In the evening today, Lily, Lydia, Eli and I went to the most unbelievable concert of young musicians who played concerto pieces with the Utah Symphony Orchestra. It was the most unbelievable evening. Some of the things we got to witness were:
Friends who were born on the same day and looked similar who performed violin together
A young woman who played the cello magnificently
Violin players, an amazing harpist, and beautiful piano pieces
A flawless performance of Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto
My favorite part was the Tchaikovsky violin concerto. That is one of my all-time favorite classical music pieces. The story behind it is amazing. Tchaikovsky wrote it with the help of his friend/lover shortly after his divorce, which completely devastated him. He didn’t dedicate it to his friend because of how socially unacceptable it was to be gay in Russia (especially at that time). That seemed to have caused a rift between him and his friend, because they didn’t talk again until his friend was dying. He then dedicated the piece to someone else, who rejected the piece and said it was too difficult to play. I think it took about a year for someone to come around who would and could play the piece. It is that difficult to perform! Yet, a teenager (the last performance) performed it perfectly (as far as I could tell). Even without any of the backstory, it would be an incredible piece. It is so melodic and alive, yet also a bit chaotic and fun. I just love it.
Everyone had an incredible time. We were all blown away by the talent.
We have loved being with Basil again (see two pictures below), but this entry is about how my mom and Jay took care of him while we were gone.
When we decided to go travel for the whole month of October, we didn’t totally know what to do for Basil. Worst case, we could leave him at dog boarding, but a month is a crazy long time for that. We figured maybe some friends could help, but we hadn’t lined anything up, and we felt bad about asking because Basil is a handful.
Then came my mom, and without any prompting just offered to take Basil for a month. We were so relieved and so happy to know he would be in a great place. My mom and Jay love animals, and my mom has a great yard for him. Not only did my mom watch him during our trip, but she regularly texted us pictures of our Basil while we were on our trip, which made everyone so happy with each picture and video. It was like little shots of sunshine during our already amazing adventure. It was so thoughtful!
My mom confessed at the end of it all, that it was a bit tough at times, and she did it during one of her busiest times for her tax business. It was such a sweet sacrifice, and we are so so grateful for her help. Below are some of the pictures she sent us.
Lily and I spent most of the day blogging. We were delighted to be invited to Lorilee and Jeff’s Halloween party. We trick-or-treated in their neighborhood after a delicious chili dinner, and it really made us feel like we got to celebrate Halloween. Isn’t their yard beautiful with the fall colors!
Early in our trip to Greece, Lily asked me if I was feeling something special inside being in my ancestral homeland. I was disappointed to report that I wasn’t feeling anything. That all changed today with our trip to Kolindros, the town where my great grandfather and great grandmother, Basil and Krisoula Darais, lived before leaving to the United States early in their marriage (Krisoula joined him a few years after he left because she was taking care of his mother, I think).
The day started when we left our farmhouse that we loved so much and took a drive to Kolindros.
Ammon threw up on the way, and I even took a picture of it because it was quite spectacular how much he vomited. I’ll spare you the photo. That also felt like a God moment because there was a huge rest area with a gas station, supplies and a restaurant within minutes of when Ammon threw up. This allowed us to have what we needed to clean everything up, and get lunch for everyone at Goody’s (which seems to be the burger chain of choice in Greece).
When we approached Kolindros, Lily and I were blown away by how tidy and bucolic their countryside is. It’s all organized into well maintained picturesque sections of farmland. We couldn’t get enough of it. Lily commented it was the most beautiful farmland she has ever seen. I too was completely taken by it. It also gave me a flashback to the Naxos farmland near Demeter’s temple that had such tidy and ancient plots of olive orchards.
This felt like a small nod to Meteora 🙂
When we arrived inside Kolindros, we drove around a bit and then went to their main square. I stopped into a shop which is the blue building below.
They were so friendly there, and one man spoke a little English and was able to tell me that there were a few Darais’ in town and he also told me my face looks like a Darais (so cool!). We really struggled so he found a nearby teenager to talk with me. The boys name was Stereos and he’s friends with a Darais (Nico?). His friend is the son of Konstantinos, son of Antonios (more on him later). I tried connecting with Konstantinos prior to my trip and received word he would not be able to meet with me. But it was so fun talking to someone who knows my Greek family! I think that Antonios was a cousin of my grandfather, Alexander.
