Summer 2013 In Review

Summer is coming to a close and, as usual, it is bittersweet to be returning to India (although we’ve been back for a month and half now).  It is always hard to leave friends and family (and clean air, toilets, and delicious food...) in the good ‘ole US of A.  But, of course, it is great to see all of our friends in India and our cat, Danni.  I really miss her sleeping on my face every night.  Isaac’s hair isn’t even close to as soft!  Sorry, dear.  

As we leave, I decided to write a blog about our summer adventures because as my sister says “Do you EVER write a blog post?”.  YES, Katie, I friggin write!  I just need to be harassed just enough for me to break down and get it done.  So thank you for being just annoying enough.  :)

This summer we had a few great adventures:

1. We visited Greece with Melissa and Jeff!  (See blog posts by Isaac)

2. We came to Texas and did the usual: Ate BBQ and Tex-Mex, talked about Obamacare with conservatives, and “enjoyed” the heat.  It was fun.  :)

Skye loves matching Isaac and Tom!  Seriously, what's up with the red shirts, fellas?  I guess it's because it masks blood stains?  

Nice crotch shot, Matt.

3. Went to Drew and Maki’s wedding in Pennsylvania.  T’was great fun!   We also got to explore Philly with Ben Raily!

This is the only pic we have with Drew and Maki actually in it.  I guess Isaac's career as a wedding photographer will have to be put on hold for a while.  Can you find them?

Is it a boy or a girl?  It's Pat's!  

I got mine with provolone instead of cheez wiz.  Big mistake!  BIG!  HUGE!  (movie reference?)

nuff said

4. Saw Erin Daniels in Boston. It was great to hang out with her for a few days and mooch off of her hospitality. Thanks Erin! She also tolerated me forcing her to go on morning runs AND take jumping pictures:

Haaaavad

Happy Birthday, America!

Don't fly away, Erin.

5. Finally got to see my parent’s new diggs in Madison.  Of course, I have no pictures of the place but it was pretty nice.  Madison’s a great town and we look forward to spending more time there next summer. We also got to meet up with our friends from Korea, Ryan, Jolene and Jayden.

6. Took sailing lessons!  Yes, Isaac and I are now officially sailors!  Feel free to give us any extra sailboats you have lying around.  Preferably something over 20 ft.  :)  See photo evidence of our sailing abilities (or picture posing abilities) below:

7. Visited Milwaukee.  Believe it or not, this was my first time to Milwaukee, despite it only being about 1 ½ hours from Chicago.  It was a pretty cool place.

8. Stayed with Katie in Chicago AND a lake house in Wisconsin.  It was a really great time and I think the most one-on-one time we’ve had in 7 years!

Justin Strickland, super-friend and whatever the opposite of an agoraphobe is came to hang out with us in Chicago for the weekend.

9. Got together with the ENTIRE CURREY FAMILY!  This was the first time in 4 years that all of the Currey bros and spouses got together.  Most public places cannot contain that level of Currey but some bbq place in Fort Worth with dead stuffed bears all over was able to accommodate everyone.  We also learned of Isaac’s brother Joel’s engagement to the amazing Morgan Hester!  I’m so excited to welcome her into the family as she appreciates my sense of humor (mostly involving bodily functions and general inappropriateness).  I can’t wait to make a special unrequested speech at her wedding!  Just kidding, Morgan........kinda.......

10. And finally, the most exciting thing we did this summer was.......go to the doctor!  Yes, it was pretty exciting for us because Isaac and I are going to have a baby.  Yes, we will finally be forced to be somewhat responsible adults.  Yes, Dad, REALLY.  

We will post pictures of our journey (and my growth) along the way.  Please feel free to disregard these posts if you get annoyed at looking at strategically placed nude pregnant pictures of Isaac and I like:

And now here are some pics of Danni in her new fave sleeping spot and in a onesie: (yes I need help)

Greece Part I - Crete

The end of school at AES inevitably is filled with tears - of middle school girls and boys leaving AES, India and their friends; of kids watching those same friends leave them behind; of seniors and their parents celebrating graduation to a new stage of life; and of teachers moving on and saying goodbye.

