In a normal year I would do a lot of the planning for a trip like this. But the last 12 months have been anything but normal for me. Riding out two back to back hurricanes, flood damage to my house, and a big move across the country left me no time to plan a vacation. So I left the details to my dear friend Teresa and am along for the ride. My only responsibility was for the rental car and the driving. My friends and I arrived into Croatia to cloudy skies and cool temperatures. Having traveled for 24 hours we were on our first reconnaissance of the city.

The Buza Bar, where I had hoped to recreate a picture of my mother from 16 years ago, was unfortunately closed.