Sculpture in the main square
main square area
Then we all needed to use a bathroom, and that was a perfect excuse to buy lots of sweets so we felt good about descending on someone’s toilet with so many of us. And I’m so glad we did! They were my favorite treats of the whole trip. I’m sure some of it was the magic of being in Kolindros, but the syrup filled balls of dough, baklava and chocolate creme cookie sandwiches were so good. The dough balls especially were so unique and addictive. I could get enough of them! The main behind the counter was also super sweet. It was confusing buying treats. He and the lady who helped me barely spoke any English. There was a sign for 6 Euros next to the chocolate cream cookie sandwiches. That seemed like a ton to me for one treat, but I bought it anyway. That must have been per kilogram or something because I didn’t have to pay near that much for them. Which is great because I asked for 5 and I got a giant box. Lol, it’s hard with the language barrier!
Then we all went to the cemetery to look for Darais names. Thank goodness we have Lily who knows how to read Greek. I never would have known that said Darais! This is the grave of Antonios Darais who I mentioned earlier.
I thought the graveyard and gravestones were so beautiful. I took a lot of pictures. It was also so amazing to spend time with my relative from across the world.
It was also so cool to learn how to write my last name in Greek!
Then we headed out of Kolindros, all the while continuing to admire the countryside.
We made our way to Portaria, except first we paid a quick visit to super-crazy-land. I actually don’t remember the name of the little town in the cliffs our GPS mistakenly took us to (right next to Portaria), but it was the one time on the trip that driving felt scary. It was night time, and the city was built into a steep mountain-side (dare we say cliff?) and the roads were incredibly narrow. We had to drive up narrow switch backs to climb the cliff. On the turn of each switchback, it was so steep that my large passenger van (seats 9 and has tons of luggage space) would completely pause mid-turn, so it could downshift and actually make it up the crazy steep incline. At one point we went down (and then back up when we realized we needed to turn around) a narrow brick passage-way that was so steep and narrow that I felt all of my adrenaline pumping as I tried to focus. Right after that (thank Goodness), we met two gentleman (who run a hotel and are starting a honey and olive oil business) give us the directions we needed. Roads were also crazy in Portaria, but NOTHING like the other town we were in.
Portaria was amazing, maybe my favorite place I’ve ever stayed. It’s also way up in the steep mountains, but roads are decent and the hotel gastronomy we stayed in was charming beyond words.
They serve food from their local farm that is remarkably inexpensive for how delicious it is. It was definitely one of our favorite meals from the entire Greece trip.
People went crazy for the baked apples. I think they were local, possibly even from their family farm.
We were all very tired and very full after such an incredible dinner. But I wasn’t too full for more of those crazy amazing syrup filled dough-balls!
Also, here is a video my mom sent about Basil eating a Pupachino. She has been so super sweet to keep sending us videos and pictures of Basil to further light up our days.
Also, I just want to effuse about Lily for a little bit. Today I got to be in my ancestral hometown, and for all of October, the whole family is getting the most incredibly rich cultural experiences and it’s all because of Lily. She had the vision for this trip and planned everything. Lily thinks day and night about how to provide her family with everything she can, and cultural experiences are at the top of her list. We are so blessed to have Lily in our lives who is always planning such meaningful, awe-inspiring and educational experiences. I love you so much!
This morning I ended work early, and helped Lily (who did the lion-share) pack up. We also briefly celebrated Ammon’s birthday since we’d be traveling all day on his actual birthday. We sang to Ammon and gave him his gift of an Amazon Fire. Also, Mary made Ammon the sweetest birthday booklet.
Then we all headed out and left for Philadelphia where we would catch our flight to Greece!
Duke University was started by a man James Buchanan Duke who founded the university in memorial to his father. The family had made their fortune in tobacco manufacturing, and today Lily took the kids to see the historically preserved Duke Homestead/farm. You can see in the final pictures that Mary was stung by ants. They went near the tobacco plants because they are pretty, but once Mary was stung, so was very distraught and they promptly left.
Today Lily took the kids to the Duke gardens. I am way impressed just from the photos. Photos and videos below!
While Lily and the kids were at the Duke gardens, I worked and had Dame’s Chicken and Waffles for lunch with Tim. I love and respect Tim, and it was so nice of him to meet me in Durham and suggest our lunch spot. The Chicken and Waffles were exquisitely delicious, and when I brought some home for Lily she loved them too and ordered them again for the family before leaving Durham.
As part of Ammon’s birthday celebration, we all went to Wicked. It was fantastic. Everyone performed remarkably, but the most memorable for me was Galinda (actually Glinda with a silent “Ga”) who was so over-the-top bubbly (as her character was supposed to be), that it was almost like watching a cartoon. The whole thing was fantastically entertaining.
