Vlore, Albania

Since we got off the furgon in such a rush, we started ensuring we had everything. Our middle child realizes he didn't have his hand-held gaming console on him. He put it in the pocket on the back of the seat and was rushed off the van so fast he couldn't grab it since he was making sure other things were in his backpack. Clearly, this isn't good. He saved his money, searched online for the one he wanted, and bought it himself. We don't want to leave it and think there's nothing we can do because there's almost always something that can be done. I take off running down the sidewalk, hoping to glimpse the furgon. I don't know where it's going or where to look other than the main street I'm on. While running, I slow down at intersections to check the side streets. I'm not seeing it anywhere.

Going back, I kept a sharp lookout in case he turned around. I hated to return empty-handed. However, blessings happened with the rest of the family while I was gone. There is a parking area for taxis by the bus stop, and a guy asks my wife if they want one. She declines, and soon after, a local woman who speaks English asks if everything is alright. My wife explained the situation, and the lady advised us not to take taxis in Vlore because they were scammers. Great to know. She also knew where the main stop for the furgons was, and it was pretty close. My oldest child ran to it when my wife was able to pull up the location on her phone and show him. I get caught up on all this when I return and go there myself.

I jog up the street, looking for my son and the vans. I don't know how long it took me to get there since I'm not paying attention to time. I found the vans but didn't see my boy at first. It was a straight shot up the street to the vans, so I wasn't worried about him getting lost. The furgons are lining the street, so I look for the one we arrived in. I don't see it. A few drivers are watching me check each van, and I try to ask them about the one I'm looking for and why. While I'm talking, I see my son walking toward me. He wasn't able to find the van either. I'm able to communicate enough with the drivers that one of them waves a younger driver over to help. He understands more English, gets what I'm asking, and has another driver call the guy who brought us.

I don't know if these drivers work independently or as part of a company, but they know each other and keep in contact. After the guy got off the phone, they told me that particular furgon would be there at 12:30, which is in thirty-five minutes. I'm relieved to know this and send my oldest back while I wait for the van. They arrive on time with the gaming console in hand. The guy who wasn't the driver hands it over, and I thank him. I jog back to my family, grateful that everything turned out for the better. Reflecting on what has just happened, I'm not mad at all. I'm grateful for the blessings we were given and for the experience as a whole. Something unexpected and not ideal happened. We got help from a friendly local, and Tanya was prepared so she could use that information and act. My son and I acted and found out more information we needed. Eventually, we got the game back, and I loved that it was a family effort. The middle child also learned a valuable lesson, hopefully.

We catch our bus and head toward our new place for the next month. Our new area is on the strip in a touristy part of town across from the beach. The main boulevard looked very nice, with large sidewalks lined with trees. We see the beach and start to feel excited about being here. The bus drops us off, and we find our way to the office of the building where we check in. It's an apartment, but a company rents out the apartments in a couple of buildings for short stays. We get checked in and go up to our apartment. The lady shows us around and is very helpful and professional in everything she does.

After she leaves, Tanya realizes this is a different apartment than the description of the one she booked. The one we reserved was supposed to have two bathrooms, a rarity out here, and a beach view. This place had one bathroom, a slight beach view from the balcony, and the wrong bed set up. We told the kids not to unpack, and she returned to the office to address the issue. Soon, she called me to ask everyone to meet her downstairs because we were changing apartments. She discovered that the company had a third party make their reservations, and something got messed up. The apartment we thought we were getting was booked through the rest of the year, and it was the only one like it. It should not have been available when we made our reservation. The lady was very sorry and concerned about this.

The other apartment we got was bigger than the first. It had the right bed arrangement between the two bedrooms but only one bathroom. We were closer to the beach and had a better view from our balcony, but it was only a partial view. Luckily, Tanya could make the reservation at a discount, which was still a better rate than the apartment we got, so that helped the situation. Our place is comfortable and has everything we need. We are still just across the street from the beach and can hear it from our balcony.

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Everyone was hungry, so after unpacking, we went to get dinner. There was a place close by that said barbecue. It wasn't barbecue in the American sense, but it was good food with large portions. It was getting close to sunset, and the restaurant was open to the beach. The air felt good, and the food was delicious. A couple of stray cats continued walking around the tables, hoping for handouts. We finished our dinner and went back to relax. On the way, we stopped at a small grocery store on the ground floor of the apartment building to get water and breakfast.

The next day, we stayed in to catch up on laundry. The last few places were fun to explore, but it was time to slow down. All of us got settled into our new place. It felt good to have a down day. Tanya and I walked to see what stores were nearby and got some more groceries. The stroll was pleasant, and we saw more of the strip. I know the kids were glad not to have anything planned for now.

Our daughter's birthday was coming up in a couple of days, so we talked about what she wanted to do. There is a giant ice cream shop nearby and she really liked the look of the place. We also wanted to get a cake and looked up places to walk to and see what they offered. The next day, the family went for a longer walk to see what was nearby, went into some bakeries to check out cakes, and did some more grocery shopping. We found a place with a good selection and prices. She picked out an Oreo cake, and we told them we would return later to pick it up. They had a great price on gelato, so we got some while there.

The main strip turned away from the beach and went inland. We followed it and saw more random shops and stores instead of mainly restaurants, eateries, and bakeries by the beach. There are several grocery store companies, and we went to three more to check inventory and prices. Our daughter wanted chicken nuggets and french fries for her birthday dinner. Luckily, we found both. By now, we had a couple of bags full of groceries, so Tanya and the kids caught a bus back to our place. I stopped by the bakery to get the cake and walked back. Once again, it was a nice day, which made for another pleasant stroll.

