Backseat barf and boatrides

 

Last Wednesday we started out on our last big trip before moving back to the states. This time we were off to Jersey (where some of Benjin's ancestors lived for generations prior to 1850). Tuesday night was a little crazy because Benjin had ridden the metro all the way up to the airport to get our rental car only to find out that he had to show his passport (which he had never needed to do previously). So, right after the boys had fallen asleep, I pulled them out of their beds, popped them in the stroller in their jammies/sleepsac for a clandenstine meeting at Gare du Nord to deliver our passports to Benjin. He would then race back up to the airport in hopes of arriving before the rental car place closed. Bleary eyed, Gideon and Pierce and I pretended we were special agents on a secret mission. It was crazy, but the boys were troopers and a nice man on the metro felt bad for us and gave the boys some kinder chocolate...which made everything a little better. Passports in hand, Benjin successfully picked up the car --- wooohooo--- but discovered that we were not actually allowed to take the car to the UK (and Jersey has a strange quasi connection to the UK)! Yikes. We went to bed and decided to figure it out in the morning. 

As a result, Wednesday started out a little rough because we were finishing last minute packing, trying to figure out what to do about our car and whether we could still take it to Jersey and get out of the house on time. We finally got everyone/everything in the car and decided we would figure out the car situation on the road. We then plugged in our destination and realized that holiday traffic had hit hard; it was now supposed to take us 5 hours instead of just over 4 to get to the ferry station in St. Malo. Fortunately we still had some buffer time and drove forward in faith that it would all work out. 

As we drove however, the traffic just continued to get worse and worse. It was like driving on some kind of sick treadmill. The farther we drove the longer it was supposed to take us to get to our destination. After 2.5 hours of driving we were still at least 4.5 hours from our destination. Not only that, but all the stop and go traffic was making us all carsick (especially the boys). Gideon's face looked white and we could tell he didn't feel well, but he was trying with all his might to keep from throwing up. Then all of a sudden, Pierce started spewing everywhere. I caught most of it in my hands and was able to clean Pierce up without having to get off the parking-lot-style freeway. Thinking Pierce would feel better now that his stomach was empty we kept driving. However, his stomach was not empty. A short while later he started throwing up again. This time all over me, himself, etc. I yell for Benjin to find a place to pull off. We pulled off on a little country road and while I am trying to clean up Pierce's vomit, Gideon immediately jumped out of the car and started hurling. At this point we reached our breaking point. We not only cannot picture surviving another at least 5 hours of this type of driving, but at this point there is no way we are going to make our ferry. Eventually, we make the tough choice to forgo our trip and drive home. 

We were devastated. After all the money, time, planning and effort that had gone into this trip, it wasn't going to happen after all. We came home, cleaned up and lay around watching a movie. But, at some point Benjin had the bright idea of trying to call the ferry to figure out what options we still had. After a number of phone calls, Benjin discovered that we could change our ferry booking, park our non-UK rental car in St. Malo, get a new rental car in Jersey, cancel one night of camping, etc. If we could get over our PTSD of the day's disasterous results, we could make a second attempt the next day. We decided that if we woke up at 4 in the morning we could beat the traffic and thereby beat the vomit. "Let's do it!!" 

So, that is what resulted in us waking up bright and early Thursday morning and driving once again toward St. Malo. Mercifully we made it without incident and even had a lovely stop at a playground just outside Rennes (where my mom served as a young missionary). We arrived in St. Malo and were astounded by its beauty. We stopped at a coastline where at the turn of the century a deaf monk used a hammer and chisel to carve the cliff face into statues. They boys loved playing eye spy while climbing all over all the cool figurines. Then we drove along the shoreline and stopped at a lovely beach to play in the sand and waves and enjoy our picnic lunch. In spite of the chilly water, the boys loved it. Pierce was especially fond of the feeling of the soft warm sand and at one point just face planted himself in the sand and just lay there relishing in the sensation. From there we made our way to the remarkable walled city of St. Malo. The city, which was almost entirely destroyed during World War II, was painstakingly put back together and continues to carry with it a very medivel feel. We walked along the ramparts from which we could see the incredibly dramatic receding tide including the world's coolest swimming pool (a pool filled by the tide, complete with high dive) 

After exploring the city, we headed back to our car and then checked in for our ferry adventure. The ferry experience was much more like an airplane ride than I expected. In fact, multiple times Pierce refused to believe we were on a boat and declared that we were on an airplane instead. But, it was incredible to look out the gigantic windows and watch the sailboats or strain our eyes looking for various small neighboring islands. Finally we pulled into port in St. Helier, Jersey. 

We spent Thursday night and all day Friday driving around the skinniest, hedge lined lanes. We explored at least 4 cemeteries looking for the names of Benjin's ancestors and walked the short street that his family lived on back in the 1850's. We enjoyed history from as far back as a neolithic tomb all the way down to remnants of WWII fortifications left by the Nazis. Between all this historical splendor we found time to relish in the world's coolest beach (Plemont) which was surrounded by majestic cliffs and included tons of shallow tidal pools, small beach rivers and epic pirate caves (where I was convinced we would see a couple of forgotten doubloons!)

Everywhere we went it was just remarkable to keep thinking back to Benjin's great great grandmother, Julia and to picture her exploring these beaches, walking down these skinny lanes, and celebrating/commemorating family events in these churches/cemeteries. In the evening we enjoyed returning to our little campsite and snuggling up with our boys so that we could all keep warm. It was just such a beautiful place with some of the world's best people!  

Isn't it just amazing that we have made it this far?! I mean, while sitting covered with vomit in bumper-to-bumper traffic, I was really starting to think we would never make it to Jersey. A year ago, when we were driving from DC to Columbus in the middle of the night to try and fax copies of our kids' birth certificates to the French consulate after spending an entire day waiting around trying to get Visas, I really thought we would never live in France. Last September after another heartwrenching school drop-off, I seriously doubted whether we could make it the whole year. And yet, here we are!! Isn't it remarkable?! Somehow we got Visas for our whole family to live in France! Somehow Gideon started to make friends, learn French and actually enjoy school! And somehow in spite of the traffic, rental car regulations, missing our boat and car sickness, we made it to Jersey!! Woohoo!!

When I think of miracles I typically think of parting the Red Sea type miracles. But, in my personal experiences, life usually feels a lot more like getting swallowed by a whale. However, in looking back, it is so much easier to see that my seas did part, that God really was paving the way before me. There really are miracles all around us, especially when we take time to sneak a peak in our rearview mirror. 

Love you more than Fish and Chips and Genuine Jersey ice cream. Cheerio! 

La famillie Facer