WALKING IN THE TREES

Our vacation continues. As we last left our heros, they were camping in the Lake Annecy area in the French Alps. This area is gorgeous with mountains completely surrounding the lake. One day we decided to do to an activity for Meghan. We picked something called La Foret de l'Aventure. It is a high wire act strung from tree to tree with the exit back to the ground on a zip line. So when the title says "walking in the trees" it really means walking "up" in the trees.

The first step is to get the instructions and the "death" talk. Well, actually we had to pay the money first but I am sure everyone already understood this would cost money. After all it is a tourist area.

Here Meghan is being instructed on how to use her safety lines. We wore rock climbing harnesses with 2 safety lines. We received clear instructions to always be clipped in with one line at all times.Once you receive your instructions you are then sent off on your own. Of course Susie and I were scared to death and Meghan is blasting off ahead of us. The basic design is that there are cable lines between the trees for your hands and very unstable footholds.

Here Meghan is high above the lake and she has to reach her foot out to the next log. The logs are connected to the hand lines by ropes so as you reach your foot out, the log moves (a lot).

The best part is the zip line down. There were 5 different sections so we had 5 zip lines down. Susie is enjoying the trip down.In this section there was a cargo net that you climbed across. If you look closely at the tree Meghan is approaching, there is a red cable that you clip in your safety line once you get on the platform.Here is the zip line down. Meghan is already down and waiting on us to catch up.

We spent almost 3 hours going through the trees. At the end we were asked how we liked the adventure. Susie responded with her limited French with a new phrase that joins French and English together. She responded to the question of how much she liked it with "very tres bien". All the French employees laughed and now the phrase is part of our family's language.

She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed.

Proverbs 3:18

More pictures from Foret de l'Aventure

COW PIZZA AND NEW FRIENDS

The only evening it rained we decided to go out for pizza at a little restaurant in Menthon Saint-Bernard. Meghan ordered the jambon and fromage pizza. She was pretty enthusiastic about the cow pizza she recieved. The French even present their pizzas in style.
Carl from Belgium camped next to us in the small town of Doussard south of Annecy. The campsites closer to the larger city of Annecy were very crowded and noisy so we continued to the south end of the lake until we found a nice quiet campground with a pool. Carl used the campground as his base and traveled 100-200 miles a day sightseeing this area. He said his wife didn't like the mountains so she stayed home. Meghan liked the bear on the front of his 60's BMW motorcycle.
Stopping for a family photo along one of our walks.
We really enjoyed meeting people from other countries and the de Bok family were so much fun. They are from Holland and we may bike there in the fall and visit them. Their chairs were falling apart so the two girls had fun writing on them and cutting them up before they left for home. Since we shipped all of our things over we tried to limit what we brought due to limited storage, opting to leave our chairs at home. They received much harrassing from the Garriott's for not leaving their chairs for us.
Our campsite was just underneath these "tres bien" mountains. Nice view to wake up to!

THE MOUNTAINS AND LAC D' ANNECY

This area of France is so beautiful! The cows had bells around their necks and it was so peaceful here, just like the Sound of Music. It reminded me of pictures of Switzerland I had seen. We were only about an hour from the border of Switzerland and Italy was almost as close. This mountain pass was called Col de la Forclaz which Dave climbed on his bike. It is very steep with 9k having a 9% grade and 1k at an 11.5 % grade. For all you cyclists out there you know that is not an easy climb. Needless to say we did not attempt this pass on our triple bike.
Loved this bicycle planter! It was in the middle of one of the roundabouts ( a circular area that you go through instead of a 4 way stop). The traffic flows much smoother but they are a little tricky when driving around. This would look great at Irvington Circle. Amy P. this would be a good project for you in your spare time. The only close call on vacation was when we were back in Vannes and I ALMOST hit another car driving on a roundabout. God was protecting us once again.Lac d' Annecy sits in a valley and is surrounded by mountains. This is one of the views from the swimming beach.
On Monday we went to the beach to swim and relax in Lac d' Annecy which you can see is so crystal blue. When I was researching this area on the net before we left, it was said to be one of the purest lakes in Europe due to the strict environmental regulations introduced in the 60's. Lac d' Annecy is the second largest lake in France measuring 14k. Dave and I took turns being in the water with Meghan because he felt more comfortable with someone being with all our things, including our only set of car keys. The warm sun felt so good since it has been so cool back in Vannes.
Another view of the mountains.

