We took a flight to Bodrum in August during first Bayram. Prior to take off, a woman with a young daughter got on the flight. While waiting for the line to move, she was about two rows in front of us. We were in our seats looking out the window. The daughter then proceeded to throw up all over the floor of the plane. Someone found a barf bag and handed it to the woman as the child continued to throw up, but finally in a barf bag. The flight attended got a couple of napkins and put it over the puke. She then told the rest of the passengers to watch their step and to step over the puke. Just prior to take off a cleaning crew arrived and cleaned up the puke... with a funny smelling chemical. AND we were off. The landing was so up and down that Sam was about to lose it- BUT we landed with a hard bump and we were off to our vacation.
Check in was fine and we were off to our rooms. The boy's room was rather large and the AC made the hot humid day feel much better. Off to our room. AND THE AC WAS NOT WORKING?!?! Realize it was in the 90s with high humidity. So a call to the front desk produced about a 2 1/2 hour process of language barrier problems with the mechanic about the AC not working. Eventually, the AC was fixed and we went to dinner.
Reed learned that the boys were old enough to scuba dive. He found a great company that had very trained instructors with great equipment. FYI- there were many cheap dive shops with very questionable equipment that we could not believe were open. So we were happy with our choice. The boys; Reed, Nate and Connor, loved the scuba diving! From the reports things went pretty well except for a few mistakes;
Apparently, after learning the ropes they were going to do their first dive. The instructor told Reed to stand near the back of the boat and to 'stop'. Reed thought she told him to stand near the back of the boat and then to 'step' - as if to step off. Well, he was weighted down with a weight belt, but they had not countered the weights with the inflation of his vest yet. SO when he went to the back of the boat and stepped off he sunk right to the bottom of the ocean floor. The staff freaked (or so it was told to me) and the instructor partner to Reed jumped in, grabbed him and pulled the lever to inflate the vest. The partner then help Reed surface and get back on the boat. The staff was a bit scared and apologetic.
Part two of the dive.... So everything was going fine during their dive and they were having a great time. The staff took them to a rock so that they could have some photos taken. During the group photo, Connor could see a caterpillar type of creature that was bright in color. We have watched enough National Geographic to know that creatures in the wild that are bright in color usually are dangerous with some poison. So Connor was freaking out. He was waving and pointing trying to get someones attention because the creature was very close to Reed's leg. FYI- They were wearing only swim suits so they had bare legs. He knew the creature would sting Reed's leg if he could not get someones attention. SO he continued to try to communicate underwater with his mouth piece in to everyone about the creature. Finally, his instructor came over to see what Connor was fussing about and check on Connor's equipment. Connor then pointed out the creature. The instructor then pushed Reed aside, with a gloved hand waved at the creature and got the dangerous crawling critter away from them. When the dive was over they learned that the creature was poisonous and if Reed had been stung, it would have been equivalent to a sting from a jelly fish. Nothing that would kill Reed, but a very painful sting that would make Reed pretty sick for a day or so. THANK YOU- Connor for keeping your dad safe.
We ventured off on a day tour to Ephesus. I was so excited for the tour of the Ancient Greek City. The day before we were on a boat for several hours site seeing the different coves and snorkeling. I get sea sick so that was not my cup of tea, but I made it through the day without getting sick. So Ephesus being a land adventure... Yipee!
We arrived and did not know that Ephesus was a very large Greek City. It was a hot sunny day. Now the kids don't fare well with the sun. So they were looking for the shade every chance they could and were not listening to the stories about the City. Sam was whiny and crabby, so Reed had to deal with him and missed out on most of the lectures. In the end we got on the bus and the kids told me that it was not their favorite. The city was too run down and barely standing so it was not interesting. I almost laughed. I then pointed out that the city was from the 1 century BC and it had endured many earthquakes and there was important Christian history. They were not too interested in the whole thing. On the way back from Ephesus we stopped at a pottery shop to learn about the pottery there, the traditions, and the painting of the pottery. Oh my gosh. The kids were into the pottery and the store. They asked so many questions and wanted to buy things from the shop..... really?!?!? Are you kidding me? The Gospel of John was written from Ephesus, Mary's house is nearby, there is a large gladiator arena in the Ephesus and none of it interested them. BUT the pottery and the making of pottery is cool- Go figure?!?!
Pottery after being formed on the wheel
Ephesus
The Gladiator Arena in Ephesus
The rest of the vacation went pretty well. During the last day at the resort we were swimming. That day the older boys went to the docks while Sam and I went to the slides. I was talking with a couple who were from the UK when Sam approached me touching his head. He then told me, "I fell." I then noticed that he was feeling a rather large bump on his head. It was bluish in color and rather large. I had not seen one like this... I felt as if we were a cartoon with the bump growing out fast from his forehead. I immediately started asking him questions; Do you feel like throwing up? Do you know if you were knocked out? What is your name? When is your birthday? Who is your best friend? Where are we? ... and such. He seemed to be with it and not confused. So I had him lay down on a sun chair. I turned to the UK couple and asked them to watch Sam while I went to venture off to find ice. I found the ice and came back to Sam. He then asked me how big the lump was and if it looked bad. I told him that it was noticeable, but OK. He then pointed to a lady and said.... Cause that lady does not think it looks good AT ALL. Apparently, she had quite the reaction to seeing his forehead. Poor guy! Swimming was done for the day and he had to have quiet time for a few hours to make sure he was fine.
Poor Sam's forehead after icing it for a few hours
Not too many bloopers... We hope you enjoyed reading about them. Overall, we had a great time with the kids and seeing the sites!