A church building wasn't too far from our place, and we could attend on Sunday. The service was in Albanian, but some missionaries were able to interpret for us. It was still great despite the language barrier. The Spirit was so strong with the people here. They were very excited for us to visit. Sunday school was great, too. It was an amazing experience to see God's work in another country. Listening to how their lives have been blessed was inspiring also. The church was a converted nightclub, which made it more interesting. I really liked the interior design. After church, we hung out and talked to the missionaries and some people for a while. We all look forward to going back next week.

That night, for dinner, we had chicken nuggets and french fries with Oreo cake for dessert. It was the most American dinner we had since starting our trip. While we were out the day before, I distracted our daughter so the rest of the family could get her some presents. We were able to give them to her and have a birthday party. She got to choose a movie afterward, and we had a great time. We made some video calls and talked to family for the first time since we left. After the movie, she could message back and forth with her best friend, so it was a good day for her.

The next day, Tanya and I went for a walk in a different direction from our place. There was more to see this way, and we wanted to check out some more grocery stores. It can be an adventure when you find a store you want to shop at most of the time because their inventory can change. They may have what you want one day but won't the next time you go. Also, the same grocery chain may have items other stores don't, even though they are less than thirty minutes from each other. We grab things for meals and return to our place.

Later that day, we went to Big Scoop. This was another thing for our daughter's birthday. Despite the array of sweets on the menu, we only ordered gelato. It was so good. After this, we walked by the beach on our way back. The two youngest wanted to go to the beach. Our middle son wore his swimming trunks in anticipation of going immediately after ice cream. He and I went to the water while the rest of the family returned inside. Our daughter needed to get changed, and they brought towels back to us. The wind was blowing harder than a breeze and was constant. My wife and oldest child didn't want to stay in the wind so they went inside while I stayed with the two swimming children.

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I wanted to swim only if it was sunny and warmer myself. It was dinner time, and the sky was overcast. So, I sat in the sand and watched the kids enjoy themselves in the water. They had wanted to do this since we arrived, and I was happy they finally had the opportunity. The beach was littered with broken seashells, so I dug in the sand to find complete shells. The wind started to blow harder, and I had to get up and walk around so I wouldn't become chilly. After a while, the kids had their fill, so we went back inside. We will go back to the beach another day.

That day ended up being farther away than we thought. The wind blew in rain and cooler temperatures. For several days, it was overcast, with rain on and off. We still went walking as a family for grocery runs and exercise. Tanya and I had minimal plans for Vlore other than enjoying the beach. However, when we leave here, we have lots of plans. We will work our way over to the UK over five weeks and stay in places for a week or less. For now, the downtime is excellent for everyone. I hope the sun returns soon so we can swim and sit on the beach without strong winds.

During our wait, we experienced our first power outage. We heard the town had these periodically but at random. Everyone was just about to get ready for bed when everything went out. It lasted for about 45 minutes and briefly came on again. We went to bed expecting it to be on in the morning, and it was. Also, while we waited for warmer, sunnier days, we had a strong thunderstorm blow through. Of course, it had to come on Sunday morning when we needed to get to church by walking or bus. A half-marathon was scheduled at the same time through the town, which canceled the buses for the morning. I think the race was canceled due to the weather, and we missed church. Tanya and I love thunderstorms, so we enjoyed being in one. Somehow, the thunder sounds different here than in America.

Since we are staying across the street from the beach, I like to take morning walks there. Fewer people are out, and there is less traffic, so enjoying the beach and waves is easier. One morning, my middle son and I went for a walk. He appreciates the outdoors most of our kids, and I knew he would like this. Like he always does, he found a stick, in this case, some bamboo, and was hitting rocks into the water wherever he saw them. I found many intact seashells and started a decent collection from this walk. This may become a tradition for us. He is the most active of all our children, and my wife and I did one-on-one date nights with the kids back home. A morning walk like this, especially on a beach, is perfect for some personal time with him.

As I searched for shells, I saw something flat and shiny in the sand. I stopped and thought it was just a cell phone screen protector. When I picked it up, it turned out to be an iPhone. My son ran over, ecstatic. I was surprised but didn't think much would come of it since it was mostly buried in wet sand. He took it to the water and rinsed the sand off. His dreams came true when he tried to turn it on, and it did. I absolutely couldn't believe it. My son was literally bouncing with excitement that we found a working cell phone. The lock screen picture shows a boy and his father; I assume it belonged to the son. The phone had a passcode screen pop up and I don't know how to get passed it. I wonder if they already had this phone "shut off" because I didn't see any cell signal bars while it was on. Since it works, we need to make sure it stays that way. We went back to our apartment so I could get my wallet and go to the closest store to buy rice and a couple of other things we needed. When I returned, I buried the phone in rice to draw out the moisture. We'll see what happens after it stays there for a while.

After a few days of sitting in the rice, we got a working iPhone 12 Pro. It did not have a cell signal, and a notification said the SIM card was locked. I don't know if one affects the other. Since it wasn't receiving any signal, I wondered if they replaced the phone and deactivated the number. Either way, I looked up how to reset an iPhone and did that. It will be nice to have another phone, actually. Our youngest two have been communicating with their best friends through text or Messenger kids with an extra phone we brought that only works on WiFi and one of our phones. This way, they can both have a phone that my wife and I don't need to use.