August 2, 2025
Ollie was up first…can you see a pattern? After my 9:30PM bedtime I was ready for him and we were out the door by 8AM. I convinced him to go for a walk to get coffee with the reward of a few Pokémon battles and an almond croissant.
We headed out down the steps to town. His first Pokémon battle was a defeat but he then took over two gyms so was satisfied and headed to the coffee shop with me. At Ollie’s request we dined in, well sat outside the coffee shop on a bench, and shared the almond croissant while I had a cappuccino. Before we headed back, I grabbed two iced lattes for Kayleen and I. We found Kayleen and Lenny folding laundry that had dried overnight on our balcony. Probably the most pleasant place we have both ever folded laundry.
After more breakfast for the boys, it was time for home school. Always easier when they are as full as possible to avoid the “need a snack” excuse. We have been on a good roll with home school since getting to Croatia. Ollie wrote back to Kendall and Zach, doing a letter one day and reading a book the next seems to have him in better spirits. Lenny spent more time reading Hello, Crabby! with me.
After home school Kayleen headed out for a walk that turned into an errand trip, walking throughout town. She got groceries and all of us water shoes for the rocky, and sea urchin, beaches. We both remember our disdain for water shoes as kids but decided better to be safe.
She also ventured back to the seafood market before it closed at 1PM to get shrimp for dinner. The shrimp we wanted were still there, but the main problem with shopping late in the day is that the market is no open air. By noon it had heated up making the seafood smell overwhelming. A faulty credit card machine extended her time inside but she made it out before the smell got to her.
After lunch at home and some quiet time we headed out for the afternoon, just before 2PM. It’s really nice not rushing out in the morning to do things unless absolutely necessary. It makes mornings more relaxed and pleasant. Then we get home around dinner time to shower and relax.
Our plan was to head toward two sandy beaches on the other side of the city that Kayleen had found. We walked down the steps, past the waterfront, and through the market where Kayleen had gotten the water shoes. There were multiple water fountain breaks throughout the walk for the boys. After a quick stop to exchange the boys shoes for smaller sizes the boys agreed it was time to use their 10 minutes of Pokemon time. They won a Max Battle together and caught a variety of new Pokemon that we had not encountered before. Then a grocery store ice cream before we continued to the beach. They both choose a swirly bubble gum and vanilla ice cream which Lenny professed his love for may times during the rest of our walk.
We made it to Bacvice Beach which did have some sandy part at one end but the majority was a concrete pavilion that wrapped around the cove with ladders down into the water. It was lined with hundreds of people laying out on towels taking in the sun. Kayleen’s one piece suit, and eventual sun shirt, cemented her as “nun of the beach”. We laughed at how the food seems to be much better and healthier in Europe but they don’t care much about the sun or ripping cigs all day.
We found a spot partially in the shade on a bench and set up camp. Kayleen took the boys down one of the many ladders into the water, sporting their new water shoes. I stayed back and started my duties as the raft inflator.
They quickly made it out to the middle of the cove, Lenny cruising along with the help of his floaties. There were some big rocks where you first entered the water, along with a bit of garbage, but once past them the bottom was sandy. After stepping on a few of the big rocks we were glad to have our water shoes no matter how dorky they made us all look. The boys actually like them! Eventually they got to eight concrete columns out in the water that people would climb onto to sit or do jumps into the water.
I started to head out to them with the raft at this point. Though I was a bit nervous about leaving all our stuff, I took all the credit cards and cash with me in a pocket but our phones were left behind. I strapped the backpack to the bench in as many ways as possible, covered it with towels, and invited another family to share the bench with us hoping to deter any thieves.
Once I reached them out by the jumping columns, I realized that none of them could touch! They had been out there swimming for a long time while taking turns resting/doing jumps off the columns but all were happy to see the raft coming. Kayleen gave one last front flip off the column before I tried and flopped directly on my back, my worst front flip to date!
We played more random games on the raft; trying to stand, spin the kids off, push it under the water and pop the kids off, etc…. Then it was time for a pretzel and pistachio (nuts with shields) break which led us to discover that nothing had been stolen, hurray! After devouring those snacks, I convinced the boys to come with me to a snack stand near the sandy beach section. They only agreed because I told them I would not get them anything unless they came.
The snack stand was more of a bar but luckily also had ice cream so the boys got another one! Aperol Spritzes for Kayleen and I. While we were waiting in line Lenny was feeling the music and dancing around, eventually turning his dancing focus on Ollie. He kept getting in his face while doing his moves which Ollie tolerated for longer than I expected. Eventually he had enough and when Lenny got real close, he kneed him right in the jelly beans. The people waiting behind us burst out laughing. A shot to the jellies is cross cultural humor.
After another quick dip in the water with the boys we decided to head home. Both boys complaining of a bathing suit rash was all the reason we need. We rinsed off in a shower by the water and changed into dry clothes before looking for an Uber. To our surprise an Uber home was only 5 EUR, seems like we got had by the local taxi drivers who charged us 20 EUR to get to a closer beach.
Once home Kayleen started work on dinner and I showered the boys before releasing them on the next Marvel movie, Captain America. Their goal is to get to a movie where they get to see all the Avengers and Thanos. We called Meghan Koppel to wish her a happy 40th birthday and say hi before I headed out down the steps to get wine for dinner. I got two bottles to avoid having to do the walk again tomorrow night!
When Kayleen was peeling and cleaning the shrimp, they looked different than any other shrimp we had before. The coloring was like lobster and she said they felt very tender. Once she finished the shrimp risotto, we called the kids to eat. Like all kids in history, they complained of the peas in the risotto which we helped them eat around. The shrimp were delicious, probably some of the best I have ever had.
