Annual US Trip Planning is Under Way

We are heading to SD and Sacramento again. Well now that we have our trip booked and lodging covered, albeit not in San Diego but in Oceanside. It wasn't easy to find a couple to exchange homes with this year due to the current economic climate, however, we did find a willing couple and they have a place in Oceanside right off the beach. We will be about 5 minutes from Carlsbad and right near the Oceanside pier. I am looking forward to waking up in the morning and going surfing. It sounds like it is going to be a cool place to stay.

Anyway, there are a couple of things still up in the air. We still need to rent a car in LA and drive down and with the car comes the baby seat issue. We do not want to carry a baby seat over from France. We will already be carrying 2 big bags and a couple carry-ons. So I looked at the price of renting a car seat from the car rental place and it is $10/day.

Hmm, 16 days x $10 = $160. Can you say RIPPPPOFFFF!

So now I am looking at other options. I have checked Craigslist but so far there is nothing and anyway it is too far out. I have also looked at Ebay, once again too far out and nothing in the neighborhood. That leaves us with one last option assuming neither of those works out, and that is to buy one at the nearest store. I have found a Walmart nearby (within a few miles) that I can order the baby seat online and have it delivered to the store for in-store pickup. The cost: $65. Total savings $95. Personally, I am willing to run to the store, pick it up and then come back and get Val and Mathieu if necessary.

This of course, leaves one problem which we still have not figured out. What do we do with the car seat once we return the car? Well, there is always the possibility of Craigslist and meeting the person near the airport. But being a bit devious, I am thinking that maybe it would be possible to return the car seat… Hmmm, maybe, just maybe…

A little update

We went up to Metz 2 weeks ago to celebrate the 80^th birthday of Valerie’s uncle. On the way up there as we passed the toll booth just outside of Metz, the temperature registered 10 degrees. “Welcome to the Arctic”. Yes, it was cold, fricken cold! Metz is a beautiful city but I have trouble understanding how people can endure winter there. I know it doesn’t get as cold as the midwest of the US (especially recent temps in the Midwest) but come on how do you live in this weather. I guess California weather is ingrained in me.

We didn’t spend much time outside since it was so cold but we did manage to get out and buy a few things since January in France is “Les Soldes” meaning “Sale time”. Valerie and I both managed to find a couple of things to buy plus everything is generally cheaper in Metz than in Lyon which makes it easier to find good bargains.

News from Mathieu

Mathieu is starting to talk. He is blabbing about everything saying mama and papa for the most part to the right person and he is saying “doudou” which is the French term for “preferred stuffed animal”. When he arrives at daycare in the morning he runs over to the “doudou” wall, finds his doudou and says “doudou”. He even says “toutou” which is the slang term for dog.

He is really easygoing. We can take him anywhere and he just seems to get along with whoever is there. Last night we went to dinner with some friends and we left him down at the end of the table in a high chair. He was having a blast with throwing his arms up in the air with our friend Irvin for half the night.

Anyway, we were up in the mountains last weekend with friends but we didn’t get to go boarding but we are heading back up this weekend to board. We did take Mathieu out on the sled. I will post some pics in the next few days. He is not sure about the whole sled and snow thing yet. I think we are going to have to wait until next year.

je m'appelle Mathieu

je m'appelle mathieu
Video sent by frimouss159

MUSIQUE :Auteur inconnu : "mon coin de paradis"

Maman,Valérie : fille de mon ancien compagnon,née en Haute-Savoie.

Papa,John : né en Californie,sa maman habite à Sacramento.
Ils se sont rencontrés en Californie,où Valérie a vécu plusieurs années,d'abord à Phoenix,puis à San diego.
Ils ont décidé de revenir en France,où ils se sont mariés,et vivent à Lyon,où ils travaillent
Je les remercie pour les photos

Certaines de ces images sont prises à Boston,lors d'un voyage en mai 2008

Je les embrasse tous les trois tendrement

frifri

This video was produced by our friend Francine.

MERCI BEAUCOUP FRANCINE pour un œuvre vraiment super !