Bibinje, Croatia -- Day 1

We didn't research this one.  Sometimes we do.  This time we took each moment as it came, beginning with the traditional two-hour wait at Frankfurt-Hahn Airport where we checked in and then relaxed. 

The children immediately started a round of Golf.  (Thank you, Brian and Cindy!)

Our 2-hour flight was uneventful, landing in Zadar where we were greeted with a cloudless sky, palm trees, 72-degree weather and... a problem with our rental car reservation... which gave our budding herpetologists time to hunt...

This little diversion for the kiddos was perfect while us grownups reassured the rental agent repeatedly that "it was no problem."  It turns out that the website advertised wrong and apparently we reserved a car that doesn't exist in their company.  It was a beautiful, grace-filled moment in which we told the agent, "We're not worried.  Will you help us figure out our options?"  At this, he was incredibly helpful, bending over backward to get a hold of another company with a car that could seat six.  It felt like we had been practicing love and now, here... Love is patient.

Though, I'm not sure the local reptiles shared our sentiments...

Another American family stood in line with us to get their rental car.  The dad watched my children and then gave me a bit of encouragement I grabbed at just a little too eagerly, "Wow.  Your kids catch creatures."  I smiled and nodded, asking if his children were the same.  He continued, "My kids are interested but they wouldn't even think of touching anything that crawls!  They're more apt to say, 'Oh look!  A DS!  Catch it!'" 

Ah!  Those hand-held digital gaming systems!  I proceeded to tell him that I could relate...  That I had declared no digital entertainment while on holiday and that my children, well, what could they do... shrug their shoulders and... catch lizards instead, I guess.

After a while, Mike brought us a rental car and wrote a list of the top places in the area to visit.  We drove the 15 minutes to the little resort town of Bibinje, (pronounced Bib-in-yay), proceeded to get lost, asked directions from a handful of men sitting in the shade outside a cafe, and then waited while one of the men called our hostess for us on his cell phone affirming she'd "be right down to meet us."  A few minutes later and sweet Nives, (pronounced Neev-us), led us to the apartment. 

We could hardly believe the view.  Hadn't Eli told me earlier that very morning that his dream was to someday stay in a place that had the sea out the back door?  I turned to look at him and, well, his smile said it all.

Our apartment was on the main level... the one with the stairs leading down to the water.

After a quick adventure to the nearby Interspar Grocery Market, we made dinner and ate out on the balcony.

Croatia is full of wonderful people... but our favorites were definitely our hosts, Nives and Ryker.

The children waded in the water and skipped rocks as the sun set.

LeRoy and I sipped wine and listened to waves lap gently against the shore.  A short time later, Zae and Israel sat down on the couch in the living room and were asleep within a couple of minutes.  It wasn't long before we all followed suit.