Trip to West Virginia

It took a few days for the kids (and us!) to recover from the long trip, as well as the time change. One night, Benjamin decided he wanted to sleep in one of the suitcases in the closet. This could certainly save us a lot of money on airfare!

One day, we went for a walk on the boardwalk at Rehoboth Beach. The kids loved this statue.

Finally, we took a long road trip to go visit my grandmother in West Virginia. On the way, we stopped at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, which the kids loved. Above, we're looking in the dolphin tank just as a dolphin dives down.

Jellyfish!

The kids loved the dolphin show, especially when they came around and splashed us.

Here we are with my grandmother at a great local restaurant, owned by a distant cousin of mine.

And here are the kids playing on my grandmother's bed. Of course, it was the first time they met her.

Aunts and Uncles

One day, my parents gave the kids outfits -- a princess outfit for Phoebe and pirate outfits for the boys.

Here they are checking out their new outfits in the mirror.

We visited lots of my family on the East Coast. Above, we visited my uncle and aunt, who had a granddaughter about Phoebe's age. They hit it off right away.

We visited another aunt and uncle in Maryland. My uncle let the boys hold an officer's sword from the American Revolutionary War, part of his collection.

They have a playground across the street from their house. Above, my cousin Kim pushed Phoebe and Paul on the swing.

This is a great toy -- the first time we had ever seen one.

Next to the playground was a firehouse. They saw the kids and let us come in. They even let the kids play in the truck and turn on the lights.



For more photos from the East Coast, click here.

Trip to the Zoo in Cape May, NJ

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One day while visiting my parents, we took a day trip to Cape May, NJ, to visit their zoo, which is quite good and free.

First, we got on the ferry in Lewes, Delaware, and made the 17-mile trip over to Cape May.

Here's the ferry just before we got on in Lewes.

The kids had fun running around the boat. One of the boat's employees gave the kids coloring books and crayons.

Paul was wearing his superhero cape.

Here they are running on the benches.

At the zoo, we saw a lion, who even roared for us.



Here are Paul and Benjamin on a break in a gazebo.

Here we are with the giraffes.



Afterwards, we went to a Japanese restaurant for lunch and sat at the hibachi table. The kids, especially Paul, loved the chef's performance.

For more photos from the East Coast, click here.

Edwards on the East Coast

Because I finished my studies, we needed a new kind of visa to continue to live in Greece, which involved -- as strange as it may seem -- coming back to the US to visit the Greek Embassy, and then returning to Greece. 

So the kids got their first plane ride, their first trip out of Greece, and their first visit to the US. The trip was long -- 11 hours from Athens to Philadelphia -- but the kids were pretty good. Above, you can see them watching a movie on the iPad.

My parents were waiting at the airport to pick us up.

The kids enjoyed the huge playland inside the McDonalds near my parents' house.

My parents got out many of my old toys, including this little red wagon. They drove around my parents' neighborhood.

They also got a spin in Granddad's pick-up truck.

Of course, no visit to the grandparents could be complete without lots of ice cream, including visits to this nearby dairy farm that makes its own ice cream.

Here in the US, even the strollers have parking! I wish there was this much organized parking in Greece for cars!

Here we are visiting a replica of an old ship in Wilmington, Delaware. You can see the city in the background to the left.

Here the kids are playing in the grass near the ship. It is amazing how many well-kept, green public places there are!

For many more photos, click here.

Liturgies in the Chapels

Our parish has the tradition of celebrating certain feasts in certain chapels. For example, we celebrate the Exaltation of the Cross in the chapel to Sts. Constantine and Helen, since St. Helen is the one who found the Cross.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the "chapel" was actually the central church of a monastery, and is thus rather large. It was built in 1861. You can see the original, quite tall iconostasis in the photo above.

Here is a photo of the rear of the church, taken from near the chanter's stand. This was taken before Vespers, so you can see the table in the center prepared with loaves for the artoklasia.

On Saturday, September 15, we celebrated the feast of the local saint, St. Gerasimos the New, in our cemetery chapel of St. Paraskevi. Several of the parishioners had requested a Saturday liturgy there to commemorate their loved ones in the cemetery.

This chapel was built in 1808. In 2009, it was largely destroyed by fire when thieves broke in. The chapel has no electricity, so it seems the thieves took one of the liturgical candle holders and lit it so that they could see. They then left it, lit, propped up against the original wooden iconostasis.

The next morning, villagers attending to their loved ones' graves noticed the smoke and called for help.

Some small parts of the original iconography were saved and incorporated into the rebuilt church, which was completed in just one year through the donations of the faithful. The photo above shows some parts of the original, beautiful iconography, which seems to have slightly predated the "Athonite" westernized style which came to dominate later in the 19th century.

Thankfully, the apse seems to have been untouched, preserving this beautiful mural of the Three Holy Hierarchs and the Panagia "More Spacious than the Heavens."

Elder Porphyrios' Cell and Thermopyles

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One day, Pelagia and I had the chance to visit the monastery and cell of Elder Porphyrios, which is located approximately as the map shows above.

Here is a photo of the central church of the monastery he founded, the women's Monastery of the Transfiguration.

The elder's cell is located in an inconspicuous building and is cared for by an elderly woman, who kindly let us us. Above is a photo of his bed, with his stole laid out for veneration.

Interestingly, the elder had a parrot, which still lives in his room -- you can see him on the floor next to the red chair. Behind the chair is a needlepoint work with the verses on love from 1Corinthians 13:1-8.

In the building is a wonderful icon of the elder, which I believe was done by Fr. Stamatis Skliris.



On the way back, we stopped at Thermopylae (of the popular movie "300" fame), which is right off the highway. Read the excellent summary of this important battle in the link.

Here is where the Greek traitor Ephialtes led the Persians behind the outnumbered Greek forces. As a Greek friend pointed out when discussing the bishop's call for unity, it has always been the Greeks who defeated themselves. (See also Constantinople, 1453, when traitors let the Turks into the city walls.)

Here is a statue dedicate to King Leonidas of Sparta, above his famous words in response to the Persian king's demand for them to surrender their weapons: "Come and get them."