"The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do, and the more genuine may be one's appreciation of fundamental things like home, and love, and understanding companionship." --Amelia Earhart The end is near. Tomorrow I am leaving Istanbul and heading back to Harleysville, Pennsylvania. I am ready. It has been one heck of a trip, but I am ready and excited for home, my bed, my family and friends. I am ready to not move for a long time....

On the 8-hour ferry ride from Athens to the island of Santorini we happened to run into our roommates in Athens, Angela and Alison from Harrisonburg. Steph and I stayed at a hotel on the western coastal town of Fira which had great views of the sunset every evening. We were told that the Greek islands are absolutely dead at this time of year, and we found this to be too true. There were three other people staying at our hotel while we were there! The weather ...

A 5-hour bus ride took us from Olympia to Greece's capital, Athens, on Wednesday. The next day we relaxed and recouped from multiple days of traveling, spent a lot of time on the internet, hand washed our laundry, and left the hostel only to buy ferry tickets to Santorini and to grab a bite to eat. My Greek salad simply did not compare to Mom's! After we returned to our hostel after dinner, we met a girl sharing our room for the night. I noticed a southern Am...

A 6-hour train ride, a 15-hour overnight ferry ride, and a 2-hour bus ride later, Steph and I arrived in Olympia, Greece a bit worn out. We met a lot of cool people during the journey, however. Four 22-year-olds from British Columbia, a guy from Argentina, 2 girls from California, and my favorites, newlyweds Joe and Kaitlin from Alaska. Obviously Palin fans, they were the first Republicans that I have met on this trip. They fish 3 months out of the year for s...

After waking to perfect weather, we headed to the port in Sorrento and caught a ferry to Capri, a small island off the coast, and had one of the best days of the trip so far. After arriving, we immediately hopped onto a small motorboat with about 20 other people and admired the gorgeous coastline on the way to the Blue Grotto, a sea cave where the sunlight shines through the water creating a bright blue color. At the entrance to the Blue Grotto, men in rowboats...