While I worked from an Asheville Hilton, Lily took the kids apple-picking at Sky Top Orchards.
They started the experience with unbelievably good donuts. Lily said they are the best donuts she’s had in her life without any close competition. I had some later in the day when they weren’t as fresh and they were still amazing, but Lily was amazed by how pillowy they were when they were fresh.
After eating, the kids played in some fun play areas.
Apple picking was a lot of fun! They brought a lot back and I loved eating them!
There was also a bumblebee train ride.
If there is one part that I’m particularly sorry I missed out on, it is the apple cannon. The videos at the end of the blog say it all.
This morning, I went for a run, and I loved it. Also, this morning Lydia and Mary delighted us with a slide show about Greek Mythology. You will hear my foot stomp partway through the video. That was to kill a centipede. Bugs have definitely been a thing on our Carolina/Tennessee trip. Our place in Raleigh was riddled with cockroaches and had massive spiderwebs in the backyard trees (that could probably catch birds). A funny anecdote is that Lily commented to me about our Tennessee tiny home that, “it’s way better here, there haven’t been any bugs”. That’s when I broke the news of the centepede I saw during the girl’s presentation, as well as the millipede I saw first thing when opening the door to enter the place for the first time. Still, it was a way better bug situation than in Raleigh.
Then we all went to Dollywood. It is a theme park owned by Dolly Parton that celebrates life and culture in Appalachia and is a super legitimate theme park. We started the day on one of their car rides. Ammon loved it!
After the car ride, we did the train ride and the merry go round. The train ride was super memorable for me. It was a true coal-powered train engine that even served during war time in the US. It was retired at one point and then repurchased and commissioned for this park. It’s name is Cinderella, I think because it’s known for shooting hot cinders out of the top of it. They even told us first aid for what to do if a hot cinder gets in your eye. They said it used 5,000 pounds of coal per day, and when it was running, it produced a massive plume of black smoke that we originally thought might be a forest fire before we knew it was a train. Very neat experience, although obviously mixed with some concern about its environmental impact.
The train was also super super load, as evidenced by Clarissa in this photo.
Lily bought a wooden spoon from this locally renowned wood carver from Southern Illinois. Lily was enchanted especially because the man looked, talked and had mannerisms like Lily’s grandmother Clarissa.The wood of Lily’s spoon is osage orange. It was the hardest wood that he carved (both hard substance and his most difficult one to work with), but it was his favorite wood for spoon-making.
We also happened to catch a bird show about an eagle. I was so blown away by how majestic this bird looks. Very cool that it is our national bird.
At the end of the show, they had a bird that grabs donations from people’s hands.
I don’t remember what line this was for, but I have a vivid memory of a line for a rather intense kids roller coaster. Everyone was allowed to go on it, but Mary didn’t want to. We spent an hour negotiating with her to go, but in the end, we respected her wishes to not go. It was actually quite intense. Ammon, Clarissa, Lydia and I loved it. Ammon and Clarissa especially will be my future roller coaster buddies. Even at their young ages, they are all about the thrills.
Ammon on a fun roller-coaster ride for kidsOne of our last rides was a ride where people pull themselves up by a rope and then gently fall back down. Lydia made a friend in line and offered to share a seat with her since otherwise she would have been alone.Ammon pretending to sleepThey had really cool Halloween decorations up. There were human-sized figures made out of pumpkins throughout the park (very reminiscent of the we-witches figures), and also at night, these hanging pumpkin ghosts and other lit up decorations were very fun to look at.
Below is a picture of the porch where I worked last night until late.
Our Foggy Bottom Cabin in Pisgah National Forest was so cute and the scenery was amazing. Below is the view off of our porch.
We started the day with breakfast. Here I am entertaining Ammon and Clarissa while the food was on the way. This scene didn’t last long as I realized they were a bit too high off the ground for my comfort level.
We then went to the Great Smokey Mountain National Park. We first walked around an old Appalachia farm and walked a river trail.
Here is Lydia working on her Junior Ranger booklet. Lydia is all about the Junior Ranger program.I’m sure Mary loved seeing this pig!
After the river-walk trail, we went to an incredible overlook and walked a mile and a half up the Appalachian trail and then back.
We LOVED the Appalachian trail. Afterwards, we drove to Pigeon Forge, ordered food from the Old Mill Pottery House Cafe, had the best gumbo (on grits) we’d ever had, and saw a neat candy shop and even saw how they make taffy. We ordered a bunch of Taffy to help celebrate Ammon’s birthday season.
