Roman Ruins in Pula...

On the way to our next hotel, we stopped to see the Pula Arena, Croatia’s best preserved ancient monument. It is the only remaining Roman arena in the world to have four side towers in tact.

It was built between 27 BC - 68 AD and was used until the 5th century. Originally holding 23,000 spectators, it now accommodates 5,000 for theater productions.

A Lazy Boat Ride..

That afternoon we took a lazy boat ride to Visovac island to visit a monastery established in the 14th century.

It wasn’t the  most exciting journey, but it was relaxing.

As long as the kids got their daily dose of sladoled (ice cream), they were happy. That night we went into the cute town of Skradin to wander around and have dinner with Jan and Bob.

Lots of Waterfalls and Photo Ops...

Eventually we made it to Skradinski buk, a series of 17 waterfalls and cascades. After a quick lunch, the kids couldn’t wait to get in the water, which was very cold.

Krka National Park..

After seeing the last passenger off the Nikola, we rented a car to explore more of Croatia with Vivynne, Tony, Ariana and Max. We drove a few hours to spend two nights together in Lozovac. The first night we had dinner in the port city of Sibenik. The next morning we headed out early to go to Krka National Park.

Our walk started along walkways over crystal clear water.

Eventually we wound our way to some waterfalls.

No surprise that Jimmy and Veronica stayed behind to take more photos.

Our Final Celebration...

It took until our last night, but I finally had a nice photo taken with my sister.

The teens were happy to have one last feast together.

What a wonderful way to end an amazing week. Jimmy took the opportunity to tell some stories about me and got everyone else involved with making toasts in honor of my upcoming 50th birthday. I spent much of the night crying, mostly from laughing too hard but also tears of joy. One toast in particular was so touching that I asked John for a copy:

The White Light

“And in the beginning there was light.”

We saw the White light from afar, a welcoming glow that drew us in.
Dazzling, surprising it danced to a merry tune.
But our English reserve held us back
And we retreated to the safe shadows, still curious.

New young shafts of White light grew brighter by the day.
Like moths we emerged from the dark, mesmerized by the flickering flame.
And we followed the light far and wide: France, Spain, England, Croatia
And we bathed in its warm glow, and it united us.

We realized we did not need to follow the light but simply embrace it
And we started to glow and our own light shone.
For we are all rays of light in this wonderfully diverse world
And we are grateful to the White light for helping us shine!

Final Night on the Nikola...

Sunset in Dubrovnik

We hadn’t planned anything special for our final night, so were thrilled when the cook suggested that he prepare a BBQ dinner so we could dine together on the Nikola.

Bill and Nina opted to take Hagen and Carla to a restaurant, but everyone else joined us for a delicious dinner. Tom went all out to spruce up the tables.

Jimmy surprised me by bringing along our wedding ducks (a gift from Korea from my parents that is prominently displayed by the entrance of wherever we live).

One Happy Group...

When we pulled back into Dubrovnik, a few folks went ashore. The rest of us gathered together for our final group photos.

We even got the crew into some shots.

Sally and John gave me a shirt that could have been the motto of our cruise:

Keep Calm and Enjoy Croatia.