A STOPOVER IN PONCIN, FRANCE

On Saturday we drove toward our next destination, Annecy. After finding it impossible to buy ice for the cooler, we stopped along the way and bought an electric cooler. The last campsite gave us ice from the restaurant, which was interesting communicating our needs since no one spoke English. The dictionary has become our best friend. After a long day of driving we decided to stop around 7 p.m. in a very small town of 1200 people. We knew from the camping book Poncin had a campground, but wasn't sure where. Stopping at the local bakery, they drew us a map on how to get there since again they did not speak English and our French is limited. Luckily camping is the same word in French.Yes this is a road for cars, very small cars! Click on to enlarge and check out their street lights. Wouldn't they look great in Irvington?
Just can't resist taking pictures of their beautiful flowers. Actually this picture was taken the day before on our bike ride.
Meghan is trying her best to look "Jeek" as they say in France. We call it the geek look. Everywhere you go you see "men of age" wearing these travel vests. Meghan started counting how many she could see in a day. So far she has seen 14 in one day at the market. By the way, Dave had this vest before we came to France. Little did he know he'd be in style. We are thinking of getting him a few more in different colors.
How did a huge church like this get built in such a small village? Meghan and I walked to town and tried to find out when the services were but there was no sign or information listed. We stopped on the way out of town to take this picture and the door was open but we did not see anyone.
As we left Poncin which was is nestled in a valley along the Ain River, we took this picture looking back at the town. On our way to the Rhone Alps!

SUNSHINE AND SUNFLOWERS!

Friday morning we awoke to sunshine and a great day for bicycling. Now long after we got on the road we came across these beautiful sunflower fields. Many of you have seen them on T.V. during the Tour de France, but to see them up close was breathtaking. It seemed like the fields went on forever. What a great way to start the day.
We stopped in this little village to get some cheese and bread for lunch and this monsieur approached us for a picture. He spoke French and between the three of us we were able to make out he was a past bike racer. He used his hands to help us understand he was also a cowboy. I asked if he would take a picture of the three of us and then he walked to the bike and hopped in the picture. Obviously he thought we wanted a picture of him. We laughed about it later. He was so friendly and had his own camera and took a picture of the bike. It is times like this that we wish we were fluent in French.
Along the road we saw many grape and apple groves but this was the first pear grove we saw. I assume it will soon be pear season at the market. I am looking forward to the apples too.
The French our serious about no cars on their bike paths so quite frequently we came upon these "Meghan wackers". The triple bike would make it through but occasionally we would wack Meghan off the rear of the bike and have to go back and ger her! Please don't take us too seriously!
We loved seeing the countryside of France and the quiet, peaceful towns. Some of the small farm communities were so quiet, we wondered where the people were. The farmers here were going about their everyday life and guess what kind of tractors they were driving? Massey Ferguson. I knew a lot about International Harvester tractors from my dad as a child but not much about Massey Ferguson. After researching the web, I discovered they make their machinery in Brazil, Denmark, and France as well. The tractors are made in France and the balers and combines in the U.S.

WHAT A GREAT WAY TO SEE FRANCE!

With the triple bike repaired, we traveled to Loire Valley to visit the chateaus of central France. We left on Thursday from the campsite to ride along the marked roads and paths that allowed us to see the country side of France. We passed under this acqueduct and stopped for this photo opportunity; an example of sites you see here but not back home.
Much of our ride went through small villages with so much character like this one. I love the narrow roads and the feel of these quaint towns.
We received many looks and comments about our bike. We only wished we could have interpreted their remarks in the many languages we heard throughout our vacation. Many people we visited with had never seen a bike for three.
Sitting along the bank, we enjoyed our lunch of bread, cheese and sausage. It is so much fun to try all the different kinds of cheeses here.
Chambord was intended as a hunting lodge but the innovative architecture from Renaissance Italy makes it an extravagant chateau that has 77 staircases, 282 fireplaces, and 426 rooms. Francis I was 25 years old in 1519 when he initiated this huge enterprise of building Chambord. He only spent 72 days here and never saw the project completed for on his death in 1547 only the keep and royal wing had been finished.

Touring the inside of the chateau was amazing. I am just glad I'm not the one cleaning it!

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10

WE ARE BACK AND READY TO BLOG AGAIN!

We arrived safely back in Vannes on Saturday evening after being gone for 10 days exploring France. We have many pictures to share, so please be patient with us as we organize our thoughts and pictures this week. It will take us all week to catch you up to date with all we were so fortunate to see this past week and a half. Lots of excitement to share!
Sunday after church, we went for a walk and came upon this boat competion among the Kiwanis International. We have never seem this type of competition before but we are well aware of the Kiwanis. Each local community entered a team and even though we couldn't understand what the announcer was saying in French, we figured out it was a double elimination. Dave captured some great action shots among the teams!

