Hey, I'm back! This is the last part of the honeymoon. Hope you enjoy. Please read AND review. Thanks!
The next morning after breakfast, Reid told his bride, "I have a surprise for you."
"What is it?" Max inquired excitedly.
Reid smiled mysteriously. "You'll see."
They exited the hotel and caught a bus to their destination.
One the way, Max was asking questions to try and figure out the surprise. "Are we taking a ferry to one of the islands?"
"No." Reid replied.
"Are we going to Thesselonica?"
"No."
"Are we going...?"
Reid interrupted. "Just wait and see. I'm not going to tell you."
Max stopped asking questions but she didn't stop guessing. However, nothing could have prepared her for where they ended up.
"The airport?" she asked, confused.
"Yes. Rossi chartered a plane for us. We're going to Crete. We'll stay the whole day and we'll catch the plane back late tonight.
"Oh. My. GOSH!" Max squealed.
"It's supposed to be one of the most beautiful Greek islands. We'll explore the island and I'll even go to the beach with you." Reid promised, as he caught his wife who threw herself into his arms.
Max pulled back and stared at her husband in awe. "You hate the beach."
"I'll give it a chance. It'll be beautiful with you there." Reid softly stated, kissing her.
Max raised her eyebrows hopefully. "Can we go to the beach with the pink sand?"
"That's the plan. What's the point of going to Crete if you can't see the pink sand?"
"I'll make it worth your while." Max suggestively told the man. By then they were approaching the plane. Reid introduced themselves to the pilot and he and Max boarded.
"This is incredible." Max breathed out.
"It's not a long flight. We should be there in a couple of hours. It takes eight hours by Ferry and the plane is at least ten times the speed." Reid informed her.
The plane ride went quickly and before the couple knew it they had landed on the island. Max couldn't stop gazing all around in amazement at the scenery before her.
"This is heaven!" she exclaimed.
"It is exquisite." Reid agreed. They caught a tram to the beach and found a place to change into bathing suits. Both were wearing sunglasses but Reid also had on a lightweight long-sleeved shirt and water repellent khakis as well as a bucket hat while Max had on a straw sun hat and mesh swimsuit cover-up. They waded through the clear aqua water to the pink sands of Elfonsia Beach. Reid reached down and found some beautiful pebbles.
Showing them to Max he said, "These would look pretty in a dish on the end table or the coffee table."
"I bet we could find one in town." Max replied delicately rolling one the pebbles in her hand. Reid smiled and took a handkerchief out of the bag with the towels and after finding one of Max's hair ties, made a little bag for the pebbles. When they reached the shore, Reid was hesitant, but Max immediately took her sandals off and sunk her toes into the sand.
Reid looked slightly disgusted. "Sweetheart, how can you do that? You don't know who's walked on this beach. There are germs everywhere." Max gave her husband an amused but affectionate look and took his hand. "This is one of the cleanest beaches in the world. We'll be fine. Come on, Babe. Let's build a sand castle. The sand is so pretty. We don't have sand like this at Virginia Beach."
Reid looked skeptical. "I don't know. Getting covered in all that sand that people have walked all over and animals have done lord knows what in?"
"Spencer, Come on. Live a little. Please? For me?" Max pleaded. Reid couldn't say no. Luckily he had come prepared.
He took out a pair of latex gloves and put them on. Then he took his wife's hand and scouted out the best spot for a sand castle. He found some buckets and shovels lying on the ground and started to build. He started with the base. Max had worked out a design and was helping him. After a little while, some of the others on the beach came over to see what they were doing.
"May we help?" asked a little girl.
"Sure. Grab a shovel and join us." Max affirmed. Soon more and more children wandered over to join them. The parents were watching carefully from nearby Some of the kids helped with the sand packing while others got water in the buckets. Still others combed the beach looking for pebbles and shells to use for decor. Some of the parents came over and helped with the complicated parts. Max smiled as she watched her husband interact with the kids. He would make a great father someday.
The sand castle took two hours to build. By the time they were finished, it looked like a fairytale castle. Max and Reid gathered the kids behind the castle and with their parents' permissions, had a picture taken with all of them and the castle.
When they were finished, Reid asked, "Do you want to go for a swim, Max?"
"Sounds great!" was the enthusiastic reply. The pulled their coverings off and left them by their beach towels and ran towards the water hand in hand. The water felt amazing. They swam for about half an hour before they decided to break for lunch. They dried off and put their cover-ups on again. They ate at Taverna Panorama right near the beach so they could return for more swimming later.
While their food was settling they did some souvenir shopping. They found tee-shirts for Morgan, Simmons and Blake, a ball cap for Alvez, a tote for Kate with the Greek flag on it, a stuffed donkey for Hank, and a hot pink souvenir straw hat for Meg. A little further down they found a specialty ceramics shop where Reid got a coffee mug. They found a bottle of Greek olive oil for Rossi to use in his cooking and a jar of Greek honey for Emily. They found a tea-towel for Tara that said Crete and had two donkeys embroidered on it. The put the items in the large tote bag and then headed back to the beach for more swimming before they needed to catch the bus to another part of the island.