Fortunately, that doesn't last long as AES wheels out a banquet the minute the kids are gone and soon the faculty is celebrating another year. And within 12 hours, half the staff flees the oppressive Dehli heat for cooler climates to see friends and family, and to embark on a glutinous but glorious summer.

Twelve hours after the last student left, Becky and I were standing in Indira Gandhi Airport waiting to board a plane to London with about 20 other AESers. And a short 24 hours later, we reached our final destination - Crete. We hopped on a bus (we love the environment and saving money) and cruised down the rocky coast through small towns, tattered windmills and 5000 year old Mycenaean ruins. Crete is a huge island that couldn't possibly be explored in the three days we spent there, so we focused on Agios Nikolaos. With the weight of months of school lifted, and a long journey from India, it was all we could do to find a small cafe, drink some delicious wine and fall asleep in our room overlooking the infamously deep lake in the town.

We were awoken a few hours later to knocking on our door - our friends, Melissa and Jeff had arrived! Traveling with your spouse is amazing, but there are only so many games of cribbage two people can play before a new voice in the conversation becomes a welcome addition. Melissa and Jeff flew in from Texas for our Greece adventure. The next morning, we were off.

After a late wakeup, a lazy breakfast, and a stroll around town, we decided on a hike through the Richtis Gorge, one of many on the island. We laced up our hiking shoes and loaded a bus that 45 minutes later zipped right through the town we needed to stop in and kept on going. Flustered, I made my to the front of the bus to ask the bus driver to stop. The conversation went a little like this:

Isaac: Hey, that was our stop. Can you let us off now.
Bus Driver: [Silence]
I imagine his thoughts to be, "If I just stare ahead, maybe this guy will go sit down.
Isaac: Uh, can you stop the bus. Anywhere will work.
Bus Driver: [Silence] starring straight ahead - safety first.
Helpful Greek Lady: Αυτό ηλίθιος πρέπει έχασε στάση του.
Bus Driver: Γιατί δεν το βλάκας πατήστε το κουμπί;
Helpful Greek Lady: Έχει ένα απλό μυαλό. Μπορείς να σταματήσει το λεωφορείο;
Bus Driver: Όχι.
Helpful Greek Lady: He cannot stop the bus. Do you want to stop at the next place or go to the next city and get the return bus.
Isaac: I want him to stop now so we can walk back.
Helpful Greek Lady: He can only stop the bus at a stop.
Isaac: [Sigh] OK, we will get off and walk back.
Helpful Greek Lady: Οι ανόητοι θέλουν να περπατήσουν ξανά.

 Google Translate

And thus began our hike. A short one and a half hour pre-hike hike back to the start of the hike. We tried to make the most of it.

We did finally make it to the hike and it was beautiful. The Richtis Gorge:

Jeff braved the icy cold waterfall. 

        

 

The final day on Crete presented a couple of options. Four hours of travel to see the the centrepiece of the Minoan civilisation, The Palace at Knossos, or go to the beach and explore a medieval island fort. We opted for the fort.

Elounda

 Just a short drive from Agios Nikolaos is the town of Elounda with white sand beaches and the island of Spinalonga just off the mainland. The island was first fortified in the 1500's by the Venetians and later conquered by the Ottoman Turks, albeit 45 years after the rest of Crete fell. The Turks stayed there until 1903, again years after the Cretan revolt ended Ottoman rule, when it was turned into a leper colony. It was the last leper colony in Europe when it closed in 1957.

Looking back towards Elounda from Spinalonga. *Photo by Melissa*

*Photo by Melissa*

The lake in Agios Nikolaos is said to be bottomless. One taxi driver explained that there is one other lake like this one outside of Athens and that the two lakes are connected. Whatever the truth is (Wikipedia says it is 64m deep) it is quite stunning.

And, of course, what would a vacation be without games?

It would take weeks to really explore Crete, but our couple of days was enough to get a taste of the beautiful island. The next morning we work early and drove to Heraklion to take a ferry to Santorini, but that will have to wait for the next blog.