5:45pm

We have relatively stationary the last two days. Not necessarily by choice either. We thought we had a car rental reserved, but upon arrival found that there wasn't. The caretaker of a villa was kind enough at that point to offer us the use of his Toyota Cruiser (for hire), we jumped at the opportunity.

Only problem, when we go to take a trip the next day, battery is completely dead, and completely shot I'll find out later. One day later, we're up and running with a new battery. It's smokes pretty good and has that shake-rattle-and-roll feel, but it's get you from point A to B. Did I mention that it's a UK car? So I'm driving on the wrong side of the jeep in a country that drives like Canada, on the right side. Feels like I've done it all now :-). Did I mention that the jeep looks and drives like the Indiana Jones Ride?

Spent the day in Balchik yesterday, which was our first opportunity as a family to walk the beach. We were forewarned that Bulgarians don't mind sunbathing and swimming in the nude, or topless, so it was with a little trepidation that we entered the foray. The cue word is "Boobies, 2 o'clock", or something like that to give the kids warning. Thankfully, only two sets noticed by Sara or I and the kids were clueless. Whew! So far it's not near as bad as we thought it would be.

Last night Sara and I decided to leave the kids alone while we went out for a date. Found a very authentic Bulgarian restaurant with the cheesiest live music ever (also authentic). Was nice, but just as nice to be together with the family again afterward.

Today we ventured into Varna (where we are now) to buy bus tickets to Istanbul. It'll be another all-nighter, which on one hand means a so-so sleep, but on the other hand says no wasted time driving during the day. We'll arrive there at 6am on August 13 and have a good 30 hours to explore the Old city. Couch surfing too, so hopefully our hosts will be able to show us around.