Backroads Trips - it is like family camp with nice hotels, great food and non stop activities

Guess what? We still have wifi. So the blog continues.

I have made references to in earlier parts of this blog that this part of the trip has been organized by Backroads a Berkeley organization that orchestrates "active" trips for individuals and families all around the world. Really, this has turned out to be like family camp where we get write ups delivered to our room the night before with the itinerary of where we meet the next day, what time our meals happen, what events will take place for the day and what to wear and bring for the next day. We have group meetings at the start of the day, we fill our snack bags with energy food to get us through the events. And then we go off and have an amazing day biking or hiking (or today we are kayaking) around the islands.

Of course since this is like family camp we have other campers -- two families from Connecticut and another family from Menlo Park, California. This has turned out to be one of the many advantages of having this tacked on to the end of our adventures. (That and I went on strike from cooking and grocery shopping.) We also have four leaders - one from Oregon, one from Italy, and two from Slovenia and they encourage us to participate in the events, they motivate you with some of the athletic challenges, they transfer and haul bikes and bags, they pay the bills and they tell you where to go and what to do. Each one is friendly, smart, enthusiastic and speaks more languages than our combined family camp. (Well maybe not but the Slovenia girls speak about five languages.)

So that gives you a sense of the structure. We also are on the move exploring islands along the Dalmation coast with our fellow campers. That has meant getting our bags and bodies out the door at 7:15 am for the past two mornings. For some reason Gary has now decided being on time is important and required. (We've done okay so far but I am not sure the kids will recover from his militant new approach to being on time. I digress.)

Our first day involved biking about 26 miles over some steep terrain on Brac Island. Brac is the largest island. The organization sets up kid and adult starting points which is smart as I think Ben would either kill himself trying these rides or forever hate biking. (There is a van that will pick you up if you need a ride but so far no one in the house has used this options.) Along the ride (after lunch or at other spots) you can leave to go back to the hotel to swim or relax before dinner. We even have the chance to stop and run into the Adriatic Sea in our bike clothes to enjoy a swim along the ride.

Our second day involved a seven mile hike in the rocky, rough terrain of the second island known as Hvar second longest island on the coast. We witnessed the process of making lavender oil which involves one man standing in a vat stomping on the flowers in the intense heat while they pressed it into oil. It looked like back breaking work. Even Madelyn thought it was harder work than summer camp counseling at Safari Run. (Just kidding Jodie.)

Still on Hvar, our third day brought us back to the bikes for a 70 kilometer/40 mile bike ride. This time Charlie and Madelyn opted to start at the beginning and tackle some tough climbs before meeting Ben at the top with some of the rest of our group. They were troopers - no complaining, serious riding. When I was 16 and 14, I never did anything like that and if it were something close to athletics with my family, Dick Ward would vouch for my endless whining throughout the event.

After lunch the entire group minus two of our leaders and myself and another camper from Connecticut did the ride back. We rode the same route we completed in the morning. Our friend Rob Lawson once told Gary - never double back. It's good advice for someone like Rob who bikes all the time. However, this was my chance to tackle a few hills (really people these were mountains) and complete a 40 mile bike ride. Fortunately I had my personal coach to inspire me along the way. The other two riders completed the ride back in 45 minutes. It took us (me) an hour and a half. It was brutally hot and I'd never biked that distance in my life. Fortunately, my coach George was willing to stop three times and pull off for water and banana breaks. She gave me some great advice which sounded oddly like the Lamaze classes I took 16 years ago - focus on your breathing, relax, keep your eye on the prize and most importantly - bikini butt. (Given the amazing butts I have seen on every woman in Croatia this was critical.) We made it to the highest point and sailed all the way down the hill.

This story doesn't end with a boring low gear charge down the hill. George knew the very last part of the ride involved the steepest climb of the ride through the arches of Havr. So to save her poor pupil she took me down a one way street to avoid the hill. Sadly we whizzed right by two Croatian cops who stopped us immediately. They asked for our driver's licenses or ID. I had nothing on me. George sprung into action. He explained that he was my guide and I was following him. The cop asked if we spoke Croatian and why didn't we. The young cop launched into a long speech about our illegal actions of running stop signs (not sure how since we were entering a one way street) he then explained our fines would be doubled because we both did it and a bunch of other violations that would cost us 3500 kuna or over 650 USD in traffic tickets. George sprung into action, talked our way out of the tickets, scored the name of the cop (he looked 17) and in the end he told us not to forget him - Tom - or as his grandfather calls him - Tommy Lee Jones.

Sadly I had to ride the massive hill to get back (why couldn't we walk our bikes down the one way hill?) And made it back to a refreshing (you guessed it beer and juice fest.) So dear readers after learning of all these adventures does this sound to you like your summer camp days? Let me know your stories in the comments.