August 30, 2025
After our normal morning run into town to get fresh bread, Powerade for Lenny, and all the cold diet cokes Mehmet could find we enjoyed our last Turkish breakfast. I did my best to eat as much jam as was physically possible.
Mehmet had an early flight to head back to the US tomorrow morning and was planning to stay with his dad overnight in Izmir so we decided to get a hotel in Izmir as well. We didn’t need to head to the city until later this evening so had all day to enjoy the sea.
At the market this morning Kayleen grabbed a few foam boogie boards to float on and be impossible to pop. Before they were used in the sea they were an important part of the fort the boys made using a picnic table. We spent the morning in and out of the water and making round after round of “kids’ margarita” for the boys.
The game of trying to tackle me off the dock and into the water continued with much enthusiasm. My one sandal-less foot eventually started to wear on the docks rough edge. The boys got better at stopping before the edge when I would move out of the way. Eventually I resorted to grabbing them as they tackled me and falling into the water together. Thought before that Ollie tackled me in which produced one of my favorite videos of the trip. Both boys overwhelmed with excitement, Lenny can’t help but leap into the water as Ollie breaks into a dance.
For lunch we had Turkish fried bread, Pisi. Bread that forms a pocket that you can place cheese/Jam/pastrami inside. This gave me one last unexpected reason to eat all the jams again!
The boys were playing after lunch and Lenny slipped and fell bumping his nose which began to bleed again. The injury from the kayak paddle on our first day here is still not fully healed. Ollie was quick to point out this time was not his fault and eventually Lenny confirmed it was not. Fitting for him to have the bloody nose on the first and last day…
We relaxed after lunch with the boys watching a few shows on their iPad while I took a nap, folded up on my normal bench. Before it was time to shower and work more on packing the boys spotted Mehmet taking a few final jumps into the sea and asked to join him.
Dinner was fried mussel kabobs, fried zucchini flowers, and fried zucchini discs. Ollie loved the fried mussels and Len loved the fried zucchini (“crispies”) slices. It was a great last meal with Mehmet’s family and we hung out around the table until it was dark out.
We squeezed all our bags, and Mehmet’s, into his car which required some being held on laps for the ride. As we pulled out, we got the water send off from Mehmet’s mom and sisters. I’m sure it was meant for Mehmet but I like to think us too, no matter how many blooddrops Lenny left around the property during our time there.
We made it to Izmir with both kids passed out in the backseat. Somehow, we managed to get through check-in without waking Lenny up. Maybe all those tackles into the sea finally wore him out. We were all quick to join him as soon as we got to the room.
