A Florida Wedding

At the beginning of October, Erin and I were lucky to be able to travel home for her brother's wedding. It was a stretch to do it, and we were happy that our school allowed us a few days off for this marathon trip back home.

When you live overseas, it's easy to make an excuse for these family affairs, and let them slide by the wayside. After all, Florida does seem like a long ways away when you are sitting on your porch in Turkey, watching the sunset and listening to the evening's call to prayer. However, that's just the point. Our home will never cease to be in America, and if we stop taking part in family affairs, then we risk losing it. It's our choice to live overseas, and we firmly believe that that choice does not equate with abandoning our home; so when weddings and other family celebrations occur, we feel it's our job to be there. And so we were.

The wedding was a grand American-Italian affair. We loved meeting Vanessa's NY Little Italy family, and with the added bonus of my parents coming down to take part in the festivities. I was even able to take a dip into the Gulf of Mexico and down some peel and eat shrimp at Sloppy Pelican's on St. Pete beach.

A personal highlight for me, was my new Canon 10-22mm lens that I bought on Craig's list and had my Dad bring down to me. Most of these pics were taken on this crazy lens, and I love it.

Three cheers to the newly weds. We can't wait to see you again this summer:)

-Tim

Olympos. Redux

I love Olympos, Turkey. Turkey isn't much of a backpacker's haunt, and I miss that after living in South America for two years. In Quito, if I ever wanted a touch of home, I could go down to the Irish Backpackers bar, and check in with any of the dozen or so expats rolling though town. It was fun to hear their stories of travel, and I got to return the favor by passing on hints about Ecuador. Nothing like this exists in Ankara. But, Olympos, now that's a vagabond's heaven.

We spent four days there this past September with my sister who was visiting from Washington D.C. Between relaxing on the beach, swimming in warm blue water, and sailing around to swimming holes and sunken cities, we managed to fill our days. The highlight may have been the outrageous Orange Bar disco, an outdoor affair set back in a canyon that hosts rock climbing during the day. The music is still thumpin' in my head, and images of Turks with mullet haircuts drift in and out of my dreams....