24 hours ago, it was 5:30am in Nantes and Christine was driving us to the airport. Since then, Melinda, Ella, Chloe* & I have flown to Amsterdam from Nantes, and experienced the thrill of a nearly 10 hour flight from Amsterdam to Seattle. Chloe (no asterisk) picked up Melinda, Ella and me, and Amy, Chloe’s* mom, picked up Chloe*.

After unpacking our bags, Melinda, Chloe, Ella and I drove to a nearby rehabilitation center where Dwight, Melinda’s dad, is recuperating from knee replacement surgery. Michele, Melinda’s mom, took this picture of us gathered around his bed. I said I wanted to post a photo here for the Boudeaus to see.

For those of you interested, I intend to keep posting on a daily basis for at least the rest of August. You see, as much as OUR trip to France this summer is over, Théophile Bertail arrives tomorrow and will be spending a couple of weeks with us. This is how we extend the vacation, getting a Bertail or Boudeau to stay with us.