We're not very good travelers any more. Maybe we never were. Travel by airplane, however, is getting to be more and more stressful. We were strapped into our straight jackets in the transatlantic cattle car for the flight to Chicago and robotically chewing the plastic food hermetically sealed in cardboard boxes tossed on the tray tablettes. The airline was apparently short-staffed that day, so we helped them out by picking up our luggage and carrying it over to our next departure terminal for the flight to Denver. Customs was a mere formality. We did flash our passports a few times and of course walked barefoot from one very bored uniform to another, but they never once checked the back side of the required US Customs entry card listing all potential contraband items. I guess if you can carry it through Security, you can keep it.Jet lag has subsided and we are no longer taking naps as frequently as newborns, so it is time to get to the point. We must bid good-bye to our audience.
The raison d'etre of this Blog was, as you may remember, to "Document the trials and tribulations....as they attempt to purchase and renovate a French "fixer-upper" in the foothills of the Pyrenees with new French power tools and a new language." Feel free to offer an evaluation: on a scale of 1 - 10 (1 being nowhere close, 10 being a real winner), how'd we do? I know my answer, but mum's the word until I hear some other responses. We really would like to hear from our readers, if any, who haven't yet commented. It would be nice to know who was reading and where they were from. This is your last chance.
Anyway, we're back in Moab and settling into our very non-French existence quite quickly. We're already plotting next year's return to Leran, but the Blog must rest. It's that simple. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone out there who has been either a faithful, occasional or one-time only reader; a special outpouring of gratitude to those who took the time to lift our spirits with Comment contributions or emails and let us know that 'somebody is out there listening'; and thanks for all the encouragement and nudging from many of you to keep the Blog going. All we can say is: We'll pass the baton on to you if you like. Yogi Berra said: "It ain't over 'til it's over". Well, it's been great.....but it's over.