My Journey: Becoming A Sheckler (Book 4) ***COMPLETED***

April 24, 2013

After a moment, Ryan’s arm wrapped around me and he kissed my shoulder. I felt his chin rest there as he looked ahead of us as well. “The 5 hour ferry ride is a drag but as least the view is awesome.”

I laughed, “Yeah it is.” I turned in his arms to face him and sat back against the railing, “this is going to be incredible thank you.”

He smiled and kissed me, his lips lingering for a moment. “You’re welcome.”

“If we’re doing this now, what are we going to do for our Honeymoon?” I joked.

He thought for a moment then said, “Well, there’s always Italy.”

I laughed again and he smiled along, “That’s true.”

He nodded and kissed me again. A few hours into the ride across the sea I fell asleep in the backseat of the car. When I woke up, Ryan was gently shaking me awake. When I opened my eyes he smiled a tired but still bright smile. “We’re at the hotel in Chania.” 

I stretched and got out to stretch more. We carried our things inside and immediately went to bed for a few hours. The day began exploring Chania then ended in Knossos. The next day we skirted the southern half of the island before ending our time on Crete in Heraklion where we went through the massive fortress on the coast. The city in general is incredible as one of the largest in Greece with beautiful architecture. The way the harbor lights up at night is just so beautiful I couldn’t keep my eyes off of it as the ferry pulled out and took us back to Athens.

Once back on the mainland, we went straight to Chorefto, checked in and went to sleep. Ryan was excited to get up early and get surfing. And bright and early he was in his wet suit with his backpack slung over his shoulder patiently (sort of) waiting for me to get ready. I laughed as his eyes were trained out the window on the beach. 

Shaking my head I walked to the door and opened it then turned to him and spoke in the type of voice you would use to speak to your dog. “Ryan!” he turned to me, “go outside? You wanna go outside?” I pat hand on my knee, “Come on!”

He gave me a droll look as he approached, “haha.” But once we got outside he was smiling just like a puppy. We took the boards off the car and walked down the trail to the beach. Once we hit the water, it was like we were back home ripping through those familiar waves.

Of course we were both excited for the entire trip but Ryan always loved surfing new places and adding Greece to the list of places he’s been able to shred was a thrill for him. At one point I just sat back on my board and watched him grab the next few waves alone. Even from a distance I could see the joy on his face and I think all of Greece heard it when he would let out a shout of excitement.

After he caught his third solo wave he straddled his board and paddled my way. I smiled as he neared, “you having fun?”

He laughed, “so much!” he exclaimed as he threw his fists in the air. He stopped next to me, facing back towards shore and put his hand on my knee so he’d keep his place. As we bobbed in the water he looked around then back at me, “what about you?”

“So much,” I smiled. “You know I love just watching you have fun.”

I  loved how much he’s been smiling lately so sorry if I keep saying it, but he smiled again and held up his other hand and motioned towards himself, “come here.” He kept his hand on my knee as I leaned forward on my board. His other hand was on the side of my neck, pulling my lips to his. The embrace lasted what seemed like forever. We pulled apart when a gentle ripple in the water rocked our boards. He rested his forehead against mine as he caught his breathe. Then he said softly, “I can’t wait to marry you.”