Salisbury ... how was your summer? Any fishing trips? NASCAR? Family get-togethers? First job?

For a group of students in the township, it was a pretty special summer as they went on a Greek adventure as part of an Education First tour, with Salisbury Middle School eighth grade Social Studies teacher Matt Tobias.

As Tobias recently told The Press, the adventure began as soon as the group, comprised of himself, his family, 14 SMS/Salisbury High School students and a couple of parents, left Salisbury June 20 for Philadelphia.

A long flight delay with Air Canada left the group with a sense of uncertainty about whether they would land in Toronto, Canada, on time to make their connecting flight to Athens, Greece.

Luck was on their side as they managed to make their flight, literally running to their gate, arriving in Greece a few hours later than previously scheduled.

At the airport, they met their tour guide and their Greek adventure began.

When one thinks of Greece, sports fans will immediately think of the Old Olympic Stadium, built out of granite, in the late 19th century, on the historic land area of 4th century Athens. It is one of the sites the group visited.

Tobias also noted a visit to the Acropolis of Athens, an ancient citadel on the top of Athens – very popular tourist destination where the Parthenon, a 5th century B.C. temple, dedicated to the goddess of Athena, was built.

For Drew Hines, one of the SHS students on the trip, The Temple of Poseidon was his favorite place to visit.

“The temple itself was really awesome, but the view overlooking the sea was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” he told The Press.

Hines decided to join the trip because “I love both Greek food and history and figured that an opportunity to experience both in person was too good to pass up.”

According to Tobias, these students got to experience special things, such as visiting Mycenae and participating in a pottery workshop.

The group also toured three of the Saronic Islands, located in the Saronic Gulf, off the shore of Athens. These islands are known for its excellent sailing conditions and the architecture of its buildings.

Another stop was the Temple of Apollo, which was built around the 7th century B.C.

Their last night in Greece was filled with dancing, food and music. The next day would prove to be quite an adventure home, according to both Hines and Tobias.

“Usually coming home is the least notable part of a vacation, as you return to your normal life once again,” Hines said. “However, that was not the case with this trip. We got stuck in the Toronto airport for hours on end when what was supposed to be a routine layover went haywire. Canceled flights, missing luggage and severe lack of hotel rooms came to an end when we finally secured a 7-hour rented bus ride from Toronto to Salisbury.

“While frustrating and exhausting at the time, this gauntlet of events turned a normally mundane part of [the] travel experience [to] something that I will never forget.”

For Tobias, that drive home from Toronto was just as challenging as the continuous flight issues. He told The Press how by 2 a.m., he was able to secure a bus back to Salisbury but as soon as they crossed the Canada-U.S. border, they faced an unexpected surprise: the bus company hadn’t renewed it’s papers authorizing them to drive in the United States.

“The police officer said that we could renew the license by calling at 8 a.m. or get another bus,” Tobias said. “This was 3 a.m. in the morning. Finally the bus driver got another to come and pick us up at McDonald’s in Buffalo, N.Y. The bus was [a] party bus! We continued our journey the rest of the way on this bus and arrived home around 2 p.m., missing 15 bags.”

These flight challenges have not deterred Hines from going on another travel adventure. “I hope to travel [a] lot in my life if possible, and one of the places I definitely want to visit is Iceland,” Hines said.

As for this Greek summer adventure, “Overall, we were able to see some amazing sights, have incredible food and have an experience that we will never forget,” Tobias said.