August 26, 2025
I headed over to the main house to grab coffee for Kayleen and I once I woke up. Johngo is still roaming the property at this point, around 7:30AM, but less guarding anything and more looking to play. Quickly I learned the lesson that I need to be ready for his gigantic puppy excitement as he bounds toward me nearly knocking me over. I played with him, bracing my core each time he ran to me and came away with a few scratch marks and arms covered in slobber. I tried to distract him at one point by picking up a rock and throwing it into the sea for him to chase but as soon as I picked up the rock he rolled on his back and cried. Mehmet, who was enjoying watching me use all my might to wrestle the massive Johngo, told me they think someone threw rocks at him before they took him in as he fears anyone who picks up a rock from the ground. He is still a very loving dog, even with such a sad start, and could not have found a better place than Mehmet’s family.
Today we planned to leave Balikliova to explore for the first time since arriving. Mehmet suggested we head to Ephesus so that is what we decided on for today. Dan, Mehmet’s friend from Goldman, was happy to join as well which meant we would be squeezing 6 people in Mehmet’s BWM X1 again. After another Turkish breakfast we set out.
We did not plan to subject Mehmet and Dan to Harry Potter so let the boys bring two Pokémon books to flip through on the drive. This proved to be a fatal mistake that would haunt the car for the next few days. 5 minutes before we were planning to stop for coffee Lenny looked over and asked “how much longer?”. Once he confirmed he didn’t have to pee I could see in his eyes he didn’t look well. I told Mehmet he might get sick soon and ten seconds later Lenny was puking all over the back seat.
Kayleen started to catch it in her hands and then we replaced her hands with Lenny’s bucket hat. Mehmet pulled over on the highway and the four of us piled out of the backseat, it took longer than you would think to undo everyone’s seat belts. I threw the hat dripping with puke out of the car, accidentally hitting Kayleen in the leg. Once we all got unbuckled and out, we assessed the damage. Ollie was thoroughly covered, as was Lenny but Kayleen and I mainly had it avoided it on our clothes. The boys got stripped down to their underwear on the side of the road but a police car pulled up and told us we couldn’t stop here as it was not safe. We got back in after wiping as much puke out of the car as we could.
We stopped down the road at a gas station and Starbucks. I got water for everyone, along with towels and cleaning spray that smelled like melon. All of the visible puke and stains on the leather seats came off with some spraying and wiping. The boys, still in their underwear, would be addressed at the next stop where Kayleen jumped out with Mehmet to buy some replacement clothes. Once we got back on the road to Ephesus, we realized Lenny must have puked into the vent as the air conditioning brought on a strong smell. It would be a constant battle between the melon spray and the vent air for the rest of the trip. Ollie let out a “Mamma Mia” at the whole situation, but mainly the fact that he had been directly puked on. He has been saying “Mamma Mia” more and more lately.
Once at Ephesus it was hot! While we bought our tickets Kayleen got the boys rainbow slushies to try and keep them cool as long as possible. We hit the bathroom just inside the entrance and began our walk through the ancient city. There was the massive amphitheater, the above ground tombs, the ancient library, and the dwellings all seen while trying to stay in the shade as much as we could. After the ancient dwellings Lenny informed me he had to use the bathroom urgently for number two. Once we discovered the only bathroom was the one back by the entrance, I knew my time at Ephesus was over. We walked the 15 minutes back as fast as we could, trudging through the hot sun. We made it in time but once done had no plans of walking all the way back, fortunately everyone else had their fill too and were coming back to meet us.
Kayleen grabbed some figs from a local fruit vendor as we made it back to the car. Our next stop was the Virgin Mary’s house which was 15 minutes away, up the in the mountains. It was a winding road which was made worse with the car’s hot puke smell but we made it. The boys got some Turkish ice cream, way chewer than normal ice cream, as we waited in line. The house was tiny, just two rooms, and it was her last knowing living place. Mehmet had been tasked by his mother and sisters to get some blessed candles and we got some for Lisa and Queen as we thought they would appreciate them the most. The boys lit a candle for Danny, Lisa’s father, outside the house. After dodging a few giant tour buses, we got back to our car and headed to lunch.
Lunch was at a covered outdoor restaurant but the covering did little to fight off the heat from the sun. We had salads, kebabs, and french fries. There was a McDonalds next door and I am convinced that the fries were from McDonalds! The food was good and after being so hot, and now full, most of us didn’t last long staying awake on the car ride home. Ollie yawned but quickly told me that it was a “wake up yawn” and not a tired yawn. He was asleep shortly after the reminder.
