, and other standby's.
Maria was the guardian of the gate, and in her very professional kind way turned down scores of wandering standbys daily. She would decide if we would fly or if yogurt, fish, or other cargo would take the open seats. Saturday there were 60 open seats, but the plane was filled with frozen fish.
So after six days we have thrown in the towel. I am going to send Zoe and Jamie home, and the boys and I will have the rest of the summer here in Greece. We will trade adventures in Phoenix, Montana, and Pennsylvania for some dad and lad time in Greece.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to make the attempt. There is always a next time!