This has been a crazy summer of sailing, travels home and to The States and now back again. For the sake of continuity and the record I am including a few highlights and pics of the month I was away from Greece.
I spent ten days staying with lovely hospitable friends who graciously allowed me to come and go with ease. Mum and I sampled fares from many local tea rooms ( including an unforgettable blueberry and lemon curd cake). 
We spent a day on the Isle of Wight…where we found extraordinary acres of red poppies.
Milford beach made a great venue for a paddle-boarding and bbq get-together with fun loving kids and grand-kids before watching England win a match in the World Cup. Suppers, chats and squeezed-in visits with them and more friends were all a welcome bonus.
I was a little apprehensive about the several flights and transfers necessary to 
reach Joel and Chris but after a welcome lift to Heathrow from Abbie the lounge culture ( a welcome reward for us both from Simon’s years of travel) took over and I easily transitioned from continent to continent.
On one hop, I think to Houston, the middle seater was a retired antique dealer with a thatch cottage opposite a renowned royal estate. She enlightened me as to the locals’ antics during her 90 residency days per year, thrust into my hands a tin of goodies, scooped as we left the plane through first class then sought me out at baggage reclaim to hug me goodbye. I think that was the leg when I mostly listened!
The following twenty days in Jacksonville were a helter skelter of welcoming 
a new grandson, entertaining his older brother and adjusting to the strange but ever-so-slowly endearing culture ‘over there.’
Whilst Milford dried to a frizzle and Greece tragically blazed then blew, Florida enjoyed a daily pattern of sunshine and electric storms. Swimming in the warm rain was most acceptable.
Memories of the lazy stretched vowels of those who had time to chat;
the extraordinary farmers market ( under a flyover and on the waters edge ) featuring local live bands and colourful food trucks, watching ‘Marlene and Tom’ croon out ‘Dock of the Bay’ as their gig finale, water-fights with a two year old and his dad in the pool, pelicans flying over the beach, a luxurious birthday treat pedicure and generally hanging out with long not-seen kids …will all remain in the joy box for a long time.
So many tearful hello..goodbye..see you soon and waggy tails…and then suddenly there we were back on Rope Sole anchored in the bay.
During this time Simon sprinted across and around the Cyclades with Kezzie 
as trusty crew then back and down the Peloponnese coastline before returning to hang out with Salty Dog, read a few good books and generally manage the windy and unpredictable July weather. An astonishingly vibrant rainbow over Poros was definitely his bonus.