the one with the trip to Croatia

With having only a month left before our move back stateside, Isaac and I took the opportunity to go on one more "last hoorah" adventure to Croatia.

Maybe this is just me, but I never really imagined going to Croatia in my travels. It wasn't really on "the list" for us.

I had heard many people talk highly of it, and even go back for repeat vacations.

So for Independence Day + Isaac's birthday, we booked our tickets to Split, Croatia.

We stayed at a great hotel that had just opened a month prior. Despite our flight getting in at 7:30am, they allowed us to have breakfast that first day (which we agreed had the best bacon ever) and check in hours early.

After stuffing our faces with bacon and changing in our room, we spent the rest of the day on the beach.

Usually when we travel, we try to only eat out once a day to save on cost. We found a nearby grocery store that we stopped at every afternoon after our beach days to grab some food. Sandwiches, chips, random Croatian sodas, and Snickers ice cream bars were what we went for. There was one English channel that played American crime shows, so that was our entertainment in the evenings. But honestly, it was perfect. Plus the air conditioned room felt amazing, for as some of you may know, Germany doesn't have air conditioning anywhere.

On Independence Day, we had booked a day trip to Krka National park.

We took a taxi from the hotel to meet up with the group, and then boarded a bus for a 1.5 hour drive to the park.

This was the first trip we had gone on in a long time, and we always just enjoy reconnecting, teasing each other, and taking in the sites as a couple.

After our bus ride, we boarded a boat to take us to the waterfall.

This was our favorite part of the trip. Swimming at the base of waterfall in Croatia; not a bad way to spend the 4th of July.

Isaac and I found a place secluded from the business of the area, to sit on some rocks and take it all in. I said a prayer here, thanking God for letting me see this part of His creation. How cool is it that our God just put these beautiful things in creation just because it pleased Him to do so?

Isaac decided he was going to venture to grab one of our phones to take some pictures where we were sitting. I'm really thankful he did, though watching him climbing over rocks back to the shore and then back out to me got my heart racing.

We spend quite a few hours here. Swimming, talking, sharing some kisses.

It felt like a very romantic place to us.

There was actually a large area of cafes and little food stands in the park, so we grabbed some coffee and a snack.

An older couple from the Netherlands sat down next to us (it's a common thing in Europe to share tables), and we struck up a conversation with them. They asked if we were going to miss Europe when we move back to the states. I said I would, but that Isaac was definitely ready to be home. The wife agreed that traveling is great, but there's no place like home. The husband said he was the more adventurous one (like me), but that it's good to have that balance in your marriage.

We shared our goodbyes, and went to cool off a little more in the waterfall before it was time to go.

When got back to the meeting point to board the bus we had some time to spare, so we grabbed some pineapple smoothies from the cutest smoothie bar.

On the 6th (after another lazy beach day), we went on an island hopping tour for Isaac's 29th birthday.

We had to get to the main port of Split very early, so we missed the hotel's breakfast.

Luckily there were some cute shops open, specifically a bakery, where we were able to get a couple donuts and cappuccinos. Donuts have been Isaac's birthday breakfast since we've been married, so I was happy we could carry on the tradition.

We boarded the speed boat, which our Captain said is the same type of boat used by the British Special Forces. There were a group of 12 of us (including the captain and his assistant). I quickly blurted that it was Isaac's birthday, purely because I know he hates the attention. Everyone spontaneously started singing "happy birthday," to which Isaac threatened to throw me off the boat for.

Our first destination was going to take 1.5 hours to reach, so we just enjoyed the cool of the morning and the breeze of the speedboat until we reached the blue caves.

I just remember thinking there was no way we were going to fit in the small hole they were headed towards, but with a "duck your heads" we were inside this beautiful cave.

The rest of our day was spent hopping around different islands, and stopping to swim at quiet beaches.

The last stop of the day was a wine tour, and since Isaac and I don't drink, we opted to just hang out at the pier and order some fruity drinks. "Because it's my birthday," was what he kept saying about his giant drink. I ordered the same drink, but a much more modest size. It was some sort of strawberry drink and super delicious/refreshing. You can actually see our captain for the day in the picture on the right, who was also taking a break during this part of the trip.

The other people that we took this day trip with kept asking me throughout the day if Isaac loves to swim, and dive, and the beach, etc. I can't even remember how many times they asked me. He really does, and was definitely in his element. I'm so thankful the Lord allowed us to take this last trip together before the move.

To top off the day, the Lord answered our prayer, and we were able to see a pod of dolphins. It was so amazing! This was the best I could manage of a picture, but it truly was the icing on the cake for Isaac's birthday.