YOB: International Adventure 2010 (Part 3) Olympia/Mycenae/Athens

By Lara

We woke up in Olympia in order to see the site of the ancient Olympics... and the former site of one of the ancient wonders of the world. There isn't really much left of Olympia. There are ruins of gymnasiums and bathhouses. The famous temple of Zeus and the temple of Hera. The remains of the Olympian stadium comprise a patch of dirt and a stone gate. Several members of my group took the obligatory crossing the finish line photo. I did not. Pshf. I don't RUN. Not even for pretend in pictures... Unless I was running for my life, but even then...

Karen had promised us that Olympia was flat. I seem to remember walking uphill for quite some time to get back to the bus. It wasn't "the sheer cliff on a mountain" steep, but it was not flat. Olympia was nice, though. I have some lovely "ruins" pictures. We also saw a lizard. He ran away before I could photograph him, but he was very cute.

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Life Is Funny: Er.Um.Uh.That.You.There...

By MAD21

I hope I'm not the only one who has trouble forming proper sentences when shocking things happen. Things like being a passenger in a car when the driver doesn't realize the cars in front of us have stopped. Instead of saying something coherent like, "Hey! Hit the brakes, the cars have stopped!" It comes out as, "Er, uh, ack, um, uh... (most times accompanied by furious pointing and pushing the invisible brakes with your own feet on the floor in front of you)."

Depending on where you live, you may or may not know what a Cicada is. Let me inform you. They are these nasty, LOUD, huge bugs with wings that come out in July and August every year. Each year apparently has a different variety, there are the "every 2-years," and the "every 17-years," etc. All I know is that we have them "every year." They don't bite or sting or anything, but the ick-factor is very high, at least for me. They are like gigantic grasshoppers on steroids.

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Life Is Funny: Is This Forever?

By MAD21

I am going for a test procedure today that requires me to go under anesthesia. I'm not a fan of not being in control of myself. In the past I have woken up asking the same questions over and over again, or saying silly things. Once I remember telling the nurse that was helping me, "I liiike you." Ugh. As my family sits here and makes jokes at my expense, offering to video me this time (to which I emphatically said, NO WAY!), I think of this poor kid whose father decided he needed to share his son's experience after a visit to the dentist:

My friend and fellow blogger Wendy at Weight..What? has a fun carnival at her blog called "Life is Funny." Every Monday we talk about something in life that we find funny. Be sure to go visit her blog to read her post along with links to other blogs who are participating.

YOB: International Adventure 2010 (Part 2) Kalambaka/Delphi/Olympia

By Lara

Where was I? Yes. Kalambaka.

It had stopped raining in Kalambaka by the time we left the hotel. We drove back up into the mountains of Meteora. We visited the monastery of St. Mumblecough. I could reach over to my little pile of things to include in the eventual scrapbook to look up the name, but you won't remember in five minutes anyhow. It was beautiful no matter the name. There were more stairs to climb than I had expected, but it was worth it.

After I finished poking around in the various dark corners, running into monks, and wishing I could take pictures of the velvet-bound Bibles, I walked back down the stairs to find a place for some quiet reflection. I sat on a small stone wall where I had a view of a rose garden and two mountain peaks. I contemplated the surreality of it all. I was in Greece having a once in a lifetime experience. I tried to really take it all in. The cool mountain air. The distant birds. The sheer history of it all. The radio of the vendor behind me playing AC/DC...

Far too quickly, it was time to get on the bus. There were long periods of time on the bus. I know that we had lunch. I am fairly sure it was in Lamia. Yes! I had my first taste of genuine Grecian baklava. It was heaven.

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Life Is Funny: It's A Sign

By MAD21

My family loves July. I've talked before about why we love Independence Day so much, but July for our area also means the County Farm Fair. If you love tractor pulls, monster trucks, farm animals, dock dogs, baby pig races, and all the usual children's area activities (bouncy things, face painting, etc), then you'd love it, too.

After we had enjoyed our day and were properly painted and loaded with balloons and a bag of loot, we headed back to the car. We walked past all the cows and ponies to say good-bye and noticed this sign:

One can't help but wonder... is a sign really necessary? Really?

My friend and fellow blogger Wendy at Weight..What? has a fun carnival at her blog called "Life is Funny." Every Monday we talk about something in life that we find funny. Be sure to go visit her blog to read her post along with links to other blogs who are participating.