Croatia

We just returned from a wonderful trip to Croatia. It is such a beautiful country, and the people were so friendly. We did a ton of driving, and the little munchkins were very good about it. Caitlyn didn't go with us because she couldn't afford to miss school, which was very weird and sad. I was surprised at how much I missed having her along. Anyway, we visited a national park full of waterfalls and lakes, although we only got to see a small part due to the weather. Then we traveled to Dubrovnik for a couple of days, then Split. It was interesting when the landlord of the apartment we rented in Dubrovnik took us to the top of the mountain and showed us where the Bosnians were launching their attack in the war. It was a really neat city!

The craziest thing was this detour we were forced to take. There is really only one road leading to Dubrovnik, and it even has to cross the Bosnian border (for about 10 kilometers) which was weird. Anyway, there was a little section of the main road under construction so we were directed to take this detour. Now, detours are usually a little extra driving, a few miles maybe, and then you get back on your route and you're on you way. Well... This route took us deep into these crazy mountains, where at times two cars barely fit (we shared the road with diesels and all), and at times, we thought we must have really missed something. The thing was, there was no other way. Needless to say, it was 80 kilometers long, and took over an hour. On top of that, it had construction going on it in three different places!! It was the craziest thing. And to top it all off, I had to use the potty so bad, and there was no place to even pull over for a bush. What memories!

In Split, we decided to take a little time out and head to the zoo (10 min walk according to the map). We hauled out the strollers and set off. It turned out to be on the top of a mountain, literally, up a zillion stairs, and more like 45 minutes later, we finally reached this little bitty "zoo" where the animals were in some crazy little enclosures. We could have easily reached in to pet the tiger, for instance, if we'd wanted. Memories of the tiger attack much better epuiped Zoos had us a little pensive. It was fun for Ethan anyway, and great exercise for us since we had to pretty much carry the strollers up the mountain, kids and all, and all over the zoo.

We're back home now, and getting organized for the packers to come next week. It won't be long now and we'll be calling Texas home.