After swimming, they found a place to shower and redress before catching the bus to Herkilon Archeological Museum. That had been Reid's choice to see. After looking at all of the historical artifacts for a couple of hours, they stopped in the gift shop and found a beautiful old looking little ceramic dish for the pebbles they had found earlier. It was near seven PM at this point so they found a restaurant with an outdoor patio that overlooked the beach nearby. Max thought it couldn't be more perfect. She was in one of the most beautiful places on earth with the most wonderful man in the world.
After they had eaten, Reid took his wife's hand and said,
"Let's take a walk along the beach. It's pretty deserted in some parts of the beach." He led her to a quiet spot on the beach and they walked along with the tide. The water lapped at their feet and felt amazing. Max saw a little cave in the rocks and led her husband over to check it out. They explored the cave for awhile and then continued their walk before heading back to catch their plane.
It was late when they returned so they got ready for bed as soon as they got to their room. The next morning they would take the ferry to Aegina island.
Reid and Max left the next morning right after breakfast. Aegina was only about an hour away by ferry. This time, Reid got to choose where they would go first. They started with the temple.
"You know, St. Nicholas actually first put coins in stockings of three poor women so they would have a dowry. The stockings were hung by the fire to dry. That's why it's a widely practiced tradition to hang stockings for Santa to fill on Christmas Eve." Reid rambled.
Max smiled. No need to tell her husband that almost everyone knew that legend. There was a gift shop near the church so they stopped in and found a Christmas ornament with Aegina scenery on it for Savannah and an 'Our first Christmas' ornament for themselves. After that, they broke for lunch before doing the last of their shopping. They found a shop that specialized in olive wood gifts, They got a wooden honey dipper and dish to give to Emily for the honey and a serving bowl and spoon for Rossi to go with his olive oil. For Kristy Simmons they found a set of salad tossing utensils and for JJ there were beautiful olive wood salt and pepper shakers. Outside the shop there was a lot more for sale. Something caught Reid's eye.
"Max, I've been teaching Sammy to play chess as you know, and I was thinking this would be perfect for him." Reid pointed to a gorgeous handmade backgammon/chess combo game board.
"He would love that! It's perfect! Babe you're the best uncle a kid could have." Max exclaimed.
"Well, I am going to enjoy teaching him and playing it with him. There was another special traditional Greek board game nearby which they purchased for Alivia Callahan.
They decided to next head to the beautiful Moni beach. As they walked down to the tram that would take them there, Max spotted a little shop with displays outside. She saw the final gift they needed, a onesie for Rosie Simmons that said Greek Princess. They put the gifts in the big tote bag and caught the tram. There were changing rooms where they put their swimsuits and cover-ups on before hitting the beach. Moni beach was spectacularly breathtaking. They looked for shells for a little bit and got into a game of beach ball with some kids and their families. The little ones thought Reid was a very funny player. They found his lack of coordination hilarious. Reid tried not to feel hurt. He knew they weren't trying to be mean. How were they to know that he had spent his childhood being laughed at by bullies because he was bad at sports? Max sensed that he was getting uncomfortable with the teasing so she squeezed his hand and quietly explained to the kids that though they weren't trying to be mean, the teasing could be hurtful to the other person. The kid seemed to understand. They apologized and played together for a little longer before Max excused herself and her husband and the couple removed their beach cover-ups and took off into the water. They stayed at the beach for a couple of hours before showering and redressing to get dinner. There was a music concert that night that they both wanted to attend.
Again, they arrived back at the hotel really late, but this time they took a little longer before calling it a night. The next day was their final day in Greece. Max had really wanted to hike Samaria Gorge on Aegina Island, but there hadn't been time the day before. This time they would make a day of it. They were getting food for a sack lunch at the base before they set out. It was a five hour trip, but they both knew it would be well worth it. They made it all the way to the waterfall and swam in the water for a while before taking selfies. Then they hiked the rest of the way to the abandoned village. They refilled their water bottles and headed back down. That night they were eating dinner at the GB Roof Garden in Athens. It was their last romantic dinner in Greece. After dinner they walked around Athens looking at the attractions they had missed that were still open. Max got one more souvenir, a tee-shirt that said Athens on it and had some Greek pictures. Reid found a polo style shirt made locally.
"I think I need a really authentic souvenir. He explained to his wife. There was a free concert going on at a nearby marina so Max and Reid listened to the music and sipped drinks. They didn't stay out too late. Their flight was leaving the next morning and they still had packing to do. As Reid kissed Max under the stars before heading back into the hotel, both of them had mixed feelings. It was sad to be leaving Greece, but it would feel good to get back home to their loved ones.
Well, the honeymoon is over now. Back to real life. There will probably be two more chapters of this story. Thanks to all my faithful readers and reviewers. Catch y'all Monday for the next chapter. Sunday is Easter and I will probably be spending time with my family. Happy Easter to all my readers who celebrate. Blessed Passover to all who observe that holiday. Bye!