As we were out walking on Sunday we saw the blackberries were ripening. Meghan suggested we get up early on Monday and come back to pick. By the way, Meghan NEVER wants to get up early. So Dave awoke her at 7 a.m. and off we went berry picking.
After a couple of hours we had picked about four cups. I remember picking blackberries as a kid with Mom and Dad. It brought back great family memories this morning and I am now helping to make berry picking memories for Meghan. My memories did not include this fantastic view. There was a recipe for berry cobbler in the July issue of Southern Living and it was so easy to make. We headed to the store on our bikes to buy the needed ingredients. It feels so good to ride our bikes to the store and live a more simple life.Meghan enjoying life, what she does best!

And Dave went to work......

You will be my witness - in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world. Acts 1:8

BIKE RIDE TO ST. ANNE d' AURAY

Sunday afternoon turned out to be a beautiful day to go for our first bike ride on the triple in France. We enjoyed the country roads with little traffic and much of the area reminded me of the roads outside Batesville with lots of corn fields and cows. Then all of a sudden you enter a town with these beautiful cathedrals. It makes you realize you ARE in a different country!This Basilica was built between the years of 1867 and 1872. It is built entirely out of stone, beautiful solid granite from the vicinity of Vannes. Sainte Anne is said to have appeared to a peasant, Yves Nicolazic, in the years of 1623-1625 and she asked him to rebuild the ancient chapel of the past for she said" God wants me to be honoured in this place". The first chapel was built in 1625. This is the second largest visited area next to Our Lady of Lourdes.

Dave had seen this on one of his bike rides and was amazed at the cut out around the gate. If you click on for an enlargement you can see it is even cut out around the flower pots. The French love to trim their hedges with this flattened look.
More beautiful flowers at Saint Anne d' Auray. We enjoyed walking the grounds and viewing the gardens. I keep hoping the flowers will never fade.
A typical view we see as we are biking through the small communities. Biking on the triple is a great way to see France. We sure got a lot of suprised looks!

We leave tomorrow for 10 days to see more of France. Off to do some bicycling and camping in Loire Valley and hiking and sight seeing in the French Alps. We hope to do some blogging along the way but if not we'll catch up when we return.

Your word is a lamp to guide me and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105

PRAYERS ANSWERED!

We received our shipment from the states and the box that held the triple was damaged. Thinking the bike was O.K., Dave signed the forms but noted he wouldn't be able to know if there was any real damage until he assembled the bike. No problem, we have 30 days to file a claim. Several days passed before Dave was able to assess the damage. "HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM." The rear derailleur hanger and rear drop out were damaged. We all stayed calm and prayed that night that the bike could be repaired. After getting some direction from an Indy bike shop, we took the bike to the best bike shop in the area. Luckily Dave had already been there.
Dave typed up the potential bike problems and along with the dictionary we arrived at the shop. With dictionary in hand and pointing and hand gesturing he found out the bike could be fixed and better yet it would be ready in TWO days! We immediately thanked God for answered prayers.
Saturday, Dave takes the bike for a test spin. "Oh, the front brake cable seems a little loose."
Thanks to Denoel, our brake cable was replaced and we were on our way. She is a professional mountain biker who seemed to enjoy fixing the triple.
Before we left the U.S., Dave ordered this bike rack especially made for tandems and triples. The rack luckily arrived the day the movers came. Meghan happily climbs on the car to attach the bar that stablizes the rear of the bike.

Your father knows what you need before you ask. Mathew 6:8

HILL-ROM IN PLUVIGNER, FRANCE

Sensing Dave needed some time on the bike, Meghan and I offered to take him to work on Friday so he could ride home. It was great to see the Hill-Rom in France that I had heard so much about but had never seen. It is much larger than I anticipated and there was actually a large outdoor map to show you the different areas but we missed that photo opportunity.
In front of the main office building flies the American flag, the European Union flag, the French flag and the Hill-Rom flag. To me the flags respresent how global Hill-Rom is and it is not just a Batesville compaany.
Dave is so glad it's Friday so he can get some riding in this weekend. We are pretty sure he's been missing his Thursday night and Saturday morning rides with the Indianapolis South Stars (his go fast group). This is his temporary office until the newly hired purchasing manager arrives in September.
This morning, Dave and I went for a bike ride. Since I am a little tentative about going out on my own on the country roads, he showed me a good way to get to Arradon, a small community on the gulf. Some of you know (Leslie) how great I am with directions. Then after we returned he went out on his own for a real ride! Thanks Dave for slowing down for me. This photo was taken by Dave this a.m. on our bike ride. He will stop for a photo!
Meghan is such an entrepreneur! She has figured out a way to earm money since she no longer has babysitting money coming in. She negotiated with Dave and I to get paid for ironing. We are still working out the pay since we think her asking price is a little high. She pays for her own candy and extra things so we think it's important for her to have some of her own money to learn the value of the euro. Last weeked at the Celtic festival they were selling candy by the 100g and when Meghan went to pay the man he said "8 euros". Her eyes got really big and agreed that was some expensive candy! It was a great learning experience. By the way, one euro = $1.68