Find out how we started and why we are called Asimina Tours
A family-operated company based in the United States, with Greek roots!
This is a true personal story about love, loss, separation, and a reunion 50 years later that finally closed the circle of uncertainty. Here is a timeline of personal events that has a happy ending contributing to the birth of Asimina Tours.
Stella Solomon
9 Nov 1952
Grandmother Stella Salomon begins her dynasty. Having 2 children of her own (Richard and Irene) from a previous marriage, Stella gives birth to her third child, daughter Asimina Louisa Glinos from her second husband Louis Glinos. Baby Asimina was born November 9, 1952.
Louis Glinos
4 Oct 1957
A few years later grandma Stella passes and Asimina is estranged with her father Louis Glinos and her two half siblings Richard and Irene.
Baby Asimina
4 Oct 1958
As time went by, grandfather Louis remarried to his third wife. Times were difficult and Richard and Irene were separated from baby Asimina who was estranged from the Solomon family for over 50 years! “I had lost my mother at a very young stage. Thoughts that I may have two half siblings somewhere never ceased” said Asimina.
Petros and Asimina
16 Jun 1971
Asimina now at 19 years old met and married math professor Petros Gressis. They met at Penn State University where Petros Gressis earned his Masters’ Degree in Physics and Mathematics. After marrying they decided to move back to Greece. They lived in Greece for a total of 16 years. Asimina had 3 children, Stella (named after her late mother), Joseph and Dennis.
Gressis siblings
2 Jul 1987
The Gressis family decided to come back to the USA and start their lives from the beginning. They wanted to live the American Dream!
Petros became the head of the math department at a major private school in Virginia. Asimina worked various jobs and then devoted herself in to her children and eventually their businesses. Grandfather Louis Glinos passed away and never gave any details regarding the long lost siblings of Asimina. Each of Asimina’s children had unique qualities. Stella the eldest child decided to work in the tourism industry. Joseph, was more interested in hands on type of things. He opened up a Greek restaurant in Waldorf Maryland. Dennis was the intellect of the family and followed his fathers’ footsteps and became a mathematician.Stella and mom Asimina
5 Dec 2005
Stella (the eldest child), after having worked for the airlines for 10 years and after September 11th lost her job. A year later she landed a job working for a small tour company located in Virginia. Stella became a top sales person for travel to Greece and Turkey/Italy. Two years later, Stella decided that she was ready to start her own business! It took countless hours, tons of determination, and passion to make ends meet. Stella decided to dedicate and name her tour company Asimina Tours, after her mother Asimina. It was an honor and a way to say “THANK YOU MOM” for being there for me. Since Asimina didn’t know what it was like to have a mother and never felt “the love of a mother” it was another way for Stella to give back to her mom….. Asimina Tours was born in 2005
Blast from the past
22 Jul 2013
The years passed and Asimina was always thinking of her long lost siblings. Were they still alive? Until the summer of 2013……. An email was sent to the Asimina Tours website coming from a lady called Angela. Angela was in search for her honeymoon travels and landed on the Asimina Tours website. She wrote a detailed email about her honeymoon request and also on a personal level, stating that her father “Richard” and her aunt “Irene” were looking for their lost long sibling Asimina and that they tried to contact her through facebook. The email had a brief description of Stella Solomon. Could it be the Asimina they are looking for?
Reunion 50 years later
12 Oct 2013
Contact information was included in the email and a polite request for an urgent reply because in case there was an error they would still want to keep searching….. When the email reached Asimina Tours, Stella was astounded!!! She knew immediately what it was pertaining too. Her mother happened to be close by “Mom” Stella said, “Please come here I want to read you this email……..”
The children now grown up adults were re-united in October of 2013 at Angela’s wedding in Virginia….. it was a dream come true and an ending to the uncertainty……
Present
21 Oct 2017
Asimina and her siblings see each other every year. Richard and Irene live in Las Vegas and Asimina lives in Maryland in the winter and Greece in the summer. Every year they try to spend their vacations together in Greece. Asimina known as “Louisa” works for Asimina Tours.
Stella the owner of Asimina Tours met Dimitri in Santorini during a hotel inspection in the summer of 2009. She married in July 2014 and now have a son baby Antonio. They run Asimina Tours together.