So, I realized that I have written so little about my latest trip to Croatia and have not given it the just word pictures. My trip back from Rijeka was definitely one of the most interesting and insightful of all the former trips. So the following is a word layout of some of the highlights of that trip. I hope it is truly entertaining.

• The bus ride from Rijeka to Zagreb - normally this is a really easy and relaxing 2.5 hours on a bus, but this time it was a little different. For one, I got on the bus at 1 am, so that makes it more difficult to be fun. But the major problem was the heat of the bus. It was crazy humid and the bus was packed. So, I get on the bus and am looking for a seat. All of the back seats are taken up by guys laying across them (I was seriously tempted to push one of them over to make room for me, but I fortunately realized my witness was worth more than that). So, I took a seat next to a large Croatian man. I immediately start sweating profusely. So, the whole ride was the two of us rubbing our sweaty, hairy arms together while trying to sweat. Yeah! Pretty gross. Probably the most interesting part was the multiple men wearing no shirts. I kind of enjoyed the fact that people across the world are all a little white trash.
• This trip was where my ipod shuffle project started. A worthy project indeed!
• As I was waiting for my plane in Frankfurt, I sat next to a guy that ended up being really cool to talk to. His name is Mike and he was just finishing his time in the US Army and was on his way home from being stationed in Germany. He told me all about being in the Army and his two terms in Iraq with the latest conflict there. He was in the infantry and was in a town near Baghdad. We got talking and he found out I was a Christian, and so we started talking all about that. He was telling me about some very strange coincidences that made it apparent to him that God existed and was present in our lives. It was just really cool and encouraging to talk with him and see someone that has come out of some really tough stuff and really want to serve God with his life.
  
• On the flight from Frankfurt to Denver, there was this German guy on the flight that looked just like Dwight from The Office. It made me laugh quite a bit and probably creeped him out a lot to have me staring at him a lot.
• The most amazing thing to bring on a long airplane ride is slippers. Taking off your shoes is mandatory on those long rides, and putting those feet in nice comfy slippers is the best next step.
  
• We flew over Hudson Bay in Canada and it was amazing. Parts of it were frozen and it was sunny and beautiful out. It was really cool to see.
• As we were about to touch down in Denver, about 100 feet off the runway, the plane started to ascend again. I thought that was unusual. Usually, the plane continues down and lands, but not this time. We get back up a bit in the air and start to turn. The pilot comes on the intercom and informs us that he didn't land because there was something in the way in the runway. I started wondering what that might be - another plane, a person, a paper bag, a cow. I never found out. We came back around and landed the second time and unfortunately there was no cow carcass on the runway after we plowed through it.

• The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful, which was nice and allowed me to get a little sleep. And once again, the flight ended in Portland where I went to the hospital to see my mom. I don't think I ever want to fly anywhere again. Every time I have left, my mom has gone into the hospital. No leaving for me anytime soon!

I hope you enjoyed that with me. Have a nice day!